Ireland wins gold at fly-fishing tournament in Northumberland

The Trout Angling Federation of Ireland Stillwater Bank Fly Fishing Team recently travelled to England to compete in the international championships against England, Scotland and Wales.

Ireland’s team comprised of C Baird (captain); HJ McAteer; C Cunningham; B Kerr; H Smith; J Quinn and D Wallace (manager). The venue was the prestigious Chatton Lakes Trout Fishery in Northumberland.

Before travelling, the team worked hard with practice days, regular contact between members and actually sent the captain to Chatton on a scouting mission two weeks before the event which, in the end, proved a decisive move.

On competition day, Ireland got off to a blistering start. Within seconds of the starting horn, one member had a fish on the measuring board and this trend continued throughout the morning session for the rest of the team.

At the midday break, Ireland was in pole position on 45 points with England trailing by 15 points.

For the second session, fishing proved more difficult for the Irish, however, the team stuck to the game plan of size 18 dries to pick off trout cruising close to the bank. Meanwhile, England enjoyed a revival in form and went on win on 66 points, with Ireland just six points behind.

A quick calculation tells the story, Ireland had done it – gold medal and founding Nations Cup winners for 2014. To add to the celebrations, Ireland’s Brian Kerr put in an outstanding performance to claim individual silver medal.

Results: 1, Ireland, 111pts; 2, England, 120pts; 3, Wales, 176pts; 4, Scotland, 193pts.

Minister of State for Sport Michael Ring has awarded a €50,000 grant to the Angling Council of Ireland for the purchase of tackle and equipment for juniors through the sports capital programme. The

The Irish Sports Council was instrumental in negotiating this support which will bring over €20,000 to the National Coarse Fishing Federation of Ireland for young anglers.

Resources are now sufficient to drive a comprehensive programme for novices through the Angling for Youth Development Ireland in conjunction with Inland Fisheries Ireland. Strategy meetings are already in the pipeline.

Meanwhile, the coarse fishing federation is delighted to announce the release of the first stage of a new website, a mobile-friendly platform to complement its popular social media presence on which to share its achievements.

The next stage for release in the coming weeks will include a members’ section and calendar to share events run at club, league, national and international level.

The federation strives to provide a first-class presentation of coarse angling in Ireland, both North and South. Its objectives include improvement of facilities, junior development, representation and hosting international events, national and club events along with better legislation.

Affiliations are open for 2015 and new clubs are welcome. Further info is available at ncffi.ie or secretary@ncffi.ie.

The salmon angling season gets under way this Thursday, albeit on a limited number of river and lake fisheries. Lough Gill (Sligo), Carrowmore Lake (Mayo) and the Drowes River (Donegal-Leitrim) continue their early season start, while the lower Liffey is back in business for the third successive year on a catch-and-release basis.

Seven days elapsed before the first salmon of 2014 was caught on the Drowes by Ballyshannon angler Eoin McManus while fishing the pool below Lennox Bridge on the Leitrim side of the river. The fish weighed 3.6kg (8lb) and fell to a size-7 brown Rapala lure. angling@irishtimes.com