The mild weather of the last couple of weeks looks set to snap so the weekend might not be as productive as it has been. And it has been plenty productive. Coarse, pike and sea anglers are all enjoying good fishing at a variety of venues around the country. Only the salmon anglers are letting the side down – despite good conditions on the Drowes and other open rivers the first salmon of the season has still to be caught…

The NADA club in Naas had a great couple of days on the Barrow recently. The last 2 rounds of their Winter League had some fine bags of fish from Bagenalstown and Graignamanagh. Both venues produced great winter fishing and weights to 12kg were needed to win some of the sections. Amongst the catches were some really fine perch – always popular amongst anglers – to an estimated 2lbs.

Pike anglers are getting some good fish at the moment but what really has their attention is the announcement of the €10,000 prize fund for the Lough Ree International Pike Classic. The competition will be fished on June 24th and 25th. Places are limited so don’t delay in booking at http://loughree.ie/

Still no word from the Drowes on the first salmon of the year. Fishery Manager Shane Gallagher says that this is disappointing  given that there have been good numbers of rods out in good weather and water conditions.

Ling to to the high teens were also caught
Ling to to the high teens were also caught. This 18lb fish wins Catch of the Week

On the subject of first fish of the year – mackerel were being taken at Ardmore as early as the 2nd of January. Given that they were being caught from the shore there on December 30th that is probably not much of a surprise to local anglers. Still, it seems to suggest the mild winter might have some interesting effects on fish movement and behaviour for a while yet. Charter boat fishing at Courtmacsherry also had something a bit out of the ordinary to report. Blue shark and tope at a nearby wreck – not caught by anglers, but it’s given Mark Gannon a new target for winter fishing. The wrecks produced some lovely ling, pollack and coalfish at the weekend but Mark hopes to add tope, a fish he’s not seen on his boat for over 10 years, to the list on the next trip. Shore anglers in Donegal are enjoying a great winter. Late winter flounders, turbot and flashy sea trout (don’t forget your licence) are providing great sport at competition and on regular trips too.

There are cold weather warnings in place as we go to press and the weekend looks set to be cold and frosty, so any anglers likely to be travelling in the coming days are advised to check the weather updates and road conditions before getting in the car. Anglers will probably get away without needing to put on the longjohns over the weekend and milder conditions will return from Monday.

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

Myles Kelly

Catch, Photo, Release

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The River Barrow
The River Barrow