England have been crowned 2025 Feeder World Champions after an outstanding display on Lithuania’s Skirvyte River.
The Drennan England Feeder Team secured team gold with just 52 penalty points across two days of competition. The result marks their first world title since 2014 and a maiden victory under manager Dean Barlow.
Tactical Brilliance on the River Skirvyte
This year’s championship featured 22 nations and was held on the 14th and 15th June in the village of Rusnė, Lithuanuia. The Angling Trust Competitions Facebook page revealved, while many teams focused on bream and skimmers using traditional groundbait feeder tactics, England went a different route. They realised during practice sessions that bream were not evenly spread across the river. Instead of gambling on big fish, they targeted roach, pommies and carassio using a maggot feeder. England manager Dean Barlow explained how the winning tactic came to light during preparation:
We worked out midway through practice that the maggot feeder was going to be miles better. It let us catch fish that I don’t think ever get caught on the river.
The plan was simple. Start with groundbait for 30 minutes. If no big fish responded, switch to a blackcap-style feeder loaded with maggots. Detailing the team’s match-day strategy, Barlow said:
The plan was to feed some groundbait at the start and fish a groundbait feeder for half an hour to see if any big fish were about. If not, it was onto a medium blackcap feeder with single or double maggot and heads down.
A Strong Start on Day One
England set the pace on Saturday with a brilliant team effort that returned 24 points:
- Lee Kerry won his section.
- Will Freeman, Adam Wakelin and Rob Wootton all placed fourth.
- Steve Ringer finished eleventh after a tough draw.
That left England in first place heading into the second day. With confidence high, Barlow saw no need to change anything.
There was no point in altering anything. We had the method, it was a winning one and we knew it would work again.
Holding Their Nerve on Day Two
Sunday brought pressure as the Czech Republic mounted a strong challenge. With just an hour remaining, things tightened at the top. England stayed focused. Speaking after the final day, Barlow admitted things had got tense as the Czechs piled on the pressure:
Day two went pretty much as planned too, Although the Czechs made a real go of it and with an hour to go, it was all getting a bit too close. I’ve got the best anglers in the world though, and they came good.
England posted 28 points on the final day. The Czechs scored 27, but it wasn’t enough to close the gap. England’s total of 52 points was enough to seal a six-point victory and the gold medal.
Top Performers
- Will Freeman led the way individually, finishing 7th overall on six points.
- Adam Wakelin followed in 8th, scoring seven points.
- Steve Ringer bounced back with a 2nd in section on day two.
- Lee Kerry placed 8th in his section.
- Rob Wootton fought hard for 13th.
Praise for the Team Behind the Team
Barlow was quick to highlight the effort from those working off the bank.
I’ve got to mention the lads on the bank. Graham West as my assistant, Tom Noton as reserve, and Scott Smith, Mac Stephens and Gareth Lambert as eyes on the bank and prepping the bait at 4.30am every morning. Without them, we couldn’t do what we’ve done!
He also praised Drennan International for their long-standing support.
Having full backing from Drennan International as well is brilliant. It makes the job so much easier and lets us get on with the fishing.
And on a personal note:
This has been a while coming – 10 years in fact – and it’s my first win as Manager and on Father’s Day – it couldn’t be better.
Feeder World Championships 2025 – Team Standings
Final Team Standings – 2025 World Feeder Championships
| Pos | Nation | Penalties | Total Weight (kg) | Best Leg (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 | England 🇬🇧 | 52 | 65.769 | 33.792 |
| 🥈 | Czech Republic 🇨🇿 | 58 | 57.988 | 31.599 |
| 🥉 | Germany 🇩🇪 | 69 | 62.184 | 31.141 |
| 4 | Netherlands 🇳🇱 | 73 | 58.448 | 30.537 |
| 5 | Slovakia 🇸🇰 | 77.5 | 54.462 | 28.125 |
| 6 | Lithuania 🇱🇹 | 79 | 66.853 | 38.093 |
| 7 | Poland 🇵🇱 | 87 | 47.630 | 25.452 |
| 8 | Ireland 🇮🇪 | 88.5 | 49.730 | 24.948 |
| 9 | Estonia 🇪🇪 | 93 | 50.019 | 28.700 |
| 10 | Serbia 🇷🇸 | 104 | 45.171 | 26.846 |
| 11 | Hungary 🇭🇺 | 112.5 | 42.593 | 24.757 |
| 12 | France 🇫🇷 | 127 | 39.773 | 20.410 |
| 13 | Belgium 🇧🇪 | 129 | 39.395 | 23.364 |
| 14 | Ukraine 🇺🇦 | 133 | 35.710 | 20.800 |
| 15 | South Africa 🇿🇦 | 134 | 37.656 | 22.036 |
| 16 | Latvia 🇱🇻 | 139 | 37.272 | 21.570 |
| 17 | Romania 🇷🇴 | 141 | 35.865 | 18.823 |
| 18 | Italy 🇮🇹 | 150 | 35.853 | 19.035 |
| 19 | Moldova 🇲🇩 | 155.5 | 31.052 | 21.092 |
| 20 | Spain 🇪🇸 | 163 | 30.123 | 18.776 |
| 21 | Sweden 🇸🇪 | 167 | 28.278 | 16.173 |
| 22 | Portugal 🇵🇹 | 198 | 19.657 | 10.105 |
Feeder World Championships 2025 – Individual Standings
Germany’s Felix Scheuermann delivered a flawless two-day performance to take individual gold. He topped his section twice, finishing with a perfect 2-point score (the lowest possible) after wins on both Saturday and Sunday. His total catch weight of 23.701kg, including a best daily return of 11.976kg, saw him edge ahead of Lithuania’s Artūras Lapinskas, who claimed silver on three points.
The Netherlands’ Ramon Ansing completed the podium, also scoring three points, but with a lower total weight than Lapinskas. Estonia’s Mikk Rohtla and Slovakia’s Dominik Gaža rounded out the top five.
England’s top performers were Will Freeman finishing seventh and Adam Wakelin eighth, helping to power England to overall team gold.
| Pos | Angler | Nation | Penalties | Total Weight (kg) | Best Weight (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 | Felix Scheuermann | Germany 🇩🇪 | 2 | 23.701 | 11.976 |
| 🥈 | Artūras Lapinskas | Lithuania 🇱🇹 | 3 | 23.878 | 12.810 |
| 🥉 | Ramon Ansing | Netherlands 🇳🇱 | 3 | 18.302 | 10.628 |
| 4 | Mikk Rohtla | Estonia 🇪🇪 | 4 | 18.130 | 9.553 |
| 5 | Dominik Gaža | Slovakia 🇸🇰 | 4 | 16.392 | 10.491 |
| 6 | Ruslanas Rybakovas | Lithuania 🇱🇹 | 5 | 19.326 | 12.680 |
| 7 | Will Freeman | England 🇬🇧 | 6 | 12.492 | 7.815 |
| 8 | Adam Wakelin | England 🇬🇧 | 7 | 15.654 | 7.984 |
| 9 | Marcin Kostera | Poland 🇵🇱 | 7 | 12.201 | 7.239 |
| 10 | Josef Konopásek | Czech Republic 🇨🇿 | 8 | 13.632 | 7.503 |
| 11 | Marcin Kurzepa | Poland 🇵🇱 | 8 | 12.652 | 7.699 |
| 12 | Stefan Arsić | Serbia 🇷🇸 | 8 | 11.274 | 6.346 |
Congratulations to everyone involved.