It has just been confirmed by the Irish Specimen Fish Committee that Patrick Lombard, Co. Cork, who caught a Gilthead Bream of 4.37 kg at Clonakilty Bay in April 2024, has smashed the existing Gilthead Bream record by over ½ kg. Another record breaker is Dubliner Ronan Doherty, who caught a superb 38 cm Shore Rockling in Arklow on 1 February 2024.
Almost 500 exceptionally large fish of different species were caught by anglers from venues throughout Ireland in 2024. The vast majority of these fish were released again following weighing & measuring. Small shark species such as Spurdog and Tope were predominant in the saltwater, and large Skate were also present in good numbers. In freshwater, Tench and Dace featured prominently in anglers’ catches.
Cork-based anglers caught the most specimens (32%), with Dublin anglers accounting for 31%. Wicklow and Down anglers accounted for 7% each, with the remainder distributed between anglers in many other counties, as well as tourist anglers from the UK, the Netherlands, and Belgium.
Details of all of these fish and current Irish record fish are in the Irish Specimen Fish Committee Report 2024, which has just been released as a digital download. in the coming weeks, hard copies of the report will be available free of charge from Inland Fisheries Ireland offices nationally.
The Irish Specimen Fish Committee, which is supported by Inland Fisheries Ireland, is an independent all-Ireland voluntary body which verifies and records the capture of large fish caught on rod by anglers in freshwater and marine waters.
The 2025 ISFC Specimen Awards Day will be held on Sat 15th Feb at 2.30 pm in the Clayton Hotel Leopardstown Dublin https://www.claytonhotelleopardstown.com/
All anglers who caught a specimen fish in 2024 are invited to attend.
Please email ISFC@fisheriesireland.ie to confirm your attendance.
