DEVIZES Angling Association reeled in the bronze medal and clinched a spectacular double promotion at their debut in the team event at the National Angling Championships.

The competition was held on the Shropshire Union Canal, which is notoriously difficult to fish.

But the ace anglers had a secret weapon a 20-page peg-by-peg dossier with information on how best to fish the competition venue, compiled by a local fisherman Mark Shepherd.

The dossier included details on what fish to expect in each stretch of the river, so the Devizes team knew the most appropriate type of tackle and bait to use to catch the most fish.

Team skipper Kevin Abigail, 35, of Hospital Road, in Westbury, said: "We owe Mark a big thank you and I know we wouldn't have done as well without all his expert knowledge.

"We didn't have enough time to get up to the canal and practice so the accurate information he provided us with was invaluable."

There were 26 teams competing at the competition, which was held at the end of last month.

The canal was divided into 12 sections, and one member from each team fished at each section. The winner of each section was worked out according to the weight of fish they caught.

Each individual's points were then toted up to find the teams overall score. "The venue was really hard and you don't expect to catch a lot of fish there," Abigail said.

"Some parts of the river are good for carp and in other stretches to catch a pound of fish would be an excellent result.

"The weather was fine as well, which was nice, but it didn't provide the best conditions for angling.

"That's why the information was so important because there's no point using a line that breaks with anything more than a pound if the river is full of 10lbs carp."

It is the first time the National Championships has been staged before the traditional June 16 start to the season.

The Devizes team won promotion from division five of the national championships. But because the National Federation of Anglers is restructuring the championships to four divisions next season, Devizes jumped two divisions.

The team were delighted with the prestigious award, but there was heartache for one team member in Devizes' push for the bronze.

Dave Johnson, 47, of Bentley Grove, in Calne, was minutes away from winning his section after catching 0.7kg of Gudgeon and Bream, when a rival fisherman, who was just starting to pack up, landed a 5.550kg Carp to steal the points.

"Dave was a little disappointed, but the whole team fished really well," Abigail said. "There weren't that many big fish, but it was the same for everyone and we knew what we were up against. Our plan was to try and catch a pound of fish each, which we hoped would give us a really good overall result."

Abigail competed in the pre-national event at the same venue the week before the tournament and finished second in the individual competition, catching 11lbs of fish.

"We fish in a lot of leagues across the region, including the South West super league, with matches as far away as Cornwall," Abigail said. "But we will definitely be going back next year."