Peter O’Brien from Mallow was top Irish angler at the 2014 Youth International Fly Fishing Championship, which was held last week at Grafham Water, Cambridgeshire, England. This is the third time Peter has represented Ireland, and on this occasion he won the Lough Sheelin Trophy for best Irish Rod, with five fabulous rainbow trout weighing 10lb 10oz.
Although fishing conditions were a little challenging, with squally winds and very high temperatures, Grafham Water provided some great sport. Teams from Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales departed from the fishing lodge at 10am to face the seven-hour challenge that lay ahead. As soon as the horn was sounded, Peter and his boat partner made for the P buoy and B buoy area of the lake. It didn’t take long for Peter to crack the method and begin to hook into one big Grafham rainbow trout after another. Peter managed to tempt these tough fighting trout with a combination of boobies, crunchers and blobs fished on a fast glass line. As the match drew to an end and 5pm approached, Peter headed for the fishing lodge, hoping that he and his fellow team members had done enough to bring the Bob Church Trophy back to Ireland. When the scales came down, it was Scot-land who came out on top, with second place going to Ireland, third to team England, and to Wales.
Peter, and three other top Irish anglers would normally retain their places on the Irish team on the basis of their performance at the 2014 International Match. However, ITFFA (the Irish Trout Fly Fishing Association) rules state that he must move on to the senior league in 2015. When asked if he was disappointed to be leaving the Irish juvenile team, Peter replied with a smile: “We won silver at an away venue and I brought the Lough Sheelin Trophy back to Mallow; while I will miss my team mates, I am finishing on a high!”
Fly angling is a very popular sport and Ireland has an abundance of brown trout angling. If you are interested in fly angling as a hobby, and would like to improve your team building and problem solving skills, why not contact your local trout angling club. You can also contact the ITFFA Youth Officer, Mr Frank Dempsey, at 087 2351830.