The Jersey Open Shore Conger festival was started in 1980 by the Jersey Light Tackle Group. This makes it the longest running open fishing competition in Jersey. The original trophy was made by Dave Tressaud and donated by Jack Gavey. In the early days the minimum weight was 10lb and there was a prize for heaviest aggregate weight so you bought every conger over 10lb to the scales. Prizes in the beginning were a Hardy Tourney and an Abu 9000c which would make some prize today. I believe it was the early 90’s when the aggregate weight section was scraped and the minimum weight was increased to 15lb. We must be grateful to both Adrian Sangan & Peter Gosselin who between them kept the competition going for many years. Simon Gavey then became involved in 2007 when the JLTG folded and in 2008 it became a Sinkers Competition.

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The first winner was Jack Gavey with an eel of 38lb 12ozs. The biggest eel weighed in was in 2008 when one of the top local coarse anglers Greig Brown entered and had an eel of 41lb 6ozs in the Tanker Berth of St Helier Harbour. There have been 3 eels over the magical 40lb barrier, Mark Symons in 2003 of 40-12 caught from St Catherines on the lower wall outside the tackle shop & Mark le Houquet in 2000 at exactly 40lbs although there have been several that have been just under 40lbs when weighed in. It has also been won a couple of times with eels of just 16lbs. In 2006 it was won by Lee Minchington aged just 14 with an eel of  21-8. Jack Gavey is the only person to have won it 3 times in 1980, 1989 & 2004. In 1987 the trophy was shared after a tie between t.jones & a walker. Then in 2009 it was won by Colin Le Monnier one of the islands best and most popular anglers. Sadly Colin died suddenly and far too soon having not long won the event. At this point it was decided to have a new team trophy built in his memory. The stunning Colin Le Monnier memorial trophy was build and donated by Peter Gosselin and was first won in 2011 by Phil Jones, Jack Jones & Mark Andre.