Tyne Championships – Aug 18th 2024
Gurkha – September 15th 2024
S R M – November 3rd 2024
The Tyne has a very long association with match fishing, with the Gurkha being one of the oldest matches, first held in 1977. Following the opening of Kielder Reservoir in 1982 the river declined markedly. However, some years after an amended Kielder water release regime was implemented there were signs that the river was making a recovery and in 2004 the first Environment Agency Tyne Championship, in conjunction with the Tyne Anglers Alliance, was held. Primarily as a survey to assess fish stocks, it was a great success, with Alan Le Patourel winning the match with a then record 62lb 10oz of dace from the Hexham number 1 section. In the years following the river provided some exceptional fishing especially for Dace, but Chub, Roach, Perch & Gudgeon were also caught in numbers. The match record was then beaten in 2009 by KOTT’s very own Steve Hoggins with 64lb 10oz from the famous Riding Mill section. In 2021 the match record tumbled again with Barrie Lockey putting an incredible 65lb 13oz on the scales from the prolific Corbridge South Bank section and also setting a new, 3 match, King of the Tyne record of 101lb 3oz. In 2022 the KOTT Champion title was taken by Dennis Armstrong with a new, three match series, total weight of 108lb 5oz. In 2024 the match records were well and truly shattered again. Nathan Procter recorded the first ever Tyne match “Ton” with an incredible 103lbs, from the famous Cables Peg at Riding Mill, when fishing the Tyne Championship. Most people thought that this amazing weight would be enough to secure him the three match KOTT crown, however Peter “Sammy” Rambow had other ideas and returned weights of 59lb 08oz, 56lb 15oz and 42lb 06 oz for a total of 158lb 13oz and a very well deserved King of the Tyne title. Nathan recorded 145lb 02oz for a very well deserved second place overall. Honourable mentions should also go to Tim Richardson and Fred Hardcastle, who also beat the previous three match record, with 119lb 15oz and 119lb 09oz respectively, putting them in 3rd and 4th place overall.
The Tyne continues to improve and the river now hosts four prestigious open matches every year. The Tyne Championship, The Gurkha, and the Steve Roberts Memorial, which all count towards the coveted King of the Tyne trophy and a qualifier for the Northern River Masters.
2024 sees the prestigious Northern River Masters Finals taking place on November 9th and 10th. This is an event that many will be hugely looking forward to and is very much a feather in the mighty Tynes cap.
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