AN INCREASING number of youngsters in Haltwhistle are swapping their Xboxes for tackle boxes.

Haltwhistle Junior Angling Club adopted the motto when it was established in 2015, and it is more relevant now with 16 members signing up to show the future of the sport is in good nick.

Started as a Northumberland Sport satellite club and a branch of Haltwhistle and District Angling Association, a successful first fishing season saw the club again supported for 2016.

And the popularity of the club is already translating into success on a national stage, with 14-year-old Adam Ivision recently finishing second in the Greys Junior Bank National competition.

Adam is really making a name for himself as, after standing out from the outset, he has won a couple of club competitions and has already gained the Angling Trust Cast Award certificates at levels one to three.

As a result of his success, the teenager has been offered a place on the Angling Trust Talent Pathway, a programme of high level coaching for youths heading for the England Youth Fly Fishing squad, and qualified him for next year’s national Troutmasters final.

Adam’s younger brother Nathon (13) is also making his mark, winning this year’s Langley Dam Junior Fly Fishing competition as he bagged two fish for 5lb 12oz to pick up the Kenneth Hooper Memorial Cup.

All the success is with thanks to the hard work of club members and volunteers, many initiatives going on to promote angling in the area.

The 2016 season kicked off by the setting up of a salmon hatching tank in Haltwhistle Community Campus, with Kielder Salmon Hatchery donating 200 salmon eggs for the children to follow the progress from hatching to releasing the fish back into the River South Tyne.

The club was started when Haltwhistle anglers teamed up with local Angling Trust coaches Ian, David and Carole Sanderson, who formed the satellite club with the help of Northumberland Sport and Active Northumberland.

Carole said she was thrilled with how well the club was going. She said: “Enthusiasm is paramount to keep the children engaged, so we organise a variety of tasks and events to keep them interested. Success in catching fish is key to keeping the kids interested so these events are really important.

“We take them sea fishing with prizes for the longest fish for the overall total of all fish they catch during the session, and we also have a prize for the person of the match which is for the person who perhaps hasn’t caught fish at all but has tried really hard.

“It’s nice to see the children fishing together outside of club fishing sessions.”

The club, which meets on Tuesday evenings is currently enjoying a short holiday until August 23.

Then at the close of the fishing season at the end of October, fly tying classes begin at Haltwhistle Community Campus and an electrofishing session will be held at Featherstone in November.

Haltwhistle Junior Angling Club have signed up for a nationwide campaign to try boost participation, and will run a fly and bait fishing event at Langley Dam on August 27 between 10am and 3pm.

As part of the I Am Team GB initiative to celebrate the nation’s achievements at Rio, clubs across the country are opening their doors to new participants to try out the sport.