The sun shone on Lough Erne on Wednesday for the second day of the 2019 Fermanagh Classic Fishing Festival, organised and funded by Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, assisted by Inland Fisheries (Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs) and sponsored by Waterways Ireland.

James O'Doherty, Enniskillen
James O’Doherty, Enniskillen – his huge catch puts him in first place overall

The top three weights today came from an old favourite stretch of Lough Erne, the Ely Lodge section. James O’Doherty from Enniskillen won the daily top prize of £500 with a very impressive haul of 39Kg 860Gms from Ely 18, Brian Nesbitt from East Sussex was second with 32 Kg 320 Gms from Ely 15 and another English Classic regular, Pete Bagshaw, was third overall with 31Kg 610Gms from peg 14 on Ely Lodge.

  • 1st James O’Doherty – Enniskillen E 18 39.860kg £500
  • 2nd Brian Nesbitt – East Sussex E 15 32.320kg £350
  • 3rd Pete Bagshaw – Inkersall E 14 31.610kg £250
  • 4th Chris Simpson – Manchester O 9 24.050kg £15
Inkersall's Pete Bagshaw on Ely
Inkersall’s Pete Bagshaw on Ely

James O’Doherty’s winning catch today propelled him to the top of the leaderboard going into the final day of the Fermanagh Classic on Friday, with a lead of over 20 Kilos separating him from Brian Nesbitt in second place. In third overall is Pete Bagshaw, with Chris Simpson and first day winner Gary Whalley in fourth and fifth. The Classic is once again living up to its reputation for unpredictability, with good weights of fish coming from some unexpected sections, so all eyes will be on the draw box in the Lakeland Forum on Friday morning.

The Fermanagh Classic Fishing Festival is sponsored for the 16th year by Waterways Ireland and is organised and funded by Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, in conjunction with the Inland Fisheries Division of the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs.