Judge lets ‘novice’ angler off the hook

A ‘NOVICE’ fisherman who went angling on a Meath lake on an early July morning in 2024 got a shock when a fisheries officer arrived and told him he was fishing illegally, Navan District Court was told.

Derek Farrell of Fortlawn Avenue, Blanchardstown appeared at the court charged with fishing by means of a set line with bait and hook at Whitewood Lake, Kilmainhamwood. The prosecution was taken by Inland Fisheries Ireland. Prosecuting solicitor Anjana Hanratty told the court that the defendant was present and wanted to deal with the matter by way of a guilty plea.

The defendant, who represented himself, said he was out at the lake at 6.10am on 24th July 2024 when a bailoff pulled up and he said “you can’t be more than 10 feet from your fishing rod”.

He added: “I’m only a novice fisherman, I didn’t know about this.

Ms Hanratty said the defendant was observed attempting to fish by using a set line 10 metres and a device attached. That was an infringement of the fishing bye-laws.

Judge Eirinn McKiernan queried how Mr Farrell had infringed the regulations and Ms Hanratty replied that people may not fish or attempt to fish using any means other than a single rod and a set line 10m long. She said that in the case before the court it was not a single rod and line. The regulation was there to protect the fish stock in fresh waters.

Mr Farrell told the judge that he and his brother were “just spinning” for fish and it started to rain. “We’re just novices, myself and the brother. We were only just down there for the day”.

The judge said angling was an incredible hobby and he replied “we were just down there for a bit of peace and quiet and it was lashing rain and we went into the van for shelter and he knocked on the van at ten past six in the morning and he said ‘you’re breaking the law by not being at your rod more than 10 feet’.

He added that when they were “casting in” one of the lines got tangled and “we broke it and got back into the van”. The bailiff had said they had a set line in the water but he had told him that that was not the case.

“He said to us ‘do you know fish can get stressed out?; and we said ‘no, we didn’t know fish could get stressed’.

The judge said that having considered all the facts in the case she decided to find the facts proven and dismissed the charge.