Salmon anglers in some parts of the country had their prayers answered and rain improved the fishing. The Owenea got rain over the weekend and 25 salmon were caught on Sunday alone. Unfortunately the showers missed out the Drowes which is still very low. It was another relatively quiet week on the River Moy, however, following a slight rise in the river on Sunday past, quite a few salmon were caught. The total recorded catch for the week was just over 180 salmon. Fishing at Kylemore was also quiet as low water hampered fishing, but the 200th salmon of the season was landed putting the fishery well ahead of last year’s total catch with 3 weeks left to fish. Low water was also a problem on the Erriff but some salmon and sea trout were landed and prospects for the rest of the season look good as conditions are set to improve. Kerry and Cork rivers reported a few fish landed and the Munster Blackwater saw a slight improvement in catches.

Alfredo Maatz
Alfredo Maatz’s pike wins him Catch of the Week

Alfredo Maatz dropped over from Aachen in Germany for a few day’s pike fishing around Mullingar. He was on a quick trip to see for himself what sort of fishing the area had. He was impressed in the end and even managed to win our Catch of the Week for this fine pike. The National Junior Pike Angling Competition which was held on Saturday, the 7th of September on Shantonagh Lough near Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan. In what was an exciting finish Ashlyn McCabe (under 18) and Eoin Sheehan aged 5 (under 13) won the much coveted title ‘National Junior Pike Angler of the Year’ .

Monday morning, 9th September saw the first casts of the 2013 Lakelands and Inland Waterways World Pairs Angling Championships. 128 anglers from across Europe went to pegs in the counties of Cavan, Leitrim and Fermanagh to compete to win the glittering prizes and trophies. The leader board has seen some dramatic changes since then as catches in excess of 40lb were weighed in. As of Wednesday evening local angler Francis McGoldrick and UK angler Dave Brettell  are leading with 115.360kg.  But with little more than 1kg separating the top three individual anglers it looks like and exciting final day is ahead of the competitors.

Despite the blustery conditions 133 anglers participated in the Licensed Vintner’s (and friend’s) Wet Fly Competition, with 154 fish weighed in over the 2 day event. This year’s top vintner was Mallow man Richie Willis, with 5 fish for 5.99lbs. The ITFFA Interprovincial was also held on Lough Mask last weekend. The winning province was Ulster, with 60 fish for 13,680 points. The top individual rod was Ulster angler Brian Stanfield with 10 trout. Ulster also took the longest fish with a trout of 49cm caught by Pat Foley.

Lakes very low

Lough Mask is at a record low at the moment and anglers are asked to take extra care when travelling around the lake. Lough Sheelin is also very low and fishing was tough for the most part last week though some good trout were caught including a super 10lb fish for Martin Connor of Armagh on a Claret Hopper.

French anglers had some great bass fishing last week in Wexford. Fishing with local guide Sean Jordan the visitors caught bass to 75cm. Guide Gerard Doran also reports good fishing, particularly at night. Blue shark continue to thrill anglers fishing off the Cork Coast and some good sharks were landed by anglers on the Silver Dawn out of Kinsale and from small boats from the Bellavista fleet in Cork Harbour.

Freshwater Jellyfish

Freshwater jellyfish (also known as peach-blossom jellyfish) are newly recorded in Ireland since August 2013 (in Lough Derg and Lough Erne) but as of yet has not been recorded in other Irish freshwaters. The jellyfish is native to the Yangtze River Valley in China. The species was initially discovered in exotic aquatic plant tanks in Regent’s Park, London in 1880 but has since spread widely throughout the globe. For more information see: Invasive species alert – Freshwater Jellyfish

Recent fish kills

Inland Fisheries Ireland is appealing to the general public to report any incident, or suspected incident of pollution or deterioration of water quality and sightings of distressed fish. Amanda Mooney, Director for the Shannon River Basin District, commented “Whether an incident occurs deliberately or inadvertently, it is critical for fish welfare and general water quality that incidents can be dealt with promptly”.

Inland Fisheries Ireland operates a confidential 24 hour hotline and suspected illegal fishing or pollution can be reported to 0818 34 74 24.

Weather outlook

Rain, drizzle and fog will affect southern coastal counties at times tomorrow. But the rest of the country should be drier, with a mixture of sunny spells and cloudy periods, but some scattered showers too. Cooler and fresher than recent days, top temperatures 12 to 15 C., in light northwesterly or variable breezes. Saturday will be bright and dry with varying cloud and good sunny spells. It will be a fresh day with temperatures at best in the mid teens. Rain reaching the far northwest early on Saturday night will spread to all areas later on Saturday night.  Sunday will start overcast and blustery with outbreaks of rain. The rain will be heavy for a time during the morning, but will clear to scattered showers for the afternoon and evening. Southwest winds veering west will be fresh and gusty, and it will feel cool. The early part of next week will stay cool, changeable and unsettled with rain or showers on occasions. Daytime temperatures will be below normal and it will be rather breezy too.

Tight lines,

Myles Kelly
Catch, Photo, Release

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