Carron year 2010
August 2010 -
The Fly Casting World Championship, Fargernes, Norway
Members of Team Carron left their respected home soil and travelled to Norway to represent their countries at the "First Official World Fly Casting Championships".
A championship designed to exalt the very best standards of fly casting and sportsmanship using commercially available standard fly fishing equipment and officially supported by the governing casting body, the I.C.S.F.
Team Carron created a piece of angling history, returning triumphant having won three gold and three silver medals in a variety of events over the two day competition.
Three New World Champions.
pictured left to right are:
Gerard Downey, The 15 ft, Speycasting World Champion,
Andrew Toft, The 18 ft, Speycasting World Champion,
and Ruairi Costello "Overall World Champion".
The weekend began with the Team being collected by Jetstream Aviation in their new Hawker Beechcraft Kingair B200 GT.
This luxury allowed us to arrive at the venue without the usual stresses of regular air travel and the now very
familiar baggage problems. Leaving the airport with our fishing equipment complete was essential this weekend.
Ready to go: James Chalmers, Andrew Toft, Jimmy Jack, Ruairi Costello, Iain Gardner and Gerard Downey
The venue chosen for the World Championships was simply stunning. Nestling in a steep sided valley lay the beautiful
Fagernes and the lake where all the competitions would take place.
The courses were fully set up on our arrival and training was in full swing. This was to be the pinnacle of distance
fly casting championships, with competitors attending from all over the globe.
Attending were legendary names in the industry - all training hard to keep themselves focused on what they were there
to achieve "To win Gold for their country".
The weather on day one was rain, rain and more rain! The single handed and overhead casting would therefore prove to
be extremely challenging. I witnessed some magnificent casts as I made my way around the various casting disciplines,
none more so, than watching Steve Rajeff who, in my opinion, is the greatest single handed caster of all time. His
score proved to be a 78 points out of a possible 80 in the trout accuracy contest! It was a privilege to witness that
great man at work.
The rains kept coming - the contest was shaping up. It emerged that Ruairi Costello had qualified for every final of
each discipline that he had entered. An amazing feat!
I watched his sea trout casting qualifying event and with no wind assistance, a 10ft trout rod and a 26 gram fly line
- he scored a magnificent 40.5 metre cast. This took him to 1st place in this qualifying round and guaranteed him a
top spot in the final. As he walked off the platform everyone gave him a standing ovation as they all knew that they
had just witnessed a spectacular achievement.
Ruairi Costello with a long cast in the sea trout distance competition.
The final took place that afternoon. The rain had abated somewhat, the wind had changed direction. Some competitors
were now really showing signs of struggling as they tried to find form as the conditions were proving very difficult.
Ireland’s Ruairi Costello managed to take medals in both the 5# distance and the 15 foot overhead divisions.
Saturday was Speycasting day for both the 15 ft and 18 ft rod competitions.
The 18 ft competition took place on a purpose built platform whilst the 15 ft competition took place in the water,
wading in to a position above your thighs. It also involved casting from both left and right shoulders then the best
score from each shoulder being added together to give a total.
The conditions for the 15 ft finals event proved to be really tricky as the wind had started to cause waves in the lake
making it really difficult to pick your line up from the water. This all added to the excitement of the contest as the
man who could best cope with these conditions, would prove to be a worthy World Champion.
The quality of casting on show from the six finalists was extraordinary.
Ruairi Costello began by setting a terrific benchmark for everyone to chase, a distance of 95 metres - but the man who
proved his skill, with a simply breathtaking display of Spey casting,
was Gerard Downey of Ireland with a combined left and right score of 101 metres.
(53 m on his left and a 48 m with his right) - to make him
"The Official I.C.S.F. 15 ft World Champion"
Gerard Downey, Ireland "The 15 ft Spey casting, Official World Champion"
Gerard Downey applies the power in the 18 foot contest.
Next on the agenda was the 18 ft spey casting competition.
This would be the last competition of the weekend, the Grand Finale.
By this time, the sun was shining brightly giving warm air temperatures and not a breath of wind. These conditions are
the best leveller that you can find for any casting competition, as no one has the advantage from wind assistance and
true talent and technique will win the day.
The six finalists gave the large audience, an amazing display of spey casting, all using an 18 ft rod.
Ruairi Costello, yet again set the standard with an amazing cast of 58.5metres in the flat calm conditions. This left
the remaining three competitors with something to think about!
The next competitor was Scottish, Andrew Toft, of the United Kingdom.
Andrew achieved a magnificent cast of 59 metres.
This gave him the all important title "The 18 ft Spey casting Official World Champion"
"The 18 ft Spey casting Official World Champion" Andrew Toft U.K.
The prizegiving ceremony hosted by the Norwegian casting federation , the governing body of the ICSF and in the
presence of the Minister of Tourism for the Valdres area of Norway was in the form of a banquet to commemorate the
success of the event.
There had been more than thirty official judges present and they all received a standing ovation for their contribution
to the success of the weekend’s events. The gold medals and the very varied National anthems were still in the air when
a final announcement was made.
The chairman of the ICSF announced:
"Ladies and Gentleman, it gives me great pleasure to announce a very special prize for the most gifted caster over the
course of the World Championships this weekend in Fagernes. His enthusiasm for the sport and willingness to help
others with technique, whether it be single handed, two handed or Speycasting - will always be recognised as the
"Overall World Champion". This man qualified in every competition he entered and in many cases smashed personal bests
that most casters, including the seasoned professionals strive for. I take great pleasure in awarding this prestigious
award to the most talented caster I have seen.
The new "Overall World Champion" from Ireland, Mr Ruairi Costello."
The new "Overall World Champion" from Ireland, Mr Ruairi Costello.
Savouring the moment.......... triumphant Team Carron! Well done everyone!
July 2010 -
The CLA Gamefair, Ragley Hall
A resounding success for Carron this year at the CLA Gamefair with a win of first, second and third places in the Open speycasting distance competition.
First place went to Andrew Toft, one of the stalwarts of our Carron team, who achieved a winning distance of 64.95 metres in Sundays final.
Andrew Toft, Carron winner of the 2010 CLA Open Speycasting competition, receiving his prizes from the Marquis of Hertford.
Ragley Hall was a new venue for the CLA this year and Fisherman's village surrounding the lake at Ragley was a perfect showcase for anglers and casters alike.
The Open Speycasting qualifying rounds, took place over two days with the showcase final in front of the grandstand on the Sunday. There was an international feel to competition as competitors had travelled as far away as Japan , Norway, Ireland and all corners of the UK.
It is always good to meet up with old friends and make new ones at these events and it also gives us a chance to discuss new tactics and keep up to date with the latest equipment available.
We learn so much at the events - knowledge that we try to bring forward to our ever increasing range of rods and Jetstream lines.
The organisers had added laser marking this year from Storm geomatics which proved to be very quick, accurate and efficient. They also provided two judges in a boat double checking the figures as the competition progressed.
Weather conditions seemed to be at their best on Friday as the wind on Saturday and Sunday morning proved to be difficult with strong crosswinds.
The top six qualifiers achieving the longest casts would go forward to Sundays Grand Final and these proved to be:
| 1st | Andrew Toft ( Carron) | 64.0m |
| 2nd | Gerard Downey (Carron) | 63.4m |
| 3rd | Mathias Lilliheim (Norway) | 61.0m |
| 4th | Ruairi Costello (Carron) | 60.5m |
| 5th | James Chalmers (Carron) | 58.2m |
| 6th | Michael Egan | 57.0m |
Sunday's final proved to be a very exciting affair with the wind causing problems for all competitors, the crowd were not disappointed as the 6 finalists produced a first class display of top quality Spey casting.
The final results:
| 1st | Andrew Toft | 64.95m |
| 2nd | Gerard Downey | 62.5m |
| 3rd | James Chalmers | 58.75m |
| 4th | Mathias Lilliheim | 58.25m |
| 5th | Ruairi Costello | 56.5m |
| 6th | Michael Egan | 52.0m |
Andrew Toft with his winning cast.
The Carron boys took the top three places and pictured from left to right are:
Gerard Downey in 2nd place, Andrew Toft the CLA Champion & James Chalmers 3rd place
James Chalmers receiving the Manufacturers trophy from Andrew Toft on behalf of Carron Rod & Case Company.
We would like to offer a big thank you to all those who participated and helped make it such a memorable weekend and with particular thanks to the Salmon and Trout Association who did a sterling and often thankless job organising the official judging. Thank you everyone.
Looking forward to 2011
Loughs Agency Angling Fair 17th & 18th April 2010.
River Strule, Newtonstewart Co Tyrone.
The Loughs Agency Angling Fair produced some spectacular casting over the course of the weekend.
The competition took place on a purpose built, man-made pond, which allowed measurements to be made accurate to the inch.
The conditions on the Saturday proved to be very challenging as a strong
headwind made it difficult to cast long distances. The competitors used this time well to hone
their skills for the final on the Sunday - and the watching crowd were not
disappointed!
Sunday's audience witnessed Ireland's own, Gerard Downey cast a spectacular
New World Record Distance of 222 feet 4 inches - improving on his previous record by a further
four inches!
A magnificent achievement. Well done Gerard.
This distance ensured that Gerard took first place in the Loughs Agency Speycasting competition 2010.
Gerard Downey, New World Record Holder.
And the official paperwork to prove it!
Spey O Rama World Championships, Golden Gate Angling Club, San Francisco
April 9th-11th
Gordon Armstrong, World Champion takes top honours in San Francisco.
Carron sent a strong seven man team to compete in the annual Spey O Rama casting competition in San Francisco.
This casting facility is simply stunning and had been prepared to the highest standard for the event. This
multi discipline event is growing year on year, with a very talented entry list
with somewhere in the region of 35 top class competitors from all around the
world taking part.
The Carron Team enjoying the Californian sunshine.
Andrew Toft, Gordon Armstrong, Iain Gardner, James Chalmers, Gerard Downey, Ruairi Costello and Mark Chalmers
The qualifying rounds took place on Saturday with the best 10 casters moving onto the Grand final on Sunday. The
drawing of the lots in the GGACC lodge proved to be a tense affair, as the
weather, which was a headwind was forecast to die away as the morning wore on.
The qualifying rounds were a delight to watch as the Carron boys really shone, they became more familiar
with the adverse conditions and chose their casts wisely, this gave three of
them in particular fantastic qualifying results.
Qualifying scores for all 4 disciplines.
The Met Office had promised that Sunday’s weather was to be very wet with winds gusting up to 40 mph, and that’s
exactly how it was. It was miserable.
But the show had to go on - all the casters prepared themselves for a really difficult final.
The conditions played a big part in the reduced distances achieved, as the winds were very unpredictable and the rain lashed down.
The Carron Team did exceptionally well, taking the top 3 places.
What a fantastic achievement boys, well done to you all.
Final placings were.
| |
From |
Left |
From |
Right |
|
|
| Name |
L/shoulder |
R/shoulder |
L/shoulder |
R/shoulder |
Total |
Place |
| G.Armstrong |
142 |
159 |
130 |
148 |
579 |
1st |
| G.Downey |
144 |
152 |
122 |
145 |
563 |
2nd |
| R.Costello |
146 |
130 |
143 |
139 |
558 |
3rd |
The rain came down so hard that for the first time in the competition’s history, the prizes were presented
inside the prestigious GGACC Lodge.
This made the award ceremony a little cramped but the speakers relayed it to everyone getting wet outside.
The Carron 1,2,3. or "The Carron Clean Sweep"
1st Gordon Armstrong(on the right), 2nd Gerard Downey(on the left) and 3rd Ruairi Costello(middle).
Well done to all the Carron boys who took part, we are very proud of your wonderful efforts.
Carron year 2009
2009 Spey Omega
International Open Speycasting Championship Oct 17th& 18th.
The third Spey Omega Speycasting competition took place at the Anglers
rest pub near Castleconnell on the River Shannon over two days. This is a true
Speycasting competition in every sense, as it takes place on running water
whilst wading to your waist, with a 15 foot rod and a 40 degree change of
direction. The weather on the Saturday was very kind with the sun shining for
most of the day , it was more like an August day than the middle of October.
Pat Nolan of Premier Angling Supplies in Co. Tipperary once again kindly
sponsored the event which has always had first class prizes.
Carron had three team members at the event as it was home soil for two
of the lads, Gerard Downey and Ruairi Costello, James Chalmers also participated in this very friendly
competition. The qualifying took place on the Saturday and Sunday morning with
the Grand Final taking place on the Sunday afternoon.
The quality of casting on display was absolutely breathtaking, with the
2008 longest cast being beaten with Gerard Downeys first qualifying attempt,
his fist 3 minutes qualifying produced a longest cast of 169 feet 7 inches
(56.52 yards) which smashed the previous years longest cast by a considerable
distance, this was cast with no wind whatsoever which really is impressive,
congratulations Gerard on such a fine achievement.
Gerard Downey successfully casting 169 feet 7inches.(56.52 yards)
Sunday was a much colder day as the
sunshine failed to make an appearance, there was also a light breeze coming
upstream which made it difficult to keep the line within the designated lanes.
This added difficulty helped casters to improve on their accuracy techniques at
long distances as these can be found in any river fishing situation where the
wind is blustery, the tighter the loop that was formed the better the results
were.
The top 6 qualifiers to make the final
1. Gerard Downey 169 feet 7 inches
2. Ruairi Costello 160 feet 4 inches
3. James Chalmers 148 feet 8 inches
4. Michael Egan 148 feet 6 inches
5. Derek Doyle 123 feet 4 inches
6. Cathal Doherty 113 feet 6 inches
A very healthy crowd gathered to see the
final, as the weather was now quite cold with a distinct nip in the air.
The trophies and prizes for the winners
were a great incentive to produce your best cast.
The scores in the final were lower
than in the qualifying rounds as the wind was swirling and making it very
difficult to keep your casts in between the boundary lines, however this did
not deter Gerard Downey as he produced an immaculate display of Speycasting
winning the competition with a magnificent 161 feet 4 inch cast .
Gerard Downey with the winning cast
The Final Results
1st .Gerard Downey 161 feet 4 inches
2nd Ruairi Costello 151 feet
3rd James Chalmers 131 feet 10 inches
4th Derek Doyle 116 feet
5th Cathal Doherty 109 feet
6th Michael Egan 103 feet 5 inches .
This was a brilliant achievement for the Carron boys taking the top three slots.
From left to right Ruairi Costello
(2nd) Gerard Downey (1st) James Chalmers (3rd)
The tackle chosen for the top four
casters was the trusty Carron 15 foot competition rod and the 95 foot 11/12 line,
the development of this line is paying dividends in casting competitions as
distances are increasing consistently.
Master of Ceremonies Robert Gillespie( left) presents the prizes
A fantastic weekend was had by all
and really look forward to returning in 2010 for this prestigious tournament.
A big thank you to Pat Nolan of
Premier Angling Supplies for generously supporting the event.
Saitama Tokyo Japan October 2009
Carron sent a three man team to Tokyo to compete in the
2009 JCA Anglers Class Masters International Casting Competition, James
Chalmers Ruairi Costello and Gordon Armstrong set off for Japan full of
anticipation. This event took place over two days with the overhead
competition on the Saturday at the stadium and the Speycasting competition
taking place on the Sunday at the prefecture or outdoor swimming pool.
Carron boys Ruairi Costello and Gordon Armstrong excelled in
the overhead events taking a total of 4 medals and one trophy. These were in
the 6 weight and 8 weight single handed along with Ruairi Costello taking Gold
in the 10 weight two handed overhead and Gordon Armstrong taking the Bronze,
Ruairi also took the trophy for the longest overhead cast of the weekend with
an amazing 61.08 metres in the 10 weight two handed class.
Ruairi and Gordon with their prizes.
10 weight
overhead presentation.
Sundays
Speycasting events included 16 foot and 18 foot class with 123 entries in both
competitions each competitor getting three minutes to produce their best two
qualifying casts. The finals would take place in the afternoon with the best
twelve in each category making the final, two platforms were in full swing
during the qualifying rounds with the top 6 scorers from each platform making
the final, this made it absolutely fair as one platform was with the wind and
the other was against it, the JCA ran the operation with the utmost efficiency and
by 2.30pm the final twelve casters in each final had been selected.
Carron boys
Gordon Armstrong, Ruairi Costello and James Chalmers had made both finals
which was a magnificent achievement as the standard was so high.
16 foot
class lane A. qualifying.
1st
Ruairi Costello 95.00m best cast 50m
2nd
Gordon Armstrong 92.50m best cast 47m
6th
James Chalmers 85.50m best cast 46m
18 foot
class lane A . qualifying
1st
Gordon Armstrong 105.50m best cast 53.50m
2nd
James Chalmers 103.00m best cast 52.50m
3rd
Ruairi Costello
95.50m best cast 49.00m
16 foot
final Results
1st
Ruairi Costello
102.00m best cast 52.00m
2nd Gordon
Armstrong
101,50m best cast 52.00m
10th James
Chalmers 88.50m best cast 44.50m
18 foot
final Results
1st
Yamene Masanori 105.50m best cast 53.5m
2nd
Gordon Armstrong 103.50m best cast 52.5m
3rd
Ruairi Costello 102.50m best cast 51.5m
4th
Kitabayashi Mutsuo 101.00m best cast 53.0m
5th
Tommy Aarkvisla 100.50m best cast 51.5m
6th
Motizuki Noboru 99.50m best cast 52.0m
7th
Mathias Lillieheim 96.00m best cast 51.0m
8th
James Chalmers 92.00m best cast 48.0m
The standard
of casting in Japan is fantastic and improving all the time, I must say a big
congratulations to Red Dragon and Kitabayashi Mutsuo for a magnificent
performance in the final.
Prize
ceremony for the 16 foot competition.
The top 6
from left to right
Prize
ceremony for 18 foot competition.
The top 6
from left to right with 'Japanese James' extreme right winner of the Booby
prize.
A hearty
congratulations to Carron boys Ruairi Costello,Gordon Armstrong, Kitabayashi
Mutsuo and James Chalmers for your tremendous acheivements over the
weekend,also well done to Tommy Aarkvisla and Mathias Lillieheim for such a
good showing over the weekend.
A big thank
you to the JCA and Toshihiro Sato of Sansui tackle store Carrons premier
stockist in Japan.
Sansui boys
with Carron team, tackle store manager Toshihiro Sato pictured 2nd
left
Ruairi
Costello and Gordon Armstrong show off their Speycasting prizes
Carron team
with impressive Japanese caster Kitabayashi Mutsuo
This event
runs with the utmost efficiency and professionalism, no other country can
organise such a big competition entry and finish ahead of their time schedule.I
would like to say a special thank you to Kazu, Hiro and Nobuo looking forward
to 2010.
Sept 2009 Burud Open Speycasting Championship.
The Carron boys
set off to Oslo in late September full of anticipation looking forward to
meeting up with those great Scandinavian casters who have excelled in the
sport. This fifteen foot competition from both left and right shoulders whilst
wading is a realistic fishing situation which tests yourself and your tackle to
the limits. We were absolutely delighted to hear that we were going to see the
great “Viking” Knut Syrstad taking part in the competition as he has had a
considerably tough time lately due to illness. The beautiful lake at Burud was
going to be the venue with its magical views of the surrounding hills, forests
and soft gravel bottom.
The Carron
boys amongst friends Knut(middle) and Trond Syrstad(right)
The
competition qualifying rounds would take place in the morning and the Grand
final with the top six best scores in the afternoon .The conditions during the
morning were very still with lots of heavy rain showers, in spite of this the
quality of the casting on display was superb.
Andrew Toft
gets a good cast away during qualifying in the rain
The
distances achieved this year were far greater than the previous years , the
standard just seems to be getting higher. The 2008 combined best score stood at
93 metres, Gerard Downey smashed this score on each of his qualifying attempts
hitting 102 metres twice, 52 metres right handed and 50 metres left handed, this
was a pleasure to witness well done Gerard
Gordon
Armstrong achieved a new 15 foot World Record with a mammoth cast of 54
metres (59 yards or 177 feet) right handed, smashing his previous record of
173 feet set in Sanfrancisco in April 2009. Well done Gordon another
fantastic achievement.
The
competitors were allowed 3 attempts at qualifying during the morning, the two
sixth placed casters scored the same so it would be seven men progressing to
the afternoon final.
Qualification
scores
|
|
results
|
1st attempt
|
1st
attempt
|
2nd attempt
|
2nd
attempt
|
3rd attempt
|
3rd
attempt
|
Best attempt
|
|
no
|
name
|
Left/side
|
Right/side
|
Left/side
|
Right/side
|
Left/side
|
Right/side
|
|
|
1
|
Gerard Downey
|
50m
|
52m
|
50m
|
49m
|
50m
|
52m
|
102m
|
|
2
|
Gordon Armstrong
|
47m
|
48m
|
49m
|
49m
|
45m
|
54m(WR)
|
99m
|
|
3=
|
Andrew Toft
|
46m
|
49m
|
43m
|
50m
|
45m
|
49m
|
95m
|
|
3=
|
Knut Syrstad
|
44m
|
45m
|
48m
|
47m
|
44m
|
46m
|
95m
|
|
3=
|
Erik H Larsen
|
41m
|
38m
|
48m
|
46m
|
51m
|
44m
|
95m
|
|
6=
|
Ruairi Costello
|
47m
|
47m
|
48m
|
45m
|
44m
|
46m
|
94m
|
|
6=
|
James Chalmers
|
45m
|
43m
|
49m
|
45m
|
39m
|
40m
|
94m
|
Gerard
Downey gets a big one away
The final
was going to be very exciting with all the big hitters making it through the
qualification round. Lunch was now on the cards after a good soaking in the
morning.
Andrew toft
providing his barbecue skills followed by his casting skills.
The
afternoon final was excellent with the rain staying off and no adverse
winds, the final results are as follows.
|
No.
|
Name
|
Left/ side
|
Right/side
|
Total
|
|
1st
|
Erik H Larsen
|
51m
|
47m
|
98m
|
|
2nd
|
Andrew Toft
|
47m
|
49m
|
96m
|
|
3rd=
|
Gerard Downey
|
45m
|
50m
|
95m
|
|
3rd=
|
Knut Syrstad
|
48m
|
47m
|
95m
|
|
5th
|
Ruairi Costello
|
45m
|
48m
|
93m
|
|
6th
|
Gordon Armstrong
|
42m
|
50m
|
92m
|
|
7th
|
James Chalmers
|
47m
|
44m
|
91m
|
The seven
finalists and their prizes with Ruairi Costello still casting in the
background.
These were
remarkable scores and a hearty congratulations to Andrew Toft, Erik, Knut and
all the Carron boys who made this grand final so exciting looking forward to 2010.
The Jimmy Green International Spey-O-Rama
casting competition held at the Golden Gate casting ponds San Francisco April 15th to 17th.
Carron had a strong presence at this multi discipline casting event which in its
6th
year is going from strength to strength with a very large competitor entry 30 men and 5 ladies from all over the world, gaining itself the reputation as being the most difficult competition to win. It was great to meet up with friends old and new as Carron have always been made to feel very welcome at this marvelous venue.
The casting facilities here are second to none and the casting ponds were immaculate with a hint of green in the water.4 different casts 2 from the left shoulder and 2 from the right shoulder whilst wading waist deep with your best score from each cast giving you your total. Qualifying took place on the Saturday with the best 10 going into Sunday’s grand final.
Conditions were very good in the qualifiers with
a favorable wind if you managed to draw a good slot, never before has anyone cast further than 158 feet in competition at the ponds, during practice we were confident that someone would break that record.
We were not to be disappointed as 2 men broke the 170 foot mark!!
Knut Syrstad was the first man to enter the 170 foot club.
Gordon Armstrong then broke all the records with 2 casts of 171 feet and 173 feet!!Making
this another record cast for the GGACC Speycasting event.
Both Knut and Gordon’s casts were achieved with the 95 11/12 Carron Jetsream
Speyline.
Qualifying results
1st Gordon Armstrong 649 feet Longest Cast 173 feet (New 15 foot record)
2nd Ruairi Costello 591 feet Longest Cast 156 feet
3rd Brian Styskal 589 feet Longest Cast 160 feet
4th Gerard Downey 587 feet Longest Cast 160 feet
5th Andrew Toft 574 feet Longest Cast 153 feet
6th= Simon Hsieh 570 feet Longest Cast 153 feet
6th= James Chalmers 570 feet Longest Cast 147 feet
7th Mariusz Wroblewski 568 feet Longest Cast 146 feet
8th Knut Syrstad 567 feet Longest Cast 170feet!!
9th Doug Duncan 561 feet Longest Cast 144 feet
10th Gene Oswald 559 feet Longest Cast 147 feet
This magnificent achievement from Gordon Armstrong in the qualifiers raises the bar yet again as we strive to get every inch out of line development, this record cast was 15 feet more than the previous longest Cast in 2007, it was awe inspiring to see the line speed generated during his display. Well done Gordon.
Saturday finished up with the temperatures soaring and a mist came over the ponds, this did not dampen spirits as we were celebrating a new FFF Masters member as Andrew Toft passed this very tough examination with flying colours, Congratulations Andrew on such a fine achievement.
Andrew Toft chilling out after completing his FFF Masters.
The final day’s weather was a total contrast to the day before; the temperature was in the high 80s with not a breath of wind and real heaviness about the air.
These conditions were not going to produce any record breaking casts in the final. It seemed that everyone was trying to boom out that huge cast but in actual fact 4 steady casts were to win on the day.
Sundays Final Results
1st Simon Hsieh 563 feet Longest Cast 144 feet
2nd Ruairi Costello 556 feet Longest Cast 149 feet
3rd Brian Styskal 551 feet Longest Cast 148 feet
4th Gordon Armstrong 547 feet Longest Cast 160 feet
5th Knut Syrstad 542 feet Longest Cast 162 feet
6th James Chalmers 531 feet Longest Cast 151 feet
7th Doug Duncan 530 feet Longest Cast 153 feet
8th Gene Oswald 524 feet Longest Cast 152 feet
9th Gerard Downey 523 feet Longest Cast 147 feet
10th Mariusz Wroblewski 506 feet Longest Cast 140 feet
Congratulations to Ruairi Costello on your magnificent 2nd place after qualifying for your 1st Spey- O- Rama final.
Knut Syrstad won the longest cast in the final with 162 feet, Congratulations Knut and God Bless.
Knut celebrates with James and Andrew after longest cast in the final
A fantastic competition and a big thank you to the organizers, well done to all the Carron lads who took part especially placing 5 men in the final, looking forward to returning to Spey- O- Rama in 2010.
May 2009 Burghley Open Speycasting
Championship
The second Speycasting
competition took place at the beautiful setting on the lake at Burghley
in May, three of the Carron lads attended this show .The weather was glorious with bright sunshine all day. Tim Gaunt-Baker had the course all set up on our arrival and it looked really good with plenty of room and a solid platform.There would be 6 competitors who would make the final in the afternoon.
Carron
boys at Burghley
Final Results
James Chalmers 55metres
Gordon Armstrong 55metres
Carl Hutchinson 46metres
Iain Gardner 45metres
Dan Harris
41metres
Andy Lincoln 41metres
James Chalmers and Gordon Armstrong tied for first place so it was a cast off with the winner taking the
Ł1000.00
1st
prize
2 minutes were given to each caster
Cast off results and winner of the Burghley Open
Speycasting Competition
Winning Cast
1st Gordon Armstrong
2nd James Chalmers
A very exciting end to the competition, well done to Gordon
Congratulations to all who took part and made it a very exciting final.
July 2009 CLA
Gamefair Belvoir Castle
The annual CLA took place over 3 days at Belvoir
Castle, Carron had a strong presence at the show and welcomed customers old and new, it was great to meet up with some old friends who always make this weekend special. There were numerous competitions taking place over the weekend, with the Worldwide Travel Open Saltwater distance competition on the Saturday and the Presnell Sporting Collection Open Speycasting Competition over the 3 days with the grand final taking place on the Sunday being the highlights of the show.
The weather was very changeable over the 3 days with a mixture of thunder and lightning rain and sunshine, so to be qualifying at the right time was important. The platform for the Speycasting qualifying was very busy with a very strong Scandinavian presence this year with 4 new faces to the CLA,this
all added to the camaraderie during the course of the weekend as the judges struggled to keep up with all the names. There were also new entries this year from Ireland which is very encouraging to see all the new faces taking part.
Discussing tactics and comparing notes
The top 10 qualifiers over the three days, only 6 men would make Sundays final.
1st Gordon Armstrong 65 metres (New CLA Record)
2nd Ruairi
Costello 63 metres
3rd Andrew Toft 62 metres
3rd Tommy
Aarkvisla 62 metres
5th James Chalmers 61 metres
6th
Michael Egan 60 metres
7th
Mathias Lillieheim 58 metres
8th Knut
Eckelund 53 metres
8th Iain Gardner 53 metres
10th
Mathew Tompkin 51 metres
10th Derek Doyle 51 metres
Congratulations to Gordon Armstrong for breaking the CLA Speycasting record which was set at Belvoir in 2005 by Scott Mackenzie at 68 yards.
65 metres or 71 Yards is the new CLA Speycasting Record!!
Gordon gets a big one away
Saturday saw the Worldwide Travel Saltwater finals take place in front of the main grandstand, and what a final it proved to be absolutely thrilling a classic nail biter are the only words you can use to describe it.
The top 6 qualifiers took to the stage and produced some splendid casting the only thing that most of them were lacking was a good breeze to assist their turnover. The 3 Norwegian casters just missed out the top slot; this was a dead heat between Carl Hutcheson and Ruairi Costello who had to have a cast off to take the prestigious prize, as both men were previous winners we were in for a real treat.
Carl took to the platform first and cast a magnificent 41 metres,Ruairi was next up and during his casting his running line got tangled up with 60 seconds to go everyone thought that he would wind up and finish, but with a true competitive spirit he bit through his running line and re tied his knot with 10 seconds to go and on a count down from 10 seconds 9,8 7,6 he threw a magnificent cast of 41.5 metres to win this prestigious trophy, absolutely thrilling Ruairi had the whole grandstand on their feet applauding in appreciation.
Ruairi with the winning cast
Ruairi Costello receives the Saltwater Trophy and prizes
The Speycasting final took place on Sunday afternoon in front of the grandstand,unfortunately
the weather had worsened and it was a very tricky wind.The breeze was very strong and coming downstream which made it particularly difficult to keep the cast within the designated course.The skill factor tended to go out the window during the final and it was a case of trying to get one good cast which didn’t blow out of bounds.The first 4 casters had conditions which were tolerable but the last 2 were really up against the elements.In spite of the wind some respectable scores were produced to make it a good final.
Final Scores
1st Tommy
Aarkvisla 61metres
2nd Gordon Armstrong 59 metres
3rd Andrew Toft 57 metres
4th James Chalmers 55 metres
5th Ruairi
Costello 54 metres
6th
Michael Egan 53 metres
Congratulations to Tommy and the Carron boys for making the final exciting under such difficult conditions.I would like to also thank the sponsor Presnell
Sporting for reviving this very exciting competition.
Looking forward to 2010 at Ragley Hall .
The Carron
Year 2008
What a start to 2008 a New World Record set at Loughs Agency open Speycasting
competition in Derry Northern Ireland in March!!
Gerard Downey scores an amazing 74 Yards in the Saturday qualifiers to create a new Speycasting World Record.
Gerard Downey with the official paperwork to verify the new World Record.
The Weekend was wet and windy but a new World Record early in the qualifiers really got the place buzzing, as the wind conditions were perfect for big casts most of the morning. The wind was forecast to die away early in the afternoon so it was all hands to the pump for everyone to try for the big one. The top six would go into Sundays Grand Final
Qualifying Scores.
1st
Gerard Downey Carron 222 feet 74 yards (New World Record)
2ndGordon Armstrong Carron 210 feet 70 yards
3rd
Ruairi Costello Carron 208.6 feet 69.5 yards
4th
James Chalmers Carron 206.8 feet 68.9 yards
5th
Andrew Toft Carron 199.8 feet 66.6 yards
6th
Iain Gardner Carron 179 feet 59.6 yards
This was a competition first 6 Carron finalists were competing against each other for the coveted Loughs Agency Trophy.
Three top qualifiers Gerard,Ruairi and Gordon
The weather for Sundays final was cold with torrential rain and light winds, so it was pot luck for the Carron boys whoever could stay the warmest.
Final Scores
1st Ruairi Costello 196.7 feet
65.5 yards
2nd
Gerard Downey 191.9 feet 63.96 yards
3rd
Gordon Armstrong 191.7 feet 63.9 yards
4th
James Chalmers 190.8 feet 63.6 yards
5th
Andrew Toft 177 feet 59 yards
6th
Iain Gardner 163 feet 54.3
yards
As you can see from the final results only 6 feet separated the top 4 casters in the final Amazing Casting.
Well done Ruari Costello a fantastic achievement.
Ruairi
Costello receives the coveted Loughs Agency Trophy
What a fantastic weekend thanks to all the organizers who made it happen especially the officials who stood out all weekend in torrential rain. I would also like to thank Chris Demargary for his outstanding hospitality over the weekend.
Also a hearty congratulations to all the Carron boys you did yourselves proud in difficult weather conditions.
2008 Tweed Angling Fair
The annual Tweed Fair proved to be an outstanding success for Carron in 2008, this well attended event brought out spectators and customers in good numbers. The Speycasting Competition was moved further upriver this year to a dedicated location with a custom built platform due to safety concerns. The qualifying rounds were particularly challenging as the wind was blowing constantly upstream most of the weekend, the 6 best qualifiers would make Sundays final.
Top 6 Qualifiers
1.Gordon Armstrong
2.James Chalmers.
3.Knut
Syrstad
4.Gerard Downey
5.Ryan Brady
6.Mathias
Lillieheim
Sundays Final proved to be the worst conditions of the weekend with a strong breeze blowing upstream, a very large crowd gathered for the Final as all the competitors were praying for the strong winds to stop blowing upstream. This never happened and the wind was relentless, whoever could adapt to these conditions best was going to succeed and win the prestigious Roxburgh International Speycasting trophy.
1st
Gordon Armstrong
2nd
Knut Syrstad
3rd
Ryan Brady
4th
Gerard Downey
5th
James Chalmers
6th
Mathias Lillieheim
Gordon with the winning cast
This was the trickiest conditions that any of the competitors had witnessed in any competition thus far, so congratulations to everyone who made the final as exciting especially 16 year old Ryan Brady in his
1st
competition.
Top 3 receive their prizes
May 2008 Burghley Open Speycasting Championship
The Inaugural Burghley Speycasting competition was a resounding success thanks to the blazing sunshine on the day. This was a new competition and the organizers had made an excellent job of laying out the course the pontoons were a perfect height and the new angle change ropes were clearly marked.
Carron
had a 6 man team at the competition and there was Ł1000.00 prize money to be won.
Carron boys at Burghley
The setting was beautiful with the arched bridge of Burghley House in the background.
6 finalists would cast of for the prize at the end of the day. The scores were very close with no more than a few metres between the top casters
Best Qualifiers.
1st
Gordon Armstrong
2nd
Ruairi Costello
3rd
Gerard Downey
4th
James Chalmers
5th
Ryan Brady
6th
Iain Gardner
After a tense final the outright winner was Ruari Costello, here receiving his prize.
Final Results
1st
Ruairi Costello 59 metres
2nd
Gordon Armstrong 57 metres
3rd
Gerard Downey 56 metres
4th
James Chalmers 54 metres
4th
Ryan Brady 54 metres
6th
Iain Gardner 50 metres
Ruairi
with the winning cast
A very well organized show with lots of potential, we look forward to attending next year, a big thank you to Tim Gaunt Baker.
2008 CLA
Blenheim Palace
This was a resounding success for Carron in the most wonderful surroundings, Blenheim is a very special place with magnificent grounds, the Speycasting event was held right beside the most picturesque arched bridge. Blenheim was also the birthplace of Winston Churchill which from a historical point of view makes it a very special place to hold a huge Gamefair and casting competition. Carron had a strong presence at this event with all the boys in terrific form, not only for the Speycasting as they were trying their hand at many of the the other events which the CLA is famous for, especially the world renowned International Open Saltwater competition which also had competitors travelling from all over the world to compete.
This is a 3 day event with qualifying taking place on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning with the grandstand final taking place in the afternoon.
The weather over the weekend was glorious with the temperatures soaring into the 80s.with an occasional upstream breeze which made it difficult for most competitors to reach their full potential.
Andrew Toft of Carron gets a good one away.
Speycasting
qualifying results
1st
Gordon Armstrong 61 Metres
2nd
James Chalmers 60 Metres
3rd
Knut Syrstad 59 Metres
4th
Ruairi Costello 57 Metres
5th
Ryan Brady 56 Metres
6th
Blair Banks 54 Metres
Sundays
Speycasting final
The casters were now in front of the Grandstand with the added pressures of a television crew filming the final for the
1st time, the weather was flat calm and very humid for all the competitors.
1st
Gordon Armstrong 53 metres
2nd
Ryan Brady 50 metres
3rd
Knut Syrstad 49 metres
4th
Ruairi Costello 48 metres
5th
Blair Banks 46 metres
6th
James Chalmers 43 metres
Gordon receives 1st prize
Jimmy Jack of Carron receives the manufacturer’s trophy.
The prestigious saltwater competition created a huge interest from the television crews and the Angling press, with the Grandstand full to capacity it was standing room only.
International Open Saltwater Completion winner was Ruairi Costello with a huge cast of 41 Metres.
Ruairi
receives the International open Saltwater prize.
A wee celebration after the event
Carrons
CLA weekend was a resounding success with customers old and new visiting us at our stand and meeting them was a real privilege.
Looking forward to 2009.
2008 Burud
Open Speycasting Competition Norway
The
Carron boys set off from Scotland to Norway in late September in very good spirits, as it is always great to see the Scandinavian casters in action.
This competition in Oslo was yet again very challenging and very well attended, a 15 foot competition casting from both left and right shoulders adding your 2 best scores from each shoulder whilst wading. These 15 foot competitions are as close as you will get to a normal fishing situation, the distances are greater but this encourages maximum participation from the competent casters.
The
Carron boys ready for the journey to Oslo
The weather was kind with a crisp autumn feel to it and the qualifiers took place in the morning, the top 6 would make the afternoon final.
The top Norwegian casters were in excellent form particularly that brave Viking Knut Syrstad who was giving it everything, we had to be at our best to keep up.
Knut
and Trond Syrstad, James Chalmers and Ruairi Costello
Qualifying scores
1st Gordon Armstrong 93metres
1st Geir Hansen 93metres
3rd Knut Syrstad 91 metres
3rd James Chalmers 91 metres
5th Mathias Lillieheim 90 metres
6th Erik H. Larsen 89metres
A demanding course
Final Scores
1st
Knut Syrstad 93metres
2nd Erik H. Larsen 92 metres
3rd James Chalmers 89metres
4th Gordon Armstrong 87metres
5th Mathias Lillieheim 85metres
6th
Geir Hansen 82metres
A hearty congratulations to Knut Syrstad winning his 1st open Speycasting
competition after coming very close on numerous occasions. The line of choice over the weekend taking the top 5 places was the incredibly successful Carron Jetstream 95ft 11/12.
This proved to be a really thrilling competition as the competitors were all excellent and at the top of their game. A special mention to the other
2 Carron boys competing Andrew Toft and Ruairi Costello who both managed a creditable 7th equal place, well done lads!!
We are looking forward to returning to Norway for future competitions as they really know how to organize these special events.
Saitama Tokyo Japan October 2008
A competition first for Carron in 2008 a three man team set off for Japan full of anticipation and enthusiasm. This was to be the furthest that any of the Carron boys had travelled to compete in any competition. We were going to compete in several of the competitions, the 18 foot and 16 foot Speycasting competitions at the Saitama prefecture and the single handed 7 weight competitions at the Saitama stadium.
Speycasting
venue
The standard of casting in Japan was absolutely amazing
the entrants into both the Speycasting competitions was over 100 so it was going to be the toughest competition we had faced to date. The completions were all judged by the Japanese casting association, which ran like clockwork with the utmost efficiency getting all the qualifying rounds completed within 3 hours, the top 10 would be in the final of both contests on the Sunday.
The weather during the qualifiers was touching 90 degrees. Carron boys Gordon Armstrong and Ruairi Costello would make the final in both the 18 foot and 16 foot competitions with some magnificent qualifying casts.
The European and Canadian competitors
Then it was off to the stadium where Ruairi Costello was competing in the 7 weight singlehanded competition. Ruairi managed to stave off all the other competitors to win this prestigious single handed event. Congratulations Ruairi on a memorable achievement in a truly world class event.
Ruairi getting presented with gold medal
The Speycasting
finals were held on Sunday back at the prefecture Gordon and Ruairi
would have to be on the top of their game to get placed amongst some of the most enthusiastic Speycasters we have ever competed against. None of the other competitors have competed in Europe although some of them we have seen casting successfully in the USA.
16 Foot Speycasting
Final Results the 2 best casts scored
1st Gordon Armstrong 110metres
Longest cast 56.5 metres.
5th Ruairi
Costello 100metres
Longest cast 51
metres
A magnificent achievement with a 16 foot rod hitting huge distances.
The 18 foot competition was just starting when the weather broke and the monsoon rains continued for over an hour it was amazing to watch but uncomfortable to compete in.
18 Foot Speycasting
Final Results 2 best casts scored
1st Gordon Armstrong 112metres
Longest cast 56 metres
10th
Ruairi Costello 100metres
Longest cast 51 metres.
Gordon celebrates his victory with the Japanese longest caster
Gordon and Ruairi
with their prizes
Congratulations to Ruairi and Gordon for your magnificent achievements in Japan.
A visit to Tokyo to see Carron stockist Sansui tackle store where we met up with another great Speycaster manager Toshira Sato who gave us a great welcome and asked the boys to leave their mark.
Toshira Sato of Sansui Tackle Store pictured right
Leaving their mark
The boys then moved north to the Tone River where they ran some clinics and organised a small competition for the members of the club. A great day was had by all and I must say a big thank you to Tak and Kazu for all your help.
The Tone River gathering
The delighted winner of the 15foot competition receives his
1st prize from the Carron boys.
2008 Spey Omega International Open Speycasting
Championship
The second Spey Omega open Speycasting championship was held on the River Shannon at Catleconnell in Ireland. Pat Nolan of Premier Angling Supplies once again sponsored this event which was a 15 foot contest wading waist deep in the river. The weather was blustery during the qualifiers making it difficult to keep your line within the markers, this all added to the excitement. A healthy number of entrants took part from the UK Ireland and Norway giving the competition an International flavor. The qualifying rounds took place on the Saturday and Sunday morning with the final in the afternoon.
There was some terrific casting on display with some very large casts from the Scandinavians and Gerard Downey of Ireland who were using their trusty Carron Jetstream 11/12 95 foot heads.
Gerard Downey gets a big one away
Top 6 Qualifyers
1st Knut
Syrstad
2nd Gerard Downey
3rd James Chalmers
4th Andrew Toft
5th
Mathias Lillieheim
6th Ruairi
Costello
The rain was coming down hard during the finals with occasional gusts making it very tricky conditions.
The Carron boys wet but in good spirits
The final was a very close thing with Knut Syrstad and Gerard Downey both hitting big casts, only the judges tape could separate them as they both thought the other had won it, this all added to the suspense as they never told us until the prize awards. When they announced that the longest cast was made by Knut Syrstad a loud cheer went up and he was congratulated.
Final Scores
1st Knut
Syrstad 161 feet 7 inches
2nd Gerard Downey 160 feet 5 inches
3rd
Mathias Lillieheim 143 feet 10 inches
4th Ruairi
Costello 141 feet 3 inches
5th Andrew Toft 140 feet 6 inches
6th James Chalmers 137 feet 10 inches
A nice selection of prizes on display
Knut Syrstad sharing a special moment with the other 5 finalists
All 6 finalists used the Carron Jetstream 95 foot 11/12 line.
A big thank you Pat Nolan of Premier Angling Supplies and the organizers for making it a wonderful weekend, looking forward to returning in 2010.
The Carron Year 2007
What a start to our 2007 event calendar -
A
New World Speycasting Record
Gordon Armstrong creates
a
New World Speycasting Record
at the inaugural
Loughs Agency Speycasting Competition, Ireland.
The weather was not kind - the rain was unrelenting - everyone was wet through but that did not dampen the spirits of the Carron team who went on to achieve five places in the final of this event. However during the qualifying rounds held on
Saturday, Gordon achieved a
new world speycasting record of 68.75 yards
The six top Qualifiers were:
Gordon Armstrong - Carron (206ft 3 inches) 68.75 yards. New World Record!
Gerard Downey - Ireland (205ft) 68.33 yards
Murray Richardson - Carron (203.6ft) 67.86 yards
Ruairi Costello - Carron (189ft) 63.00 yards
Andrew Toft - Carron (186.5ft) 62.16 yards
James Chalmers - Carron (182.5ft) 60.83 yards
The previous record had been set by Scott Mackenzie at the CLA Gamefair in 2005. Scott is a ghillie at Ness side, the next beat along from Gordon, who is
a ghillie at Ness Castle on the river Ness, Inverness.
The final took place on Sunday afternoon and was very wet and blustery.
|
|
|
Pictured from left to right : James Chalmers (Carron), Gordon Armstrong
(Carron),
and Gerard Downey (Ireland)
|
|
1st
|
Gordon Armstrong
|
Carron
|
194 feet
|
|
2nd
|
Gerard Downey
|
Ireland
|
190.5 feet
|
|
3rd
|
James Chalmers
|
Carron
|
181.5 feet
|
|
4th
|
Ruairi Costello
|
Carron
|
176.2 feet
|
|
5th
|
Murray Richardson
|
Carron
|
174.5 feet
|
|
6th
|
Andrew Toft
|
Carron
|
172.6 feet
|
Hearty congratulations must go to Gerard Downey, Ireland who not only achieved
2nd place in the final but who had also beaten Scott's previous world record in the qualifying round on the Saturday with a cast of 68.3 yards.
Incidentally, Gerard was using his new Carron 17 foot 11 inch Carron rod and a competition 105 foot head Carron spey line.
All the finalists were using Carron rods and lines.
2007 Jimmy Green Spey -O - Rama International
Speycasting Competition.
Gordon Armstrong becomes the first man to retain the prestigious Jimmy Green Trophy, with an immaculate display of Speycasting in Sundays final, he also won the longest ever cast in the competitions history, a 158foot left hand Speycast,finishing with a total combined score of 560 feet, Well done Gordon!
Carron
sent a strong 5 man team to San Francisco to compete in this coveted competiton, competitors from all over the world attended and competed in this event. Saturday’s qualifiers were tricky with a nasty swirling wind and rain arriving in the area. The
Carron boys managed to place four into the final 10 on Sunday.
Qualifying Scores
2nd
Gordon Armstrong 547 feet
3rd Murray Richardson 547 feet
5th
James Chalmers 532 feet
7th
Andrew Toft 516 feet
Sunday’s final proved to be very exciting with the wind being kind to some competitors and cruel to others. The drawing of lots for the order of casting is a good thing as at some point in the afternoon at the ponds the wind was to start swirling which would make it really tricky.
Gordon Armstrong produced an immaculate display in the final and produced that amazing 158 foot left hand Speycast .
Congratulations also to the other 3 Carron lads who done extremely well in the final James Chalmers 6th, Andrew Toft
7th and Murray Richardson 9th.
Final Scores.
Gordon with Prizes
The Carron
lads with Al Ward putting his new 16 footer through its paces, good luck Al you are a true gentleman.
May 2007 Tweed Angling Fair
Gordon Armstrong creates new world Record twice at Kelso!!
A huge cast of 73.33 Yards was cast in Sundays Grand Final on the Junction Pool of the River Tweed at Kelso.
The bar has been raised yet again, the Carron boys managed to place 4 into Sundays Grand Final, the qualifying was extremely difficult with 65 yards required to get you there.
Top 6 qualifiers on Saturday
1st
Gordon Armstrong - Carron 73.Yards (New World Record)
2nd Scott Mackenzie - Diawa 71. Yards
3rd
James Chalmers - Carron 68.5. Yards
4th
Gerard Downey - Carron 67.
Yards
5th
Ruairi Costello - Carron 66.5. Yards
6thKnut
Syrstad - LTS 65. Yards.
Sundays Final was a great occasion as the conditions were good with blustery winds which could be to your advantage if your cast was timed correctly. A very large crowd had assembled on the banks of the famous Junction Pool of the River Tweed to witness this marvellous spectacle.
Yet again they saw some of the best casting ever to be witnessed in any competition in the world.
The 6 finalists
Final Results
1st
Gordon Armstrong - Carron 73.33
Yards NewWorld
Record
2nd Scott Mackenzie - Diawa 71. Yards.
3rd Gerard Downey - Carron 65. Yards.
4th
Ruairi Costello - Carron 63 Yards
5th
Knut Syrstad - LTS 62 Yards
6th James Chalmers - Carron 61 Yards
Well done to all the lads who made this final and providing such a spectacle and hearty congratulations to Gordon for making a piece of history twice in one weekend. Well Done!!
2007
Rypeskken Open Speychallenge Lilliehammer
"Lilliehammer in Spring" what a beautiful setting for the first open Speycasting
competition in Norway. A resounding success it turned out to be, with a
1st for any Speycasting competitions to date, an electronic scoreboard. This competition was held over 2 days with qualifying on Saturday and the top 6 going into Sundays Grand Final. This was a challenging 15 foot rod course, wading waist deep and casting over both shoulders taking the scores from your best two casts and adding them together to give a combined total.
The qualifying scores.
Erik Hernes
Larsen 92 metres
Gordon Armstrong 91 metres
Geir
Hansen 87 metres
Mikael
Bloomberg 87 metres
Per Morten
Storengen 86.5 metres
Knut
Syrstad 84.5 metres
The wind got stronger in the bay where the competition was taking place causing large waves, so qualifying was abandoned and the final was hastily moved to a slightly sheltered area where we were treated to a nail biting final. Congratulations to all who took part for adjusting very quickly to the new surroundings, I also must congratulate the organisers for having a contingency plan which allowed the competition to continue.
Scores in Final
1st
Gordon Armstrong 87 Metres
1st
Erik Hernes Larsen 87 Metres
3rdMikael Bloomberg 83.5 Metres
4th
Per Morten Storengen 83 Metres
5th
Knut Sysrstad 80 Metres
6th
Geir Hansen 78.5 Metres
Cast off Results
1st
Gordon Armstrong 88Metres
2nd
Erik Hernes Larsen 82 Metres
A demanding course with casts from both shoulders whilst wading
From left to right Erik H.Larsen Gordon Armstrong,Michael Bloomberg
Gordon Celebrates with the world famous ski jump in the background
A first class competition in magnificent surroundings we look forward to participating in Norway in the future.
2007 Spey Omega Open Speycasting Competition
October 2007 was the inaugural Spey Omega casting competition on the River Shannon near Castleconnell in Ireland. This competition was organised by Pat Nolan of Premier Angling Supplies Co. Tipperary. This was a true competition in the angling sense as it was conducted on a flowing river wading waist deep with a 15 foot rod. The competition took place over 1 day with the top 6 reaching the final, the competition was well attended with lots of the competitors having a go, this was very encouraging as they were gaining experience casting for the first time in competition.
A challenging course
Top 6 qualifiers
Gerard Downey 51 yards 20 inches
James Chalmers 48 yards 10 inches
Ruairi
Costello 45 yards 3 inches
Robert Gillespie 42 yards 2 inches
Andrew Toft 41 yards 30 inches
Michael Egan 40 yards 18 inches
It was decided that the order of casting for the final would be drawn, thus giving no advantage to the highest qualifier casting last. The weather was changeable making it difficult to keep the casts between the boundaries as there was an element of accuracy involved as well, keeping the final cast as close to the marker line as possible, the final was a thriller with the distances between the 6 finalists minimal.
Prizes on display
Final Results
1st
Ruairi Costello 45 yards 30 inches
2nd
Andrew Toft 45 yards 12 inches
3rd
Gerard Downey 44 yards 28 inches
4th
James Chalmers 44 yards 24 inches
5th
Robert Gillespie 42 yards 16 inches
6th
Michael Egan 38 yards 10 inches
Spey Omega winner Ruairi Costello
Ruairi
receives 1st prize from Pat Nolan
A great weekend was had by all at Carron and we look forward to next year which will be a 2 day event
The Carron Year 2006
The Emerald World Masters 2006 World Casting
Championships - Ireland September 2006
Results just in.....
Sunday 3rd September - saw the Emerald World Masters Team event for invited countries, with the Scottish team gaining first place, United Kingdom team second and the Irish team third.
Monday 4th September - saw the Emerald World Masters Individual Spey Casting Championship.
The winning line up:
!st - Gordon Armstrong
2nd - Knut Syrstad
3rd - Scott Mackenzie
4th - Gerard Downie
5th - Murray Richardson
6th - Ian Gordon
Making Gordon Armstrong of Carron, the undisputed World Champion of 2006 - Wow!
CLA Game Fair - Broadlands, Romsey. Hampshire. - 28th, 29th & 30th July 2006
Another very successful weekend for the Carron Team.
Friday 28th July
saw our youngest team member, Blair Banks age 15, achieving a well deserved first place in the Hardy Youth UK Open Salmon Distance Championship and a second place in The Greys Youth UK Open Trout Distance Championship. Well Done, Blair.
Blair showing us how Speycasting is done.
Saturday 29th July saw success for Ruari Costello winning first place in the Men's UK Trout Distance Championship,
first again in the Knight Frank Trout Accuracy Competition, he took second equal place in the Diawa UK Salmon Distance Championship being beaten by Carron's Norwegian competitor Mikael Bloomberg who came first with a cast of 39.5 metres.
Ruairi also achieved second place in the CLA International Open Saltwater Championship, a new competition for 2006.
Ruari and Mikael of Carron and Cameron Smith of Sharpes showing off their spoils.
Sunday 30th July - The main Competition of the year
The CLA Game Fair International Open Speycasting Championship 2006
The final six competitors for this trophy were:
Andrew Toft - Carron
Ruari Costello - Carron
Knut Syrstad - Loop
Gordon Armstrong - Carron
Blair Banks - Carron
James Chalmers - Carron
The first three places went to:
1st - Gordon Armstrong
2nd - Andrew Toft
3rd - Ruari Costello
What a result! Well done Boys! We are proud of you!
Andrew, Gordon and Ruari receiving their awards from the CLA Chairman, David Haugh.
We also gained the manufacturers trophy for our Carron rods and Carron
Jetstream lines.
A big thank you from Jimmy and Gwyneth to all of the Carron team that weekend for making it such a success.
A special mention to Joanna for keeping up the spirits - including buckets of Pimms - for the whole team - the whole weekend!
Malcolm for his unstinting presence and expertise he showed on the stand..... and James for everything else.
Success has it's moments!
Markree
Castle, Sligo - Ireland 15th & 16th July 2006
James Chalmers receiving his prize from Brendan Begley, President of the Irish National Casting Association for winning the Markree Open Speycasting championship.
The Scottish Game Fair
- Scone Palace, Perthshire. 30th June, 1st & 2nd July 2006
This weekend saw more success for the Carron team.
The weather on the Sunday was particularly stormy and damp, but that did not deter the Carron boys.
James Chalmers won the Kenmore Open Speycasting Competition with Andrew Toft achieving second place.
Ruairi won The Challenge Trophy which was a combination of both overhead and speycasting.
Blair won the Junior Speycasting and the Salmon distance competition.
A tremendous result for the boys, well done to them all.
The Irish National Game Fair
- Emo Court, Ireland. 3rd & 4th June 2006
Gordon wins again!
Gordon Armstrong accepting his prize for winning first place in the Irish Open International Speycasting
Championship from event organiser Margaret Eggill.
The weekend turned out to be a hot one, the sun was shining all weekend and so were the boys from Carron.
Jimmy in a line of Carron winners.
Gordon Armstrong, Blair Banks�and Ruairi Costello.
Blair at fifteen years of age is our junior ambassador, here at Emo he wowed the crowds with his casting.
He and Ruairi, our Irish team member managed to take several of the prizes that weekend.
The Golden Gate Spey-o-Rama
- San Francisco U.S.A. May 2006
The Carron Team after a very successful Spey-o-Rama in May 2006
A fantastic event for the Carron Team.
Gordon Armstrong improved on last year's second place to tie for first place in the 2006 event his longest cast being 50 yards. James Chalmers finished in a very commendable seventh place.
The Tweed Show
- Kelso, Scotland. April 2006
Gordon Armstrong looking pleased with himself after a superb win at The Tweed Show
This competition gave a 'real life' measure of the abilities of caster and equipment. To achieve the competitors used standard 15 foot salmon rods rather than a specially prepared competition distance rod. All equipment was thoroughly scrutinised and measured beforehand. The results from this event truly endorse Carron Rods and Carron Jetstream
lines as the supreme choice for all anglers.
The results from The Tweed of the six Speycasting finalists are
|
Position
|
Name
|
Team
|
Rod
|
Cast Distance
|
|
1st
|
Gordon Armstrong
|
Carron
|
15ft Carron 95ft 11/12
|
53 yards
|
|
2nd
|
Knut Syrstad
|
LOOP
|
15ft SA XLT
|
48 yards
|
|
3rd
|
Mikael Bloomberg
|
Carron
|
15ft Carron 95ft 10/11
|
47 yards
|
|
4th =
|
Andrew Toft
|
Carron
|
15ft Carron 95ft 11/12
|
46.5 yards
|
|
4th =
|
James Chalmers
|
Carron
|
15ft Carron 95ft 10/11
|
46.5 yards
|
|
5th
|
Grant Mackenzie
|
Carron
|
15ft Carron 95ft 11/12
|
44 yards
|
