Dan O’Donovan sent on a report from the Cong Anglers recent Mayfly Competition.

A big thank you to the 43 anglers who turned out for our annual Mayfly competition on Sunday 28th May and also to the many camp followers who attended the weigh-in. The weather was terrible – for fishing! – bright sun with lots of glare on the water.
The star of the day was Paul Ramsey, who had two magnificent trout weighing 7lbs 6.8ozs and took 1st prize and the Jim Costello Cup. There were only 4 other anglers with fish, one trout each – and the lack of hard luck stories shows just how difficult the day was:
2nd – Hubert Halligan 1lb 15ozs
3rd – Jonathan O’Grady 1lb 10ozs
4th – Philip Comber 1lb 6ozs
5th – Chris Lynch 1lb 5ozs.
Paul Ramsey is presented with the Jim Costello Cup by Dan O’Donovan and club chairman Stephen Lydon
A small presentation was made to senior club members John Joe Mullen and Mary Gibbons who each have very significant “roundy” birthdays to celebrate. It was great to see both fishing , in Mary’s boat we had 3 generations fishing as she was joined by her son Richard and grandson Jack.
A delighted Jack Gibbons lifting the juvenile trophy, with dad Richard and club chairman Stephen Lydon
All of us in Cong & District Anglers Association are very proud of our club facility at the Roach Pond. The premises was acquired in the late 1980s and developed over a few years. In 2022 the old timber boardwalk marina was replaced with a new concrete quay, assisted in no small part with a generous NSAD Grant from Inland Fisheries Ireland. At yesterday’s weigh-in a plaque was unveiled to the memory of the late Frank Lydon who was the inspiration and driving force behind the original development. Without Frank there would have been no facility so it was well time the club honoured his contribution.
Thanks again to all that fished & well done to all the winners.
The extended Lydon family at the unveiling of the plaque dedicated to the late Frank Lydon

The following week the club held their Juvenile Fun Fishing Day: What a great day out we had – mighty weather, good food, and great excitement amongst the 24 Juveniles who came fishing. We had 15 boats out and while it wasn’t fishing weather, it was good fun, and everybody enjoyed the fry-up on Inchagoill. Not a lot of fish were caught, but Kyle Naughton, boated by Mark Gibbons, hit the jackpot soon after starting in the morning when he hooked and landed a great trout of 8lbs 8ozs. In 2nd place was Oscar Gibbons with a lovely trout of 1lb 13ozs, boated by his dad Richard.

Kyle Naughton with his amazing trout!

Today was a first ever day fishing for lots of boys and girls, and I know from chatting with some of them they loved it. And you wouldn’t have heard so many  ‘hard luck’ and ‘nearly’ stories at the World Cup itself. Despite all the fun at the fry-up, the best compliment I heard was when a couple of young lads said to me they wanted to get back in the boats and out on the water fishing again!

What memories are made of!

On behalf of all the young anglers who fished today, I must say a big thank you to Stephen Lydon, Mark Gibbons, and Philip Comber for ensuring everyone was well fed and watered. A special thank you to Thomas Ryan for the food he sponsored and prepared….and to all our other sponsors …and I must apologise in advance as I’m bound to leave someone out: Philip Comber,  Stephen Lydon,  Richard Gibbons,  Paul Dignam, Declan Gibbons,  Philip Monaghan,  Billy Burke of Outdoor Pursuits, Anne Kyne. Through your generosity every angler received a prize.

And a barbecue to keep everyone happy!

A point hit me forcibly today in chatting with people…..some kids are very keen to go fishing but do not have a fishing parent to take them. We can and must do more for them.

– Dan O’Donovan

 

Ferox

Elsewhere, fishing guide Tomi Kurman has been back chasing ferox, with some success too! Guests Alia and Cole made it all the way from Colorado to see famous Irish Ferox 
– you know you are doing something right if Lough Corrib and Ferox fishing is the last stop of their European Trip, after visiting London, Edinburgh and Dublin. This 73.5cm perfectly conditioned fish showed up just after two of it’s buddies decided not to pose to the camera…..

Quite a few guests have had their first ferox lately – check out the selection of photos below!

Go Fishing

Cong and District Anglers Association is an angling club with excellent facilities for boat mooring on Lough Corrib. They hold regular competitions and outings, and offer excellent value membership and boat mooring for the season. Contact a committee member above for information, or check out their Facebook page here

Tomi Guided Fishing
To book a trip with Tomi Kurman, give him a call on 085 7318541 or check out his Facebook page here: Tomi Guidedfishing