IRELAND is for Lee Klimczuk. The Van den Eynde sponsored match angler from Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire, is the 2010 King of Clubs Champion and £3,000 richer after two great weeks match fishing in Cavan and Leitrim.
Lee finished fourth in the five-day King of Clubs last year, but this time around made himself almost unbeatable by winning his section on four days, while finishing second on the all-important final last day to clinch one of the tightest keenly contested festivals ever.
The rotation of sections was very important because some loughs with a high proportion of bream and skimmers, tended to improve as the week went on.
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| Lee Klimczuk on Rosduff |
Lee began on Monday with end peg one on Eonish Lake where he caught 8.460 kilos of roach and hybrids; day two he moved to the upper shoreline on Gulladoo Lake and netted 7.300 kilos of hybrids on a groundbait feeder and worm.
On Wednesday he found himself in the middle of the section on Derries Lake at Lisney and won with 12-780 of small silver fish after wading 15 metres to work with his feeder and red maggot on a 14s hook for roach and hybrids. On day four he moved to Leonard’s Farm on Lough Gowna and and was seven kilos ahead of the nearest man when he weighed-in with 15.140 kilos of hybrids caught on pole-fished caster at 14 metres.
At breakfast on Friday in the Breffni Arms Hotel match HQ, little more than two kilos of fish separated the the top four contenders from the guaranteed £1,000 sponsored by Irish ferries and Tourism Ireland. The line up was: Kevin Rowles (45.780), Alistair Ogilvie (45.400), Lee Klimczuk (43-780) and Leo Koot (42-990).
The top two were wiped out by when they drew alongside each other on mediocre pegs on Derries. That left Holland’s Leo in with a chance from peg two on Gulladoo Lake and took full advantage, sticking to long pole tactics that produced a raft of small roach, hybrids, skimmers and perch that kept him busy and resulted in a well taken 9-860 kilos.
Meanwhile, Klimczuk had picked an end peg on Rosduff Shore where he struggled through a blank opening 90 minutes before catching skimmer bream. He was casting a groundbait feeder 50 metres into four metres of water and with red maggot, alternated with worm, he put together a festival-clinching 9-940 kilos … to win by 0.870 of a kilo.
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The King of Clubs presentation (l-r) Leo Koot, Lee Klimczuk, |
It was the end to a brilliant fortnight of match fishing for the new champion, who the week previously won his section every day during the 100-peg Arva Angling festival.
Tourism Ireland and Irish ferries have announced their continued sponsorship of the festival for 2011 with the tournament running from September 11 to 16.
For fishing trips to Ireland visit Active Irish Breaks.
