11 DTAA anglers took part in the ITFFA Leinster Qualifiers on Lough Lene yesterday Saturday 16th August. 5 members made the cut and are through to the National Final to take palce next year on Lough Conn, a lake that many DTAA members will be very familiar with and for which they hold great affection.

Gerry Heaslip had an outstanding day with 3 fish, earning him top spot and trophy, presented below by Brendan Murray.

The other DTAA qualified anglers are Declan McKibben, Fran Nugent, Brian Conway, and Alan Doherty:

Conditions were great: it turned out to be not as sunny as forecasted, and there was a light to moderate wind which produced a nice wave, meaning that many anglers switched to wetfly methods as the competition progressed (thanks to Mark McAllister for sharing these pictures below)

Despite the good conditions, however, fish were hard got and only 23 anglers caught fish that measured. This was similar to how many anglers reported their fishing on Lene in the previous week, with Friday being flat calm and nothing working, and Wednesday being a little better with the off fish being seen and hooked.

Thanks to Brendan, Denis, Martin and all the ITTFA Leinster team for organising the qualifier, and looking forward to the final next year on Conn.