KINGSPAN NATIONAL PIKE CHAMPIONSHIP REPORT

Monaghan hosted the final of the "Kingspan" National Pike Championship on Saturday 3rd April. 55 pike anglers from all parts of Ireland arrived in Monaghan having taken part in eleven qualifying heats throughout 2003.

The Lakeside Hotel, Monaghan was the base for the anglers for the weekend along with a number of guesthouses in the town. The majority of anglers, friends and family arrived on the Friday night in order to prepare for Saturdays competition. Each year the venue for the competition remains secret until the morning and while there had been much speculation as to the location of the venue from Lough Ross in Crossmaglen to Lough Major in Ballybay, the name of the venue was released on the morning as Killybandrick Lough in Redhills, Co. Cavan. After a brief talk about the lake in the hotel the 55 competitors and 19 stewards received a detailed map of the venue and location to ensure the fairest opportunity for success for all the competitors.

The 5-hour competition started at 12 noon and small pike were caught from the off in weather that continually varied between blazing sunshine and driving wind and rain. The majority of pike were caught in the first three hours with action tailing off, as the water appeared to become murkier. Brenton Sweeney from Cootehill and Finbar Meehan from Longford caught fish steadily and recorded 17 fish between them in what was heading for a photo finish for top spot. In all 73 pike to 8lb 6oz were caught and released. The stewards played an important role throughout the day in ensuring all fish were released safely, immediately after capture.

The presentation was held back in the Lakeside Hotel. 97 competitors, stewards and friends enjoyed a great meal with top service by the staff.

The presentation confirmed that Brenton Sweeney from Cootehill was the 2004 All-Ireland Pike Angling Champion with a winning bag of 7 fish for 29-12 with 2nd to 10th place as follows:
2nd Finbar Meehan, Longford, 10 fish for 24-14
3rd John Chambers, Dublin, 3 fish for 15-02
4th Willie Heasley, Duleek, 4 fish for 12-04
5th Michael Mc Kenna, Keady, 4 fish for 10-15
6th Eugene Mc Cabe, Newbridge, 2 fish for 9-12
7th Edward Mulvaney, Virginia, 2 fish for 9-04
8th David Boyle, Granard, 3 fish for 9-03
9th Jimmy Thompson, Dublin, 2 fish for 8-05
10th Paul Martin, Ardee, 1 fish for 6-13

The top ten anglers will now fish against the top 10 British pike anglers in the annual international Ireland versus Great Britain pike tournament, which is to be held in Ireland later this year. We wish the team well.

This was the 15th championship final and it was a great pleasure to be able to host the final in Monaghan Town in 2004. Our thanks must go to the Lakeside Hotel for their hospitality. Our thanks must also go to "Kingspan" who sponsor the event and to Michael Fitzpatrick, Inspector with the Northern Regional Fisheries Board for attending the presentation. The event was filmed by an independent angling production company and may feature later in the year on satellite television.