Happy New Year to all our readers at home and abroad. So far it has been a mild enough winter and with luck this angling friendly weather will continue. The salmon season has opened for another year, pike angling is going well and winter shore fishing is yielding results for those targeting cod and flounder.

Timothy Dalton wins Catch of the Week for this 10lb salmon, the bigger of two fish which claimed the first of season prize at the River Drowes on January 1st.

In a coincidence never before reported, two anglers landed the first salmon of the season at the same time. Both fish were caught on the River Drowes, each having fallen for the charms of the famous Flying C and were both landed at 12.40pm. Timothy Dalton from Omagh caught his 10lbs fish from the Blackwater while 4 miles downstream Colin Gardiner from Lurgan caught his 4.5lbs fish from the Wee Drain.

The regulations for coming salmon season are available online and are almost unchanged from last year. The changes to what rivers are open, closed and catch and release are summarised below.

4 rivers which were closed in 2012 will open for angling on a “catch & release” basis in 2013:-

  • Lower Liffey – downstream of Leixlip Dam (Dublin fishery district)
  • Owenavorragh (Wexford fishery district)
  • Barrow & Pollmounty (Waterford fishery district)
  • Lackagh (Letterkenny fishery district)

3 rivers which were open in 2012 will be limited to “catch & release” in 2013:-

  • Blackwater Kerry (Kerry fishery district)
  • Ferta (Kerry fishery district)
  • Screebe (Connemara)

1 river which was open for angling on a “catch and release” basis in 2012 will be closed in 2013:-

  • Behy (Kerry fishery district)

3 rivers which were open for angling on a “catch and release” basis in 2012 will be open in 2013:-

  • Glengarriff (Cork fishery district)
  • Clady (Letterkenny fishery district)
  • Tullaghobegley (Letterkenny fishery district)

4 rivers which were open for angling on a “catch and release” basis until 11May in 2012 and open from 12 May 2012 will be open in 2013:-

  • Nore  (Waterford fishery district)
  • Suir  (Waterford fishery district)
  • Bandon (Cork fishery district)
  • Newport (Bangor fishery district)

Michael Flanagan and Mark Ryan had some great winter piking over the Christmas break with 10 fish caught in one session. Michael was also out with Ger Bradley and amongst the pike they caught was a lovely fish of 19lb. James Norton was fishing the Virginia area  the week before Christmas for pike. Using a variety of methods he had fish to 15lb.

Following the recent closure of the Sheperton Lakes in West Cork boats are currently being redeployed in the popular angling venue and it will be fully operational by Monday, 7 January. The closure was due to concerns regarding insurance and IFI regret any inconvenience caused to regular and visiting anglers.

Tight lines,

Myles Kelly

Catch, Photo, Release

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