Although Kingfisher Sport Fishing Association members were outnumbered in an international Sicily-Malta match in Pozzallo last Sunday, the Maltese anglers managed to win the first four placings.

To the Kingfisher anglers’ disappointment, during a trial the day before the event, the catch in the main venue’s nearby location was relatively poor. This gave KSFA angler’s food for thought and lengthy discussion, as a main tactic it was decided that the finest and thinnest of diametric lines should be used during the match.

The tension was at its peak on Sunday morning during the early 6.30am gathering at the Pozzallo port. The pegging (positions) included a KSFA angler for every two Sicilian anglers. The match started at 7.45am shortly afterwards Stefan Borg soon landed an impressive gilthead bream (Awrata). A Sicilian angler caught another nice striped sea bream.

Jonathan Vassallo started feeding ground bait at a distance, with his catapult, which proved to be the best option for the day. He landed his first Gilthead Bream after 30 minutes of feeding, using his Fly casting rod and traces made from 0.10mm Falcon line. This was the first out of a series of five Gilthead bream. Jonathan also caught a Gurnard and a couple of two banded breams placing first with 2.4kg. The Sicilians were impressed with the Maltese’ techniques which were very similar to their systems, but with more sensitivity on the rods and much finer lines.

A return match is set for October in Malta, where the Sicilians are sure to come over with their best team to try and get a positive result. Discussions are under way for the possibility of organising a league for this type of fishing known as “Canna Da Riva” between Italian and Sicilian anglers practising this method of angling.