Low water levels are posing a problem right across the country. Fish are showing no interest and frustrated anglers aren’t that keen to venture out. Met Eireann are telling us that rain is predicted for the weekend and should reach the East coast on Friday night. Saturday should see rain spreading across the North and East and most areas getting some downpours. If it doesn’t come soon, I can only suggest that ye do as the Indians did and start a rain dance! And please, please keep dancing because our rivers and lakes need a lot more than a drop or two.
Some seasoned anglers did venture out however and found a bit of variation and change of tactics helped. Jason Nash landed a lovely 7lb salmon on the Bandon which was fairly fresh and probably in the river no more than a week. Trout flies are working best for the grilse. Laune anglers are debating whether there are fish in the river and conditions are wrong or the fish are just scarce. The rain should answer that question and hopefully before the end of the season. Salmon anglers are reminded that as of the 1st of September, the daily bag limit for is now one salmon per day and please note the River Deel is now closed to salmon angling.

The Delphi, Drowes, West Cork and Killarney have little to report this week. The Moy recorded just 133 salmon, while the Currane reported Belgium anglers catching 20 sea trout from juniors up to 5lb over the last couple of days. Ballisodare tells us that fish are still moving in and out on the tides but because of the lack of anglers only 9 salmon were caught although some of these were a respectable 7lb weight.
Trout anglers faired a bit better this week. The hard fighting fish on Lough Ennell are providing some sport for anglers. Michael Flanagan managed to hook 8 fish last week and boated 2. One of them was a cracking 5.40lb trout. Lough Melvin fished well on occasions for sonaghan with some rods reporting good catches while on other days the fish were small and undersized.
The browns at Carton house are crying out for Daddy. These leggy flies are causing the trout to rise together with Minkies and Wooly Buggers. The rainbows are feeding well and are in great condition and the Sheet of Water offers great sport.
Despite high temperatures Monaghan angling guide Peadar O’Brien delivered for his Dutch clients. Jip and Martin Strik managed 12 pike and a couple of jacks. Also doing well is Lough Allua which is approx. 5km from Inchigeelagh village in Cork. Greg Latour reports a fine pike weighing 19lbs and 97cm in length. Unfortunately it was his wife Sigi who caught it….not Greg. Ah well there’s always next time Greg !
Mark Heffernan marks this time of the year by catching massive tope and this year is no exception. His latest is just under 70lbs in weight whereas previous years they weighed 67.5lbs and 53lbs respectably. Following close behind Mark this week we had Maria Corrigan from Kilmore Quay in Wexford with a fabulous 67lb female caught at high water using mackerel bait. Mike Dennehy of Kinsale Charters witnessed the wonderful sight of a large pod of Bluefin tuna bursting, some of them jumping completely clear of the water. He was out on the Silver Dawn last week and had landed superb specimen albacore tuna. One of these tipped the scales at 22kg. This fish caught off the south west coast receives our ‘Catch of the Week’
The Lough Gowna festival proved popular with coarse anglers this week with 75 anglers taking part. Venues were at Killykeen, Corfree, Rosduff and Dernaferst. Derek Buckley, Enniskillen took first place with 101.85kg and Tony Hopkins, Barnsley came second with 96.70.kg. Regular visitor to Melvin Lodge, Nigel Barnes didn’t go away empty handed. He got himself a cracking net of hybrid and roach and a few well fed tench.
Some competitions to look forward to…
- Lough Key – Sept 8th
- World Pairs Angling – Sept 8th
- Lough Derg International Predator Competition – – Sept 16th – 18th
- Pike Fly Fishing Lough Derg – Sept 21st
- Irish Fly Fair and Angling Show 2013 – Nov 9th – 10th
Tight lines,
Nancy Hearne
Catch, Photo, Release
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Headlines
Salmon fishing reports
- A few salmon and sea trout at Burrishoole but fishing “poor”
- Low water at Ballisodare but fish moving on the tides
- 133 salmon on the Moy but water levels very low
- No salmon from the Kilarney lakes or the Flesk last week
- Some good sea trout, juniors and a few salmon on Currane this week
- Salmon fishing on West Cork rivers quiet
- 20 grilse on the Lee last week
- Drowes very low and very few salmon caught
- No water and no salmon at the Owenea last week
- Small flies for tough conditions on the Bandon
- A Charlie Chaplin’s day on the Currane, funny but little caught
- Italians break their personal best with fine fish from the Munster Blackwater
- Angler catches the Inagh Grand Slam – Salmon, Sea Trout, Brown Trout and Char
- Only four more weeks of fishing at Kylemore, get it while you can
- Trout flies tempt grilse as fish in the Laune but very little water
- A short summary of the Celtic Sea Trout Project at August 2013
- Salmon play ‘Catch me if you can’ at Delphi
Sea angling reports
- Big blue shark test the gear on Kiwi Girl, blue fins next up
- Huge tope to nearly 70lb reported by small boat anglers in the north east
- Ireland is a gem of a fishing spot with our Copper Coast among the best
- Bass on the double and pollack on the fly in Cork Harbour
- No monsters, but playful pollack on light tackle
- Great Tope for Maria on Celtic Lady II
- Plenty of specimens for Dutch anglers and another porbeagle at Red Bay
- Strong team and tactics at the east coast 3 Man Team Open
- Little fighters – small bass on weak tides
- One for Mr and one for Mrs Brain
- A little bit of know-how goes a long way !
- Cracking cod, pollack, bass and tope is Eamonn’s Autumn dream
- No cod, t’was a fine pollack for Sligo Boat Charters
- Tuna blitz for Silver Dawn out of Kinsale
- Wicklow specimen tope for Collie Ennis of the Rusty Hooks
- Some sharks and the fishing is good at reefs and wrecks around Downings
- Belgian anglers enjoy some good sea fishing from Valentia Island
- Birthday bass from Cork Harbour marks
Trout fishing reports
- Carton House Fishery reports browns on Daddys and rainbows feeding well
- Ryewater very low but but some fly fishing possible
- Trout fishing on Corrib a bit inconsistent recently but prospects good
- An unusual tactic for trout on Lough Lene
- Some great trout on Lough Ennell last week
- Some good sonaghan fishing at times on Melvin but lake needs water
- Emy Lough August Competition Results
- Low water levels excellent for dry fly!
- Sheelin – as Heaney said “No other thing can be so beautiful”
- Smiles and sunshine for our future anglers at Carrigavantry
Coarse angling reports
- Derek Buckley wins Gowna Festival with 101.85kg
- Lithuanian fishing club Go&Catch hold match on Garadice
- Bream, hybrids, roach and tench make Nigel’s stay at Melview very rewarding
- Belturbet Autumn Festival gets off to a great start !
- 42 years is a bit of a wait but Chris returned and caught his fish at Oaklands
- Peadar Delivers for Dutch Duo
Pike fishing reports
- Good pike fishing reported on Lough Allua
- All age groups turn out for the Templemore pike competition
- Peadar Delivers for Dutch Duo
- A wee pike for wee Daniel and lots more fun to come
News clippings
- Improving Life for Trout and Salmon on Lough Corrib’s Tributaries – Afloat
- Diver stung in face by Jellyfish off Skerries – Afloat
- Boat engines are stolen at Lough Mask sites – Mayo News
- Zebra mussels in our lakes, Irish Examiner
- New species of freshwater jellyfish in Ireland came from China, Irish Independent
- Limerickman discovers new species to Ireland, Limerick Leader
- Frozen in time: rare fish traces roots to ice age, Irish Independent
- Scientists unravel ancestry of Ireland’s rarest fish – Irish Times
- Totally hooked: catching dinner on the fly – Irish Times
- Four-times winner Uprichard reigns again on Lough Melvin – Irish Times
Other news
- Irish Fly Fair and International Angling Show 2013
- A short summary of the Celtic Sea Trout Project at August 2013
- Multi-agency sea search operation following illegal netting for Bass near Tramore
- Two great fishing competitions organised by Boyle & District Angling Club in early September
- Freshwater Jellyfish in Lough Derg – Surely Not!
