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Wednesday, October 08, 2008, 10:00
It was fished from a number of ports along the south coast over a specific weekend, each having its team officials with the responsibility to weigh fish and report the details to the event's HQ in Plymouth, then as now, the BCC's centre of operations.
It was usual for up to 350 competitors to take part.
As time went by the Conger Club's membership rose to more than 1,000 and for this reason the championship was then restricted to members only, the winner taking the lesser title 'British Conger Club Champion'.
The event was established on the port of Plymouth that had become a major boat angling centre with a fleet at the height of its fame of up to thirty fully licensed boats. Four decades on this has fallen to a mere five, of which two are likely to leave the scene ahead of next year's offshore wreck fishing season.
The Conger Club must surely address the whole concept of the championship, also suffering from a marked decline in participation on a number of counts, cost of competing being a major factor. This is not less than £300, taking into account the journey to the port, two nights accommodation and food, entry to the event and the charter boat fees.
The solution to what might be termed a championship crisis may be an approach to the organisers of the extremely successful Borough of Torbay Sea Angling Festival with the suggestion that the Conger Championships be encompassed within it.
It would have its own entry form and fee but the angler would make his or her own charter boat arrangement and would pay the Festival entry fee.
The entrant to the championship and the festival itself with the biggest eel would take the title 'British Conger Champion' so restoring the status it enjoyed in its original concept.
The championship would run throughout the whole nine days of the festival, eels being weighed each evening at the Torquay, Paignton, and Brixham weighing stations with a BCC official attending in an observer capacity.
The conger has always been a principle species in the festival and bringing the British Championship within its sphere would I believe be a considerable attraction and further inflate its entry level. The presentation of the conger awards would be part of the glittering occasion that has become a tradition of the Festival in its long and illustrious history. The combining of these two major events would, I believe, be advantageous to both organisations and hopefully, both will believe the suggestion has merit and work towards bringing it to fruition.
In the recent Torbay Festival many conger over 50lb to the leading weight of 109 ½lb reached the scales. Had the Conger Championship been part of the event the captor of this magnificent 'ton up' eel would also have been a very worthy winner of the title.
The Torbay Festival has every element of considerable infrastructure in place: established clubs who provide excellent organisation and administration and could relatively easily and very successfully encompass the Conger Championship. The benefit to the individual angler would be enormous.
PICTURED: One of Torbay's most enthusiastic conger anglers is Brixham's John Heather who won the Festival in 2007 with this eel of 93lb 14oz. He would have been a very deserving of the Conger Championship if it had been fished within the Festival.
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