Lough Ree International Pike Festival and World Cup 2016

Eamon Cunningham

The Lough Ree International Pike Festival and World Cup returns for it's seventh year and will take place on the 20th, 21st and 22nd April 2016 and we are now open for applications. The festival has grown into one of Europes best and largest Pike festivals in a relatively short period of time and both last year and the previous year the festival was completely booked out months in advance such is it's popularity and no doubt this year will be the very same.

The festival is unique in Ireland in that the winning fish are decided on length rather than weight and each boat is given a measuring board on which they place their fish, photograph it and then return the fish to the lake and it is the photographs which are used to decide the winners.

For this year’s festival we are increasing the number of boats allowed from 80 to 90 but the prize money will be capped at a maximum of €17,000. The extra money received over and above this will be used to purchase new measuring boards as over the last six years some of the boards have been damaged and lost and are now unusable so it is imperative that we replace these and as the festival is almost entirely self-funding this is the own way we can raise the funds to pay for them.

Click on the Athlone Anglers Association webite and you can download an application form and a copy of the rules and we would advise that you send them in as soon as you can to avoid disappointment as a lot of boats had their applications returned last year as we had reached the maximum number.

gumbo1

Prob a stupid question but do you need to bring your own boat or are some available for rent close to the venue?

Eamon Cunningham

A small number of boats and engines are available to rent and I can send you on contact details if you like. The vast majority of anglers do bring their own with them.