The 2015 Rive Drennan Challenge has been won by Olivier Gielczynski after a perfect two-point score at Lac au Duc in Ploërmel, Brittany.
Olivier, who also came 3rd in 2014, scored two section wins and a total weight of 35.57kg over the two-day event. That included an impressive 21.73kg of mostly skimmers and bream on the pole from A Section, which was the top overall weight on Day One.
Also on two points but a lesser combined weight was Olivier Defrocourt and Valentin Lefevebre, who finished 2nd and 3rd respectively to take their rightful places on the podium.
The top Englishman was new Drennan Team England senior squad member Matt Godfrey in 5th place, with Alan Scotthorne in 10th, Lee Kerry 11th, Callum Dicks 12th, Simon Willsmore 16th and Gary Barclay 19th. Last year’s champion, Steve Hemingray, looked good for a repeat performance after winning his section on Day One but was narrowly edged into 3rd in section on Day Two to finish on four points and 14th place.
A mixture of pole, waggler and feeder all played a part with bream, skimmers, roach and hybrids the most dominant species. The most common tactic on this extremely large but shallow venue averaging just 1m to 1.5m deep was the waggler fished 25 to 40 metres out in conjunction with balls of groundbait, leam and joker fed by catapult. Worms, bunches of bloodworm, casters and maggots on the hook all caught plenty of fish. This year the feeder also played a much more decisive role than previous events and was responsible for several section-winning catches of bream.
The event was once again organised exceptionally well with generous prizes and sponsorship from both Rive and Drennan. Over 1,500kg of fish was weighed in by the 104 competitors over the two days with an average weight of over 7kg per angler per day.
With such excellent fishing, organisation and hospitality it is clear to see why this prestigious event is so popular!
See more images from this event in our Facebook Album.
2015 Result
1st Gielczynski 2pts (35.57kg)
2nd Defrocourt 2pts (32.18kg)
3rd Lefevebre 2pts (20.58kg)
4th Pouillard 3pts (33.52kg)
5th Godfrey 3pts (22.9kg)
6th Valente 3pts (22.54kg)
7th Lafont 3pts (21.48kg)
8th Verdière 3pts(21.34kg)
9th Pottelet 3pts(19.22kg)
10th Scotthorne 3.5pts (17.04kg)
11th Kerry 4pts (27.36kg)
12th Dicks 4pts (24.84kg)
13th Renault 4pts (24.6kg)
14th Hemingray 4pts (23.44kg)
15th Roy 4pts (22.42kg)
16th Willsmore 4pts (13.48kg)
17th Courtellemont 4pts (30.24kg)
18th Linder 5pts (25.93kg)
19th Barclay 5pts (25.48kg)
20th Béréni Antoine 5pts (19.46kg)
Learn more about the event at this website: www.ablette-ploermelaise.fr/challenge_rive.html