This report courtesy of the Irish Trout Fly Fishing Association:

Despite torturous temperatures during the Youth International Fly Fishing Championships held in July 2024 on Grafham water in England, the Irish Youth Team was victorious and won the Gold medal. This means that the team has won the ‘Grand Slam’ of fly fishing – an amazing feat that no other Irish fly fishing team has achieved. The first win for the youths was on Lake of Menteith in Scotland in 2019 and that was followed up with wins on Lough Lene in Ireland in 2022 and Clywedog in Wales in 2023.

Sadly, the hot temperatures that the rest of the country welcomed produced a major algae bloom and the resulting green water made the angling even harder. The week began with a presentation by local Grafham Water expert Iain Barr. He stated that the rainbow trout would have gone deep to the cooler, cleaner water because of the bloom and that they’d be hard to encourage out. However, he knew what flies, methods and tactics would be likely to work and he made a presentation of a set of flies to each team member.

Practice days were hard work but all 15 young anglers put their heart and souls into it and that commitment carried on into the match. Temperatures soared to 32­°C over the week but the young anglers just put their heads down and pure grit and determination from the Irish ensured that the team had the necessary information which secured the win for them on match day.

Match Day dawned with a nice breeze and even though temperatures were still high, the breeze made for a more comfortable day on the lake.

Julie Gerry, the first female Manager of the Irish Youth Team said.

“The information gathered during practice days gave us a plan and I knew that the young people would stick to it come what may. I was very impressed with our team. They were all completely cool and calm, and quietly confident as they got into the boats and headed out for the day. The rest of us – the management team, parents and guardians could do no more for them and we were on tenterhooks all day. All we could do was wait and hope. It was a long day. Everything was resting on their shoulders and even though they were all aged under 18 years they proved to have very broad shoulders. I am so proud of them.”

As the match ended and the young anglers made their way off the boats, Denis Goulding the Team Coach was able to establish that the Irish team had produced a good catch and most of them had beaten their partner which is always good news.

Despite Ireland having 25 fish, 4 fish ahead of Scotland, the worry was that Scotland’s fish were a good bit bigger. It was obvious that it was going to be close but in the end, it came down to a 2lb difference between Ireland and Scotland.

The teams were kept in suspense until the full results were announced. The cheers were deafening!

Julie Gerry continued

“All of Team Ireland gave 100%. They were a pleasure to work with. Each of the young people was kind and helpful, and the more experienced anglers, helped the new caps fit in. It was a team effort in every way.

I’d like to give thanks to Denis Goulding and Andrew Duncan for their superb coaching and fly tying skills.

A special word of thanks to Kevin (Buzz) Dinning, who took time off work to help us and to the parents and guardians who helped with the boating all week.”

A tremendous amount of work went into ensuring that a well-equipped Irish Youth Team attended the international. It was achieved by the generous sponsorship from NARA, Fulling Mill, Iain Barr, Irish Ferries, Airflo, IFI, and all the ITFFA provinces and affiliated clubs giving so generously to make the experience happen. The ITFAA Youth team is very grateful and sincerely thank all of the sponsors.

Special thanks are due to Assistant Manager Jenny Casey who has been a tower of strength and was always available to help with all aspects of the team preparation.

Planning and fundraising is already underway for The Lake of Menteith in 2025!