IFPAC Competitions 2004

KINGSPAN NATIONAL PIKE CHAMPIONSHIP 2004-05


The heats of the Kingspan National Pike Championship have been selected for the 2004/2005 season as follows.

Heat 1 - 25th April, River Barrow, Athy, Co. Kildare
Heat 2 - 9th May, Gulladoo Lake, Carrigallen, Co. Leitrim
Heat 3 - 30th May, Garty Lough, Arvagh, Co. Cavan
Heat 4 - 4th July, Lough Egish, Co. Monaghan
Heat 5 - 8th August, Lough Urlaur, Kilkelly, Co. Mayo
Heat 6 - 5th September, Lough Avaghon, Co. Monaghan
Heat 7 - 10th October, River Shannon, Shannonbridge, Co. Offaly
Heat 8 - 7th November, Camlough, Co. Armagh
Heat 9 - 5th December, Grand Canal, Monasterevin, Co. Kildare
Heat 10 - 2nd January 05, Clae Lake, Keady, Co Armagh
Heat 11 - 6th February 05, Stewards Heat, venue to be decided


Heat 1 - 25th April, River Barrow, Athy, Co. Kildare
88 anglers competed in the first qualifier of the 2004/05 championship. 39 fish were caught and returned. The best Fish was caught by Terry Sheridan at 15-08. Thanks to Mr Michael Harris , Three Counties Bar, Meganey, Athy, Co.Kildare for the huge supply of sandwiches and cocktail sausages at the prizegiving!.

The results were as follows:
1st Terry Sheridan North Longford, 1 fish 15-08
2nd Phelim Jennings Newry, 1 fish 12-00
3rd Mick Walsh Durrow, 2 fish 11-04
4th Pat Gorman Tullamore, 4 fish 8-11
5th Tom Conlon Newbridge, 2 Fish 5-11

Heat 3 - 30th May, Garty Lough, Arvagh, Co. Cavan
74 anglers fished the qualifier and caught 64 pike to 11-07. This was caught by a delighted Gary Quinn.The results were calculated in the Breffni Arms Hotel in Arvagh and the staff must be thanked for their hospitality.

The results are as follows:
1st Marty Lawlor (Belfast) 5 pike 20-02
2nd Gary Quinn (Drogheda) 2 pike 15-04
3rd Pat Brady (Kells) 3 pike 14-14
4th Pat Dunphy (Durrow) 2 pike 14-08
5th Benny Markey (Cootehill)3 pike 13-00

Heat 4 - 4th July, Lough Egish, Co. Monaghan
52 anglers caught 140 fish. Eugene Mc Cabe caught the biggest fish at 18lb 5oz.

The results are as follows:
1st Shane Fisher, Keady, 12 fish for 32lb 14.5oz
2nd Tommy Regan, Trim, 10 fish for 31lb 01oz
3rd Eugene Mc Cabe, Newbridge, 3 fish for 26lb 03oz
4th Thomas Mc Cabe, Newry, 8 fish for 24lb 10oz
5th David Murphy, Newbridge, 5 fish for 23lb 14oz

Heat 5 - 8th August, Lough Urlaur, Kilkelly, Co. Mayo
Only 13 pike to 3-15 were landed on a day, which saw angler's fish through gale winds and heavy rain.

The results are as follows:
1st. P.J.Brogan (Ballina) 3 pike 10-09
2nd. Finbar Meehan (Longford) 3 pike 6-01
3rd. John Chambers (Dublin) 2 pike 4-06
4th. Jim McCabe (Newbridge)1 pike 3-15
5th. Ibar Condron (Tullamore) 1 pike 3-00

Heat 6 - 5th September, Lough Avaghon, Co. Monaghan
60 anglers fished the qualifier. Only 35 fish were caught in the flat calm conditions.

The results are as follows:
1st Alan Heasley, Drogheda, 4 fish for 20lb 4oz
2nd Jim Slevin, Keady, 4 fish for 17lb 6oz
3rd Jimmy Thompsom, Dublin, 1 fish for 8lb 4oz
4th Paul Hamill, Monaghan, 2 fish for 7lb 10oz
5th Anthony Muldoon, Belfast, 3 fish for 6lb 9oz



Heat 7 - 10th October, Grand Canal, Cloghan, Co. Offaly
72 anglers turned up to fish the seventh qualifier, which was scheduled for the River Shannon, Shannonbridge, on the 10th of October last. However, due to high water levels the venue had to be changed to a six-mile stretch of the Grand Canal in Cloghan, Co. Offaly. A lot of anglers had been looking forward to the qualifier on the Shannon but the alternative did not disappoint. 68 pike where landed with the biggest being P.J Byrne's fish of 12lb 12oz.

The results are as follows:
1st William Farrell, Treaty Pike Anglers, 7 fish for 21lb 12oz
2nd P.J Byrne, Athy, 1 fish for 12lb 12oz
3rd Jimmy Farrell, Dublin Pike Anglers, 1 fish for 12lb 1oz
4th Godfrey Donoghue, Dublin Pike Anglers, 3 fish for 11lb 12oz
5th Derek Mohan, Doms Pike Anglers, 3 fish for 9lb 4oz



Heat 8 - 7th November, Camlough, Co. Armagh
51 anglers turned up to fish the Camlough qualifier, catching and returning 28 fish on a day, which saw flat calm and mild conditions. The weigh in took place in the Genie Mac's bar and lounge in Foxhill and the Federation would like to extend its thanks to the staff and management for their hospitality.

The results are as follows:
1st Sean Markey, Cootehill A.C, 4 fish for 23lb 11oz
2nd Brenton Sweeney, Cootehill A.C, 4 fish for 17lb 10oz
3rd Sam Lawlor, Belfast Individuals, 1 fish for 15lb 3oz
4th Pat Byrne, Camlough and District A.C, 1 fish for 14lb 10oz
5th James Byrne, Dublin Pike Anglers, 4 fish for 14lb 1oz



Heat 9 - 5th December, Grand Canal, Monasterevin, Co. Kildare
49 anglers fished the 9th heat, which was held on 5th December on the Grand Canal outside Monasterevin. 47 pike were caught and released, the heaviest of which fell to Michael Smith at 6lb 12oz.

The results are as follows:
1st Pat Cooper, Dublin Pike Anglers, 3 fish for 16lb
2nd Michael Smith, North Longford AC, 3 fish for 13lb 4oz
3rd Jimmy Conway, Athy/Kildare, 4 fish for 12lb 13oz
4th David Roche, North Longford AC, 4 fish for 11lb 11oz
5th Tommy Winder, Newbridge & District AC, 4 fish for 11lb 8oz



Heat 10 - 2nd January 05, Clae Lake, Keady, Co Armagh
43 anglers braved poor weather conditions to fish the 10th and final heat of the championship, catching and releasing 42 fish. The best fish at 8lb 12oz was caught by Kenneth Mc Gearty.

The results are as follows:
1st Michael Woodlock, DPA, 5 fish for 14-15
2nd Kenneth Mc Gearty, Camlough, 4 fish for 14-05
3rd Brendan McCabe, Newry, 3 fish for 12-01
4th Jerome Fisher, Keady, 3 fish for 11-12
5th Francis T Rafferty, Slieve Gullion, 2 fish for 9-13

Heat 11 - 6th February 05, Hollybank Lake, Arva
The eleventh qualifier, the steward's heat was held on Hollybank Lake in Arva on 6th February. 21 eligible anglers caught and released 36 pike to 9lb 8oz.

The results are as follows:
1st Ray Bergin, Tullamore and District Angling Club, 3 fish for 24-04 (Best Fish 9lb 2oz)
2nd Willie Heasley, Duleek, 6 fish for 21-13
3rd John Boyle, North Longford, 7 fish for 20-11
4th Paddy McKenna, Keady, 4 fish for 14-14
5th Ronan Murray, Cootehill, 2 fish for 11-02


NOTE: (Anglers who have acted as stewards at heats were eligible to enter this heat, provided that the person has been a steward at 4 heats and has weighed a minimum of 4 fish).

The All-Ireland inter club team event was fished on Sunday the 21st of November on four lakes in the Kingscourt area. 26 four-person teams competed for the 2004 title. Fishing was considered quite difficult on the day. The best individual bag of twenty pounds fell to Pat Sheenan of Dun Na Ri angling club and Sean Dimbylon of Whitewood Pike and Coarse Angling club caught the heaviest pike of the day at 12lb 14oz, however it was the "A" team from Ardee that took the honours this year.

The full results were as follows:

First: Ardee "A" 30lb 11oz Paul Martin, Maura Martin, Robbie Mc Shane, Martin Carroll.

Second: Cootehill "A" 28lb 14oz Brenton Sweeney, Sean Markey, Benny Markey, Ronan Murray.

Third: Whitewood Angling Club 24lb 02oz Mark Kiernan, Emma Kiernan, Sean Dimbylon, Darragh Mc Kenna.

The presentation was held in Murtaghs Bar in Kingscourt, where anglers received soup and sandwiches and a bottle for the raffle. The Federation would like to express our thanks to Paul and staff for their hospitality.

NOTE:

The IFPAC runs The "Kingspan" National Pike Championship each year, the All-Ireland inter-club championship, the "Maver Ireland" National Junior pike championship and the All-Ireland junior inter-club championship.

Anglers are reminded of the following competition rules:
An angler must be a member of a fully paid up affiliated club.
An angler may be refused entry to the competition without reason being given.
Anglers who act as stewards at heats will be eligible to enter a special heat for stewards provided that the person has been a steward at 4 heats and has weighed a minimum of 4 fish.
Fish can NOT be weighed by the gills. It is the responsibility of the angler to ensure this does not happen.
A maximum of two fish in a keep sack.
Objections must be made within an hour unless otherwise stated at the check-in.