Where better to start this week than at the end, and today, Friday November 12th, is the end of another fishing season – this time for the bluefin tuna. The tuna fleet have had a tough season in 2021 compared with the highs and successes of 2020 when 685 giants were caught, tagged and released back into Irish waters under the Tuna CHART tagging programme.
Fewer fish will have been tagged this year under the programme, as skippers found the fishing to have been much more difficult. Still, it’s a learning curve for most of them and no time afloat is wasted when there are lessons to be learnt. Thankfully, there were a couple of weather windows in the past week that let some of the skippers tag their last giants of the season and three of them managed to do just that.
In search of smaller sea species was David Norman of West Cork Bass, who is still having good success with pollock around the West Cork coast. Sea temperatures are still hanging on in double digits, keeping the fish within reach of his kayak. Also out kayaking were members of the Irish Kayak Angling Club, who shared one last cast with one of their own, Pat Gill, before he heads off to sunnier climes. On what may be his last ever outing in Irish waters, Pat caught his first ever triggerfish – a fitting end to his Irish fishing. Pat wins our Catch of the Week for this – his first (and possibly last) Irish triggerfish!
From the shore, the Galway Bay SAC found an abundance of flatfish while fishing the final leg of their Master Angler 2021 league; Brian Reidy was a well deserving and popular winner of their Master Angler trophy after many years of trying. The Irish Federation of Sea Anglers are inviting their next generation of Master Anglers to Woodstown Beach, Co. Waterford, on December 4th to try and hone their skills as part of a Youth and Junior Training Day. Training will be given under the IFSA CAST coaching programme and all are welcome to register and attend.
In freshwater, this is the time of year that green, predatory fish feature prominently in anglers’ catches and we have some stunning pike and perch to report this week. The Leinster Perch Anglers have been busy targeting some plump, fin perfect perch at various locations in the east of the country; some fine fish of up to 35cm falling to small lures on light tackle for them.
With water temperatures in our lakes and rivers still hovering around the 11°C mark, pike anglers are still doing well with lures. Anglers fishing out of Watermill Lodge on Lough Erne caught a number of 100cm+ fish, while over on Lough Derg, regular visitor Ken, from Boston, caught six good pike on his day fishing out of TJ’s Angling Centre. Meanwhile, in Longford Paul Sylvester dusted down his deadbait rods and landed a fine 102cm pike on a legered mackerel.
Coarse anglers have kept their matches ticking over with some decent fishing on different venues around Monaghan. On Muckno, Peter Horbinski topped the leaderboard in the open match held on Yellow Island and, on Lough Namachree, Darius Sakalys won the IASCaire Feeder Fishing Club league trophy.
While the salmon and trout seasons are long since finished for 2021, we do have season reports from two of our south eastern rivers; the River Nore had a very good run of salmon, probably the best in recent years, while the Slaney had decent salmon runs but the sea trout that the river is so famous for were less abundant than usual.
While on the topic of salmon, a quick reminder that Inland Fisheries Ireland has launched a public consultation seeking the views of anglers, licence distributors and commercial fishermen on how to improve the Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Tagging Scheme and a further reminder to salmon and sea trout anglers that logbooks must be returned now that the season is over.
In other news…
Inland Fisheries Ireland is teaming up with Scouting Ireland to launch a new handbook to cover all the essentials of angling, such as: how to get started, water safety, the different types of fish species in Ireland and the types of habitats they live in.
The handbook has been designed as the ultimate ‘go to’ guide for any young angler starting out on their own fishing journey, from fishing for freshwater fish at a nearby river or lake to going on an exciting sea angling trip in search of saltwater species. The free guide is now available to download on the Inland Fisheries Ireland and Scouting Ireland websites.
Since 2016, more than €5 million in grants have been awarded to over 250 projects throughout Ireland under funds administered by Inland Fisheries Ireland and, this week, we launched a new funding call of up to €1 million which will support vital conservation projects around the country.
Eligible angling clubs, fishery owners and other stakeholders are invited to apply for funding to support fisheries conservation projects in their local areas through the 2022 ‘Habitats and Conservation’ scheme.
And now the weather…
Largely dry Friday night with a mix of cloud and clear spells with just isolated showers. Some mist patches will form. Lows of 5°C to 9°C.
Bright or sunny intervals over the eastern half of the country on Saturday with cloudy conditions further west. Rain and drizzle in the west from late morning, moving east through the day. Highs of 12°C to 15°C with light breezes. Cloudy Saturday night, with patchy light rain and drizzle. Mist will develop in light southerly breezes, fresher near western coasts. Lows of 8°C to 13°C, coolest in the east.
Overcast for much of Sunday, with light drizzle in the west but mostly dry in the east. Highs of 13°C to 15°C in light to moderate south to southwest breezes, fresher near western coasts. More drizzle overnight on Sunday, clearing by morning. Lows of 6°C to 11°C, coolest in the northwest. Cloudier elsewhere with mist developing in light to moderate southwesterly winds.
The outlook is mild for the time of year with a good deal of dry weather into early next week. Turning more unsettled from midweek.
If you’re heading to sea, don’t forget to check the tides.
Safe fishing to all and tight lines, especially here in Ireland.
Paul O’Reilly
Catch, Photo, Release
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All the angling news
Salmon Fishing Reports
Coarse Angling Reports
Pike Fishing Reports
- Lovely 102cm pike from Longford venue for Paul
- Winter opening at TJs Angling Centre but the pike keep their own hours
- Pascal produces plenty of great pike for his visitors on Lough Erne
Sea Angling Reports
- Hard fighting pollock still biting in West Cork
- Tuna tagging season draws to a close
- Calling Young Southeast Sea Anglers
- Flattie Fantastic For Galway Bay SAC Competition
- Last cast from the kayak for one of Cork’s finest (for now)