Our worldwide online LRF species hunt returns on Friday 25th September 2026. This is the original event that kicked off The Big Lerf back in 2020! This is a free entry competitive and collaborative event. The ultimate aim is to jointly catch as many species for our combined total across the world, but there are also individual prizes too.

Starting at 10am on Friday 25th September, wherever you are in the world, all you need to do is go lure fishing, upload your catches to our Facebook group – The Big Lerf Group or direct message on Instagram @thebiglerf and use the hashtag – #BLW26 to join in. We will also share a WhatsApp link and you have the option to email us your catches at thebiglerf@gmail.com. The deadline for catches to be logged is 6pm on Sunday 27th September.

It doesn’t matter if you are fishing fresh or saltwater (or both), all species of fish count. Finesse fishing is encouraged but not essential, as long as it’s artificial, your catch goes towards the tally and includes fly fishing. The ultimate aim is to see if we can beat last year’s record of 169 species caught on lure and artificial bait.

And a reminder that as always we want this event to be open to all, so there is no charge for entry. You don’t need to sign up, you simply print off the card we share before the event, write your name and the codeword on it and you are ready to go. If you simply want to take part in boosting the species count you don’t even need a card, simply fish the weekend and post on the group with the hashtag #BLW26

But as we put on these events for free, as you can understand, it is a lot of work that goes into them. If you could spare any money to buy an event t-shirt on our Ko-fi page, you can find that link here – www.ko-fi.com/thebiglerf or buy some tackle through www.thebiglerftackleshop.co.uk , that would be greatly appreciated. It goes a long way to help pay for our time in putting these events on. Thank you.

We are once again supported by incredible and generous sponsors: Tacklewave LTD, HTO, Southside Angling, CAN Fishing Lures, Jonny Lerfer, FFS Lures, LUREZ, & On The Drop

And a big thanks to Neil at Aquazid Studio for another brilliant design for our Weekender logo. You can buy tees, hoodies and stickers featuring his own cool designs here https://aquazidstudio.com/products/

To be eligible for any prize, your photos must include the Big Lerf Weekender 26 card, with your name and codeword on it. You then have to upload your catch to Facebook or Instagram by 6pm, where you are, on Sunday 27th September.

Prize categories –
England, Scotland and Wales

Coolest/Rarest Catch (England, Scotland, Wales)
This will be voted for by the members of The Big Lerf Group on Facebook. The Big Lerf team will choose up to ten catches from the entrants and the photo with the most ‘Likes’ when put to the vote will win. Photographs of the fish must include the lure to be accepted. Preferably try to photograph the lure in the fish’s mouth before removing.

1st Prize – HTO Tempest Rock Rover rod and a Tempest 2000 reel

Coolest/Rarest Catch Junior (England, Scotland, Wales)
Anyone who enters who are 17 and under are eligible for this prize. This will be voted for by the members of The Big Lerf Group on Facebook. The Big Lerf team will choose up to ten catches from the entrants and the photo with the most ‘Likes’ when put to the vote will win. Photographs of the fish must include the lure to be accepted. Preferably try to photograph the lure in the fish’s mouth before removing.

1st Prize –  Lure/tackle bundles from Jonny Lerfer + On The Drop

Most Species On Lures And Artificial Bait (England, Scotland, Wales) – Fresh & Saltwater
This is simple, most species photographed next to the Big Lerf Weekender card caught in the UK wins. Photographs of the fish must include the lure to be accepted. Preferably try to photograph the lure in the fish’s mouth before removing.

1st Prize – £100 Tacklewave Voucher – choose products from Majorcraft, Keitech, IMA, Little Jack, Geecrack, Magbite and more! Redeemable at Dorset Lure Centre.

2nd Prize – £50 Tacklewave Voucher – choose products from Majorcraft, Keitech, IMA, Little Jack, Geecrack, Magbite and more! Redeemable at Dorset Lure Centre.

3rd Prize – Lure/Tackle Bundle from CAN Fishing Lures


Junior Angler With The Most Species (England, Scotland, Wales)
Anyone who enters who are 17 and under are eligible for this prize. Photographs of the fish must include the lure to be accepted. Preferably try to photograph the lure in the fish’s mouth before removing.The winner will be the Junior who catches the most species – we will be sharing a ‘Junior Card’ closer to the time. Uploads can be from an adult’s social media account, we just ask that you play fair and that all catches must be genuinely hooked and landed by the young angler to count.

1st Prize – £100 Tacklewave Voucher – choose products from Majorcraft, Keitech, IMA, Little Jack, Geecrack, Magbite and more! Redeemable at Dorset Lure Centre.

2nd Prize – £50 Tacklewave Voucher – choose products from Majorcraft, Keitech, IMA, Little Jack, Geecrack, Magbite and more! Redeemable at Dorset Lure Centre.

3rd Prize – Lure/Tackle Bundle from CAN Fishing Lures



Most Species On Unscented Lures (No Isome, Gulp etc)– Fresh & Saltwater (England, Scotland, Wales)
The winner will be the person who catches the most species without using Gulp, Isome or similar artificial baits that are stored in liquid. They must be caught on soft plastics, metal jigs, plastic hardbaits or similar. For the purposes of this category, Keitech, Magbite and similar soft lures infused with scent count as unscented. Photographs of the fish must include the lure to be accepted. Preferably try to photograph the lure in the fish’s mouth before removing.

1st Prize – Lure/Tackle Bundle from FFS Lures

Longest Fish – Fresh & Saltwater (England, Scotland, Wales)
The winner will be the person who catches the longest fish in fresh or saltwater, and uploads a clear photo/video with the measure clearly on top of the fish, measuring from the tip of the tail to the tip of the snout. There is no tackle limit for this and we do not recommend targeting specimen predators such a large pike or ballan wrasse on ultralight tackle. Photographs of the fish must include the lure to be accepted. Preferably try to photograph the lure in the fish’s mouth before removing.

1st Prize – LUREZ Tee, Hat, Measure & Sticker bundle 

International –

Coolest Catch (International)
This will be voted for by the members of The Big Lerf Group on Facebook. The Big Lerf team will choose up to ten catches from the entrants and the photo with the most ‘Likes’ when put to the vote will win. Photographs of the fish must include the lure to be accepted. Preferably try to photograph the lure in the fish’s mouth before removing.

1st Prize – Lure/Tackle bundle from The Big Lerf Tackle Shop

Coolest Catch By A Junior Angler – 17 and under (International)
The winner will be the coolest catch by an angler 17 and under, as voted for by the members of The Big Lerf Group on Facebook. The Big Lerf team will choose up to ten catches from the entrants and the photo with the most ‘Likes’ when put to the vote will win. We will be sharing a ‘Junior International Card’ closer to the time. The card can be printed off and all entries with this card will be counted. Uploads can be from an adult’s social media account, we just ask that you play fair and that all catches must be genuinely hooked and landed by the young angler to count. Photographs of the fish must include the lure to be accepted. Preferably try to photograph the lure in the fish’s mouth before removing.

1st Prize – Lure/Tackle bundle from The Big Lerf Tackle Shop

All Ireland – Sponsored by Southside Angling
There will be a special All Ireland card to print off for our Irish & Northern Irish entrants.

Coolest/Rarest Catch (All Ireland)
This will be voted for by the members of The Big Lerf Group on Facebook. The Big Lerf team will choose up to ten catches from the entrants and the photo with the most ‘Likes’ when put to the vote will win. Photographs of the fish must include the lure to be accepted. Preferably try to photograph the lure in the fish’s mouth before removing.

1st Prize – LRF Lure And Tackle Bundle from Southside Angling

Most Species On Lures And Artificial Bait (All Ireland)
This is simple, most species photographed next to the Big Lerf Weekender card caught in Northern and The Republic Of Ireland wins. Photos must be clear to count and must include the lure to be accepted. Preferably try to photograph the lure in the fish’s mouth before removing.

1st Prize -LRF Lure And Tackle Bundle from Southside Angling

Junior Angler With The Most Species (All Ireland)
Anyone who enters who are 17 and under are eligible for this prize. The winner will be the Junior who catches the most species – we will be sharing a ‘Junior Ireland Card’ closer to the time. The card can be printed off and all entries with this card will be counted. Uploads can be from an adult’s social media account, we just ask that you play fair and that all catches must be genuinely hooked and landed by the young angler to count. Photographs of the fish must include the lure to be accepted. Preferably try to photograph the lure in the fish’s mouth before removing.

1st Prize – LRF Lure And Tackle Bundle from Southside Angling

Although there are prizes, this is just a big virtual get together, celebrating the fish and the lures that we use to catch them. The main aim is to jointly catch as many species as possible in salt and freshwater, across the world. 

Here are the full rules for the event:

For your entry to be considered for any of the prizes, it must have a clear photo with your card next to it, with your name and the codeword visible. The lure must also be in the photo, either in the mouth or next to it. If the lure is deep in the mouth, remove it and place it next to the fish. If the lure is lost, put another of what you used next to the fish. All catches must be either uploaded to The Big Lerf Facebook Group, directly messaged to The Big Lerf Instagram account, Whatsapped or emailed to thebiglerf@gmail.com. We cannot accept catches that are posted in stories or disappearing messages as these can be easily missed.

Lure and selected artificial baits only. All metal, hard plastic, soft plastic and hybrid lures count and you can use scented artificial baits such as Marukyu Isome, Berkley Gulp, Ecogear Aqua, Fladen Vermz and similar. Fake sweetcorn, bread etc does not count as a lure in this competition. No live/real bait can be used and gluten or gelatin baits do not count either.

All rigs must be single lure only, so no sets of sabikis or feathers, two hook Dropshot rigs, or stinger rigs. You can have multiple hooks on hard plastic lures or metal jigs, as they count as a single lure. We also accept ‘baited’ or ‘tipped’ metals. This is where an artificial bait or soft plastic has been added to a single hook on a metal jig, but the jig must only have the one hook on it.

We don’t allow the use of traditional floats or bobbers to suspend a lure and use that for bite indication, as we want you to be in touch and control of the lure at all times. Caro/bombarda floats are allowed to present small lures at distance or in strong currents.

ll fish must be targeted on shore only, in any fresh or saltwater location.

In FRESHWATER – Hybrids such as F1 carp or roach/bream etc can’t be counted. Mirror, leather, common carp and koi, all count as one species as they are varieties of king carp.  Colour morphs such as golden tench, golden rudd etc do not count as separate species. Goldfish or brown goldfish do count.

Certain saltwater species can only be accepted in a viewing tank or with all fins in view, these include, but are not limited to, sprat and common goby.
Due to protections in the UK, we have decided not to include the following protected saltwater species:
Giant goby, couches goby, allis shad, twaite shad and european smelt. Outside of the UK these are accepted. It’s impossible for us to know the exact rules in every country in the world, so we just ask you to please only upload legal catches for your country.

At all times it is up to The Big Lerf admin team whether an entry meets the rules and we reserve the right to deny any catches where we suspect the angler may have used bait or the photo is not detailed enough to ID the species. We recommend taking many photos of your catch from different angles and uploading more than one if the lure is in shot in one but not in the other. It helps us judge whether the catch is genuine.

Most importantly have fun and we hope you catch plenty of fish!

#BLW26

Over the weekend we (Ben and Rich) will be fishing in Cornwall and we hope to see some of you there. But the joy of this event is that you can take part anywhere you like, with whoever you like.

Most importantly, do not feel bad if you can’t fish all weekend either, just get out at some point and wet a line. This is a celebration of lure fishing and our incredible fish species across the world, so get involved! 

One final word, we put on these events for free and strive to keep them that way, but as you can understand, it is a lot of work that goes into them. If you could spare any money to ‘buy us a coffee’ or buy a t shirt on our Ko-fi page, you can find that link here – www.ko-fi.com/thebiglerf or buy some tackle through www.thebiglerftackleshop.co.uk , that would be greatly appreciated.