This week’s angling highs were starkly contrasted against the sombre news of two anglers’ deaths in Ireland. In separate incidents on Lough Corrib and at sea in West Cork, anglers were reported missing and later their bodies were recovered from the water following searches.  We urge all anglers not to take their safety for granted. If you are afloat, wading or fishing from the rocks please wear a life jacket. Many anglers think that if they are not at sea, they are not at risk. It is worth remembering that 62% of all drownings are inland, and on average 11 people drown in Irish waters every month. Don’t take risks, check the weather, the tides and wear a life jacket…

Salmon rivers for the most part needed water last week. Fishing on the Munster Blackwater was described as not easy going but nonetheless some anglers enjoyed getting a salmon or two. The River Lee is running low and no fish have been reported in the last week. On the Bandon it’s much the same, though Keith Barry pulled a rabbit out of the hat when he caught two salmon last Thursday. This month has been productive for anglers on the Ilen and a good number of fish to 11lb have been caught. Other West Cork rivers are not reporting such good fishing but the Coomhola is said to be full of fish. Lough Currane’s anglers found the fishing hard going, mainly due to windy weather. The ‘Currane Championship’, Waterville’s Sea Trout Catch and Release Fly-fishing Competition, organised  by the Waterville Lakes & Rivers Trust, will be held on Friday 9th and Saturday 10th September. Connemara’s fisheries seem to be doing better than those in the south west just now and plenty of sea trout were reported from Lough Inagh and Costello and Fermoyle. A few salmon were also in the mix there. A couple of salmon were taken on the Erriff including a beauty of 15.8lb. The river is in spate now and hopefully a good run of fish will follow. Anglers on the River Moy system experienced a rather difficult week with fluctuating water levels impacting on fishing for most of the time. On the Moy Estuary sea trout fishing was patchy but when it fished some good trout were caught.

The very unsettled weather lately has made fly fishing tough on many rivers. The often gusty winds in particular made dry fly fishing for trout very difficult. The Boyne had some respite at the weekend and in a settled period enjoyable fishing was had during hatches of Blue Winged Olives. Staying in the Boyne catchment, the Leinster Shield Competition was fished on Lough Lene on Sunday. The Dublin Trout Anglers were the winners of the catch and release competition with 14 fish. Heading west we find ourselves at Lough Corrib where hatches were sparse and localised. Some excellent fishing was had by those lucky to be in the right place at the right time but others missed out completely. Lough Mask had another good week with plenty of fish being caught in the deep while good trout are possible on Lough Carra for any angler willing to put in a little effort.

Pike anglers fishing through the summer have enjoyed some great fishing despite weather which was sometimes too bright and other times too windy. Lucky anglers had PBs on Loughs Ree, Allua and Derg last week. Knowing your water is key to success, but it’s possible to leap-frog the learning curve if you go out with a good guide. On Lough Derg excellent fishing was had last week with plenty of pike of 1m landed. At Lough Allua in Cork fish over the magic metre were also caught.

Howard - also pictured with the joint catch topping 200lb.
Howard with a  joint catch topping 200lb last week. The 3 day total exceeded 500lb and wins Catch of the Week

Coarse anglers in the Killeshandra area are reporting nets of fish to 40lbs despite tough conditions at times. Good bream helped to make the weights possible. A little further east the gin clear waters of Lough Ramor are producing some good evening fishing for roach and hybrids. Heading towards the midlands some English anglers fishing in the Longford area had exceptional fishing thanks to pre-baiting tactics by Melview Lodge’s Kevin Lyons. Over 3 days they had in the region of 520lb of hybrids alone!  Nigel and Howard from Devon win Catch of the Week for this huge haul of fish. At Athlone the Madcaps fished their Mystery Pairs competition on Sunday and the club will have more events before the end of the summer.

From Wexford’s shores bass were targeted, particularly on the night tides and tope were taken by anglers afloat. Porbeagles were caught on three separate occasions by anglers fishing out of Cork Harbour. Apart from these fine fish, blue sharks, conger, bass, big pollack and rays continue to feature in catches. Bass are on the cards for anglers fishing all across West Cork, but particularly around Clonakilty where 15 fish were caught in one afternoon by a father and son team fishing with local guide Peter Aspinwall. Charter boat anglers at Union Hall had some serious skate to 199lb last week as well as good fishing over the reefs and for sharks. Fishing out Valentia, German charter boat anglers had a good mix of species that included some decent pollack while rays provided the sport for a kayak angler fishing from the Kingdom’s shores. Fishing out of Carrigaholt was also good last week and double figure rays, shark, haddock and all the usual reef species provided plenty of thrills and entertainment. Further up the coast from Sligo we have more charter reports where a good range of species is possible and fishing is described as excellent.

Anyone thinking about going fishing over the weekend probably already knows that the outlook is for unsettled and changeable weather that will be wet and windy at times. It looks like the south and west coasts are going to take a bit of a battering and there has been quite a bit of rain in some places already, but the rain should see salmon fishing improve after the first dirty floods run through…

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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