Yorkshire to host Europe's biggest fishing competition of its kind with the Paul Roggeman European Open Beach Championship

Now in its 29th year, the Paul Roggeman European Open Beach Championship (EOBC), is among the most prestigious in the angling calendar. Past years have seen well over 1,000 entrants compete for a prize pot of £35,000, making for a keen line of fishermen along the East Riding’s dramatic coastline.

Coun Jane Evison is portfolio holder for economic development and tourism at East Riding of Yorkshire Council. She said: “We are proud to welcome this prestigious angling competition back to our beautiful coastline. I am sure this championship will prove to be as popular as ever and a great success.

"It is without doubt the largest three-day beach fishing championship event in Europe, so we’re excited to welcome competitors.

"This event generates an estimated half a million pounds each time for local businesses and its invaluable to help keep our high streets thriving.”

One of the most popular events is the warm up, dubbed the Flattie Bash, which is held on the first day to kickstart a full weekend of fishing. This year, for the first time, this catch and release flatfish event will be held between Fraisthorpe and Hornsea.

Cod is most likely to be the key catch in the main event, meanwhile, with anglers weighing in to find the winner with the biggest fish. Through the weekend the Sea Angling Adventures team will be sharing stories on YouTube and their Facebook channel.

The advice is to prepare well in advance - with top tips featuring guidance on being mobile to follow the seas, and adhering to strict rules around weigh-ins with a timely finish. Then there are the beaches themselves, advising anglers turning up early to snag the best spot.

There has been relative drama over recent years, with one angler stripped of his £4,000 prize money in 2019 and disqualified from his first place position after a reported breach of the rules.

Now, amid some sensitivity over a shift to mainly online ticket sales, small business owners have urged competitors to also tap into local knowledge while exploring the glorious coastline and all it has to offer.

Nic Burton is owner of Hornsea’s East Coast Tackle shop. She said: "We have a lovely range of people visit the competition, from the north of Scotland to Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Norway. I would encourage people to spend a few days, go down the beaches at low tide and to come and talk to the tackle shops to find a good mark."

This year's event is to be held over three-days from Friday, March 3, with advance tickets now on sale.