Salmon Festival Casting Day a great success

The Irish Open Spey casting competition was just one of many events held at the Point, Ballina, as part of the Fly Casting Day hosted by Inland Fisheries Ireland in conjunction with the Ballina Salmon Festival. The event was well attended by members of the public, with many availing of free casting tuition and fly tying demonstrations given by expert fly tiers Betty Hayes, Michael Hayes and Joe Quinn. Children were also well catered for with a toddler's fishing pool and bouncy castle.

Irish Open Spey Casting Competition winner Gerard Downey casting on the River Moy.

However the competitions were the highlight of the day for many and with seven categories being contested, the competition judges were very busy with sixty-nine entrants in total. In the Junior Spinning Rod Accuracy competition, contestants had to cast into targets at various distances to score points. The competition was won Shane Egan; Ballina with 55 points, second was Luke Doherty, Ballina with 35 points and third was Sean Cuffe, Ballina with 30 points.

Michael Egan in action during the Spey casting competition.

The Single Handed Distance casting competition was also well contested, with four categories; Juveniles, Ladies, Amateur and Professional. The Juvenile section was won by Sean Cuffe, with a cast of 22.40m; second place went to Craig Blakeney, and third was Edward Howlin. Honours in the Ladies competition went to Betty Hayes, Kildare and in second place was Therese Cuffe, Ballina.

Shane O'Reilly and Mark Corps give casting tuition at the Casting Day.

The men's Amateur and Professional sections of the Single Handed Distance competition were hard fought. In the Amateur section, Sean Armstrong, Co.Down, took the spoils with a cast of 34.68m, second place went to Ken Oliver, Scotland, with 28.80m and in third was local lad Shane Egan with 28.21m. The Professional section proved to be a highly competitive event, the eventual winner, teenager Thomas Armstrong, Co. Down, winning with a cast of 34.68m. Mark Corps, Enniskillen took second place and third place went to Paddy McDonnell, Swinford.

Toddlers enjoy a spot of 'fishing' with Aishling Donegan, at the Casting Day

The Spey Casting competitions were held on the River Moy with I.C.S.F judges officiating. Shane Egan, took first place in the Amateur section with a cast of 36.6m, second was Thomas Armstrong, Co. Down, and third was Christopher Finnerty, Knockmore.

The Irish Open Spey Casting championship was the highlight of the day. During a tense qualifying round, possibly the longest cast ever recorded with a 15ft rod under competition conditions was made by Michael Egan, who threw an amazing cast of 60.40m to secure his place in the final.

Competitors and Judges at the Irish Open Spey Casting competition.

In the final round it was Gerard Downey, Foxford, with a winning cast of 59.3m who was named Irish Open Spey casting Champion 2010, retaining the trophy he took for the first time in 2009. Second place went to Michael Egan, Ballina, with a cast of 58.6m and in third place with a cast of 51.2m was Gerard Coyle, Bangor.

Irish Open Spey Casting Champion Gerard Downey, recieves his prize from Dr John Conneely, IFI.

Inland Fisheries Ireland - Ballina would like to congratulate all the competitors and thank Ballina Salmon Anglers, Ridge Pool Tackle Shop, Ballina Angling Centre and Tiernan Brothers, Foxford who supported the event.

Betty Hayes gives fly tying tips at the Casting Day.

Thomas Armstrong, winner of the professional single hand distance casting competition recieves his prize from Dr John Conneely, IFI.