Over 200 enter final fishing competition on Sheelin

A Tyrone man netted a beautiful trout to win the Paddy Sheridan Memorial Cup in the climax of the fishing season on Lough Sheelin last Friday, October 5. An impressive 232 entries to the seventh Lough Sheelin Trout Protection Association's annual Stream Rehabilitation one day fly fishing competition made this one of the biggest and most successful trout fishing competitions in Ireland. A thick blanket of fog covered the lake for the first two hours after the starting gun, which didn't help matters. But the Sheelin anglers are not easily deterred and despite some temporary visibility problems a great day was had by all. A 15 inch and a two bag limit raised the bar so although many trout were caught, just 21 were recorded at the final. The remainder were released safely back into the water, strengthening this club's consistently strong 'catch and release' policy. The winner of this competition was Omagh man - Gordon Law with his 3.82lb trout. Gordon took home a beautiful Sheelin boat sponsored by Michael McCabe of Sheelin Boats and had his name etched on the Paddy Sheridan Memorial Cup. The late Paddy Sheridan was one of those rare highly skilled wooden boat builders and is still missed by those who frequent Mountnugent and Lough Sheelin. The LSTPA is an angling club committed to the protection, development and enhancement of Lough Sheelin and this competition although a major event is just one of many of the projects that this progressive club is involved with. For anyone interested in joining please contact Eamonn Ross, 087 9436 655 or Thomas Lynch, 087 9132 033.