Fermanagh to host world's richest fishing contest

Chris Donegan • Published 22 Feb 2012 08:32

Fermanagh is to host the richest fishing competition in the world with £70,000 in prizes up for grabs.

The winners of the Waterways Ireland World Pairs Event will share a first prize of £30,000. Second prize is £10,000, and third £5,000. The cash flows right down to 12th place with a prize of £2,000.

To put that in perspective, the Classic Fishing Festival, which takes place in Fermanagh each spring, was once the richest event of its kind in Europe and has a prize fund of £20,000, including a winners cheque for £5,000.

The aim of the World Pairs Event is to promote the wild fishing on offer in Fermanagh, Monaghan, Cavan and Leitrim.

The competition is being sponsored by Waterways Ireland, the cross-Border body responsible for managing Ireland's lakes and rivers for recreation and tourism, and Fáilte Ireland, the tourism promotion organisation.

According to Kevin Locke, organiser of the World Pairs Event, the new competition has already attracted interest from America, Holland, Germany and the United Kingdom.

The match kicks off on Tuesday, September 11.

"Only the best 160 pairs will be competing, ensuring the cream of the angling world, the tightest competition imaginable," said Kevin.

The entry fee is £90 per pair and the competition is split between rivers and lakes on both sides of the Border, which will mean all-round skills on float, feeder and pole will be a necessity.

As he explains: "Each angler will take it in turns to fish either side of the Border, with the overall places decided on weight, rather than points. This will be the richest match fishing event in the world."

Speaking on behalf of the sponsors, Martin Dennany, of Ireland's Lakelands and Inland Waterways, said: "This event is an opportunity to highlight the wonderful fishing available in Ireland, particularly in the Lakelands and Inland Waterways region. It will cover Fermanagh, Monaghan, Cavan and Leitrim; all areas well known to the domestic and international angler. By using both lakes and the Erne and Shannon Rivers we aim to put Irish fishing at the forefront of wild angling worldwide."

The World Pairs Event will be officially launched after the Waterways Ireland Classic in May, but tickets are already on sale, with Kevin the man to contact on 07736 129627.

The closing date for entries is Friday, August 17.

Tweet

This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 22 Feb 12

Return to the main index, get more from this section or browse our News archives.