NEWS FOR "MAY" FROM THE IRISH FEDERATION OF PIKE ANGLING CLUBS


KINGSPAN NATIONAL PIKE CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL

The final of the Kingspan National Pike Championship was held on Saturday 12th April on Lough Ross, Moycullen, Co Galway. The competitors were based in the Cloonabinnia House Hotel right on the shore of the lake. Traditionally the venue is kept secret until the morning of the competition and this year was no exception. 54 of the 55 anglers qualified to take part fished the event the exception was Sean Markey, Cootehill who was tied up due to work commitments.

Lough Ross is a long narrow lake with lots of reed-fringed bays with plenty of access ideal for pike fishing. The event was confined to the northeast and southeast shores only to allow for proper stewarding and still allowed the competitors plenty of room. Fishing was patchy in places with the best areas being the southeast corner and a long narrow bay middle ways up the northeast shore, which produced more than half of the total number of fish landed on the day.
In all135 fish were recorded the best fish was 18 lbs 4 oz caught by Terry Sheridan.

The results were as follows:

1st, Marty Lawlor, Belfast Individuals, 6 fish, 29 lbs 9 ozs
2nd, John Marshall, Keady Pike Anglers, 8 fish, 28 lbs 6 ozs
3rd, George Dillon, Morris Insulations, 6 fish, 26 lbs 10 ozs
4th, Terry Sheridan, North Longford Anglers, 4 fish, 26 lbs 8 ozs
5th, John Chambers, Dublin Pike Anglers, 7 fish, 24 lbs 12 ozs
6th, Michael McKenna, Keady Pike Anglers, 7 fish, 23 lbs
7th, David Dennis, Drogheda & District Anglers, 6 fish, 22 lbs 8 ozs
8th, Alan Mulcahy, Shannonside Anglers, Limerick, 4 fish, 19 lbs 1 oz
9th, Pat Gorman, Tullamore & District Anglers, 6 fish, 17 lbs
10th, John Boyle, North Longford Anglers, 5 fish, 16 lbs 15 ozs

In joint 11th place was Gary Quinn, Doms Pike Anglers and Martin Carroll, Ardee Pike Anglers with a weight of 15 lbs 9 ozs.

The presentation took place at the Federation's annual dinner held in Cloonbinnia House. The top-10 anglers will form the Irish Team to fish the Home International Pike Tournament against Great Britain next October. This year the event will be held in England. Each member will receive team clothing and tackle and will have their travel and accommodation costs paid for by the Federation.
The tournament was won by the UK team last year and our side will be all out to regain the title. Five members of the team have no previous international experience however the other five members have a vast knowledge of UK waters.

The first heat of the 2003-04 competition will be held on the Grand Canal at Cloghan, Co Offaly on Sunday 27th April. The check-in is in the Cloghan Inn. The venue for the second heat has been changed because of a clash with a local competition. Anglers will be informed at a later date of the new location.


"PURE FISHING" ALL-IRELAND JUNIOR PIKE CHAMPIONSHIPS

A number of clubs have agreed to host the heats of this competition.

The dates and venues are as follows:
Dublin Pike Anglers 17th May Royal Canal, Kilcock
Rossmore Coarse Angling Club 18th May Rossmore Park Lakes
Ballyjamesduff Angling Club 14th June Lackan Lake
Tullamore & District Anglers 20th June Grand Canal Kiltimagh 20th July Venue to be announced
North Longford Anglers 17th August Gorthamore

The final will be held on 17th September in Arvagh, Co Cavan.



EUROPEAN ANGLERS ALLIANCE

The General Assembly of the European Anglers Alliance was held in the City of Leipzig in Germany from 4th to the 7th April. Ireland is affiliated to the organisation through EAA-Ireland and comprises representatives of the Trout Anglers Federation of Ireland, National Anglers Representative Association, Fedeation of Irish Salmon & Sea Trout Anglers, Irish Federation of Sea Anglers and the Irish Federation of Pike Angling Clubs. Ireland is allowed send one official delegate and this year the task fell to me. Much of the work takes place on the first day where regional and sub-group meetings debate and as much as possible reach a consensus on the issues coming before the conference over the following two days. The host country also delivers a presentation on the state of angling in their area as well as a related topic.

This year's topic was delivered on the subject of stress and injury tolerance in fish with some surprising conclusions.

Migrating Species Report:

Chris Poupard, Chairman of this sub-group reported on progress over the past year. From an Irish point of view the Government here has decided to accept its own scientific advice and introduce quotas on the numbers of salmon intercepted by drift-netting over the next 5 years however he expressed disappointment that the time-scale was too long. The aquaculture industry has also announced plans to double in size over the next few years. The decline of the eel population is causing great concern in many countries including France and the UK.

Sea Sub-group Report:

This group has been by far the most active mainly because of the reforms to the Common Fisheries Policy. Our main aspiration is to have sport-fishing included as a stakeholder at Fisheries Committee level in any new CFP reform along with the restoration of sustainable fisheries. This was not achieved at this round of talks however we have succeeded in gaining participation status on the Regional Advisory Councils. These councils which cover sea areas under the jurisdiction of at least two member states allow the various stakeholders to have their concerns addressed during future reforms.

The view was expressed that the idea of anglers having to becoming political and lobby to save their rights is not natural to most of us. However this is now the case and if we want this to continue we will have to put our hands in our pockets and pay for it. This is the experience from other countries particularly the United States and Australia where the results have been spectacular.

On Saturday the Assembly began proper with a long debate on the future of EAA. Proper structures and business plans must be put in place together with the necessary financial backing to realise this. A working group is to be established to look at this issue and report back to the next assembly. The possibility of commercial sponsorship will also be looked at. Another working group has been established to look into the methods of setting subscription fees. The countries of Eastern Europe were having difficulties with their payments and it was agreed to allow them a reduction to alleviate the problem. The working group will consider a level of subscription based on the number of anglers as well as on the GDP in each country.

The Assembly heard an update on the Socio-economic and environment study. A submission has been made to secure funding from the EU in the region of €2M to carry this out and it is hoped that it will be successful.

Next year is designated as "youth year" and Hungary will host a youth camp. Another idea was the putting in place of an exchange programme. National organisations to look at these ideas. The statutory session takes place on the Sunday where the finances are discussed and the budget for the next year is set.

The Treasurer reported a surplus this year but it is expected that next year a defecit will be reported. The board of EAA consists of the President, the Treasurer and five other members based on a regional structure. A number of vacancies were due to be filled that of Treasurer, Northern region and Western region members. Chris Poupard (UK) was elected Treasurer, Jens Thygussen (Denmark) was elected Northern representative and John Crudden (Ireland) was elected Western representative.

A very successful Assembly concluded on Sunday afternoon with a tour of the regeneration taking place around Leipzig.


INSURANCE:

All insurance matters will be finalised very shortly. A new Safety Statement has been prepared and agreed by the insurance company. Until the new premium has been set they have also agreed to give cover up to Friday 25th April for all clubs but an extention to that date will only be given to those clubs that have returned the questionaire.

If you have not returned the completed form DO SO NOW as your club may be left with no cover.

COMMUNICATIONS: (By Public Relations Officer, Ray Bergin)

In order to better serve the needs of our member clubs, the Federation is currently in the process of updating our records concerning contact details for all affiliated clubs. In the past, member clubs have asked for a better flow of information concerning matters relevant to their clubs and to matters being pursued by the Federation's Executive Committee on their behalf. Attached, is a form for completion which seeks current contact details for each club. We have also asked for provision of an email contact for each club and based on the return of this information will consider the feasibility of circulating our newsletter in electronic form. This may also allow for circulation of timely notices concerning club competitions, events, etc, and will further enhance the information that clubs receive from the Federation. I would request you to complete the attached form and return to me as soon as possible.

May 2003

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