The Drennan Cup


 

The Drennan Cup was started by Peter Drennan back in 1985 and is now the longest-running big fish competition in the UK. It rewards anglers who target and catch specimen fish (other than carp) by design over the course of the season with weekly Drennan Cup awards.

Weekly captures are submitted to Angling Times for publication and are then sent on to us here at Drennan to be considered for a weekly award. Weekly win­ners receive a £80 prize including a limited edition winners badge and cap (first-time winners).

Also, should an angler break the British record then they receive a special one-off reward of £300.

Once the season comes to and end, a list of weekly winners is published in Angling Times and voting cards are sent out to all previous weekly award winners from previous years. They are asked to vote for their top four anglers of the season, with four points going to their top pick, down to one for their fourth.

Votes are then gathered and counted by Angling Times and the overall winner is revealed. The angler with the highest number of votes gets their name engraved on the prestigious trophy and a cheque for £2,000.

With the Drennan Cup running for over 30 years some of the biggest names in specimen fishing have had their names etched into the trophy.The capture of exceptionally big specimen fish is often a solitary and secretive process, so devising a competition which recognised and rewarded the dedicated anglers involved was quite difficult.  However, we turned it into a photograph based contest where the captures were published in Angling Times on a weekly basis. This meant the size claimed for the specimen could be judged and it allowed individual anglers to publish or keep secret the venue. At the end of each season, the annual winners are chosen by all the other expert anglers involved in the competition so nobody gets to win without thoroughly impressing their peers.  Back in 1984/85 Greg Buxton won with just six double figure barbel to 14lb, but things have moved on to the extent that 2015/16 winner Dai Gribble needed loads of double figure tench to 14lb 12oz and numbers of double figure bream to 20lb 10oz to win the trophy. With its thirty-year heritage, nobody is too bothered by the prize money, it's the achievement and prestige that counts. - Peter Drennan

Weekly Drennan Cup prizes are awarded to anglers who have caught spe­cimen fish by design.

Weekly win­ners receive a £80 prize including a limited edition winners badge and cap (first-time winners), while the overall cham­pion each season gets a cheque for £2,000 plus their name engraved on the prestigious trophy.

To stand a chance of winning, entrants must email or post the photographs along with details of the capture including the weight to Angling Times as soon as possible after capture. The fish must be caught by design and not while fishing for other species or on a guided session. Good quality photographs are a must.

Submit your recent capture to [email protected]

At the beginning of each week throughout the season Angling Times will forward onto us the best contenders for that specific week. We will then choose our winner/s for that week, taking into consideration the quality of the photographs, the size of fish, the venue, and the details surrounding the capture. Each week will vary from the next, and some captures although impressive, may be 'unlucky' due to bigger fish of the same species caught during the same week.

Once we have chosen our weekly Drennan Cup winner/s, we will then notify Angling Times and they will be published in the following week's issue.

*Specimen fish caught during a guided session are not eligible for weekly Drennan Cup awards.

2023-24 Weekly Drennan Cup Winners

 

Results For 2022–2023:

1st: Lee McManus (Five awards) –16lb 14oz Bream, 17lb 11oz Bream, 4lb 12oz Perch, 16lb 6oz Zander and 17lb 14oz Barbel.

2nd: Alan Stagg (Four awards) – 18lb 4oz Bream, 18lb 1oz Barbel, 7lb 11oz Chub and 3lb 8dr Roach.

3rd: James Champkin (Four awards) – 16lb 1oz Bream, 17lb 4oz Barbel, 33lb 2oz Pike and 17lb 14oz Barbel.

4th: Dan Woolcott (Three awards) – a brace of 3lb 8oz Roach,12lb 6oz Tench and 3lb Grayling.

 

Roll Of Honour: Past Drennan Cup Winners

2023 - Lee McManus

2022 - Simon Daley

2021 - Simon Daley

2020 - Rich Wilby

2019 - Darryn Stolworthy
2018 - Dai Gribble
2017
 - Iain McDonald
2016 - Dai Gribble
2015 - Alan Stagg
2014 - Jamie Cartwright
2013 - Gareth Goldson
2012 - Simon Lavin
2011 - Neil Stephen
2010 - Julian Chidgey
2009 - Terry Lampard
2008 - Darran Goulder
2007 - Ted Bryan
2006 - Terry Lampard
2005 - Terry Lampard
2004 - Andy Nellist
2003 - Terry Lampard
2002 - Tony Gibson
2001 - Terry Lampard
2000 - Terry Lampard
1999 - Dave Harman
1998 - Terry Lampard
1997 - Matt Hayes
1996 - Bill Neil
1995 - Mark Vials
1994 - Andy Harman
1993 - No Drennan Cup
1992 - Alan Wilson
1991 - Ritchie McDonald
1990 - Len Arbery
1989 - Alan Wilson
1988 - Martin Hooper
1987 - Martin Hooper
1986 - Alan Wilson
1985 - Greg Buxton