Posts Tagged ‘Match fishing’

EFSA Irish Winter Shore Angling Festival 2011.

Sunday, January 30th, 2011

The 23rd EFSA Ireland Winter Shore Angling Festival took place on the east facing beaches of north County Wexford from Thursday 27th – Saturday 29th January 2011. Fifty match men from the United Kingdom and Ireland competed for a prize fund of €8340.00 over three days of intense competition. Bright, bitterly cold conditions, the result of a north east airstream, made fish hard to come by on the chosen venues of  Morriscastle, Clones, and Ballinaulart. However the competitors employed scratching techniques coupled with years of experience to winkle out match winning bags of predominantly flounder with a few dabs, codling, and school bass thrown in for good measure.

EFSA Winter Beach Festival 2011, Ballinaulart, Co. Wexford, Ireland.

Against tough seasoned opposition Ireland’s Dave Roe on the back of three section wins took first place with England International Chris Clarke a close second and Courtown SAC’s Joe Byrne a well merited third. Dave and Joe also claimed the two man team prize while Courtown SAC had cause for further celebration with club members Ben Colliton and Clive Ivory winning the longest round and flatfish pools respectively. Make no mistake this competition attracts serious sea match talent, the cream from these islands, winning in this company is a major feather in the cap.

Dave Roe, winner of the EFSA Winter Beach Festival 2011.

Sea match fishing drives modern tackle technology and fishing techniques. A walk along the pegs is an education in how to tie rigs, types of bait to use, and fishing methods, the top anglers leave nothing to chance. On this occasion three hook traces utilizing long snoods, size 2 hooks baited with gutted aged black lugworm tipped with maddies (small harbour ragworm) fished at short range proved to be the winning combination.

A trio of flounder for Courtown SAC's Joe Byrne while fishing Clones strand during the EFSA Winter Festival 2011.

Sea angling will slow down over the coming months as we enter the spawning season, however spring is on the way and before too long County Wexford will be hosting another major event, this time the EFSA European Shore Championships 2011. Scheduled to run from the 27th – 30th April the event promises interesting fishing with bass, smooth hounds, and dogfish added to the mix of species currently on offer. Bring it on…..

For further reading click on: EFSA Ireland Winter Beach Fishing Festival 2012.

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Edenderry Three Day International Coarse Angling Festival

Saturday, June 12th, 2010

The Edenderry, Co. Offaly, International Three Day Coarse Angling Festival has been on the go for 21 years. Centred on well maintained competition stretches of the Grand Canal, the festival attracts match anglers from Ireland and the United Kingdom, many who return on an annual basis, both for the fishing and the craic. This year 35 anglers traveled from England on a special week long package to include coarse angling events at Prosperous, Co. Kildare and Enfield, Co. Meath, making a sizable contribution to the local midlands economy in these straitened times.

All told 59 anglers competed for upwards of €8,000 in prize money (D.O.E), trophies, cut glass, individual and team prizes, over the three match days, Monday 7th, Wednesday 9th, and Friday 11th June. The venues used being the, Tunnel, Toberdaly, and Killeen sections of the Grand canal in the vicinity of Edenderry. Main species to expect were Bream, Roach, Hybrids, Tench, and Perch, with the individual winner decided on a cumulative bag weight over the three days fishing.

Fishing Toberdaly, final match Edenderry Festival

The weather God’s were kind all week, however canal conditions varied from coloured water to gin clear which effected fishing at the various venues. Bag weights of thirty pound plus were needed to win day one but by day three winning weights were down to seven or eight pounds due to clearing water and bright conditions. That’s match fishing though, and the competitors adapted well throughout the week.

Michael Fitzpatrick with a pair of skimmers from Toberdaly

Capitalising on a good bag from match day one Frank Holding, Ted Carter Preston, went on to win the three day event with a combined weight of 50.lb 11.oz. Second place with 42.lb 12.oz was Danny Murphy of Renegades AC, with Paul Kelly, Edenderry AC, weighing in 31.lb 10.oz for third place. Prize giving took place in festival HQ, Foys Bar and Restaurant Edenderry, where a slap up meal was served and festivities went on onto the night. Festival director Pauric Kelly and Edenderry club secretary Tommy Burke thanked everybody for taking part and are already looking forward to another successful event in 2011.

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