Variable weather continued last week and though it was not always sunny it was rarely wet enough to bring on a decent flood in any rivers that needed it. Windy weather reduced time at sea for some anglers but there were still some great catches reported. Overall it was not a bad week for anglers…

Parts of Donegal managed to get wetter weather than the rest of the country and the Owenea had a bit of a flood towards the end of last week. There was not a huge run of grilse however and less than a dozen fish were recorded. Water levels fell on the Drowes and only about 10 grilse were caught. Anglers on Glencar Lake had got sea trout and salmon on fly and reported seeing plenty of fish moving. Just 231 salmon were caught on the River Moy as fishing slowed down considerably during the past week due to fluctuating water levels. Anglers on the Erriff had 6 salmon and 9 sea trout. A flood midweek did not improve fishing much. The Owenmore fishery in Kerry is reporting some of the best fishing it’s had in years. Dry weather there has seen efforts focus on the night time fishing. Lough Currane has been quiet again for the most part though a 14lb salmon was landed earlier this week. In Cork, the Bandon is very low now but a small flood last week saw plenty of fish caught. There was good fishing at the Ballyduff Bridge Fishery on the Munster Blackwater particularly at the weekend.

Lough Sheelin had spates of good fishing this week and then dips of quiet. Weather was very mixed and at times the lake was too windy to fish safely. Large pods of trout in the 2lb class were reported moving and there was good fishing in general when the evening came. Fly fishing on Corrib was quite productive. Those anglers that did best fished with sedges, which are the dominant hatch of fly at this time, and some excellent catches were made. On Lough Mask good numbers of trout are to be found feeding on Daphnia in the deep. These fish are reported to be of better than average size and in great condition. On Friday evening Lough Lene Angling Association hosted their evening Green Peter competition which produced some cracking rainbow trout in the 4lb class. On Lough Ennell a similar event saw lovely brown trout to just short of 4lb landed. The Trout Anglers Federation of Ireland are running a free youth open day for those wanting to learn to fly fish on Sunday next 14th August from 10am till 5pm in the Laois Angling Centre. If you know anyone interested in learning fly fishing then bring them along for an enjoyable day out in the countryside. The event is open to everyone and all are welcome.

Junior anglers fishing the Bannow Bay Anglers competition at Duncannon had some good fishing in poor conditions and a number of flounder were caught. Fishing in Cork Harbour a group of Dutch small boat anglers enjoyed some excellent fishing catching 20 species during their stay. Other anglers in the area had some very good bass fishing with one angler managing 16 fish for just 4 hours fishing over 2 days.  Good bass fishing was also reported from Clonakilty and Courtmacsherry. Charter boat anglers at Courtmacsherry reported a wide range of species in the last week. Anglers off the Clare coast endured a choppy week but when the weather settled on Friday the catches improved. Up in Donegal some really good fishing was enjoyed by boat anglers and on one trip 17 species, including black bream, were caught. This rarely reported species wins Stefan Martin Catch of the Week.

There are not many coarse anglers in the Cootehill area at present but those who are fishing report good bags up to 40/50lb including some skimmers, bream and tench. Fishing in the Killeshandra area is also very productive and tench and bream to 6lb are helping make up some very nice weights. One group of anglers fishing in Longford had excellent fishing with one day individual weights as high as 131lbs. Oaklands Fishery in New Ross continues to perform well and the carp there can very co-operative. Junior anglers had good fishing there at a weekend competition.

Members of the French predator fishing team fishing from Watermill Lodge on the shores of Lough Erne caught and released 70 pike to 95cm and literally 100’s of perch the best of which measured 35cm. Wet and windy conditions made fishing on Lough Ree a bit of a challenge over the weekend but anglers competing for selection on Ireland Predator team were still enthusiastic about the quality of the fishing on the lake.

The Department of Economics at the National University of Ireland, Galway, in association with Inland Fisheries Ireland, is conducting a survey of coarse anglers who fish in the Cavan and Leitrim area.

The survey is designed to examine three things:

  • the site characteristics that play an important role in the choice anglers make when choosing between fishing destinations,
  • the value an angler places on a day spent fishing
  • and to gather information that will facilitate better management of fisheries.

The survey should take approximately 15 minutes and participation give you a chance of winning a €200 tackle voucher. For more information see Irish Coarse Angler Survey.

 

Met Eireann are telling us that on Friday will be warm with fresh southwest winds but rain in the northwest will spread slowly southeastwards across Ulster and Connacht in the morning, spreading to the rest of the country through the afternoon and evening. Saturday will bring a good deal of dry weather with sunny spells, but a few scattered showers too, mainly in the west and north. Sunday will be warm and dry with good sunny spells. Monday will be dry with good sunshine and Tuesday will be even warmer and very humid with highest temperatures of 21 to 25C. It will be mainly dry. However, current indications suggest that later in the week weather will become wetter and cooler.

Safe fishing to all and tight lines, especially here in Ireland.

Myles Kelly

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 Sheelin mayfly – still here in August
The Sheelin mayfly – still here in August