Blustery weather at weekends and preparations for Round 1 of the All Ireland Kayak Angling Championships at Portumna on 27th May reduced the numbers of sea Catch Reports submitted this month. Anyone interested in Kayak Angling is welcome to visit Round 2 of the All Ireland Kayak Angling Championships at Donegal on 17th June (subject to weather).
Following on from a successful Spurdog outing at Kenmare in April other members returned to Kenmare River on Sunday 7th May landing 6 spurs.
At the same time and the opposite end of the West Coast Graham Smith opened his Porbeagle account for 2017 catching and releasing a fish estimated at 300-350lb followed 2 days later by another (measured by nearby boat angler, Mike Heffernan) at 200 – 210lb.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1yEPAQKByc
Club members have had some very successful days chasing rays in Tralee Bay in the last few years so 4 members launched on the Fenit side of the Bay on Saturday 20th May hoping for similar results. Ray rigs were abandoned in favour of wire traces as the first Tope arrived at the Monk Hole, this being the largest fish member Tim O’Herlihy has ever caught.
Pat Gill claimed the only ray of the day landing this fine Thornback on the way back to shore.
Friday 26th to Sunday 28th had some members exploring the Copper Coast and Dunmore East, Co. Waterford and the Wexford Coast. Pollock were caught at Dunmore, bass (released) from the shore in Waterford, and smooth hounds from the kayaks in Wexford.
The Irish Kayak Angling Club encourages Catch & Release of all fish except those retained for bait or the table. All fish mentioned in this report were released alive.
Go fishing…
To find out more about Kayak Angling visit www.irishkayakangling.com and register on the forum. Membership is free and the forum is a great resource to learn about safety, venues and techniques. Experienced members will answer any questions you have and everyone is welcome to come to a meet to learn more before taking the plunge.
Articles on beginning kayak angling are available at http://www.topfisher.eu/ and much of the advice on small boat angling is also transferrable to a kayak.
You can also follow the Irish Kayak Angling Club on Twitter @irishkayak and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Irish-Kayak-Angling/277427952176 for details of the 6 FREE meets that make up the All Ireland Kayak Angling Championship 2017.
Please note that forecasts have led to a number of meets being postponed and/or relocated in the past for safety reasons. Details will be updated on the Forum, Facebook and Twitter as the year progresses.
