Tom Cogan reports that the Cross Border Peace Cup was won on Saturday 31st May 2014 by Carrickmacross Coarse Angling and Junior Development Club. The event was hosted again by the TAGIT angling club at their Golden Glen Fishery in Newtownards.
In what was a very competitive field the Carrickmacross Club managed to take top honours at this prestigious event. The team consisted of 2 seniors Peadar O’Brien and Mal McLoud and 2 juniors Lee Harris and Killian Cogan. Following the clubs success at the event Tom Cogan commented “this is a huge achievement for the club as it is only up and running for 2 years now”.
The success is also all the more notable in so far as all of the junior anglers have come through the clubs youth development programme which has been sponsored by Inland Fisheries Ireland. The club has been running a recruitment campaign for the last few years, initially using Fisheries Awareness Week as a recruitment vehicle. From this the club has now gone from strength to strength and developed regular coaching sessions and week long summer camps.
The new coaching initiative takes anglers from the basics of identifying the right gear, tying knots, setting up the gear and then on to how to fish and how to catch and handle fish. The coaching staff at the club give introductions to pole, whip, feeder and waggler fishing techniques and the demonstrate the fishing tactics associated with each method. The wealth of experience passed on from the club members and coaching staff has ensured that the youngsters have had one of the best starts in what is sure to be very successful fishing careers. The recent success a the TAGIT event demonstrates that the clubs youth development strategy is working well.
In the junior event Lee Harris took part in the over 12 event and Killian Cogan represented the club in the under 12 section. All members of the team fished magnificently returning a total number of points of 54. Trout was the main catch of the day with some nice bags of roach also being returned. Each trout counted as 1 point and each lb of coarse fish also as 1 point. All of the hard work, preparation, coaching and practice sessions paid off for the members of the Carrickmacross seniors and juniors. This success is not just a one off and follows other recent successes in a number of inter- club matches.
The venue for the competition was at the TAGIT Fishing Clubs, Golden Glen Fishery in Newtownards and everyone commented on what a wonderful fishery it is. Tom Cogan on behalf of the Carrickmacross Club commented “the hospitality shown to us throughout the day was absolutely awesome, with sandwiches, tea , coffee and minerals served to the fishing pegs and in addition to this there was a barbeque later that evening”. Tom added “this is truly a great day for the club and we look forward to hosting the next round at Lough Muckno in the near future. Congratulations to all who took part. Everyone is a winner”.
If you would like to get involved in angling in the Carrickmacross area why not drop Tom Cogan an email at [email protected]
TAGIT Fishing Club has been established to support the preservation of fish life, the encouragement of angling as a sport through a series of programmes, activities and events and to bring local people together in a positive environment through which they can form lasting relationships and gain experience which can improve other aspects of their lives such as mental health and well being, social well being and education. More information at www.tagitfishing.com