Irish Angling Update – 15/03/12
March 15th, 2012 | by Myles Kelly
There may have been a light sprinkling of rain in some areas, and the temperatures were a little cooler than last week but over all the weather has been very settled and anglers have enjoyed some good early season sport.
The first salmon of the 2012 season has finally been landed in Galway. On Friday the 9th, local angler Sean O’Toole caught a small for springer, 5.5lbs, just off the tide. Staying in the west, Delphi has been fishing quite well and 12 fish were taken to last Monday. Mediators and Willie Gunns have been popular choices amongst the anglers. Meanwhile on Carrowmore Green Peters and a Claret Dabblers accounted for a couple of salmon to 11lb. On the River Moy angling continues to improve, with a further three salmon reported over the last week. The Munster Blackwater is not doing so well, after a good showing in February few fish have been encountered despite good water and numerous sightings fresh fish. Lough Currane has also been quiet with the only news from that corner of Kerry being the capture of their first sea trout last Sunday.
Water Safety is a big issue and it’s incredible the amount of Anglers, and other lake users that don’t have, or wear a Lifejacket. Last weekend at Hooked Live Irish Water Safety launched their campaign for 2012 encouraging the wearing of Lifejackets.
Cork Harbour has proved popular amongst cod anglers recently and both soft plastics and baited feathers are accounting for good numbers of fish to 8lb. Jim Clohessey was fishing with Kevin Murphy of Bella Vista and videoed their exploits which can be seen here. Pollack, coalfish and ling were on the menu for a group of food writers fishing with Mark Gannon out of Courtmacsherry on Saturday. Local anglers fishing with Mark on Sunday had even more luck catching pollack to 11lb and ling to 14lb. Jim Hendrick has been working on a new line of flies for sea trout in saltwater and has developed some patterns which are proving quite useful on the south coast. The first mullet reported to the office this year was landed yesterday afternoon in Cork Harbour by a local angler.
Details have been announced of the NCFFI Float and Feeder Team qualifiers to select teams for the 2013 World, European and Celtic Cup teams. Anyone interested in taking part can find the full schedule of events and an entry form here. Ballybay Angling Association held a knock up at Concra Wood. Though it proved to be a tough day’s fishing, there were still plenty of fish about and overall winner was Neil Mazurek with 15lb 10ozs.
Kevin Lyons wins Catch of the Week with this 32lb 8oz pike
Kevin Lyons of Melview Lodge Guesthouse in Longford had his own personal best pike over the weekend. The pike weighed 32lb 8oz and was taken on a mackerel dead bait. It was one of a number of big fish taken by himself and guests on jerk baits, dead baits and fly in the upper Shannon area. Fishing on Lough Erne a group of anglers from the UK had 150 pike, several were double figures with the largest tipping the scales at 16.5lb. Good doubles also featured at some midlands venues and in the Belturbet area.
The warm weather and long evenings over the last few days brought on a hatch of fly and anglers reported some lovely small river and stream fishing. Dark Olives and other early baetids will be hatching on nearly all rivers now and anglers will be eagerly looking forward to the weekend and St. Patrick’s Day, the traditional start to the trout season for many fly anglers.
Congratulations to Ciaran Reilly from Loughrea, County Galway who won the 2012 Youths Inter-provincial Fly Tying Competition over the weekend and good luck to Portroe natives Paul Bourke and Danny Tiernan who launched Irish Fishing Tours last Friday.
Finally, water safety is a big issue and last weekend at Hooked Live Irish Water Safety launched their campaign for 2012 encouraging the wearing of life jackets. We encourage everyone who goes afloat to wear a life jacket and please don’t take any risks with your safety.
Tight lines especially in Ireland
Paul Bourke
Angling Information Officer.
Catch, Photo, Release
Headlines
Salmon fishing reports
- A sea trout on Currane but otherwise quiet
- Delphi fishing well with 12 salmon in 7 days
- Low water on the Feale but a couple of springers taken
- Lovely water on the Munster Blackwater, but salmon slow to take
- More spring salmon from the River Moy
- Two springers on Carrowmore Lake for the Foley brothers.
- First Salmon in Galway
Sea angling reports
- Pollack was up to 11lbs and the Ling up to 14lbs at Courtmacsherry
- Wild silver on the swing in the sea
- Spring Cod for Cobh anglers.
Coarse angling reports
Pike fishing reports
- Angling trio take a quintet of doubles in the Midlands
- Upper Erne teeming with pike, UK anglers catch 150 in 5 days
- Big pike from Upper Shannon for Kevin Lyons and guests
- Joe McDermott wins Phil Fitzpatrick Memorial Grand Pike Competition
Trout fishing reports
- Learner anglers raise €540 for Irish Cancer Society at Annamoe
- Angling continues to improve at Lough na Leibe with trout of 3lbs reported
- 11 Trout along with numerous rises on a busy day in Wicklow
- Dries and buzzers do best at Cashel Trout Fishery
- Czech nymphing takes the better trout from upper Bann
- Warm weekend weather brings trout to drys on the Cusher
- Lovely early season trout fishing on the Lagan
- Emy Anglers Host Second Angling Workshop
- Quiet Start to the Season on the Boyne
- 10 Year Old Evin Collects his Membership Card from Navan Anglers
Other news
- Ciaran Reilly wins Youths Inter-provincial Fly Tying Competition
- New angling service launched on Lough Derg
- Stop the spread of invasive species – Awareness evenings
News clippings
- Kanturk’s Shane Bird comes second in Munster championship – The Corkman
- World’s richest match event shows Irish fishing is pretty fly – Irish Times
- The false economy of fishing early-season trout – Mayo News
- Achill man fined for illegal net fishing – Mayo News
This post is in: Weekly update
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