Teenager lands prize perch on Royal Canal

Thirteen-year-old angler Cyprian Krzywanski is still buzzing after reeling in what he believes is the biggest perch he will ever catch – a two-pound specimen landed on the Royal Canal.

The Lakepoint teenager, a first-year student at Mullingar Community College, has been fishing since the age of four, taught the craft by his father, Abdan.

Cyprian hooked the perch near the harbour at the Loreto stretch of the canal, weighing it at around two pounds before returning it safely to the water. “I was just stoked,” he said. “I couldn’t stop going on about it.”

It is not the first big catch he has had on the canal. His personal best remains an 80cm pike landed at the same harbour, while a friend of his recently netted a 22-pounder further along the waterway.

While Cyprian insists the Royal Canal is a great place to fish, he admits it has its problems. “The only thing I don’t like about it is there’s a load of cans, shopping trolleys and everything like that in it,” he said, pointing in particular to the stretch near the Dublin Bridge.

For now, though, he is content to fish close to home and has no plans to take up competitive angling. “I don’t have the gear for that,” he explained. “I only have a few rods – nothing heavy for big fish, and we don’t have a boat or anything.” That hasn’t dampened his enthusiasm. Most days, he can be found with rod in hand along the banks of the canal, hoping for the next big catch.