Delphi
Delphi looked great in the sunshine, but rain was badly needed last week

During the past 7 days the weather has been about as normal as it can be for May. Some areas were much drier than usual and others had average rain. It’s the same with sunshine, cloud and wind. As anglers we have to keep watching the weather, and then just get on with it. Conditions are rarely perfect, but it’s often surprising to find that the fish aren’t as fussy about the weather as we sometimes expect them to be…

sea trout
Catch of the Week goes to Markus Kruse from Germany who had some great catch and release sea trout fishing on Lough Currane

In general salmon and sea trout fishing has not been easy as water levels have been pretty low. Fisheries in the south and west are worst affected, but the lakes and larger rivers have fished a little better. Lough Currane is not always easy, but one angler had great sea trout fishing in recent days. Markus Kruse may be the first angler to release sea trout on the lake under the new regulations there and he did so with style, winning Catch of the Week. The Munster Blackwater and the Moy both reported good fishing at times with the Moy seeing over 100 salmon logged by the various fisheries through the system. The good news for salmon anglers is the coming rain. Hopefully there will be enough in the right places to see some decent fishing over the long weekend.

There were mixed reports from Mask this week as weather conditions were far from ideal for mayfly fishing. Fly hatches were sparse with the best of the fly along the south eastern part of the lake. Anglers on Corrib are getting trout on a mix of dry and wet Mayfly and buzzer. Fishing on Sheelin is getting better all the time now, but the current weather might put a stop to current run of luck some anglers are enjoying.

There are a few coarse festivals underway at the moment and more will be fished over the Bank Holiday. Fishing has been very good at venues all around the country recently. The Blackwater fished well for the Fermoy Festival where Cedric Baldwin of Nottingham took first place with a total weight of 33lb 2ozs.  Robertas Zilaitis won the Ivan Price Cup at Lough Garadice with 9.050kg. The Ballinamore Festival is now underway and daily catches to 15.080kg weighed in so far. Brenton Sweeney caught 12.320 kg of skimmers, hybrids and roach to win a CM Lakelands Feeder club summer league on Lough Barnagrove, a good sign for the up-coming 3 day feeder festival.

We had some good pike fishing reports this week, mostly from the midlands and further north. Chief amongst these was an exceptional catch of nearly 100lbs of pike was recorded by Jim McCabe in the Newbridge Pike Anglers competition at the weekend.

skate

Sea angling from boat and shore has been yielding great results recently and we have good reports from all points of the compass. We have charter fishing reports in from Wicklow, Dungarvan, West Cork and Galway Bay. Specimen spurdogs feature in Wicklow, good ling, cod and more at Dungarvan. Skate to 196lb in tested the mettle of anglers in West Cork while speed jigging for pollack saw some great fish caught on Galway Bay. Shore anglers are getting good beach fishing in Wexford. West Cork makes it into the news again, this time for bass catches on plugs. Finally in Donegal big flounder made the day for a couple of anglers fishing a summer league match with the Killybegs Mariners.

Bluefin Tuna Data Collection Pilot Programme

Expressions of interest are now invited for Tuna CHART (CatcH and Release Tagging), a pilot Bluefin Tuna Data Collection Programme which will see 15 authorised angling vessels catch, tag and release Atlantic bluefin tuna for data collection purposes off the Irish coast.  The new programme, which is being developed by Inland Fisheries Ireland and the Marine Institute in partnership with the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Department for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, will operate on a pilot basis in 2019. For more information see: www.fisheriesireland.ie/bluefin

By the way, if you have already applied but did not receive a confirmation email please contact [email protected]

Stay safe this bank holiday weekend

The June Bank Holiday is here and many will take the opportunity to wet a line. We expect that many fisheries will be busy as anglers make the most of their time off. Please be aware of the risks when you’re out on the water. If you are afloat, wading or fishing from the rocks please wear a life jacket. Many anglers think that if they are not at sea, they are not at risk. It is worth remembering that 62% of all drownings are inland, and on average 11 people drown in Irish waters every month. Don’t take risks, check the tides, weather and wear a life jacket.

And now the weather…

Friday will be a wet day in the west and north with spells of persistent and heavy rain. The south and east will be drier and brighter again. Later in the day the rain will move eastwards and it will become mainly dry in the west. Highest temperatures of 15 to 22 degrees, warmest in the south and east. Southwest winds will be moderate to fresh. It will stay unsettled and will gradually become cooler over the bank holiday weekend. Saturday is likely to start out mostly dry but patchy outbreaks of rain will soon push up from the south during the morning in a light southerly airflow. Top temperatures will range between 14 and 18 degrees. A more persistent spell of rain will move in from the Atlantic during Saturday night, heavy for time, especially about higher in the west. Rain will gradually give way to sunshine and showers during Sunday morning and early afternoon, but some heavy bursts are likely in Ulster and northwest Connacht. It will be less humid with top temperatures of around 14 to 18 degrees but it will feel cooler in the fresh and gusty westerly wind, strong along Atlantic coasts. Scattered showers will continue in the west and north on Sunday night, but elsewhere will become mostly dry with good clear spells. Monday will be a cool and bright day with scattered showers. Turning cooler with top temperatures around 13 to 16 degrees in moderate westerly winds easing later. Not what most people had in mind for the long weekend but you’re sure to find a right spot if you go looking…

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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