Lough Sheelin
Summer’s end…

The summer has come to a close. Schools are back and the weather is much cooler. There is talk of shorter evenings and central heating. The change has seen fishing improve in many places and there have been some great catches by coarse anglers recently. Salmon anglers are still waiting for some substantial rain and it became a bit windier at sea but there’s always somewhere that’s fishing just right…

It has not been a great month for salmon fishing in Ireland and most fisheries remain dogged by low water. The Owenea bucked the trend lately and rain in the catchment made for good water levels over the last week. Some fine fish to 10lb were landed. There was water at Costello too and one party of 3 anglers had 12 sea trout in a day and another angler had 9 on Thursday last week.

Lough Sheelin saw some fine trout fishing in the last week. Fish to 7lb were caught and released, mostly on wets. The cooler weather also brought about a big improvement in angling returns on Lough Corrib where wet and dry Sedges are working well. There were a number of good reports from the midland’s lakes too, and once again wet fly tactics have been most productive.

Coarse anglers are getting great fishing at the moment. Super catches have been reported at fisheries from Cork to Cavan. Inniscarra is producing stunning results in the back to back festivals being fished there this week. The top anglers are all getting over 20kg a day and some days doing as well as 25kg. Pleasure anglers in Cavan were reporting bags of bream to over 30kg. Festival anglers will be interested to hear that big bags have also been reported from Gowna. In Longford a group of 3 anglers from the UK caught a very impressive 735lb of fish over 6 days and again bream were a big part of the catches. Junior anglers in Tullamore have also enjoyed good fishing and special mention of Oisin Carroll must be made this week. Oisin won his club’s summer league at the weekend having led from the outset some week’s back.

pike
Bob Doyle and his 107cm personal best pike, Catch of the Week

Pike angling is starting to pick up again now that cooler conditions are taking hold. Anglers are getting some fabulous fishing on Lough Derg where big fish have been on the feed. In the midlands one junior angler had a smashing fish of 107cm, just short of the magic 20lb mark. 12 year old Bob Doyle wins Catch of the Week for his new PB.

In sea angling news we have a great report from Cork Harbour where no less than 9 different anglers caught their first bass ever with Richie Ryan. None were particularly big, but the achievement is no smaller for this. On the east coast bigger tope have started to feature in charter boat catches and blue sharks are a welcome addition to the species lists for Kit Dunne who has moved one of his boats to Kilmore Quay for the summer. Up in Donegal the Killybegs Mariners continue to enjoy some lovely shore angling that has seen some bass at the limit of their northerly range landed.

New research indicates pike in Irish waters have changed their diet

Pike in Irish waters may have changed their diet preferences according to a new report launched this week by Inland Fisheries Ireland.  The report, entitled ‘Pike (Esox Lucius) in Ireland. Developing knowledge and tools to support policy and management’ looks at new research carried out on Lough Conn, County Mayo and Lough Derravaragh, County Westmeath in 2016 and provides an insight into the dietary habits of pike.  The research examines whether pike and brown trout can co-exist in the same habitat. Using statistical models, it found that pike and brown trout could live together within relatively large deep lakes with strong stream connectivity however in small, low-complex systems pike introductions could potentially have a devastating impact on resident brown trout populations. For more information see: www.fisheriesireland.ie/pikeresearch.

And now the weather…

Saturday will be largely dry, but cloudy to begin, with a little patchy drizzle and fog. Brighter by afternoon, with  sunny spells developing, top temperatures 17 to 19 C. Winds will be light southwest or variable. On Sunday, the west coast will be dull and damp to start. Elsewhere will start dry with sunshine for the morning. Thicker cloud with patchy rain will move eastwards over the country. Temperatures on Sunday will range between 18 and 21C. It’ll be humid in  light to moderate southerly winds that will veer to the northwest and freshen as the rain clears through later. The outlook is for mainly dry weather as high pressure becomes established over the country. The winds will be northerly and it is expected to be sunny with temperatures in the day between 15 and 17 degrees, and between 5 and 8 degrees at night under clear skies. Sounds like a good weekend for wetting a line…

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

Myles Kelly
Catch, Photo, Release

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