Corrib Sunrise Courtsey of Corrib View Lodge
Corrib Sunrise Courtsey of Corrib View Lodge

Following last week’s storm the weather was a little unsettled at times and inclined to be a bit windy. On the whole it wasn’t a bad week for anglers, particularly those who had hoped for a bit of rain. Unfortunately for anyone looking for another bit, you might have to wait a while yet…

The rain that fell last week did not make it to the Moy, but the cloud cover did enough to see just over 300 salmon caught on the river. Fisheries in Galway and Connemara did better following the rain that made it to their headwaters. In Donegal a small flood on the Owenea saw some fine salmon landed but the Drowes remained low and fishing was confined to the late evenings and early mornings. Lough Currane benefited from the rain, but windy conditions made it hard to make the most of the run of salmon. Rivers in Cork fared lass well and most measured their catches last week in single figures.

Jean Jacques Chaumet from France with a Salmon caught on the river Suir (Jean Jacques Chaumet, 2018)
Jean Jacques Chaumet from France wins Catch of the Week with a Salmon caught on the river Suir (Jean Jacques Chaumet, 2018)

Conservation of sea trout Waterville area (No.7 or Kerry District)

Inland Fisheries Ireland is seeking submissions from interested parties in respect of a proposed bye-law which would prohibit the retention and possession of any sea trout taken in the Waterville area of Co. Kerry. This new bye-law is intended to decrease the pressure on sea trout stocks in the systems while still allowing anglers to fish. For more information see:  Conservation of sea trout Waterville area (No.7 or Kerry District)

Lough Corrib had some super early morning fishing to Caenis. Traditionally called the Angler’s Curse the fly is now a welcome hatch to many anglers. Many travel from far afield to make the most of the sport on offer. Lough Sheelin had some of it’s biggest hatches of Mayfly ever last month. But the fish did not put on much of a show for the hopeful anglers who flocked to the lake. Now that the lake is nearly empty of boats, trout have started to feed on the few fly that have continued to hatch in the last week.

Coarse anglers saw some great catches at festivals fished in Fermanagh and Cavan. The fishing really picked up in Cavan and Colin Moss won the Breffni Challenge with 70.670kg, beating Bob Nudd by 17kg. Anglers in Longford are also getting good fishing with some lovely looking bags of bream and tench reported.

We have pike reports in from Lough Lene, Longford and Lough Ree. Big fish continue to be caught and as the weather is set to get warmer we ask all those targeting pike to ensure they take the necessary steps to minimise stress for these toothy predators and allow the fish plenty of time to recover when releasing them.

Congratulations go to the Irish Team who won the Home Nation Boat Championships fished from Cobh last week. It was not an easy competition by any means as the fish had been scattered by Storm Harvey. The Irish Team showed their quality with 3 boat wins on the first day and kept the momentum going to keep the lead and win over all.

Staying safe by the water

Irish Water Safety (IWS) has lots of sensible advice for parents ahead of the next spell of hot weather.  It can be all too easy to get into difficulties in water, not just while we are out and about, but also around the home. The newly published Ultimate Water Safety Guide for Parents is well worth a read by anyone taking kids to the waterside – https://www.mykidstime.com/for-parents/the-ultimate-water-safety-guide-for-parents/

And now the weather…

High pressure is forecast to stay over Ireland for the next week. There will be sunshine each day and it will stay dry everywhere. Or in other words – this is the start of a heatwave. It will become very warm by day with afternoon temperatures in the mid to high twenties. Sea breezes will make it a bit less warm near coasts and perhaps some sea fog may affect coasts later in the week.

The nights will initially be cool with lowest temperatures on Saturday night of 6 to 10 degrees, but after that nights will become close with temperatures not falling much below 15 degrees from Monday night onward. Anyone who was thinking of doing an all nighter has just got a green light…

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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