2009 Spey Omega International Open Speycasting Championship Oct 17th & 18th.
19/10/2009
The third Spey Omega Speycasting competition took place at the Anglers rest pub near Castleconnell on the River Shannon over two days. This is a true Speycasting competition in every sense, as it takes place on running water whilst wading to your waist, with a 15 foot rod and a 40 degree change of direction. The weather on the Saturday was very kind with the sun shining for most of the day , it was more like an August day than the middle of October. Pat Nolan of Premier Angling Supplies in Co. Tipperary once again kindly sponsored the event which has always had first class prizes.Carron had three team members at the event as it was home soil for two of the lads, Gerard Downey and Ruairi Costello, James Chalmers also participated in this very friendly competition. The qualifying took place on the Saturday and Sunday morning with the Grand Final taking place on the Sunday afternoon.
]The quality of casting on display was absolutely breathtaking, with the 2008 longest cast being beaten with Gerard Downeys first qualifying attempt, his fist 3 minutes qualifying produced a longest cast of 169 feet 7 inches (56.52 yards) which smashed the previous years longest cast by a considerable distance, this was cast with no wind whatsoever which really is impressive, congratulations Gerard on such a fine achievement.
Gerard Downey successfully casting 169 feet 7inches. (56.52 yards)
Sunday was a much colder day as the sunshine failed to make an appearance, there was also a light breeze coming upstream which made it difficult to keep the line within the designated lanes. This added difficulty helped casters to improve on their accuracy techniques at long distances as these can be found in any river fishing situation where the wind is blustery, the tighter the loop that was formed the better the results were.
The top 6 qualifiers to make the final:
| 1st | Gerard Downey | 169 feet 7 inches |
| 2nd | Ruairi Costello | 160 feet 4 inches |
| 3rd | James Chalmers | 148 feet 8 inches |
| 4th | Michael Egan | 148 feet 6 inches |
| 5th | Derek Doyle | 123 feet 4 inches |
| 6th | Cathal Doherty | 113 feet 6 inches |
A very healthy crowd gathered to see the final, as the weather was now quite cold with a distinct nip in the air.
The trophies and prizes for the winners were a great incentive to produce your best cast.
The scores in the final were lower than in the qualifying rounds as the wind was swirling and making it very difficult to keep your casts in between the boundary lines, however this did not deter Gerard Downey as he produced an immaculate display of Speycasting winning the competition with a magnificent 161 feet 4 inch cast .
Gerard Downey with the winning cast
The Final Results
| 1st | Gerard Downey | 161 feet 4 inches |
| 2nd | Ruairi Costello | 151 feet |
| 3rd | James Chalmers | 131 feet 10 inches |
| 4th | Derek Doyle | 116 feet |
| 5th | Cathal Doherty | 109 feet |
| 6th | Michael Egan | 103 feet 5 inches |
This was a brilliant achievement for the Carron boys taking the top three slots.
From left to right Ruairi Costello (2nd) Gerard Downey (1st) James Chalmers (3rd)
The tackle chosen for the top four casters was the trusty Carron 15 foot competition rod and the 95 foot 11/12 line, the development of this line is paying dividends in casting competitions as distances are increasing consistently.
Master of Ceremonies Robert Gillespie( left) presents the prizes
A fantastic weekend was had by all and really look forward to returning in 2010 for this prestigious tournament.
A big thank you to Pat Nolan of Premier Angling Supplies for generously supporting the event.