Finally met up with the Ringers who just came back from their practice match, makes a nice change seeing them in person and not on the internet. A quick snapshot with the feeder world champions ought to get the lads back home green with envy :-)
Yes, we were staying at the same place The Old Rectory Self Catering in Fenagh, nr.Ballinamore, Co.Leitrim and it has a hot tub and sauna. Click here for details.
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Stopped at The Forge (Steve’s favourite shop) to say hello to Gabriel and picked up a few souvenirs. The visiting pleasure angler meets here to find out about the local fishing and usually enjoy a cup of tea at the same time.
We drove to Lough Scur @ Pumphouse for a quick fish on the way back from Enniskillen. This time I set up just the pole to get a feeling for it, but holding a 13m pole with a side wind is not my idea of a good time! Caught a few on my 5m line loosefeeding casters all the time.
Second day in Ireland, and we headed off to Enniskillen to look at some venues and the town there, got some decent photos and then popped in at Fishing Tackle and Bait to do a bit of shopping and met John Potters, the only angler who has won the Classic twice. He says everyone knows about me now through FB which I thought was quite embarrassing! Met up with my partner, Kevin Locke. Kevin had been busy preparing venues, especially Horse Island, since i had arrived. It was kind of a blind date, I did not have a partner from Malaysia so the organisers paired us together. Kevin is a really experienced match angler (really nice bloke too) and immediately some tips were shared. If you add the both of us together and divide by half, you’d probably get the size of an average angler!!
Had a practice session at Kiltybarden which was closest to where we were staying. Really needed it to get a feel for the tackle and the setup (I’m borrowing Steve’s kit by the way). After figuring out how to put on the chest waders on properly (Steve’s waders came up to me ears!), I got my first taste of Irish fishing with some nice small hybrids eager to feed on the feeder.
Rented a van, loaded it up with tackle and off to Holyhead to catch the ferry to Dublin. Met Michael Buchwalder on the ferry, and got some good tips from 2013’s Drennan Knock Out cup winner. Travelled quite a few miles already on the van to reach Fenagh, chauffeur driven of course. Taking in all the beautiful countryside and scenery along the way, what an amazing place this is! Checked in at The Old Rectory, a real nice cosy place in Fenagh. Patrick the owner was there to greet us and showed us around. The Garden Cottage will be my home for the next week. Some good old Irish rain didn’t want to miss out in welcoming my arrival. After a really long haul flight from Kuala Lumpur we headed straight to sunny Devon with Steve and Bobbie Lockett where I stayed at their beautiful home for a couple of nights. After trying my best to earn my keep by clearing their shed and tying hooklengths, we went for a warm up session at Town House Fishery catching some small roach and a ghostie. Ireland! Always wanted to come here after seeing many photos of Nuddy with 2 netfulls of bream and roach in the 90s when I was studying in the UK.
Finally made it after nearly 20 years, and to fish the World Pairs Angling Championship too. I’ll be fishing against some of the best match anglers around, including the current World Feeder Champs team members from England, what was I thinking eh?! Having set 2 modest goals of trying not to blank on any of the days and to not finish last in the championship, hope I’ll catch a few! Possibly adhering to Malaysia’s long fine sporting tradition of not winning anything, I’m here to enjoy the fishing and the craic! Follow my blog and see how it goes....... |
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