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Latest news: New AOF showroom opening July 2025.
The post-5pm (and Junior) code is...
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AOF Lure Festival 2025: 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, October 3rd – the moment you’re given your AOF Lure Festival “entrant card“. However, entrants will no-doubt begin to gather at the Pavilion Centre (Royal Cornwall Showground) 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 Pavilion Centre for the presentation. Doors open at noon.
Jump to your required festival info:
Event Summary
WHEN
October 3-5, 2025.
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 Wednesday, September 24th.
- On Friday – October 3rd – simply join us (and the gang!) from 10am-1pm, OR get your entrant code ONLINE after 5pm!
- 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.
- Fish must be submitted to us by 1pm.
- 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 2025 bass champion! As well as the Species Hunt (overall and Falmouth events) and Wrasse categories, juniors and visiting anglers (those living outside of Devon or Cornwall) are eligible for unique prizes too!
BUY TICKETS
Tickets are available ONLINE ONLY and must be purchased by Wednesday, September 24th.
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 50% straight up species hunt and 50% Falmouth event (on the Saturday).
- 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 scores the most POINTS over the weekend. 250 points are awarded per species, plus numerous bonuses during the Falmouth event!
- 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 prizes to 3rd place.
Species Hunt Awards **
- Most POINTS 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
Friday, October 3rd: 10am - 1pm.
“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 the Pavilion Centre at the Royal Cornwall Showground, near Wadebridge. We will be at the venue from 10am and you are welcome to join us for drinks and snacks before the 12 o’clock dash for cars and vans when fishing begins. We’ll hang around until 1pm for any stragglers though!
NOTE: Junior anglers (under 18) do not sign-in until 5pm. See Junior section details.
* What if I can't make it to the Showground by 1pm?
Don’t worry! Chill out for a few hours. From 5pm our “sign-in” process goes online!
What do I actually need to do?
If you’re meeting us at the Showground, it’s really easy.
10:00 onwards
Arrive at the Royal Cornwall Showground.
While we meet earlier, the official sign-in doesn’t begin until 11.45am when we start to get ahead of ourselves a bit and begin sorting the paperwork etc.
11:40 - 11:58
Official sign-in for #CLF2025
All of the festival information will be on display. Please read it.
Form an orderly queue if possible (we will have two or three queues running this year for faster processing of all entrants). It’s essential that all anglers attending in person sign our event disclaimer. Once signed, you will be presented with your all-important “entrant card”.
IMPORTANT! You are not permitted to take cards on behalf of friends or family (they can take the 5pm online “virtual” code if they can’t make it – see below).
Even though you will likely have your card before 12:00, DON’T LEAVE YET! For the sake of fairness, we hold everyone back for an exciting explosion of vehicles as soon as the clock hits 12!
JUNIOR anglers (under-18): Due to school commitments for some, for fairness we begin our Junior event from 5pm and it is solely “virtual”. This ensures no requirements for parents to drive to Wadebridge etc. Juniors still fish all weekend and finish in the same place/time on Sunday, but the start of their weekend is just slightly later/different. See specific details for juniors down below.
11:59
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!
12:00
GO, GO, GOOOOOOO!!!!! It’s on.
When the shout comes it’s time to bolt for your vehicle (if you’re keen) and get out of there! It’s a great part of the event and one of the most exciting parts. If you’re not in a rush, don’t worry. Hang around, get yourself a coffee and have a chat. We’ll be there till 1pm.
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). We will provide a bag this year!
- Tape it (cover) with clear tape to stick it to the lid of a tackle box.
If you lose your card please contact us immediately.
Signing-in: 5pm onwards
The Virtual/Online One
NOTE: Junior anglers (under 18) must ALL use this option. See Junior section details.
If you are unable to make it to the Showground before 1pm – whether because of work or transport – this year we continue with our “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 (or just don’t want to drive as far as Wadebridge)!
So, from 5pm on Friday, October 3rd 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. The event is always relaxed. It’s just great to have you on board.
Where can I find the virtual code?
WEBSITE
It’ll be visible on this page.
Check the Cornish Lure Festival 2025 Facebook page.
Check the Cornish 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.
Juniors then finish at the same time as everyone else – being back at the Royal Cornwall Showground from 12-noon onwards on the Sunday. Photos of catches can be sent to us at any time over the weekend, but must be with us by 1pm on the Sunday.
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 POINTS (see the Species Hunt section details below for info).
- All individual species caught outside of the Falmouth event 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.
Falmouth Event Rules
Â
Photography Rules
Please see the below, “I’ve caught something” section for more info.
Species Hunt - Further Info
Intro…
Falmouth
- 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).
Rest of the weekend
- 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.
Points scoring
- Winner will be the person with most POINTS (see below for points allocations).
- 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 SYSTEM
One of the things that makes this event so exciting is the excitement of the points system. It’s far simpler than it may look here and in reality, as an entrant you don’t even need to think much about it. The system is mostly just for us to differentiate between a weekends worth of entrant catches. Put simply, catch as many species as you can, and catch as many fish as you can whilst fishing in Falmouth on the Saturday. Most points scored over the weekend wins. The Falmouth event isn’t mandatory, and neither is to fish the rest of the weekend outside of it, but it’s only by doing both that you’ll score highly.
JUST FOR FUN
...Or in the case of an incredibly unlikely tie....
We have fished the Species Hunt event in a few different formats over the years. When we have (for example) had a straight-out Species Hunting weekend, we differentiate between catches (in the event of a numbers tie) by using a full list of species that we rate in terms of difficulty. So if two anglers catch the same number of species, we use the downloadable list below to create a score for each catch. The angler with the highest combined species points succeeds.
It’s VERY unlikely we’ll need to use the below (downloadable) species list this year because there are enough different ways (intentionally) of entrants scoring points that the event of a tie is very unlikely. And even if we do have two anglers tie on points, we then use the total number of species that they caught as the decider. If that remains a tie, we then revert to this list to see who caught the “most difficult” species. Highest scoring wins.
DOWNLOAD SPECIES LIST
For browsing or print.
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. We’ll work out the rest with regards your “points”. Species caught during the Falmouth event on Saturday DO NOT need to be photographed as they are recorded by a steward when caught.
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. 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.Â
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). Species caught during the Falmouth event don’t need to be photographed.Â
- 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.Â
Again, this year we’re back at the Royal Cornwall Showground, in their Pavilion Centre. The bar opens at 11.30am and there will be food and soft drinks available to purchase.
Keep an eye out for the raffle table too which will be bulging with goodies to give away. Also keep an eye out for Ben F’s mum who will likely be whizzing around with a ticket book.
All being well, prizes will be awarded by about 2.30pm.
CLF 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. In 2024 we didn’t film but thanks to now having our own YouTube channel (@artoffishingltd), this year we’ll have Ben H expertly filming the whole thing!