Banbridge Angling Club’s Competition Secretary Damian Murtagh and his Assistants Wilson Clinghan and Roger McClements continue to run a very sociable and vibrant Competition Programme each season for adult and juvenile Club members. The emphasis is very much on sportsmanship, fun and with a little competitive spice thrown in for good measure. The competitions are primarily held on Corbet Lough and the River Bann. However a few of competitions are also held outside the Club’s fisheries each season. If you are competitive go along and hone your angling skills against some of the Club’s top anglers. Indeed if you are interested in competition fishing these Club competitions could open the door for you competing in interprovincial and international competitions. If you are not competitive just go along for the sportsmanship and the craic. You will enjoy the angling and I have no doubt it will help to improve your angling skills and catch rate.
Prize Distribution Evening
The highlight in the Club’s social calendar is the annual Adult, Juvenile and Junior Prize Distribution Evening which will be held on Wednesday 20 May 2026 at the Corbet Lough (weather permitting). This is a great evening with a BBQ and an opportunity to socialise with angling friends. Even if you are not a competition angler I am sure that you would thoroughly enjoy the evening.
Juvenile Competitions 2026
The Juvenile competitions are open to all juvenile members and they run in parallel with the adult competitions.
Competitions 2026
The 2026 Competition Programme is available here. – Click Here
Angler of the Year 2025
Damian Murtagh, Competition Secretary and his assistants worked tirelessly to run an extensive, exciting, and challenging competition programme in 2025. Competitions were held on the Corbet Lough, River Bann and Lough Melvin, Co Fermanagh. The competition programme in 2025 attracted all the usual competition anglers and every now and again a few newcomers. The competitions were extremely competitive and as enjoyable as ever with some great fish and bags of fish being weighed in throughout the season. All the river competititions were fished on ‘catch and release’ basis and this proved very successful and popular with some lovely wild river brownies being caught, photographed and released unharmed. The Angler of the Year competition was very similar to last year with Roger McClements and Geoff Hylands competing throughout the season for the top spot. At the end of the season Roger had won 4 competitions and once again took the accoloade of Angler of the Year 2025 with 22 points. This was the seventh occasion that Roger has won the Angler of the Year title.
In the Juvenile section of the Angler of the Year competition there was a few anglers fishing the competition scene for the first time. At the end of the season the final result was very close between Jacob Heslip and Louis Clarke with both finishing on 6 points. Jacob who only started fishing the Club’s competitions this season won the Juvenile Anger of the Year 2025 title on the basis of a count back of the weight of the fish caught.
The Club’s junior competitions were primarly fished over the summer months. Elijah Park once again took the accolade of Junior Angler of the Year 2025 after winning the Percy Trophy, the Dr Cocks Shield and the Matrin Dynes Cup. This is the fifth occasion that Elijah has won the Junior Angler of the Year accolade.
Congratulations to Roger, Jacob and Elijah on their great success in 2025.
Angler of the Year Table 1975 – 2025
To view the full table of winners of the Angler of the Year award from 1975 to 2025. – Click Here