Irish teams were in the running for medals at home and abroad last week and, while two Irish teams were competing at the World Predator Fishing from a Boat with Lures event on Lough Erne, the Senior and U25 teams were battling the world’s best at the World Feeder Fishing event in Hungary. And battle they did, as the U25 team secured the silver medal, second only to the host nation, while back at home the Predator team took bronze at the lure fishing event.
After many years of close calls at FIPs championships, in the last number of years Irish teams have made big breakthroughs and this year has been no different.
It was an outstanding performance from the U25 team at the inaugural youth feeder championships. The four lads John Browne, Brian Clark, Dominykas Kuklys and Charlie Richards were competing against 12 top nations and they finished tied with the Hungary team on 28 points; Hungary taking gold for the bigger weight 204.050kg to Irelands 191.700kg.
Individually from the field of 53 anglers John Browne made the podium for 5th place after coming second in the match on day two and received the FIPSed diploma award. Brian Clark and Charlie Richards finished 8th and 9th respectively and Dominykus a very credible 25th position at his very first championships.
An incredible achievement for Manager Brenton Sweeney with Team Ireland Feeder currently World Champions and to Adrian Browne the manager for the championships and second Captain Nick Richards with the essential on-bank support from Martin Clark.
At the Predator Championships in Fermanagh, it was Team Lithuania who blew the competition out of the water, finishing in first place on each of the competition days, with Latvia in second overall and Ireland recovering well from a poor start to claim the bronze medal.
The competition which took place over three days is fished by boat using artificial lures only for perch and pike with fish measurements turned into points. Bronze pairs winners of 2013 Tomi Kurman and Jacek Gorny got off to a poor start but pulled it back after the first day. County Clare duo Danny Nesbitt & Aidan O’Connor, fishing only their second championship, put in a great performance throughout to reach the podium again ranking 4th pair overall.
Tomi Kurman has managed the Irish team for the last 10 years by boat and on the shore and has also been involved in the hosting of 4 world championships during this time, so it is fitting to see such a great figure in Irish angling leave the stage with a medal around his neck – thank you Tomi.
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