The post-5pm (and Junior) code is...
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AOF Lure Festival 2024: Information Roundup
The Art of Fishing (AOF) Lure Festival has run since 2011. Combining a relaxed atmosphere with a presentation and prizes to finish the weekend off, we see many returning entrants every year from all levels of lure fishing experience. Many travel a long way to join us.
The event officially starts at 12-noon on Friday, September 27 – the moment you’re given your AOF Lure Festival “entrant card“. However, entrants will no-doubt begin to gather at their most conveniently located sign-in point from mid-way through the morning. There’s nothing like the Friday morning festival buzz!
You then fish all of Friday afternoon, Saturday and Sunday morning before we all pile back to the Royal Cornwall Showground for the presentation. Doors open at noon.
Jump to your required festival info:
Event Summary
WHEN
Friday 12:00 until Sunday 13:00
WHERE
All over CORNWALL. You’re free to roam!
WHAT
The AOF Lure Festival (since 2011).
A social and relaxed LURE FISHING COMPETITION with three separate categories.
- BASS
- WRASSE
- SPECIES HUNT
Enter as many as you like on one ticket.
- Buy your ticket online before September 27th.
- On Friday, September 27th simply visit one of our allocated sign-in points from 12-5pm, OR get your entrant code ONLINE (5pm onwards).
- Just fish as much or as little as you’d like to over the weekend – taking photos of your catches (see rules below).
- Send your pictures to our WhatsApp number, or Facebook accounts.
- Get back to the Royal Cornwall Showground near Wadebridge (PL27 7JE) from 12-noon onwards for the social and PRESENTATION. Free pasty for the first 70 entrants back! The raffle will be on and the bar will be open!
- Champions announced.
- Home time (approx. 2.30pm).
JOIN US
PRIZES
Overall we have in excess of £2800 in AOF prizes to give away – including a whopping £800 combined total for our 2024 bass champion! As well as the Species Hunt and Wrasse categories, juniors and visiting anglers (living outside of Devon or Cornwall) are eligible for unique prizes too!
BUY TICKETS
Tickets are available ONLINE ONLY and must be purchased by 11am, September 27.
Select your ticket option below:
Category & Prize Summary
Bass, Wrasse and Species Hunt – the same three prize categories as normal. Bass and wrasse categories are both length-oriented. The species hunt category this year is a straight up 48-hour Cornish species hunt.
- For both bass AND wrasse you’ll be measuring your FOUR longest fish caught over the weekend.
- The main BASS champion is still the angler who catches the single longest fish.
- The “most consistent” BASS angler prize goes to the person with the longest 2nd, 3rd and 4th fish combined (which excludes the longest).
- Our champion WRASSE angler will be the entrant with the largest cumulative length of all four of their longest fish combined.
- The SPECIES hunt winner will be the entrant who simply catches the most unique species!
- We also award Junior (under-18) and “top visitor” prizes for the most deserving young or out-of-towners!
PRIZES
As with all the competitions we’ve held, there are some fantastic prizes up for grabs.
Bass Awards
- Longest Bass wins the main title and spoils – with backup prizes down to 6th place!
- “Most Consistent Angler” – best combined 2nd, 3rd, 4th longest fish length.
- “Top Visitor” – best bass caught by an entrant living outside of Devon and Cornwall. Top visitor receives a trophy of their own. However, if placing within the main prizes then the financial part of the prize is allocated towards an additional overall placing (7th).
- “Top Junior” – best bass caught by an entrant under 18 years of age.
Wrasse Awards **
- Longest combined length of your FOUR best fish takes the title. Backup prize for 2nd place.
Species Hunt Awards **
- Most total species wins. Backup prizes down to 3rd place.
- “Top Junior” – most species caught by an entrant under 18 years of age. 2nd place also awarded in this category.
- Award for coolest species caught.
** If entrant numbers exceed those expected then we will reward additional places.
Dave Gundry and Will Pender – our 2023 Bass and Species winners respectively.
Signing-in: 12-5pm
Friday, September 27.
“Signing in” on the Friday is a typical part of any lure event and you only have to do this once over the weekend. This involves initially being present (if possible*) at one of the sign-in points across the county. With help from our friends these are:
NOTE: Junior anglers (under 18) do not sign-in until 5pm. See Junior section details.
Open 12:00 - 17:00
- Lowen-Chy Angling Ltd (St Austell)
- Gwinear Angling (Newquay-ish)
- Lizard Tackle & Bait (the Lizard)
- Penzance Angling Centre (Penzance)
- Waterfront Fishing and Shooting (Bude)
- Newtown Angling (Praa Sands)
- Homeleigh Garden Centre (Launceston)
At all of these locations the fantastic shop owners will be on hand to provide your entrant card between 12pm and 5pm. You are encouraged to get to your favoured sign-in point from 11.30 to enable time for pre-festival chat with fellow entrants in your area and to top up on new lures!
Wadebridge 12:00 - 13:00
There is one additional sign in point that’s a bit different:
- Pearl and Trawl (Pub – Wadebridge) from 11.30-13:00 only.
Ideally located just outside of Wadebridge, AOF’s Ben Field will greet entrants and sort everything out. This is a slightly different setup in that the timing will be shorter. Also, the pub doesn’t technically open till 12, but the carpark is a nice size so we can meet there from 11.30 if anybody wants to have a chin-wag. We’ll sort signatures and entrant cards outside for noon to enable fast departure of those that can make it on time. Then Ben will head inside and wait for anglers as late as 1pm. Usually the vast majority will be eager and ready for noon, but this allows a little extra time for those in the area. And it’s better than having a big gap in the north coast with so few tackle shops in the area. There’s always the 5pm online code for those in the area unable to make it.
What if I can't make it to any of them in time?
Don’t worry! This year is different. AFTER 5pm our “sign-in” process goes online!
What do I actually need to do?
If you’re attending a physical sign-in point before 5pm, it’s really easy.
11:30 am
Arrive at your preferred sign-in location.
You can actually get there as late as 16:55 if necessary, and then just follow the steps below.
11:45 am
Sign the AOF Lure Festival entrant list/disclaimer and check the rules.
This will be somewhere on the shop counter and the guys will be able to guide you towards it. It’s essential that all anglers attending in person do complete this part. Only those who have signed the sheet will be presented with their all-important “entrant card” at 12pm. You are not permitted to take cards on behalf of friends or family (they can take the 5pm online code if they can’t make it).
12:00 pm
You’ll receive your AOF Lure Festival 2024 “entrant card”.
Form an orderly queue if possible. Give the organiser your name and (if you’ve signed the disclaimer) they’ll give you your card. Cards are unique to each location.
12:01 pm
Write your name on your card.
So simple but worth noting as it’ll become really important for us later on. Once signed, get out of there and go fishing! The weekend and all of Cornwall is yours. GOOD LUCK!
What's on my entrant card?
The important bit. It’s necessary for your entrant card to appear in EVERY picture that you plan to submit over the Festival weekend. It contains:
- A code word unique to your sign-in location.
- A space for you to add your name (please do so).
- The AOF WhatsApp phone number – to which you can send your photos (they can also be sent via Facebook Messenger or Instagram).
The card itself is made from simple card. We suggest doing your best to keep it both dry and from blowing away. We’ve found many techniques for this over the years. A couple of suggestions are:
- Pop it in a small, clear, sealable bag and weigh it down with a fishing weight or pebble (placed inside).
- Tape it (cover) with clear tape to stick it to the lid of a tackle box.
Signing-in: 5pm onwards
The Online One
NOTE: Junior anglers (under 18) must ALL use this option. See Junior section details.
If you are unable to make it to any of the physical sign-in locations – whether because of work, school or transport – this year we have added a “virtual” sign-in opportunity. This opens the doors to busy people who want to join in over the weekend but don’t have the freedom to take Friday off!
So, from 5pm on Friday, September 27 you can simply check out our website, Facebook or Instagram pages for a unique ONLINE ANGLERS code. Your entry is still for exactly the same competition and still ends at the presentation on Sunday; you’ll just need to print or write the code on something yourself.
The name itself (“sign-in”) is a little misleading in the case of our online anglers who join after 5pm. You don’t actually have to sign anything – just write the code and your name on something that you can take fishing with you.
Friday, 17:00 onwards
Check our website or social media pages for the special festival code word.
You can do this as late through the weekend as you like, as long as you’ve paid for a ticket in advance.
When you’ve seen the code simply write or print it to a piece of paper, Tupperware, a tackle box, stone or anything that you can carry to enable its display in your catch shots. What’s it’s written on isn’t important. Its visibility is.
A couple of simple suggestions, perhaps after having written the code on a piece of paper or card(?) are:
- Pop it in a small, clear, sealable bag and weigh it down with a fishing weight or pebble (placed inside).
- Tape it (cover) with clear tape to stick it to the lid of a tackle box.
What’s important is the code being clearly visible in all of your fish pictures. Large letters in thick marker pen are ideal.
Many join late every year (normally Saturday morning once our old Wadebridge shop opened after breakfast). The event is always relaxed. It’s just great to have you on board.
Where can I find the code?
WEBSITE
It’ll be visible on this page.
Check the AOF Lure Festival Facebook page.
Check the AOF Lure Festival Instagram page.
Junior Anglers (under 18)
Due to school commitments that some of our younger entrants will have, it’s only fair that we kick things off for them a little later on the Friday. So, even if having travelled and fished with an adult earlier in the day, juniors will be required to check-in online and grab the virtual code which will be published at 5pm across our website and social media pages. There is info down below about what to do with this code when you get it.
As a result of the above, junior entrants obviously aren’t required to attend any of the physical shop sign-in points. In doing so, the organiser at that location won’t be able to give them a code. Codes at each sign-in location are unique, including the post-5pm online one.
Juniors then finish at the same time as everyone else – simply being back at the Royal Cornwall Showground from 12-noon onwards on the Sunday, with photos of catches being digitally sent to us before 1pm. We also welcome the idea of sending images as and when you take them. This will speed things up later!
It’s always great having our younger entrants joining us for the weekend and we’ve always prizes to reward them for their efforts!
Reuben Judge, our 2023 Species fishing champion.
Festival Rules
General AOF Rules
- This is SHORE ONLY event.
- This is a LURE ONLY event. Marukyu Isome, Ecogearaqua, BioBait and Gulp! type lures are allowed.
- This event is being fished in CORNWALL ONLY. You are free to move and travel freely, as long as you are within county boundaries (River Tamar in the south and the stream at Marshland Valley/Mouth in the north).
- You must be able to access and leave your chosen fishing spot on foot. You may wade, but not swim or use any floating vessel to reach an otherwise inaccessible area – regardless of tide.
- Entrants found trying to bend or abuse the rules set will be found out and disqualified. The judges say is final and will be fair to the event and its entrants.
BASS Specific Rules
- All photos to have fishes nose and tail clearly visible on a tape with your unique coded card in the picture.
- LONGEST fish wins.
- In the event of a tie, your second longest fish will be considered to decide places. And then third, and so on… So do photograph as many as you can.
- Backup fish (“most consistent angler” prize) of 2nd, 3rd and 4th combined wins (excludes the longest as potentially a fluke). In the event of a tie, the anglers longest fish is then taken in to account to decide places.
- While we have nothing against entrants taking fish they catch for the table (after measuring and photographing), we do encourage sensible limits it terms of both size (over 42cm) and quantities (no more than 2 per day). We are conservation minded and do promote the release and respect for all fish landed. No fish are needed or wanted at the presentation (we only need your photos).
WRASSE Specific Rules
- FOUR longest fish combined wins.
- In the event of a tie, your longest single fish will be considered to decide places. And then second, and so on… So do photograph as many as you can.
SPECIES HUNT Specific Rules
- Winner will be the person with most species.
- Each species has been allocated points in relation to perceived difficulty. In the eventuality of a tie the person with the highest overall (combined) species points score will win.
- All fish to be photographed CLEARLY with unique coded card in shot.
- All gobies count individually (except Giant gobies due to protection status). Previous years counted (nearly) all goby species as one.
- Shad species will not be counted due to protection status. Salmon/seatrout/etc. will also not count.
SPECIES POINTS TABLE
The scoring system we use to differentiate between species “difficulty” is collated with years of experience and collaboration between some of the counties best anglers. The higher the points, the harder the species (in theory).
This list is not only a great guide to list those species that are all possible to catch around our fabulous Cornish coastline, but also comes in to play should two or more anglers tie on overall fish species caught. We use this list to dictate the quality of a catch list. Simply, the higher the total number of points scored, the more rare or higher quality the catch is considered to be.
DOWNLOAD SPECIES LIST
For browsing or print.
Photography Rules
Please see the below, “I’ve caught something” section for more info.
I've Caught Something
Bass and wrasse need to be measured and photographed on top of a high quality tape/fish measure. It is always difficult to photograph potentially moving targets while trying to get them to stay still on a tape. But as part of a competition it is hugely important to get good quality photographs that clearly show the fishes NOSE on ZERO and the tail of the un-bent, un-stretched fish at its genuine maximum on the tape.
Bass tails have two points (top and bottom). We get all kinds of things happening in the photographs we typically receive so from 2023 we’ve recorded all bass measurements as the half-way measurement between where the two points lie. Our decision is final and always fair. Wrasse are easier due to the roundness of the tail but both fish need to be measured in the same way.
Species-catchers simply need include your card next to an easily identifiable fish in each photo.
You can read much more about the specifics of fish measurements in the “I’ve caught something” section.
If you do not currently own a good quality fish measure, we recommend buying one. We have both Savage Gear and Tailwalk versions in stock online. However, standard tape measures are fine, as long as we can see the numbers accurately in photos.
You are invited to send photos when you have them, rather than saving them for the presentation. This will speed up our Sunday hugely. We all like a mystery, especially when it’s shared to the whole group at the presentation.
WhatsApp: 07842 125 965
Photography Rules
- Clean, clear photographic proof of catches sent via WhatsApp, Facebook or Instagram by 13:00 on Sunday, September 29.
- Photos must display your coded entrant card with your name written on it.
- Bass: This year we are taking a middle-measurement between the top and bottom tips of the tail.
- Wrasse: measurement is taken from the nose to the tip of the tail (slightly different to bass as the tail is more rounded).
- Species: No measurements or tape required (entrant card only).
- Bass & Wrasse: Ensure fish lies flat and evenly with nose on zero and tail length clearly visible.
- Bass & Wrasse: Images with unstretched/folded tapes or numbers not clearly visible will not be admissible.
- If the fishes nose hangs over the edge of the tape at the zero end, we will not add length at the tail end to compensate.
- CLEAR photo’s are essential for both length recording and proper species identification. if either are unclear, the photo/fish will be ignored.
The Presentation
Sunday is always a highlight of the weekend. Everyone is exhausted, but it’s always great to see so many faces and to award some fantastic prizes.
Again, this year we’re back at the Royal Cornwall Showground, in their Pavilion Centre. The bar opens at 11.30am for anyone arriving early and we have 70 pasties arriving for the first 70 entrants back! These are free for entrants only.
Keep an eye out for the raffle table too which will be bulging with goodies to give away. Keep an eye out for Ben’s mum who will likely be whizzing around with a ticket book.
All being well, prizes will be awarded by about 2.30pm.
AOF Festival Media
We’ve been very lucky in years gone by to have the event filmed and shown on TNT Sport (previously BT) as well as by the guys at Hookpoint Magazine. Now on YouTube you can check those out below.
