Report below taken from the Ringsend Irishtown Angling Club Facebook Page:
Saturday, September 6th, saw 11 anglers take to the sands of Ballinoulart in what can only be described as very testing conditions. A strong southeasterly wind, later swinging easterly, caused major problems, with several shelters being uplifted and some even flooded.
The fishing was slow from the outset, with Paddy Hamilton landing the first fish after nearly an hour. A handful of weever fish and undersized flounder soon followed for some of the middle pegs, which briefly put Brendan Byrne in the lead. Unfortunately for Brendan, both Wayne Hamilton and Brian Byrne soon began to find better quality fish, each landing bass and flounder to push themselves into contention.
On the lower pegs, Mikey Byrne was also fishing well. The battle between Wayne and Brian remained tight until the final hour, when Wayne produced a decisive burst, landing four unanswered fish to secure victory with 9 fish and a total of 263 points.
Mikey saved his best for last, producing a cracking 61cm bass on his final cast. That fish not only pushed his total to 4 fish and 179 points, enough to pip Brian for second place, but also won him the Longest Round Fish Pool. Brendan Byrne took the Longest Flat Fish Pool with a fine 25cm flounder.
A special mention goes to our three junior anglers, all of whom managed to land fish in what were extremely challenging conditions—well done to each of them!
