The weather last weekend was not bad and air temperatures are still not bad for good angling but alas the winter rains are bringing water levels up now that many of our inland waters are flooded. There was a fair bit of angling activity last weekend with the reasonable conditions but I fear that angling effort will be small in the days ahead until these huge Atlantic weather systems give us a break from the strong winds and heavy rain which has hit us presently.
Last weekend, 21 anglers fished the latest Fishmaniak competition to Lough Sillan near Shercock in Co. Cavan and despite the heavy rain and windy conditions on the day, some small catches of roach and skimmers were recorded. The winner on the day, Tomasz Bartoszko weighed in a nice net of 4.1 Kilos of fish.
There was fair bit of Pike angling activity in the past week and a French party of anglers had some fine fishing in the Foxford area fishing with angling guide Kenny Sloan on a number of loughs. Many pike in the 90 cms range were caught and released on the trip. Angling guide Mick Flanagan reported that he has a number of Dutch anglers out fishing on the Midland Loughs for pike and they had very good fishing in the poor weather conditions. Mark Flynn reported the capture of a 17 lb. pike on a salmon slider lure last Saturday. Up in Enniskillen anglers from all parts of the country to fish the annual Waterways pike classic competition held over three days. The first day was a bank fishing and a fly fishing competition on different venues on the River Erne and nearby loughs. The two day annual boat competition was won by Longford angler Liamas Stoskus, who caught a fine pike of 22 lb. 2 oz. to win the competition and is our Catch of the Week.
Out at sea, charter skipper Kit Dunne was out with a party of anglers off the Wicklow coast and they had great sport catching some fine spurdogs, whiting and poor cod.
This time of year sees many anglers turning to rainbow trout fishing over the winter period and there was some nice fishing reported last weekend. Angling guide Mick Flanagan was out twice last weekend. He was out with his uncle Pat and they enjoyed some good sport at Derrymore Springs near Mullingar. He was also fishing with a lot of media journalists at a day out at the Courtlough Fishery near Balbriggan in Co. Dublin catching some lovely rainbows on the day. Well known angling guide and author Peter O’Reilly recorded the top catch of 16 fish on the day followed by BBC Northern Ireland correspondent Paddy O Flaherty who caught some fine fish up to 10 lb. Down in Carrigavantry in Co. Waterford, a group of Cork anglers had a wet day but caught 32 trout up to 62 cms on fly.
In other news the weekly FishtalkTV programme will go out this evening at the following internet link at http://youtu.be/qH9Er4j0p5I Alan Broderick will have Stuart Price the fishery manager from Mount Falcon in the studio along with other angling items and a host of angling chat will be aired in this popular weekly show. It is nice report that the Lanesboro hot water stretch is now open for angling with some environmental conditions. On our other website at www.fisheriesireland.ie the Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Tagging Scheme Regulations for 2015 are published and our Annual Report for Inland Fisheries Ireland in 2013 is also published.
Finally be carefully if going fishing and study the weather forecast before venturing out. You could drop in at the annual Fly Fair in the Galway Bay Hotel in Salthill in Galway this weekend. You can meet me and my colleague Lindsey Clarke on the Inland Fisheries Ireland stand for a chat or if you need any help in enjoying the best of angling that Ireland has to offer.
Tight lines especially in Ireland,
Paul Bourke
Catch, Photo, Release
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Headlines
Coarse angling reports
Pike fishing reports
- Wonderful Pike fishing enjoyed at the recent Waterways Ireland Erne Pike Classic 2014
- French anglers return for more pike fishing in Mayo
- A Dutch of class on the pike angling scene
- A good pike to finish a slow day on the Barrow, but conditions improving
Sea angling reports
Trout fishing reports
- Rainbows in the Dark at Derrymore
- ‘A grand soft day’ for the hardy Cork anglers on Carrigavantry
- Famous Angling Author Wins Top Prize at Courtlough Media Fly-Fishing Competition
News clippings
- 10m larvae, 2 survivors, then 100 years protecting our rivers, Irish Times
- Criticism for bringing brown trout for weigh-in purposes on Mask and elsewhere is answered, Irish Times
- Minister Comments On Dredging Plans For Asian Clam At Lanesborough, Afloat
- Teagasc environmental conference to tackle policy challenges, Agriland
- Damning film lifts lid on River Lee ‘tragedy’, The Corkman
- Blackwater used as a rubbish dump, The Corkman
- Inland Fisheries Ireland re-opens Lanesboro ‘hot water’ stretch, Longford Leader
Other news
- Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Tagging Scheme Regulations 2015
- The Irish Fly Fair in Galway Bay Hotel – 15th & 16th Nov
- All about sharks with Luke Aston
- Fish are talking back…
- Home Nations Fish offs on Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th of Febuary 2105 – Waterford
