THERE was joy for a Tavistock man who has retained his European title in the sport of kayak fishing.

Kyle Waterhouse hooked the title at Europe’s leading kayak fishing championship which is held in Oxwich Bay in Gower, Wales, each year at the end of July.

Run and organised by the South Wales Kayak Anglers (SWKA), Oxwich has become renowned not only for its impressive prize table, but also as a gathering of kayak anglers of all ages and abilities.

Kayak anglers from all over the country compete in the largest species hunt event of the year for the title of European champion. Competitors must catch, photo and release as many different species of fish as they can within the allotted six hour competition time. Each species of fish is awarded a different number of points depending on their rarity or difficulty to catch.

This event attracts the most competitors out of all the kayak fishing events in the UK and with more than 100 competing each year, along with a club affiliation means it has gained an official European status and is a sought after title among competitors.Kyle caught 16 species of fish in the allotted time to claim his title.

Kyle, who works as a product manager and angling journalist for Saltwater Boat Angling Magazine, and a brand ambassador told Times Sport: ‘I’ve been competing in this event for four years now and finally won it last year and was fishing this year’s event to retain my title as European champion. ‘I won this year’s event by catching 16 species in four hours, recording a score of 42 points by 2pm with two hours still remaining in the event. The next closest competitor registered a score of 34 points at 4pm.

’Last year was a close win for me and I won by the skin of my teeth as another angler recorded the same score as me, though thankfully I’d beaten him back to register my catch photos much earlier than them. In the event of a tied score, the first competitor back will take the higher position.

‘This year I won with a much more comfortable lead of eight points and am over the moon to win it two years running and to retain my title as European Champion means so much to me! So much time and effort goes in behind the scenes into my fishing to ensure I perfect what I do, so it’s a great feeling to stay at the top!’