Bord Iascaigh Réigiúnach an Oirthir
Press Release 24th July 2007
Slaney River Trust in conjunction with the Eastern Regional Fisheries Board and Central Fisheries Board with funding provided by the INTERREG IIIA programme hosted a Ladies fly-casting and fly-fishing course on the 21st July at Annamoe Trout Fishery, Co Wicklow.
Pictured at the Ladies One Day Introductory Course on Fly-Fishing in aid of Action Breast Cancer at Annamoe Trout Fishery, Co Wicklow are from left to right: Front Row:
Anne Leonard, Marie Doyle, Glenda Powell(Instructor), Anne Curran, Caroline Chew, Roisin O’Toole. Back Row:
Mark Corps (Instructor), Claudia Walther, Lorraine Nolan, Jocelyn Tanner, Martina Michels, Andrea Fahrmeyer, Fiona Grant, Angela Leeson, Elizabeth Jones, Rosalind Watson.
This unique one day introductory course was aimed at complete beginners and spaces were limited to a maximum of 16 participants. The course offered participants the chance to learn from one of the best instructors in Ireland, Glenda Powell assisted by Mark Corps, Angling Advisor for the Central Fisheries Board, Betty Hayes, Eastern Regional Fisheries Board member and representative for Slaney River Trust and Glenda’s husband, Ian Powell. The day started at 10.00am with a detailed briefing from Glenda on the basics of fly-fishing including an introduction on Safety & Clothing; The Equipment; Entomology and Fly-Casting Principles. Loop kindly provided top of the range fishing rods, reels and hats for use by the participants on the day. The group listened intently to Glenda and used this information to practice basic casting on the lake before lunch. Albeit, most of the women had never cast before or even held a rod, it was clear that quite a few of the participants already had a natural talent even at this early stage.
Mark Corps, Angling Advisor for the Central Fisheries Board and qualified casting instructor advises Jocelyn Tanner on what fly to use.
Annamoe Trout Fishery was the perfect venue for this course and owner, Brian Nally, ensured everyone was well looked after. The rain even held off for a BBQ! After lunch, Glenda held a short talk on basic knots; hooking, playing and landing; fishing and individual coaching. At the lake, Glenda demonstrated the common errors people make when learning to cast and gave the participants some handy tips on how to correct these mistakes. Determined to put all they had learnt into practice, the group concentrated on catching an Annamoe rainbow trout. It was to everyone’s surprise, not least to herself, that the first fish was caught by Hazel Dobbyn of the Eastern Regional Fisheries Board! Under expert instruction from Mark Corps, the 4lb fish was landed and carefully released to fight another day. The second and last fish of the day was caught by Anne Curran shortly after. It is fair to say that this made everyone more determined to practice and re-visit Annamoe to catch their own rainbow!
Glenda Jackson with Anne Curran.
Everyone finished up at 4.00pm and each participant was presented with a beautiful box of flies, a certificate and information on fishing in the region. There was no fee for tuition on the day; participants were invited to make a donation to Action Breast Cancer instead. Many thanks to all participants for their generous donations. The total amount raised for Action Breast Cancer was €830.
The day was a great success and the organizers have been pleasantly surprised by the huge response from women of all ages and all walks of life who have always wanted to learn to fish but were either too intimidated or just didn’t know how to go about it. The initial plan was to hold one course but due to demand, two further courses are scheduled and already booked out. The next course is on the 12th August in Rathcon Fishery, Grangecon, Co Wicklow. The last event will be in October (venue and date to be confirmed).
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For more information on fishing in the Eastern Region, please contact Marketing Angling Co-ordinator, Eastern Regional Fisheries Board, 01-2787022 or visit www.fishingireland.net
Slaney River Trust represents clubs, fishery owners, anglers and naturalists on the River Slaney. We are committed to working in partnership with communities in the Slaney Valley, with Government at national and local level, as well as others who have an interest in improving the ecology, fisheries and wildlife of the river.
The Eastern Regional Fisheries Board is a statutory authority whose function is to conserve, develop, protect, manage and promote the inland fisheries and sea angling resources within its jurisdiction. The Region extends from the border in Northern Ireland to South of the Wexford coast and includes all catchments which enter the sea between these boundaries. For further information, please visit www.fishingireland.net
The principal functions of the Central Fisheries Board are to advise the Minister for Communications, the Marine and Natural Resources on policy relating to the conservation, protection, management, development and improvement of inland fisheries and sea angling, to support, coordinate and provide specialist support services to the Regional Fisheries Boards and to advise the Minister on the performance by the Regional Fisheries Boards of their functions.
Action Breast Cancer is a national programme established by the Irish Cancer Society to provide breast cancer information and support and to fund breast cancer research. Services are free, confidential and accessible and include: