Lothians angler James Dornom won the silver medal as Scotland claimed gold in the Celtic Cup coarse fishing team event against Wales and Ireland at Strathclyde Park at the weekend and his Annan-based teammate, Barry Young, took the bronze.
Dornom from Currie hooked into 6.000kg on Day One for first place in his section and 8.425kg on Day two for four points, the same as Young but with a better weight over the two days.
Gus Brindle, Scotland’s team manager, said everybody in the team contributed to, what is, a significant result for Scotland and one which has put Strathclyde Park firmly on the map as an international venue.
The gold medal continues a remarkable run for Scotland teams in angling events in the last year. The Stillwater Bank team took gold at Largs in their event then the fly fishermen struck gold in the Spring and Autumn Competitions, and now this.
After the weekend, Scotland finished on 21 points in the Celtic Cup competition which aims to develop fresh talent for European and world teams.
Second were Wales A with one point more and third Ireland on 29 points.
Highly-talented Welsh angler, Matthew Powell, won the individual gold with what Brindle described as a “blinding total” of 18.775kg and 3 points. James Dornom from Currie, Midlothian, finished in second place with four points and 14.525kg with his Scotland team-mate, Barry Young from Annan, in the bronze medal spot with four points and 10.775kg.
After the first session on Saturday, Wales and Scotland both had eight points but the men from the Principality had a bigger weight. Ireland were third.
On Sunday, Ireland Seniors won with nine points with Scotland Blue in second place on 13 points and Scotland White also on 13 points, but Mather’s finish made the difference after a complex countback.
Brindle, chairman of the Scottish Federation for Coarse Angling, and an international angler in his own right, said it was 40 years since Scotland last hosted an international coarse fishing event on Strathclyde Loch and, in the interim, only one day competitions had been held.
The Dunfermline-based fishing boss added: “Strathclyde Park has proved itself perfectly capable of hosting international matches and could be a world-class venue. The water received favourable comments throughout the weekend from rival teams, but it would need support from the Scottish Government and Lanarkshire Council to improve infrastructure to make European and world events possible here.”
SILVER HAUL: James Dornom with his haul on one of the two-days at Strathclyde Park. Picture Christopher Paton
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