Four teams from the Bristol area competing in the national final of the Lexus European Flyfishing Team Championships have reached the international final to be fished later in the year at Rutland Water, near Leicester.

Thirty teams of six anglers competed over six days at Chew Valley Lake for the 15 places available and a chance of the top prize of £2,000, which has been donated by Wrington-based Butcombe Brewery.

Blagdon Team Bristol Water were the top team on day one, with 37 trout totalling 54-15-0. Leading the six-man team home with a superb individual performance was 34-year-old Nik Long, from Midsomer Norton. He fished dry fly tactics in Villice Bay and was the only angler to take a 10-fish limit catch.

Weather conditions deteriorated on day two and both the number of trout caught and weights plummeted. Greys G-Tec Stocks, from Blackburn, won the day with 17 trout weighing 30-9-0 gross, while local team Tightlines needed just 10 fish, weighing 17-8-0, to qualify in second place.

Conditions improved slightly on day three and Meridian Fly Fishers topped the scoresheet with 15 trout weighing 25-15-0. Stocks Harriers came second with 23-3-0 (11 fish) and Toft Trout took fourth with 17-15-0 (11 fish). Bristol Reservoirs Team Orvis and Bristol Reservoirs Team Park Retail qualified in third and fifth places respectively with 12 fish weighing 19-13-0 and nine weighing 17-3-0.

Lexus championship manager John Horsey said: "The hot water temperature made the Chew Valley Lake trout reluctant to feed and hard to catch, but the quality of the anglers shone through, making every day really exciting and keenly contested."

Qualifying teams – Day 1: 1, Blagdon Team Bristol Water 37 trout weighing 54-15-0; 2, Kent & Sussex FF 27 for 44-9-0; 3, Chatton Trout Fishers 23 for 34-8-0; 4, Orvis Team Rutland 17 for 26-7-0; 5, Stocks Barracuda's 13 for 20-13-0. Day 2: 1, Grey's G-Tec Stocks 17 trout weighing 30-9-0; 2, Team Tightlines 10 for 17-8-0; 3, Ospreys 10 for 17-3-0; 4, Seighford Sharks 10 for 15-0-0; 5, Grand Max 8 for 13-10-0.

Day 3: 1, Meridian Fly Fishers 15 trout weighing 25-15-0; 2, Stocks Harriers 11 for 23-3-0; 3, Bristol Reservoirs Team Orvis 12 for 19-13-0; 4, Toft Trout 11 for 17-15-0; 5, Bristol Reservoirs Park Retail 9 for 17-3-0.