The Individuals Sea Angling Club (ISAC) were granted the honour of representing the NFSA/Angling Trust at the 17th World Shore Championship for Clubs, an annual event organized under the control of the International Governing body of our sport, the Federation Internationale de la Peche Sportive en Mer (CIPS/FIPS-M). The 2009 competition attracted 17 teams from 9 nations and was hosted by the German Anglers Association (DAV) in Kuhlungsborn near Rostock from 1-7 November.

The team representing ISAC were Captain Steve Deathe (Southampton), Darren Phillips (Lee on the Solent), Ian Dancey (Waterlooville), John Brown (Southampton), Ally Harvey (Warnham) and Team Manager Trevor Sutch (Portchester).

Fishing times were from 4-8pm each day from the venue to the west of Kuhlungsborn. The beach comprised rubble reefs at various distances interspersed with sandy patches. The features could be clearly seen due to the high clarity of the water and it soon became apparent that it was the sandy areas that held the fish. The tidal flow in the Baltic is minimal and the rise and fall was just 6 inches each tide. The target fish throughout the event were Cod and Flounder with the odd Rockling, Dab and Whiting making an appearance. All fish over the allocated size limits were awarded 1 point per centimeter plus 10 points per fish. Anglers fished in 5 pegged zones and scored points based on their zone and overall positions (Continental System). The best 4 scores decided the team total each day. The winning team on the day was allocated 1 point, second 2 points, third 3 points etc. The Champions would be the team with the least amount of match points after all 4 competitions. All competitors were provided with identical bait comprising 1 Herring, 100 Lugworm and 100g of Ragworm. A single rod and two hook trace was only allowed.

DAY 1. The water was flat calm and crystal clear with a Southerly wind behind us, not good for the venue. Ally won his zone while Ian added a 3rd and Steve and John zone 7th. Our anglers landed a total of 5 codling and 1 flounder. ISAC gained 84 points to finish in 3rd place overall.

DAY 2. The weather had now changed with 3 inches of snow and an Easterly side wind greeting the teams on the venue. The conditions were perfect even though the temperature had dropped to -1 degrees. ISAC made good use of the conditions and recorded zone wins for John and Ian, and 2nd places for Ally and Darren, gaining a very impressive 22 points to win the day. The team landed a total of 31 codling and 1 flounder and now held the overall lead on 4 points, much to the amazement of the hosts.

DAY 3. The temperature had now risen to a barmy 8 degrees and the snow had vanished. The wind had returned to the South. All colour from the previous day had completely disappeared. There were far fewer fish around with just 6 teams managing 4 anglers with sizeable fish. 37 anglers recorded blanks. Ally had again won his zone with John gaining a 2nd and Steve a match saving 8th to give us 121 points and 9th position overall in the match with a total of 5 codling and 3 flounders. We had dropped down to 2nd place overall behind the Team Marinella from Italy, who lead with an impressive 12 points achieved by three consecutive 4th places.

DAY 4. The weather conditions had not changed overnight and was a bad omen for the venue. Nevertheless we were determined to finish strongly and managed a zone 3rd from Ian and 4th from Darren with a sizeable codling from a total of 3 caught in the last 5 minutes of the match. Just 3 teams had 3 anglers weighing in from 28 anglers with 57 blanks. Our 8th place secured the Silver Medal for ISAC.

The team were proud of their performance in our first ever event at this level and were absolutely delighted at not being lower than 3rd place throughout the 4 day event. The presentation of medals held on the Saturday was the highlight of the week for the team especially when standing in front of all the other competitors whilst our National Anthem was played.

The organization by our hosts was first class. The bait, food and Hotel staff were excellent and rounded off what the FIPS-M President Dr Hubert Waldheim claimed, was one of the best Shore Championships ever held. The team would like to take this opportunity to thank our sponsors Tronix and for the foul weather clothing donated to the team by Andy Selby from Weymouth Angling Centre, whilst giving us a smart team appearance also helped keep us warm and dry during the testing conditions. Most importantly we would like to thank the ISAC membership for their support, without whom attendance at this event would not have been possible.