Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, anglers fishing in Irish waters in 2020 caught hundreds of large fish — according to the latest Irish Specimen Fish Committee (ISFC) report.
One new record was set — for a 12.02kg smooth-hound hooked off Wicklow in July last year by Dublin angler John Hughes — and over 300 exceptionally large fish of different species were caught by anglers from venues throughout Ireland.
The main species were sharks like smooth-hound and spurdog while in freshwater, pike and brown trout dominated. All fish were caught, weighed, measured and released.
Amy O’Brien with dad Sidney, winner of the Dr AEJ Went Award for Young Specimen Angler of the Year with her 1.02kg golden grey mullet
Details of all these fish and current Irish record fish are in the Irish Specimen Fish Committee Report 2020, which has just been released and is available to download HERE. Hard copies will be available in mid-May.
The ISFC, 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.
