A DUMBARTON boy has had cause to celebrate after hooking a big win in his first ever fishing competition.

Five-year-old Alfie Stewart entered the Junior National Coarse Angling Championship 2018 with hopes of simply enjoying a day out fishing with his grandfather, who is also an enthusiast in the field, but the pair were shocked when Alfie scooped the bronze medal.

Organised by the Scottish Federation of Coarse Angling (SFCA), the competition saw juniors battling it out at Magiscroft Fishery, Cumbernauld, to see who could catch the most fish, and the Dalreoch Primary School pupil – the youngest competitor ever to take part – surprised everyone when he reeled an impressive 27 fish, weighing 2lbs, into his net.

Alfie’s mum Louise was very proud of her son and assured the Reporter that the fishing match circuit will definitely be seeing more of the young fisher in the future. 

She said: “Alfie has been fishing with is grandfather from a young age and will definitely be entering more competitions, he is a very active young boy who also plays football and golf. 

“He was really excited to come third in the competition and everyone was commenting on how impressive it was that he was the youngest ever to compete and did so well.”

To commend his win, Alfie was given a bronze medal as well as some new fishing gear that he can’t wait to use. 

When asked about his achievement, he said: “It was good that I came third but I’ve not used my prizes yet.”

Heather Lauriston, SFCA coach, said: “It’s was great to see young Alfie making his match debut accompanied by his grandad, Craig ‘Whiskey’ Walker who is no stranger to the fishing match circuit. Alfie fished a very relaxed match and put together a very impressive net of fish for third place in the competition.”