ON my arrival in Killarney I was taken aback by the long queue formed by tourists in the town centre waiting to experience the wonderful sights of the region on the horse-drawn jaunting cars with their jarvies. After all, it was mid-October.
Probably the most popular jaunt is to Ross Castle on the shores of Lough Lein (Leane). It was there I was headed for the annual end-of-season fly-fishing charity competition. The morning was brisk and cold, yet the Ross car park was full to capacity with jaunting cars, coaches and anglers.
The angling contingent dominated as three separate events were scheduled for the day: Mallow anglers, Macroom anglers and Michael Hegarty’s charity competition, which collectively amounted to more than 100 competitors.
This year the nominated charity was the Irish Pilgrimage Trust (Kerry Branch) which serves children and young people with additional needs. Committee member Catherine Foley was on hand to receive a cheque for €515. “We are fundraising towards our cycle to Lourdes next year and this money will go towards the seven-day trip,” she said.
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Most of the boats headed to the eastern side of the lake and enjoyed some brilliant fishing. I was paired with Francis Kiely from Co Cork and together we caught at least 10 small trout, each averaging about .5lb.
The 4,700-acre lake has a plethora of islands, large and small, with some it is suggested, dating back to the Bronze Age with limestone outcrops. Our concentration was focused close to the aptly named “Chicken and Hens” outcrop!
A splendid meal and prizegiving followed in the Dromhall Hotel on the Muckoss Road to round off a great day.
Results: 1, P. Hoare (Blarney), 5 fish; 2, T McLoughlin (Clare), 4f; 3, T Ormond (Meath), 3f; 4, Tom Sweeney (Cork), 4f.
Fly fishing for trout
Annamoe Trout Fishery in Co Wicklow fly fishing winter league got off to a blistering start last weekend with 135 rainbow trout caught across 20 anglers. Conditions on the day were good, which no doubt contributed to the large catch, all of which were released.
The competition, now in its 16th year, continues to attract a full house of competitors, and fishery owner Brian Nally said he had only a few spaces left for the remaining three heats.
To ensure survival of fish, particularly the bigger rainbows, he intends to introduce a ban on the use of “boobies”. However, blobs, fabs and indicators are allowed.
Results (Heat 1): 1, N Madden, 14 fish, 556cms; 2, H Smith, 14f, 536cms; 3, T Finn, 12f, 510cms; 4, P McDonnell, 10f, 451cms; 5, P McDonnell jnr, 10f, 407cms.
Prizes sponsored by Southside Angling were presented to the first five winners who also go forward to the final on December 17th. Remaining qualifying heats are November 5th and 19th, and December 3rd. If you would like to take part, call Brian on 086 259 8563.
International crowd for Feederfest
A continental field of anglers from the Netherlands, Sweden and England arrived in Ireland recently to compete against Ireland’s top feeder anglers for the Feederfest Ireland festival at Inniscarra Lake in Coachford, Co Cork.
It was a tough competition that resulted in a Dutch triple win for Willem vd Helm ahead of fellow countrymen in second and third place.
The event was split over five sections of the Coachford Greenway and fished in rotation by the 74 anglers, who enjoyed mixed bags of bream, skimmers, hybrids and roach on most pegs, with single species dominating other pegs.
Organised by Inniscarra Lake Tourism Ltd, the event was sponsored by Heineken, O’Riordan’s Bar, Coachford and O’Callaghan’s Bar & Guest House, and supplemented by ground bait from Sensas Ireland.
Results: 1, W vd Helm (Netherlands), 59.230kg; 2, H Roskam (Netherlands), 52.500kg; 3, A Multem (Netherlands), 52.450kg; 4, R Scott (England), 51.500kg; 5, W Multem (Netherlands), 47.300kg.
Youth championships
The World Youth Championships will take place next August in Portugal. This float-fishing championship is the pinnacle of freshwater angling, and the National Coarse Fishing Federation of Ireland (NCFFI) is anxious to field teams in three age groups to give young anglers the opportunity to progress towards senior level.
Teams consisting of five anglers including a reserve are comprised of under-15s, under-20s and under-25s.
NCFFI invites young anglers who are interested in international team angling to contact https://www.ncffi.ie/team-ireland-youth/ by November 10th. After this, several open days will be announced at venues best suited to location of applicants.
The federation has invested in junior angling since 2012 and this year saw 17-year-old Charlie Richards become world champion in Slovenia.
Lure Pairs Championships
The first All-Ireland Lure Pairs Championships took place last weekend on Lough Ree. Fishing by boat with artificial lures, anglers searched for perch and pike, accumulating points based on length of fish while practising catch, photo and release. Anglers were also required to provide videos of fish safely returned to the water.
The winning duo of Tomasz Kurman and Jacek Gorny with 275,455pts over the two days, received a Humminbird Helix 9 MSI and €600. They also won a pair of reels from Dragon Fishing Equipment for biggest fish at 106cm.
Galway anglers Lukasz Znamiec and Krzysztof Michonski finished in second place with 155,840pts and received a Minn Kota Enduramax Electric Motor 55 and €450.
Marcin Kantor and Grzegorz Malaszuk received €200 from Barracuda Tackle Shop for the biggest perch, an incredible 37cm.
If you have an angling story to share, please send to me at angling@irishtimes.com.
