Please carefully read all Terms & Conditions and instructions discussed in the document for competing in the Classic Fishing Festival. Failure to adhere to any of these regulations could result in your immediate disqualification.
Event Registration All entries for the event will be online. Once your registration is complete you will receive an email confirmation and a participant number. This is your proof of entry. Please retain this information. It is vital that information is entered correctly. If you notice an error on your registration please contact a member of the event team on tourismdevelopment@fermanaghomagh.com.
For those who requested to transfer their entry to the 2022 event you will receive information on your new participant number and how to update your personal information. All personal information is retained in line with GDPR Guidance and will be used solely for the purposes of the event. Under the Data Protection Act 2018, Fermanagh and Omagh District Council has a legal duty to protect any information we collect about you. The event will be organised by Fermanagh & Omagh District Council and information will be shared with relevant departments within FODC, DAERA Inland Fisheries and Score Fishing solely for the purposes of the event and its operations Anglers who are participating as part of a team should ensure they are registered to only one team and that all the required personal information has been registered.
Angling Licence and Permit Requirements To fish legally in Northern Ireland you need a permit plus a rod licence. The permit gives the angler permission to fish in the chosen water while the rod licence is for the fishing rod and the game or coarse fish you're allowed to catch. You cannot buy a permit without a rod licence.
Anglers can buy a short term permit and rod licence online below or from a distributor (like tackle shops). Read the Conditions of Sale for fishing licences and permits before buying: Buy rod licences, permits online from DAERA. For full information on angling in Northern Ireland please visit NI Direct.com Event Staff and Stewards may request to check licences prior to and during the event. Failure to produce these documents could result in removal from the event. It is the responsibility of each participant to purchase or hold the correct licence.
Score Fishing App – New for 2022 We are pleased to be able to use a new app created by Score Fishing as a new and efficient way to manage our event entries and scoring. The online management of event participants, weight recording will be used for the first time in 2022 and will assist in our delivery of a Covid compliant event.
Health & Safety The organisation of this year’s event is under the stewardship of Fermanagh & Omagh District Council and DAERA Inland Fisheries. While the organisers have a duty of care towards all participants you are reminded that you also have responsibly for your own safety. Do not take unnecessary risks, follow the advice of organisers and section stewards and use only approved routes when accessing your peg. A basic first aid pack is available from the section stewards, at least one of whom on each section is trained in First Aid and Water Rescue.
In the event of an emergency, provision has been made to bring assistance to the scene as quickly as possible.
The event will be required to adhere to and comply with all COVID -19 Restrictions as per Northern Ireland Government legislation and Public Health Agency Advise. In the incidence that you feel unwell or develop symptoms we ask that you alert a Steward or member of staff as soon possible.
Draw and Fishing Times This will be done at 10am on Monday and Wednesday and 9:30am at the Fermanagh Lakeland Forum. This will be undertaken under supervision and by drawing a peg from the ballot box. Please ensure you have your event registration details with you at each draw.
Maps and directions will also be available at the Visitor Information Centre at Enniskillen Castle, the event website and the Fishing, Tackle and Bait Shop on the Sligo Road in advance of and during the event period.
Anglers must arrange their own transport to their allocated peg. Please do not block any gates, farm roads or laneways with your vehicle and safely secure all contents. If you draw a peg on the Island Section or Killadeas Shore you will be transported by boat by one of our crew. Please comply with all instruction provided.
Fishing times are from 1pm – 6pm on Monday 9 and Wednesday 11 May and from 11:30am – 4:30pm on Friday 13 May.
If unforeseen circumstances dictate that a section cannot be started in time the section steward has discretion to delay the start but only where strictly necessary.
Weigh In No competitor shall leave his peg after the end of the match until his catch has been weighed-in or he has declared to the Steward that he does not wish to be weighed-in. The Score Fishing App will be used for the recording and input of results. Event Stewards will weigh each anglers catch and enter onto the Score Fishing App. Once both the steward and angler are agreed on the weight of the catch, the angler must provide a digital signature on the app and the score is signed off. Once a signature has been provided no changes will be made and no further opportunity to appeal will be given. The results are then automatically recorded and updated on the event leader board. Event staff will publish these figures daily on the event Facebook page and website. During the competition if circumstances require it, a Steward shall have authority to weigh-in fish caught by a participant and return these to the water after recording the weight to the benefit of the participant. Such fish shall be returned within the swim of the competitor concerned, unless the Referee agrees to their transfer elsewhere provided it shall not be in the swim of any other competitor.
Angling Rules as drawn up by the UCFF 1. Competitors must play and land their own fish without assistance. Competitors who due to extenuating circumstances, i.e. infirmity or illness, require assistance, must contact the match referee prior to the draw.
2. Fishing shall commence at the given signal and prior to that no competitor shall disturb the water in his swim other than to wet ground bait, clear weed, position keep nets and plumb the depth. In plumbing the depth only simple weight or plummets may be used. No bait to be introduced at this time.
3. Competitors shall provide themselves with a keepnet - minimum length of six feet and with rings of a minimum diameter of fifteen inches. More than one such net may be used. All live fish are eligible for weighing-in, except salmon, trout, eels and pike. All fish caught shall be returned alive to the water.
4. Competitors must fish from a point not less than three feet from the shortest line between the numbered pegs and the water. The fishing areas shall normally be defined by points mid-way between the competitor’s peg and those of his upstream and downstream neighbours. In running water the swim boundary shall be from the competitor’s peg to the next peg downstream. An angler can wade other than for the purposes of positing his keepnet(s) provided he remains within 1 yard of the water’s edge. If a competitor is in doubt over the location of his fishing site he must seek clarification from the Steward.
5. Fishing shall cease on the signal termination the contest. If an angler is playing a fish at this moment he will be permitted an additional fifteen minutes in which to play and land the fish.
6. The Stewards shall supervise the weighing in of the catch to the nearest subdivision on scales provided by the organisers and shall mark the weight cards of the competitors. No competitor shall leave his peg after the end of the match until his catch has been weighed-in or he has declared to the Steward that he does not wish to be weighed-in. The Steward will then supervise the return of whatever fish he has to the water. During the competition if circumstances require it a Steward shall have authority to weigh-in fish caught by a competitor and return these to the water after recording the weight to the benefit of the competitor concerned, unless the Referee agrees to their transfer elsewhere provided it shall not be in the swim of any other competitor.
7. The organisers shall appoint Stewards and any other necessary officials. A Competition Referee shall be appointed, whose decision in any dispute arising during the competition, that is during the period between the commencement and conclusion of the contest, shall be final. Should any competitor wish to make a protest against any other competitor he must lodge this, in writing with the Referee within two hours of the end of the match.
8. No competitor shall be weighed-in or permitted to leave his peg if litter is found at his peg. Each competitor will, therefore be responsible for the cleanliness of his peg and the bank adjacent thereto.
9. The duration of the matches will be 5 hours.
10. No competitor may win more than one daily cash prize.
11. No substitution of Competitor’s Names without prior permission of the organisers.
12. Competitors drawn at the high and/or low peg in each section on each competition day may be asked to assist with weighing-in and result recording.
13. Competitors are asked to respect the wishes of the Council and use lead-free shot, in the interests of conservation.
These rules are subject to amendment at the discretion of the organisers and the official referee
