The Helm Skate Festival

The Helm Annual Skate Festival - October 6th and 7th 2012

The Helm Skate Festival is one of the largest fishing events of it's kind in the world and is the biggest in Western Europe. The festival began seventeen years ago when groups of anglers got together each with the aim of the catching the largest Skate.

Ian Brine with his Prize-Winning Skate

The festival has evolved from a small two boat friendly competition to one that skippers from all along the Galway/Mayo coastlines with over one hundred anglers with the aim of promoting the conservation of Skate within the waters of Clew Bay and further out into the Atlantic Ocean.

The prize for the largest Skate captured over the course of the weekend is €2000. In October 2011, in the festivals seventeenth year, the prizewinning Skate was captured by Ian Brine. It took Ian 25 minutes to get the Skate out of the water and when he did, the skate was measured, tagged and safely returned back into the nested waters of Clew Bay to fight another day.

The Skate, a kind of fish that belongs to the Common Ray family was once a struggling species within the realms of Clew Bay and The Helm is just one of the many agencies throughout Ireland helping to bring back their revival.

The Skate Festival will be going into it's eighteenth year this year and will be taking place in October 6th and 7th 2012. If you are an angler and wish to participate in one of the biggest fishing events of 2012, then get in touch with Vinny or Shane in The Helm to secure your place as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, the interest in the festival exceeds capacity every year as we have as many boats secured for the weekend as possible.

The Helm Bar and Restaurant, Westport

The Helm Annual Skate Festival - October 6th and 7th 2012