Top anglingtalent boundfor May fair

Among the celebrity guests making an appearance at the fair will be Gordon Armstrong, who currently works as the head ghillie at Ness Castle Lodges, and has competed at the highest level and is the three times world speycasting champion.

He also holds the GAIA casting instructor’s qualification, in both single and double hand casting.

Derry City and Strabane District Council, is delighted that Waterside-resident Pauline McClenaghan, who is a member of the Irish Ladies Flyfishing Association (ILFA) and a member of the Association of Professional Game Angling Instructors (APGAI) will be coming along. A qualified single handed fishing instructor, Pauline currently works out of the Oaks Fishery, Enagh, in Derry~Londonderry.

One of Ireland’s leading authorities on trout and salmon fishing, Peter O’Reilly will be making an appearance at the fair. The author of four of the best respected books on angling in Ireland: ‘Trout and Salmon Loughs of Ireland’ , ‘Trout and Salmon Rivers of Ireland’ , ‘Flies of Ireland’ and ‘Flyfishing in Ireland’, Peter is expected to be a huge draw for fishing enthusiasts from all over the region.

Three times world Spey casing champion and APGAI qualified casting instructor, Scott Mackenzie, will be travelling from Scotland to attend the fair. He has over 20 years’ experience as a full time ghillie, on some of the best salmon rivers in Scotland; while fly-fishing expert Steve Munn, from Armagh will be coming along to educate the audience about the fascinating world of fly-fishing in his unique humorous style.

Andrew Toft, an AAPGAI & FFF master instructor based in Glasgow, and an international World Champion Fly-Caster who has attained a high level of proficiency in all aspects of Fly-Casting with both the single and double handed rod, will also be in attendance.

Other guest celebs include Ken Whelan, who is well known for his regular radio contributions to Mooney Goes Wild on RTE Radio 1 and has been involved in the scripting and presenting of many films and videos on Irish fisheries and angling. He will be accompanied by Jason O’Riordan, and together they run a series of popular angling classes across Ireland. Jason has a lifetime experience of fishing and guiding on the rivers, lakes and coastline and is a Mackenzie Pro Guide and an IFFF Qualified Fly Casting Instructor.

Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council Cllr Elisha McCallion says: “It’s a fantastic event aimed at promoting the area’s offering in terms of fishing tourism and its natural asset of the River Mourne. There is two-days of action packed activity for everyone to enjoy including fly casting demonstrations, fly tying competitions and events for the family such as birds of prey and cookery demonstrations.”

For those interested in finding out more about the North West Angling Fair please visit www.derrystrabane.com/anglingfair