Fishing conditions still remain difficult with high water levels; nonetheless a number of good fish were caught during the week. The Drowes saw John Parkinson recorded his first springer of the season followed a couple of days later by two 7lbers caught by Paul Mc Causland and Colin Gardiner.  Other anglers had to contend with conditions that suited the fish more than the angler and a lot of fish were lost.

Noel Clancy caught the first salmon on the fly this season on the Currane last Friday and a cracker of 14 lbs 4 oz Salmon was caught on the troll by Tom and Neil O’Shea yesterday.  It was a case of Delphi Delight for 17 year old Colm O’Leary when he landed his first salmon at Finlough on a Collie Dog. The fish weighed 9lbs 11ozs and Colm managed to impress father Jack, mother Myke and younger brother Aodhan who were all in the boat when the fish was landed.

15 year old William Sudders, UK, with his personal best Lough Conn pike of 20 lbs.
15 year old William Sudders, UK, Winner of our ‘Catch of the Week’

Lough Conn produced some fine early season brown trout during the past week ranging from 1lb right up to 3.2lbs.  Ballina angler Joe Quinn took the honours for the heaviest of these, which was taken on a Fiery Brown along Brackwansha Shore.

The Erne system provided one Co. Down angler with a super 24lb pike.  Danny Mageean used a pollan fished on a ledger boom.  The fish put up a massive fight but Danny put up a better one !  A crystal clear Royal Canal allowed Mullingar Angler Frank Cotter the opportunity to catch and release a superb conditioned pike.  Unfortunately Frank didn’t get the chance to weight it but we are assured it was one of the ones he won’t forget.

The Foxford area of Co. Mayo is the ideal location for relaxing but who needs relaxing when there are pike to be caught.  Angling guide, Kenny Sloan was in the thick of the action this week when he had a couple of anglers from Essex out with him. William Sudders and Graham Applegate caught a total of 15 pike.  Dreadful weather conditions on Loughs Conn & Cullin and Levally Lake kept the boys on their toes and they tried everything from fly, wobbling, lure casting and trolling.  15 year old William stole the show with fish of 12, 14, 18 and a personal best of 20 lbs. Well done William on your persistence and on receiving our ‘Catch of the Week’.

Not many coarse angling reports this week but one little chap who can’t go without a mention is a young Cork chap called Conor Hennessey who caught a specimen 12lb 8oz carp on the Lough.  Conor landed the fish himself and made Dad Micheal (IFI) stand to one side as he got on with the job.  After all this little champ had learned from the best.

Daniel Brosnan, Tralee Bay SAC gave us a roundup of how their sea angling competition went on a stormy Sandy Bay beach.  The battle began with 24 anglers mostly from either Clare or Kerry.  As the day progressed the weather waged war on those taking part.  The Clare contingent found the Kerry conditions hard to handle and left early….or so I’m told by the Tralee boys anyway!  Overall winner was Phil Ord, followed by Aidan O’Halloran and Eugene Farrelly.  Christopher O’Sullivan and Paddy McMahon won the junior section.

Looking ahead to competitions, courses and good offers we have;

The banner image shows the IFI measuring mat which is now available at 170cm making it ideal for submitting claims for length based specimens like tope. The IFI Fish Mat can be purchased from our online shop.

The weather for the next few days will be cold and dry in many places with clear spells but wintry showers continuing to affect western counties, especially those bordering the Atlantic on Friday.   Saturday again will see wintery showers but these will die out during the night leaving Sunday sunny for a time.  The rain will clear eastwards overnight into Monday with showers following on Atlantic coasts; winds will veer westerly and slacken for a time, resulting in icy patches around dawn. Monday will be a day of sunny intervals and scattered wintry showers, along with moderate to fresh, westerly breezes.

Rivers are high, stay safe and enjoy the fishing

Tight lines especially in Ireland,

Nancy Hearne

Catch, Photo, Release

If you have an angling story to share with the Irish Angling Update please send it to [email protected].

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The new 170cm measuring mat from IFI is available to buy online
The new 170cm measuring mat from IFI, suitable for measuring specimen tope, is available to buy online