The Connacht branch of the Irish Federation of Sea Anglers hosted the annual Master Angler event over the weekend in Counties Sligo and Donegal, with the top match anglers from clubs all over Ireland competing for the coveted title of Master Angler. This is a marathon competition, with 3 sessions fished over 2 days at different venues. The organisers had to keep a close watch on the weather, as the arrival of ex-Hurricane Lorenzo threatened to derail plans, but thankfully all venues were fishable and produced fish.
Saturday morning saw anglers on Tullan Strand, Bundoran, where fishing was tough for most. The evening session was fished on Mullaghmore beach, with much of the session in darkness and plenty of fish showing up. On Sunday morning, the final venue was Streedagh beach, and again the fished were there in numbers, providing a fair test of angling skill and technique.
After the scores were counted up, the Men’s Master Angler for 2019 was announced as Des Farrelly, from Post Irish SAC.
Tracey Whelan from Tramore-Waterford was the winner of the Ladies Master Angler.
The top 5 places were as follows:
1st – Des Farrelly (Post Irish SAC)
2nd – Paul Whelan (South Shore SAC)
3rd – Chris O’Sullivan (North Kerry SAC)
4th – Aidan O’Halloran (Shannon Town SAC)
5th – John Cunningham (Galway Bay SAC).
In the ladies, the top 5 were:
1st – Tracey Whelan (Tramore-Waterford SAC)
2nd – Rosaleene Murphy (Tralee Bay SAC)
3rd – Linda Snoddy (Glengormley & District SAC)
4th – Linda Manton (Lisdoonvarna Fanore SAC)
5th – Lisa Gormley (Glengormley & District SAC)
Well done to all!
The event was considered a great success, especially given the conditions, and well done to all the organisers, anglers and stewards who made it such a success.
