Ireland’s first away gold for 22 years
24th September 2019
The Irish Trout Fly Fishing Association (ITFFA) team have won their first Home Nations away match in 22 years. Ireland claimed victory in the recent Autumn International event held on Scotland’s beautiful Lake of Menteith, a natural fishery stocked with rainbow trout.
The 14-man team, captained by Martin McGorian and consisting of some of Ireland’s most capped Irish anglers and two previous gold medal winning captains, pipped Wales by 8lb (109 fish to 104) to secure top spot in the event. Fished in hot, flat-clam conditions, the fishing was extremely challenging and demanded a range of methods from fishing Di5 lines and boobies to floaters and dry flies.
Speaking of the victory, ITFFA Team Manager Michael Mongahan explained that it really was hard-won. “We were fortunate that we had many fly tiers within the ranks and each day everyone was armed with the required patterns. Each area fished slightly different and you needed to adapt lines and flies and indeed retrieved to continually meet fish.”
In addition to team gold, Arden Pollock also won the Brown Bowl (best individual catch) with 15 fish for 32lb, joining Toby Bradshaw as only the second Irish angler to have won the title twice.
The 2020 Home Nations match will take place on Irish water, at Lough Melvin on the Leitrim-Fermanagh border.
*images courtesy of ITFFA/Paul Barr