Slices of catfish fried in pasta on the top step of the podium

2022.07.11. Share

Last Saturday, July 9, the VIII. Pinka Völgyi Halas Day in Iron Cross. This year, as every year before, the organizers offered a whole day of meaningful entertainment for families, groups of friends, and lovers of gastronomy and fishing.

Slices of catfish fried in pasta on the top step of the podium

The series of programs started in the morning with a friendly fishing competition, where the anglers could measure their skills and luck in three categories again this year. Those competing in the adult hobby category tried their luck at the Pinka backwater in Vaskerzeste, those competing in the Önkormányzati lake, while those competing in the youth category tried their luck at the Alpesi Horgász lake. The fishing competition was also popular this year: more than forty competitors submitted their entries in advance.

Before the drawing of the fishing spots, Norbert Puskás, the executive president of the Vas County Association of Sport Fishing Associations, explained the rules and drew attention to the fact that although today is also a competition, it is mainly a friendly competition, and even though there are rules that must be followed, the most important thing is that everyone has a good time.

After the fishermen took their places, the participants of the cooking competition slowly arrived to try to put the most delicious food on the jury's table in the categories of making fish soup and fish food. The president of the judges this year was Zoltán Andrejszky, whom the audience may also know from the Fishing and Hunting channel , as he presents the colorful range of dishes that can be prepared from fish in his independent cooking show Halimádók's Kitchen. The audience of Halas Nap could also see him cooking, as he prepared creamy tagliatelle using African catfish in the pavilion next to the entrance: the quick-to-prepare and very simple dish was a huge success.

The jury and the invited guests toured the tents of the cooking teams, and we found out: most of the teams prepared something special. There were those who hid the fish in flaming dough, or those who smoked it fresh, but there were also groups who made fish meatballs. By the time everyone's plates were on the jury's table waiting for the judges' decision, the cultural show began on stage. The St. Petersburg HKD Gradisce dance group and the Vaskeresztes traditionalists performed.

The series of ceremonial greetings was opened by Ferenc Brádl, deputy mayor of Vaskeresztes , who interpreted the cordial greeting of mayor Tamás Krancz and greeted the participants. He thanked the Vas County Association of Sport Fishing Associations for organizing the Fish Day here every year, which has already grown to the size of a festival. He expressed his hope that the Association and the Local Government can continue to cooperate as effectively as before, and then he wished everyone a good appetite and pleasant entertainment.

Miklós Seregi, the president of the Vas County Association of Sport Fishing Associations, greeted everyone warmly and reminded: "Nine years ago, we invented Fish Day to promote fishing and to encourage more and more people to eat fish food. The number of visitors to the event increases every year, which confirms us that the idea of Fish Day was not a bad idea, and this gives us the strength to organize it again every year," he said, and then he wished everyone a good appetite before tasting the food.

Norbert Puskás, the executive president of the Association, said: the lake next to the Alpesi Fogadó és Horgászturistikke Központ was a victim of rain a month ago, as a result of which water also stood in the bacon ovens. He expressed his gratitude to the Municipality of Vaskeresztes, the Firefighters Association of Vaskeresztes, and all the people of Vaskeresztes who helped the Association in that they managed to pump out this much water with voluntary work, and they reached the point where the lake returned to its original bed and thus became suitable for this year's Fish Day the lake again.

Dr. Csaba Hende, the representative of the region and the vice-president of the parliament, reminded: "this is a gastronomic event, where the old saying fits: long sausage, short sermon." , and then thanked the organizers and all those whose work made it possible for us to be here now. "Most of all, I would like to thank the Hungarian fishing community, the approximately 700,000 members who devote themselves to their noble passion, forming a very strong community across the country. This power is transformed into action in many places, creations such as this fishing paradise in Vaskerestes are created. Every community is very important, which brings people together and strengthens the sense of belonging." said Dr. Csaba Hende.

Zoltán Andrejszky, as the president of the jury of the cooking competition, pointed out that the jury was in big trouble. "gastronomic miracles were born that surprised us all, we were able to meet very imaginative teams. I myself have encountered dishes that I have never seen before, I have to admit, I have stored a couple of them in my head, and in the coming days, during the shooting of Halimádók's Kitchen, a couple of dishes may return to greet me. I want more and more people to eat fish, that's why the Halimádók Konyhá was created: we're trying to help with new and new ideas so that we do eat more fish, because it's healthy and very tasty." - he said, then added: the participants in the fish food category soared, one dish was better than the other.

After the greetings, the results were announced.

Fishing competition

Competitive category

1. Norbert Misák (Büki Fishing Association) 31300 g

2. Michael Schneider (Sárvíz-Tavi Fishing Association) 19580 g

3. Máté Koltai (Kéthatár-tó Kerkafalva HE) 10720 g

Adult hobby category

1. Jánny Benjámin (Elektromosok SHE) 6300 g – 1 hsz.

2. György Zsankó (Pannonia Fishing Association) 5560 g – 1 hsz.

3. Máté Bucsek (Rábapaty and Vidéke HE) 4100 g -2 hsz.

Youth category

1. Gersei Milán (Körmendi Munkás HE) 7320 g - 1 hsz.

2. Bertha Luca (Hegyfalu és Vidéke HE) 3400 g -1 hsz.

3. Bence Pados (Kőszeg Sport Fishing Association) 7280 g -2 hsz.

Best female special prize: Renáta Kiss (Elektromosok SHE) 9940 g (competitor, 4th place)

Cooking competition:

Fish soup

1. Fishtail

2. Bafolyvár

3. Kétchatar Lake Fishing Association

Fish food

1. Suri Batyus Team - Fried catfish slices in batter

2. Electrics - Smoked delicacies

3. Körmendi Munkás HE - Vargányás fish mince

Special prizes:

Marcali Old Otters – Fried fish with spicy sauce (traditional taste)
Brisket - Spinach fish balls soup and cabbage stuffed with fish (innovation)

At the end of the announcement of the results, one of the awards awarded at the Association's delegate meeting in May, which could not be awarded at that time due to technical reasons, was presented. This award has just been presented: the Vas County Association of Sport Fishing Associations bestows the highest award in our county to fellow anglers who do outstanding work and achieve results (a maximum of 4 people per year). Balázs Németh, the fourth recipient of this year's World Championship silver medal competition angler, became a member of the Trabucco Team.

After that, the children filled the space in front of the stage, as the long-awaited Alma concert could begin. And in the area next to the event tent, face painting, balloon clowns, folk games, giant jenga, and a bouncy castle ensured that even the smallest ones had a good time. After the concert, a clown show entertained the grand prize, and then the winner of the raffle was the owner of the raffle items worth a total of nearly half a million forints, the main prize of which was a Decathlon voucher worth fifty thousand forints.

During the afternoon, visitors to the Pinka Völgyi Halas Napa could taste fish soup, fish sauce, fish burgers and fried fish, and again this year they could sip even more delicious wines courtesy of the Mittl Winery .

At the end of the day, the Žgano ensemble's concert rounded off the program. We hope that all visitors had a good time this year as well, and that we can meet again next year in Vaskeresztes.

The detailed results of the fishing competition can be viewed at the end of our article. The excellent photos taken at the event are available below. We would also like to thank Georgina Nagy (LENDESIGN) for the excellent photos!

The event was realized with the support of the special programs of the Hungarian National Fishing Association. Thank you for your support!