Trout anglers to the fore as Mayo hosts world championship this week
THE 68th World Trout Fly Angling Championship will take place at picturesque Lough Mask from July 29 to August 2 and will attract hundreds of anglers from the length and breadth of the country.
This prestigious competition attracts competitors from the UK, and also from countries on the Continent such as France and Germany.
The competition consists of four heats on Wednesday (tomorrow), July 29, Thursday, July 30, Friday, July 31, and Saturday, August 1, with the final taking place on Sunday, August 2.
A maximum of one quarter of the competitors who weigh in fish from each heat will go forward to the final on Sunday. A competitor may take part in one heat only. The final always attracts a large crowd at Cushlough Pier, and the competition is also a boost for the local economy.
The winner of the World Trout Fly Angling Championship will receive the World Silver Cup (Perpetual), a 19’ lake boat (sponsored by Gareth Foley and World Cup Committee) and a 15HP Yamaha Engine (sponsored by RS Marine and World Cup Committee).
World Cup Trout Fly Angling Championship stalwart Denis Kelleher is a long serving member of the committee, and in 2003 he wrote the fabulous book titled ‘Another World on Mask’ which gave a history of the famous competition. Denis is looking forward to this week’s competition.
“It is hard to believe that the competition is about to take place again and it is one that we are looking forward to. The appeal to the competition is that we still have the original format, in that we provide every angler with a boatman - who has his own boat and engine. The anglers don’t have to worry about any of those issues then and can just focus on the competition itself,” he said.
“That entices a lot of older anglers to enter the competition, and the older anglers would make up about 50 per cent of our competitors. We are the only angling competition in the country that can offer that to anglers. Everyone is treated the same way, and all rules apply, and the boatman can also act as a type of referee if there is a problem in the boat and our rules are always strictly adhered to.
“It was the Castlebar Anglers who actually started off this competition in 1953 and I noticed in that year’s booklet that there was an advertisement for the old bacon factory in Castlebar. The 1953 booklet also featured a promotion of angling all across Mayo.”
Last year the competition was brought forward to Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend, thus freeing up the Monday in case bad weather resulted in a postponement. Denis is happy with the slight tweak to the competition.
“The big advantage for the organising committee with regards to the new date is that it gives us better scope to proceed with the competition. In recent years you could have very windy conditions or a storm in the middle of August, and it may not have been safe for competitors in the lake. The change in the date for the competition is more flexible and allows us to have another day for the final in the event of bad weather, with that potential extra day falling on the bank holiday Monday.”
Denis hopes to see more of an international element to the World Cup. “I would like to see even more international anglers taking part in the World Cup, and I think we used to get quite a number of international anglers in years gone by. What we have noticed is that those numbers from different countries have dwindled in recent years.
“We would have a large contingent from the North of Ireland taking part every year, and they make up a total of roughly 33 per cent of the anglers. After that, you would have lots of anglers from England, Scotland and Wales. We would then have small numbers from the European Continent, such as France and Germany. In recent years we also had an angler from the US take part.”
Denis would like to see more young anglers take part in the competition.
“We are putting an emphasis on encouraging young anglers into the competition. That can be difficult in the modern world.
“Partry’s Kyle O’Mahony was on the Irish youths angling team last year in the Four Nations Youth Home International in Scotland, and that Irish team won that competition for the fifth consecutive time.
“We don’t have enough young anglers fishing in the World Cup Championship in Lough Mask, even though the young anglers are doing very well in various other international competitions.
“There are big plans locally to encourage more young anglers into the sport. And those plans are actually underway at secondary school level with Inland Fisheries Ireland, whereby they give courses to young students who are interested in fishing. Inland Fisheries Ireland then bring the students to a fishery in Kildare and show them the art in catching fish. We are doing our best in that line and the local club is supporting that.”
Denis said there have been great local winners over the years, and in particular the late Robbie O’Grady. “One man stands out as one of our great local winners and that was the late Robbie O’Grady. Robbie won the title in 1964 and 1976 and was known as a great angler across the county and country. Tom Byrne from Partry won the title in 2002, and he was the second winner from Partry as Padraic Munroe won it in 1997.
“We are due another local south Mayo winner again, and I can think of a few anglers who could be in the reckoning, especially the likes of Conor O’Mahony and his son Kyle.
“As in any angling competition, you also need a good bit of luck as well. This time of year, a lot of the fishing is done in the deeper water in Lough Mask, and they are known locally as ‘black fish’ as those trout are down in the depths of the lakes for so long. More than likely, we will see more deeper water fishing take place. The weather also plays a part, and I know that there is supposed to be a change in the weather during the week and any bit of rainfall would be most welcome.”
The competition also brings a timely boost to the local economy.
“This event would be a boost for the local economy in restaurants and bars. There will also be petrol bought in the town for outboard engines. Outdoor Pursuits on Glebe Street will also see an increase in business at this time of year as well, as anglers stock up on equipment.”
Denis said that this time of year is also a chance for anglers to gather and meet old friends.
“One of the big things for anglers who fish in these competitions is the camaraderie and meeting friends and fishermen that they have known for years. They might only meet these friends once every 12 months at this competition. A Cork angler once told me that one of the best things about this competition was meeting old friends. They will tell stories about the fish they caught and what they didn’t catch, and the big one always gets away of course!
“A lot of the same people turn up at events in Lough Melvin, Lough Corrib and Lough Mask.”
The World Cup Trout Fly Angling Championship saw record numbers take part in the early noughties. This year’s competition may not reach those heights, but Denis is hopeful that numbers will increase once again over time.
“This year’s competition mightn’t reach big numbers, because getting the boats and the engines on the lake to suit the competitors and getting the people to man the boats is becoming a big problem. Our numbers so far for this year’s competition are slightly down on previous years: In the year 1999 we had 626 anglers; in 2000, 605; in 2001, 706; in 2002, 673; and one time in the early noughties we had over 800 anglers competing. However, one reason there is a decrease in numbers in recent times is that health and safety is a much bigger part of the competition. For instance, heat days can be called off if the weather is any way dodgy and we take an awful lot of precautions.”
For anyone wondering what to do over the August bank holiday weekend, a trip to Cushlough Pier next Sunday evening should be an enjoyable occasion as those in attendance wait to see just who will be crowned the 2026 World Cup Trout Fly Fishing champion and claim the prestigious silverware.