It’s been a topsy-turvy week of weather, with beautiful sunshine and calm conditions followed by stormy weather at times. The Atlantic and the jetstream are well and truly in charge now, and high pressure and the recent heatwave are a distant memory. Game anglers are heading into the last week or two of the season on most fisheries, but for other angling disciples Autumn marks some of the best fishing of the year, and there is plenty to look forward to.

Sea Angling

Sea temperatures are still very warm at this time of year, with many fish feeding up hard before winter. This time of year sees bluefin tuna fishing really take off in Donegal Bay, and young Matthew Mannix from Fermanagh put his years of rugby training to the test when he hooked up to one of these leviathans. He probably didn’t need to hit the gym after that! Matthew wins our Catch of the Week for his great capture.

A last photo before the release

Breaks in the weather allowed guests on the Lady Gwen to enjoy some great fishing off west Clare, as did guests of Luke Aston on the Clare Dragoon, while they also enjoyed great sport inside the Shannon estuary when the wind got up.

Fine whiting and pollack

Cormac Walsh reported that the bigger tides last week prompted the best bass fishing of the year so far, with high tides coinciding with darkness seeing a lot of fish feeding hard.

 

There was fierce but friendly competition in Rathmullan, where the young rods battled it out for the u-16 and u-21 All Ireland Boat titles. This years under 21 Champion is Kevin Roche and this years under 16 champion (for the second year in a row!) is Jack Walsh.

Coarse Angling

Coarse angling is picking up again, with some big festivals and good general coarse angling in the cooler temperatures. Arvagh saw two big competitions – the Arvagh International, and the Arvagh King of Clubs. Both are enjoying a resurgence, with lots of interest from overseas and Irish anglers, and many rebooking for 2024 already. This year saw big weights, with individual daily bags up to 37kgs, and an overall winning total for Kevin Rowles in the International of 90.6kgs. The King of Clubs the following week saw similar weights, and the same winner – Kevin Rowles again!

High water hampered fishing in Longford, but two UK anglers staying at Melview Lodge were rewarded handsomely for their perseverance, with combined daily bags of 80-90lbs.

Phil with one of his nice hybrids

In Monaghan, Dara Finnegan and Craig Ellis eclipsed a formidable field to score another resounding win in the Monaghan Pairs Festival on Lough Muckno. Dara in particular dominated with 4 section wins. Elsewhere, the Connacht team won the NCFFI All-Ireland Provincial Championships.

Trout Angling

There was a great turnout for the East Corrib Alliance competition on Lough Corrib, with 120 anglers fishing and contributing to fundraising for instream habitat restoration works around the lake. Although fishing was tough, Gene Haran managed two good fish to take the honours, just ahead of Basil Shields. Meanwhile, ferox fishing on the lough has been good of late – check out the video below from some Polish visitors who very clearly enjoyed their day out with Tomi Kurman.

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Lough Conn fished reasonably well when conditions were suitable, with two anglers landing 4 trout in a short session on Friday, and 39 anglers weighing in 15 fish over the limit in the Kieran Lynn Cup on Saturday, won by renowned angler Bryan Kennedy. Castlebar angler Frank Murray also landed a fantastic 6lbs 12oz fish dapping.

Peter Driver of Piscari Flyfishing reports that recent rain has put the Nore out of order, although he probably won’t miss too much as he is away in Canada with the Irish team in the World Masters Fly Fishing Championships. Good luck to the Irish team!

Ireland on the Fly this week talks to Denis Goulding, who reminds us that some lakes are open into October, and gives tips and advice on where to fish if you are looking to extend your season into October.

Salmon Angling

The salmon season is winding down, although more broken weather this week may give good conditions in many rivers. Despite low water levels last week, the River Moy saw an improvement in catches, with 104 salmon reported for the week.

Lough Currane and the River Inny also saw better sport, with grilse and sea trout caught.

With rain forecast on Sunday, we may yet see good sport for the last week of the season, but you won’t catch if you’re not out there!

Pike Angling

Autumn brings cooler temperatures, and pike anglers also getting out more as the pike action hots up. Leinster Pike Anglers got their winter league off to a good start, with two fish of 17lbs vying closely for first and second place.

A Belgian visitor stayed with Kevin Lyons at Melview Lodge for a few days during the week and thoroughly enjoyed his holiday, landing 23 pike over 4 days, his best fish a 97cm fish just shy of his 1m dream.

Jozif all smiles with one of his pike

Limerick County Pike Anglers enjoyed a day out up the country, with plenty of small pike taking and a big fish over 20 lost, but a fish of 13lbs 9oz took the prize on the day by a matter of ounces.

Other News…

New book Angling Around Ireland is a fishy delight

A new book on Irish angling has been published. Angling Around Ireland is written by Colin McLean and contains 32 chapters, wherein he tried to catch a fish in each of the 32 counties of Ireland. An epic journey, made even more difficult by the Covid pandemic. Each chapter is a story in itself, and the book makes for a delightful read. Check out our review of it here.

Salmon Angling Logbook Returns

Inland Fisheries Ireland is encouraging salmon and sea trout anglers to return angling logbooks (setting out their fishing and catch record) and any unused gill tags from 2023 if they have ceased fishing for this year or once the season has closed. These returns provide vital information regarding the status and management of our wild Atlantic Salmon and Sea Trout stocks into the future.  Angling in the Wexford District is now closed since the 1st of September, and holders of Wexford district licences are asked to return their logbooks now that the season is over. 

 

And now the weather…

Sunny spells and scattered showers today with moderate to fresh winds easing this evening. A dry if chilly start to Saturday, with bright spells being replaced by cloud and drizzle spreading from the southwest as the day goes on. Highest afternoon temperatures of 11 to 16C with mostly fresh and gusty S/SE winds.

Sunday sees scattered outbreaks of rain becoming more widespread and persistent with some very heavy falls, leading to localised flooding. Blustery too in fresh to strong and gusty southerly winds with highest temperatures of 17 to 19 degrees.

The outlook remains unsettled, with Monday seeing blustery showers and sunny spells in fresh SW winds, and Tuesday looking quite wet before clearing to sunny spells and showers later on.

Safe fishing to all and tight lines, especially here in Ireland. If fishing in the sea, don’t forget to check the tides.

IFI Staff
Catch, Photo, Release

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