It’s been a pretty wet start to August, and this week has seen some heavy rainfall, with parts of the south and west receiving up to 4 inches of rain in the last few days. Many rivers are now in spate, and some beats unfishable, while others are seeing a welcome rise that should bring fresh fish in.

The salmon fishing has been just so-so, with many rivers enduring low water, but the fresh water should see a drop in temperatures and encourage fish to move, so watch this space. The Erriff and Drowes produced decent fishing over the last week, although the low water on the Moy saw catches drop significantly.

 

Fake salmon licence shop

A rogue website which claims to sell salmon and sea trout angling licenses for Ireland was reported to the Gardai by Inland Fisheries Ireland earlier this week. Anglers are reminded that the only authorised website for salmon & sea trout licenses is www.store.fishinginireland.info. Any member of the public, who has submitted personal or financial details to a fraudulent fishing license website, should contact their local Garda station directly to report the incident.

 

Trout fishing on Lough Corrib is improving, and we have a report of an enormous 7kgs trout taken on wet fly! The World Cup Flyfishing competition took place on Mask over the weekend, with the weather impacting on the event, and indeed the final day having to be postponed.

 

Sea fishing is improving all the time as the sea warms further and more species arrive on our shores, and we have a number of reports of good shark fishing off the south coast, as well as good tope and smooth hound fishing off Wicklow.

 

Joey Brady Irish Specimen Blue Shark
Joey Brady with his Irish Specimen Blue Shark

 

Polish angler Bartosz ‘Peter’ Rebiz landed the fish of a lifetime from the Dublin coastline this week, taking a 15lbs bass on mackerel fillet, and our Catch of the Week accolade.

 

Catch of the Week
Catch of the Week

 

Festival season is underway in the coarse angling scene, and pole fishing dominated the Clones Festival, won by Newry man Rory O’Neill. Elsewhere, the All-Ireland was held in Ballinamore, Co. Leitrim, with James O’Doherty from Fermanagh coming out on top in a packed field.

 

While there is no sport or commercial fishery for Bluefin tuna in Ireland, authorisations will be soon be granted for 15 angling vessels to participate in Tuna CHART (Catch and Release Tagging) a pilot Bluefin Tuna Data Collection Programme. The programme will see the 15 authorised vessels catch, tag and release Atlantic Bluefin tuna for data collection purposes off the Irish coast. The authorised vessels, which are located in Cork, Clare, Galway, Sligo and Donegal will support scientific work to increase knowledge of the behaviour and abundance of Bluefin Tuna in Irish waters.

A full list of authorised skippers can be found at https://www.fishinginireland.info/sea/bluefin_tuna_fishing.htm

Find out more about this project at: www.fisheriesireland.ie/bluefin

 

And now the weather…

The unsettled start to August is set to continue, with showery conditions dominating over the next few days. Today and Saturday will remain humid, with fresher air arriving on Sunday, although the showers will still be widespread and possibly heavy again by Monday. There is a small craft warning in operation, with a gale and swell warning for the south coast, so sea anglers should exercise due caution while this is in operation

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

Kevin Crowley
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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