Tipperary anglers win gold at World Youth Fly Fishing Championships
Adam Adcock and Richard Mazur took home medals from the championships
There was huge delight in Cashel on Tuesday night as news filtered back that two Cashel Anglers’ young local anglers had triumphed with the Irish team in the World Youth Fly Fishing Championships in Donegal.
Adam Adcock and Richard Mazur were an integral part of the Irish teams that won gold in the U19 and U24 categories.
Adam won five out of six of his individual heats in the U24s and was rewarded with a silver medal as second placed individual angler, to go with his gold team medal.
Richard, fishing with the U19s put in a massive performance across the five days and was second placed in a number of his individual heats.
The championships were jointly hosted by the Trout Angling Federation of Ireland and the Loughs Agency of Northern Ireland at a number of venues in Donegal and Tyrone.
Anglers based themselves in Ballybofey, with Jackson’s Hotel serving as base camp for the anglers and their families and coaches.
Nine countries were represented with young anglers from Ireland, Czech Republic, England, Slovakia, South Africa, Finland, USA, France and Slovenia competing.
It is the first time that an Irish team has won the team gold at a World Fly Fishing event.
The Irish team fished rivers and lakes across five days from bank and boat.
They fished Loughanure, Lough Craighy and Lough Deel in Donegal, and were hosted by the Loughs Agency at the rivers Quiggery and Dennett in Tyrone.
A number of companies sponsored the team, including Piscari Fly of Kilkenny and Ned Maher of Ardaire Springs.
Each angler fished one session a day, with the U19s fishing in the morning, while the U24s fished in the evening.
Team member Zach Barnett commented that conditions were far from ideal as, with: “bright sun, low winds and low waters - it was probably the hardest conditions you could have for fishing”.
The teams, however, were up to the challenge and, across five days, their consistency, skill and enthusiasm saw them top the boards in both disciplines, with Richard and Adam putting in very strong individual performances.
There are differences of approach and different skillsets required when fishing lakes from the bank and from the boat, and these differ strongly again from river fishing.
The U24s finished with a cumulative score of 32,620 points with 50 fish measured while the U19s finished on a score of 45,200 points with 31 fish.
Derek Cagney, Chairman of Cashel, Golden and Tipperary Anglers Association, and National Secretary of the Trout Angling Federation of Ireland spoke about his pride in how Richard and Adam, and their teammates, conducted themselves over the course of the five days.
They displayed immense fortitude, drive and concentration, in tandem with a level of skill that has taken years of practice and dedication to achieve.
To see their hard work and perseverance rewarded was an emotional moment for Derek and for the various coaches involved with the team.
He also offered thanks to their families, clubs and to their mentors who, over the years, worked with them to ensure that they would go on to achieve their full potential.
As with any elite sport, success is only possible with the support and sacrifice of those people around us.
As a club, Cashel, Golden and Tipperary Anglers Association are incredibly proud of Adam and Richard and they say their social media accounts were buzzing on Tuesday evening as hundreds of people made contact to offer congratulations to the two local world champions.
The club says congratulations to Adam and Richard, saying that they are absolutely delighted for them and look forward to seeing them go on to ever greater success.