It was a dry week for most of the country, with only 10-15% of normal rainfall recorded, and only slightly more in the west and northwest. Temperatures were 6 to 8°C, cooler in the midlands and milder in western regions. There were some very sunny days and these went down well with anyone out and about this week, particularly with that noticeable stretch in the evenings…
After the big floods a couple of weeks ago most of the rivers have dropped back considerably and there is plenty of good fishing water on those rivers which have opened already. Decent conditions on the Munster Blackwater saw a good turn out on the river on Wednesday. Ray O’Dwyer fishing at Careysville marked the opening day with the first salmon of the season, a 6.25lbs sea liced fish. Ray took the salmon on a tube fly. The 2023 opener at the Galway Fishery began with a gathering of anglers and friends, but high water limited angling.
Vincent Appleby’s fishing diary from Currane reports little success in the last week, with only three boats going out each day and mostly kelts caught. That was until February 2nd when Eric Jouen of Waterville Boats caught the lake’s first spring salmon of the season.
The Ireland on the Fly podcast focuses on Lough Carrowmore, known for being one of the best lakes for spring salmon on the fly in Europe, and features a discussion with Brian Hope from the Bangor Erris Angling Club to provide tips on fishing at this location.
Pike anglers Anne Marie and Stephen had a successful pike fishing trip on Lough Derg with Damien Culliney of Anglers Paradise, catching 10 fish including a 104 cm PB for Anne Marie, and both clients and guide are already planning another trip due to the enjoyment of the experience. Elsewhere Mark Kiernan won the Leinster Pike Angling Club’s winter league with 18 fish for 60lb 11oz, followed by Mark Byrne with 15 fish for 48lb 6oz, and Mark McKenna with 6 fish for 26lb 1oz. Meanwhile, 35 Newbridge District Pike Anglers fished in a competition with canal and river venues at the weekend. Most anglers opted for the river and had a productive day. 72 pike were caught, with Adam Craig breaking his PB with a 19lb fish and David Quinlivan landing 11 fish for 49.04lb.
If you can’t go fishing this weekend why not join Norbert Renaud of L’ile Verte Pike Fishing Lodge for a Friday night livestream featuring chat, beers, and flies, as he shares his expertise on catching hard fighting Irish pike and offers gear reviews, fly tying, and fishing footage on his YouTube channel.
In coarse angling, Alan Larkin won Round 4 of CM Lakelands Muckno Feeder League by dominating the competition at the top end of Black Island with 4.420kg, while Joe Nolan took second overall.
Catch of the week this week goes to Aaron Vambeck with a shore caught haddock from Donegal. One of the Mariners club members, his catch goes down as a new club record shore haddock (their only shore caught haddock!).
The 2023 Irish Winter Shore Angling Festival took place from January 26th to 28th in east Wexford with 124 entries. The competitors fished at three different beaches and captured various species including Flounder, Dab, Codling, Coalfish, Rockling, Lesser Spotted Dogfish, Whiting and Bass, recording a total of 3,135 fish.
The winners of the festival include Under 18’s Max Roche, Ladies Jane Cantwell, Pairs Richard Yates and Chris Clark, 4 Person team Richard Yates, Chris Clark, John White, Sam Collier, and Individual Ben Arnold.
Anglers on a Wicklow Boat Charter had a successful day of fishing, landing 7 specimen sized spurdog and many others around the meter mark. Also at sea last week was Jim Clohessy, fishing off the cork coast aboard Skua. He was searching for pollack and codling and was pleased to find a steady flow of fish, including pollack, big wrasse, and codling, all caught using soft plastic lures and 60g jig heads.
Cormac Walsh is back with the Lure Fishing Podcast and his latest episode features a conversation with renowned sea angling photographer and bass fishing expert Henry Gilbey covering various topics on bass fishing and lure fishing.
And now the weather…
Today and tonight will be mostly cloudy with light rain and drizzle, temperatures of 10 to 12 degrees and 5 to 8 degrees, and moderate to fresh southwesterly winds. Tomorrow, rain will develop in the northwest and turn colder with temperatures ranging from 6 to 11 degrees and moderating to fresh northwesterly winds.
The next few days will be quite settled with occasional rain and drizzle. Temperatures will be near or above the February average, with cold and dry conditions on Saturday night leading to frost and possibly ice. Sunday will be dry with sunshine, followed by cloudy weather with light rain or drizzle on Sunday night and Monday. The cloud and patchy rain will clear southeastwards on Tuesday, potentially lingering in the southeast into the evening. The outlook for Wednesday is settled but with the possibility of rain on Thursday.
Don’t forget there’s an extra day’s fishing this weekend (Go raimh maith agat Naomh Bríd). We hope loads of you get out on the water, but don’t forget to check the weather, check the tides and check the river conditions before you travel.
Safe fishing to all and tight lines, especially here in Ireland.
IFI Staff
Catch, Photo, Release
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