The boat angling at the Corbet Lough opened on 1 April 2022. The Lough is fishing very well at this time and early reports are that the boat anglers are enjoying some good fishing. On Friday 1 April Darryl Grimason and Brian Binghan enjoyed a good boat session with 12 fish between them. On Saturday 2 April Gerard Lyness and Tom King who are regular boat anglers enjoyed a very good session with 13 fish to the boat. On Saturday 2 April the Club’s competition anglers were also fishing at the Corbet Lough. The adults fished for the iconic Bruce Carson Trophy. There was a good turn out of anglers and although they caught plenty of fish the bigger ones were far and few between on this occasion. At the weigh-in Roger McClements won the Trophy with 2 fish weighing 4lbs 6ozs. Keith Gibson was in 2nd place and Trevor Jones was 3rd. The Club’s junior anglers fished for the Bill Gault Glazing Cup. Xavier Mackle won the Cup with 2 fish weighing 4lbs 3ozs with Pearse Downey and Alfie McDowell 2nd and 3rd respectively. The Club’s next competition is on the River Bann on Easter Monday 18 April when the adult anglers will fish for the Linda McCandless Cup and the juveniles will fish for the Roger Young Trophy. On Monday 4 April Wilson Clinghan was fishing from the Dam Wall at the Corbet and he had a great brownie of over 4 lbs on the fly. On Tuesday 5 April Brendan Downey had great fly fishing from the shore right aound the Lough with 14 fish up to 4lbs. On Thursday 7 April Stevie Rea and Mark Douglas had a great boat session with over 30 fish between them. On Saturday 9 April Jeff Twyning enjoyed a short boat session and had 2 good rainbows. Robert McKee and Sam Nelson also had some great boat fishing with 13 fish between them including a 4lbs rainbow and a 2.5lbs brownie. Simon Henderson was boat fishing for a few hours and he had 3 nice rainbows. Gary McFadden and Davy Maguinness took a boat out for a 6 hour session and they enjoyed fantastic fishing with over 50 fish between them including a beautiful brownie of about 4lbs. Aidan Lavery, Lisburn was fly fishing from the shore and he had 35 good fish up to 4lbs. Raymond Cherry, Lisburn was also fly fishing from the shore and he had 7 nice fish. On Sunday 10 April Dennis Lucas and his son Dennis had a great boat session with 20 fish between them. Sam Watt was also out for a few hours boat fishing and he had 23 nice fish. Stevie Ferris was fly fishing from the shore and he had 10 fish. Frank Kearney was also fly fishing from the shore and he had 7 fish up to 4lbs. Geoff Hylands and Leonard Ervine were also out fly fishing from the shore and they had 37 fish between them. On Monday 11 April it was very blustery at the Corbet and casting was challenging. However Aidan Lavery, Lisburn was back again and he had more great fishing with 25 fish on the fly from the shore. Brendan Downey found some shelter in the bottom bay and he had 12 nice fish on the fly. On Tuesday 12 April visiting angler Adrian Round took a couple of hours fly fishing on the River Bann and he 14 nice wild brownies. On Friday 15 April Marty Allen was fly fishing from the boat at the Corbet Lough and he had some great fish including a beautiful brownie. George Hall also caught a great Rainbow of 4lbs at the Corbet. Adrian Round was out on the River and he had 9 fish up to 14 inches on the fly. On Saturday 16 April Andrew Rea and Stevie Rea were out on the Corbet for a boat fishing session and they had great sport with 46 fish between them. Gary McFadden and Davy Maguinness also had some great fishing from the boat with 45 fish between them. It was also great to see Freddy Steele and Brian Bingham out for a few hours boat fishing at the Corbet and catching a number of great fish, including some very good brownies. On Monday 18 April Stevie Rea and Andrew Rea had 35 fish up to 3lbs, including a number of great browns, to the boat. Patrick Curran was out in a boat for a couple of hours and he had a Rainbow and 4 browns up to 2.5lbs. Stevie Ferris was fishing from the shore and he had a nice Rainbow on the fly. Brendan Downey was also fly fishing from the shore and he had a fantastic Rainbow of 5lbs 7ozs. On Monday 18 April the Club’s competition anglers were on the River Bann fishing for the Linda McCandless Cup. At the weigh-in Geoff Hylands won the Cup with a great catch weighing 1lb 6ozs. Martin Dynes and Sam Grant were 2nd and 3rd respectively. The Club’s next competitions are at the Corbet Lough on 23 April when the adult anglers will fish for the AIB Cup and the juveniles will fish for the Angela Murtagh Cup. On Thursday 21 April Sam Watt was at the Corbet for a few hours boat fishing and he had 14 nice fish. Stevie Rea and Mark Douglas were also out for a day’s boat fishing and they had over 20 good fish between them. Stevie also hooked and lost a cracking fish which he reckoned was easily well over 5lbs. On Saturday 23 April The Silver Butchers held a boat fishing outing at the Corbet Lough. Although the conditions were extremely difficult most of the anglers caught a few fish. At the end of the outing Corbet Lough regular Gerard Lyness was declared the top rod with a great catch of 31 fish. The Club’s adult competition anglers were also at the Corbet fishing for the AIB Cup. At the weigh-in Martin Dynes won the Cup with a brace of nice fish weighing just over 4lbs. Roger McClements and Trevor Jones were 2nd and 3rd respectively. After 5 competitions the top of the adult Angler of the Year 2022 leaderboard is very tight with Andrew Rea and Roger McClements joint 1st on 6 points followed closely by Martin Dynes in 3rd place with 5 points. The Club’s next competitions are at the Cobet Lough on Monday 2nd May when the adults will be fishing for the Jos Willis Cup (Adults) and the juveniles will be fishing for the Jos Willis Cup (Juveniles). All anglers wishing to enter the Banbridge Angling Club’s Open Boat Fly Fishing Competition at the Corbet Lough are reminded that the closing date for entries is Tuesday 3rd May which is approaching fast. All entries along with the entry fee of £25 must be submitted to the Clubrooms at Havelock Park or with the Boat Attendants at the Corbet Lough by 3rd May. On Monday 25 April George Hall had a good boat session at the Corbet Lough with a cracking 5lbs Rainbow. Robert Weir and his boat partner also had a very good boat session taking a number of fish on dries. On Friday 29 April Gerard Lyness and Tom King had 39 fish to the boat. On Saturday 30 April Stevie Rea and Darrell McKinley had a great day’s boat fishing at the Corbet Lough with over 50 fish between them. Stevie caught an awesome Rainbow of 9lbs 11ozs which just might be the biggest fish ever caught and reported at the Corbet. Stevie and Darrell sportingly return all their fish unharmed. Andrew Rea also enjoyed a good boat session with 18 fish. Stevie Clark also had great fishing with 15 fish to the boat. Martin Allen and Paul Douglas also enjoyed some great boat fishing with 25 fish between them. Maurice Lemon also had 3 nice fish to the boat.