Just a short Christmas message this week to all of our subscribers and contributors to wish you all a peaceful festive season and to thank you all for supporting the Irish Angling Update in 2022. We send the Irish Angling Update out to over 15,000 email subscribers each week to share the latest news in Irish angling and we could not do it without the help of all of the guides, ghillies, clubs, federations, fisher folk and Inland Fisheries Ireland staff who send us wonderful photographs and angling reports to our dedicated [email protected] email address – so thank you all!
The shortest day of the year gives us our longest, darkest night and today, December 21st, is that day when daylight hours are at their most scarce. Some anglers, especially those who are so used to spending their long spring or summer evenings on the water, can struggle through the winter’s short, dark days; from tomorrow, the shortest day will be behind us and, bit by bit, the days will lengthen towards the new season – so hang in there and dream of good things to come.
The big freeze has put the anglers off in the last week – but there are still one or two reports to check out; you can review reports from the last week, the last year, or even the last ten years on our Angling Website which, again, we wouldn’t be able to run without reports from our supporters and contributors.
With Christmas time in mind, if you are struggling to find a last minute present for an angler in your life, don’t forget that you can click and collect from tackle shops all around the country – and if you are not sure which tackle shop is closest to you, you can double check here on our website.
A great last minute Christmas present is a day’s fishing with one of our expert guides. We have world class guides for trout, salmon, pike and bass not to mention the fleet of charter boats who target the wide variety of ground, wreck, reef and big game species around our shores and are always available to take an advance booking.
We also have a wide range of downloadable permits available on our online permit shop, as well as the State salmon licences for 2023. We are awaiting confirmation of the salmon regulations for 2023, so keep an eye on our website for updates.
Meanwhile, as our coarse fish become less active and shoal up during the coldest months, our salmonids are very busy in our streams, ensuring that there is a next generation of trout and salmon in our rivers and lakes. Below is a selection of this week’s hard work from our midland trout, the females digging redds in the clean gravels to lay their eggs in.
Away from the water, Christmas is a great time to catch up on a bit of fish, fishing or fishery related literature and this week, the guys at the Ireland on the Fly Podcast discuss Ted Hughes and the influence of Ireland and Irish fly fishing on his poetry with Mark Wormald, a Cambridge lecturer and fly angler, who has written a superb book called The Catch: Fishing for Ted Hughes. As well as catching up on a good book, the next week or two will be a great opportunity to catch up on any Ireland on the Fly episodes you may have missed this year on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
If you want to get into the Christmas spirit with some festive fly tying, Peter Driver of Piscarifly will be hosting his Christmas Special on the 28th December at 8.30pm on his Facebook page. Peter has a great show lined up with a night of fly tying, chat and fun. There are some massive giveaways on offer and of course you can expect some great Special Guests.
So stay safe, stay warm, cherish loved ones this Christmas and fondly remember those loved ones we have lost. Have a peaceful Christmas from all of us at the Irish Angling Update, we look forward to keeping you up to speed on all the Irish angling news in 2023 and beyond.
Safe fishing to all and tight lines, especially here in Ireland.
IFI Staff
Catch, Photo, Release
If you have an angling story to share with the Irish Angling Update, please send it to [email protected].
