This report courtesy of the National Coarse Fishing Federation of Ireland (NCFFI):

Team Ireland finished 15th at the championships held on the Slapy Reservoir in the Czech Republic. A late change of venue by FIPSed Fédération Internationale de la Pêche Sportive en Eau Douce with the championships originally planned for Poland.

Originally selected for the 2020 team through a series of qualifiers, hampered by the pandemic it was Team Ireland’s first appearance on the world stage since 2019. The technically qualified lure angling squad of Jacek Gorny, Steven Powell, Andrew Powell, Simon Gibson and David Dennis and Manager Tomasz Kurman gave it their best but found it difficult to compete with the nations who had all enjoyed longer practice sessions, up to two weeks, at the venue with many fishing in their own high calibre boats. Finding countable fish was tough going but the lads did enjoy some nice zander, a species not known to us in Ireland. For the first time this year the competition was staged over three days preceded by two days of official training. Jacek, Tomasz, Andrew and Steven took to the water for the first competition days with Simon and David replacing the Powell brothers to fish the final day.

Team Ireland L-R Jacek Gorny, Tomasz Kurman (Mgr), Simon Gibson, Steven Powell, David Dennis, Andrew Powell

NCFFI Manager Tomasz Kurman says: – I have to admit being disappointed with our result but extremely proud of the team who worked really hard throughout. We did our best against all odds which included being allocated the slowest boats excluding us from choosing to fish the less pressurised spots further away. Our biggest downfall was lack of training on the venue with only 14 hours on this massive expanse of water. A hard lesson learned, and a change of approach is required if we are to fight for medals. I would like to thank the NCFFI for their continued support of lure angling sport and to our sponsors without whom collectively our representation would not be possible.

Jacek Gorny, Zander

This year was the 13th edition of the championships, hosted in Ireland in 2013 and 2016, and was won by Estonia, second Lithuania and third Hungary. The biggest fish of the competition a 107cm pike was caught by the Hungarians. International lure angling sport supports catch and release with fish measured by onboard stewards and returned to the water alive to count.

The Boat Angling Team received sponsorship of equipment from Duo Hook, Baltic Lifejackets, Navionics and BKK Hooks International.

The NCFFI is the only representative body affiliated to Fédération Internationale de la Pêche Sportive en Eau Douce, FIPSed for coarse and predator angling. Members of affiliated clubs are invited to attend qualifiers for a place on the boat angling team annually. There is still chance to qualify to represent Ireland in the USA in 2023, with the next round taking place on Lough Ree Saturday 22nd & 23rd October. The weekend will also see the very first edition of the NCFFI All Ireland Lure Angling Championships take place. For further details visit www.ncffi.ie/all-ireland-lure