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Displaying items by tag: World Open Pike Fishing Classic

Irish anglers showed their dominance at the Waterways Ireland World Open Pike Fishing Classic on the River Erne at Enniskillen recently.

Bothers Eddie and Frankie Roofe from Enniskillen came tops in the boat fly event, claiming the top three spots in the standings with their catches.

In the bank event, which featured a record 103 entrants, Lisburn angler Alan Foye took top prize with a 20lb 6oz monster.

But even that catch was overshadowed on day two of the boat event, when local angler Nick Seddon caught a 25lb 15oz whopper - the biggest fish in the history of the contest.

Seddon claimed first place and a £3,000 prize, followed by Darryl Curry in second and Joe third-place McDermott, both of whom caught fish over 24lb.

The team event was taken by Team Shannon, comprising father-and-son duos Joe and Jason McDermott and Barry and Finian Darby, with a total catch of 112lb.

A turnout of 363 competitors from 17 different countries caught between them a total of 227 pike over the weekend, five of which weighed over 20lb.

Published in Angling

About Quarter Tonners

The Quarter Ton Class is a sailing class of the International Offshore Rule racing the Quarter Ton Cup between 1967 and 1996 and from 2005 until today.

The class is sailed by smaller keelboats of similar size and is likely the world's most-produced keelboat class.

The Ton, Half, Quarter, etc. 'classes' were each given a 'length' and yacht designers had almost free rein to work the hull shapes and measurements to achieve the best speed for that nominal length.

The Ton Rules produced cranky and tender boats without actual downwind speed. Measurement points created weird, almost square hull shapes with longish overhangs.

They were challenging to sail optimally and lost value very quickly as any new wrinkle (e.g. 'bustles') to take advantage of the rule made older boats very quickly uncompetitive.

Although its heyday was 30 years ago, the boat class continues to make its presence felt by holding its own in terms of popularity against some fern race fleets.