Welsh boat Goldielocks won its first Cork Small Boat Festival title last week with 28 species. Jim Clohessy has the full report…
Team Goldielocks scored an impressive victory in the Cork Small Boats Festival of 2017. It was a first CSBF title for skipper Malcolm Neild and team mate Dan Davies. The event was fished in near-perfect conditions in Cork Harbour and surrounding waters.
The preceding weeks weather was ominous but in true Cork form the weather improved to allow competitors take to the water on Sunday to have their first days fishing in brilliant sunshine though the easterly wind was not forecast and it made for testing conditions offshore.
Day2 Dawned with beautiful conditions and allowing boats to roam unrestricted for a second day. Many took the opportunity to head offshore to top up on species. Many had the opportunity to top up on tans as well. Nauti Lass maintained a 2 species lead over the field. Including Welsh boat Kingfisher and local stalwarts Escapade. There were some fine fish caught with turbot and brill making a welcome if rare appearance.
It was a little more dull on Tuesday for the 3rd installment of this most interesting event. The conditions continued to allow for unrestricted fishing but you would find that most boats are chasing species within the harbour on the third day with maybe a brief foray outside to pick up an elusive species. After the days fishing Escapade led the way with 25 species leading by a clear 2 species from a bevy of boats on 23 species.
On many years the festival is won and lost on the last day. This year was not to be any different. Goldielocks were lying in third place at the beginning of the day and managed to add a creditable 5 species to finish on 28. It was a nerve wracking weigh-in as boats checked in their species for the final time. As soon as the last boat had weighed in the results were confirmed – Victory for Goldilocks! Sea Pigeon, Kingfisher and Bass Hunter made up the North Wales clean sweep of the festival; the top five being rounded up by the best Irish boat: Skua
Full results table is available online at http://www.topfisher.eu/cork-small-boats-festival-2017-the-results/
It was a splendid weeks angling. The event showcased Cork Harbour as a brilliant venue for this style of event. Anglers were treated to four days of unrestricted fishing. We took a rest day mid-week and we could have fished that day too in the sheltered waters of the harbour.
This year we expanded our list of fish that are not returned to the scale for weighing. Teams made use of social media to message pictures to the weigh-in crew. Once the pictures are verified the species is added to the score card. Skippers were very positive about the move to pictures.
Our presentation evening was held in Trabolgan and here the organisers gave thanks to our sponsors – Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI), Bella Vista Hotel, Trabolgan, Dave Barham Angling, Significant Signs and of course the Long Point Bar as well as the local businesses that were so welcoming and helpful.
After a brief rest the organisers will set about reviewing this year’s event and planning the 2018 installment.
