Irish Anglers catch many Large Fish during 2019
Catch and release the byword as Irish Specimen Fish Committee publishes report
Anglers fishing Irish waters caught hundreds of large fish in 2019 according to the just-published Irish Specimen Fish Committee (ISFC) report.
For the first time in many years no new records were set but over 500 exceptionally large fish of different species were caught by anglers from venues throughout Ireland in 2019. The main species were smaller shark species like Smooth-hound and Spurdog and in freshwater large Bream and Pike dominated. All fish were caught, weighed, measured and released. From 2020 there will be a new award for the best length-based Specimen, for the fish which represents the greatest percentage of the threshold length for all eligible length-only species.
Details of all of these fish and the current Irish record fish are in the Irish Specimen Fish Committee Report 2019, which has just been released. The Irish Specimen Fish Committee, which is supported by Inland Fisheries Ireland, is an independent all-Ireland voluntary body which verifies and records the capture of large fish caught on rod by anglers in freshwater and marine waters.
The Irish Specimen Fish Committee report is available on the ISFC website www.irish-trophy-fish.com or from the Inland Fisheries Ireland website http://www.fisheriesireland.ie/. Hard copies of the report are available from Inland Fisheries Ireland Citywest office from Friday the 31st of January 2020.
The ISFC Awards Day, when anglers will be presented with their awards and certificates, will be held on the 15th of February 2020 in Dublin (in conjunction with Irish Angling Show weekend: http://irelandanglingexpo.ie/ ).
Meanwhile, anglers both at home and abroad will be reading the report carefully to plan their angling trips to catch the big fish in Ireland in 2020.
Evan Collins Megrim who won the Dr AEJ Went Award for “Young Specimen Angler of the Year”
