The name Basil Shields is synonymous with the trout angling fraternity for a very good reason. He is the most dedicated, consistent and successful trout angler in the country – by a mile. His CV reads like a Who's Who and many suggest he is Ireland's only "professional" at the sport. "I take competitions seriously and can spend up to three days prior to the event testing for possible 'hold out' locations. To date I have won seven boats and four engines," he once told me.
His track record in recent times speaks for itself. In July it was the autism competition with four fish for over 4.5kg and, earlier this month, the national interprovincial ITFFA championships, a win for the third time, with nine fish.
Shields’s latest escapade came last week following a convincing win with five fish at the 14th Vintner’s Two-Day Championships on Lough Mask. “I fished the Inishowen shoreline and Caher Bay both days on dries,” he said.
Conditions were tough over the two days for the 128 anglers, with squally winds and plenty of sunshine. This was reflected in catch returns of 67 and 61 trout over the two days or half a fish per angler, as one clever statistician put it!
Tough get going
To quote an old saying: “when conditions get tough, the tough get going”. Anglers of his calibre will always come to the fore in tough conditions when perhaps most begin to lose fate. One such angler who blanked both days quipped: “Anybody want to buy a fishing rod?”
Tom Ormond from Ratoath in Co Meath also had a memorable competition, taking second place overall. Leaving Burke’s Bay on day two with PJ O’Brien heading for Gortmore Bay, they made a quick stop at a headland off Kilbride shore.
“I put a Silver Daddy on the tail and on my first cast I got an enormous pull. The fish jumped several times and I could see he was big, very big. Surprisingly, he came to the net within minutes,” Tom said. The trout topped the scales at 2.687kg (6lb).
“It was the biggest trout I have ever caught on Mask and I intend to have it smoked in the local Cornamona smokery,” he said.
Over dinner, Cyril Biggins from Killarney held a raffle towards stream enhancement which realised €830 to be divided between the local Tourmakeady and Ballinrobe angling clubs. Burkes of Clonbur was, as usual, the focal point and, true to form, the family and staff came up trumps with their hospitality. The vintner’s competition is special! No wonder it has a waiting list of 40!
Competition organiser Tom “Swanky” Sweeney thanked the many sponsors (over 70 prizes), the Burke family and committee for their hard work.
Results: 1, B Shields, 5 fish, 4.25kg; 2, T Ormond, 2f, 3.13kg; 3, R Willis, 5f, 2.58kg; 4, J O’Connell, 3f, 2.49kg; 5, J Forde, 3f, 2.35kg.
Prof Ken Whelan’s popular life-long learning course The Freshwater Detective will take place in UCD and Limerick IT (Clonmel and Limerick
city). To book the UCD courses, visit ucd.ie/adulted/ and Limerick IT courses: FLTipperary@lit.ie or contact Maureen.Ryan@lit.ie.
Early booking UCD details comprise
six Mondays from 7pm to 9pm. Classroom: September 28th; October 5th, 12th, 19th; November 2nd, 9th. (No class October 26th). Four Saturdays from 11am to 1pm. Field trips: October 3rd, 10th, 17th and Nov 14th.
Limerick IT details are Clonmel: November 6th, 7th and 20th, 21st. Limerick City: November 27th/28th and December 4th/5th. Book early to avoid disappointment.
An exciting new programme for unemployed adults from Derry city and Strabane District Council area will include casting instruction (levels 1, 2 and 3) and instructor certificate (level 1).
The programme is free, runs for eight weeks and food plus most travel costs will be covered. A few places remain. Contact Geraldine asap at 02871-308466 or Geraldine.oheara@derrycityandstrabanedistrict.com.
angling@irishtimes.com
