So Storm Darragh gave us a bit of a lash last weekend, but it has been relatively calm and quiet since then. It felt somewhat chilly to me, however temperatures have been more or less what you would expect for the time of year, hovering between the 5°C and 8°C mark. Rainfall for the week was average enough as well, with the north of the country faring worst on that front. And the northwest also saw less of the sun than the rest of the country, with only 2.3 hours recorded for the week at Malin Head, sure you might as well be in Lapland…

To sea angling first, and Cobh SAC held round two of their light lines competition in Cork Harbour at the weekend, where it was touch and go until the last minute, as the charter boat skippers kept an eye on the storm. Luckily, they got to fish, but unluckily, Darragh dumped a whole load of freshwater into the harbour, putting fish either on the move or off the feed. So the fishing wasn’t top-notch, but Thomas ‘the tank’ Kujawa won’t care as his 49 fish saw him take a win. Storm Darragh also impacted the final round of the Leinster League fished on the Wexford beaches. The organisers chose pegs with deeper water, and that made a difference as fish seemed to be holding well in those areas, but some anglers still struggled with sand suspended in the water column arising from the rough seas of the previous days. The competition was a close run thing, as James Ryan took the win on the day but was pipped to the league title by a single point as Ciaran Fogarty just held on to claim the top spot.

Plenty of good quality whiting turned up at the Leinster League match in Wexford

The Newbridge District Pike Anglers chose a local venue for the last competition of the 2024 season. They picked a spot where there were both river and canal stretches to fish, but the river sections were too swollen to fish comfortably, so most opted for the canal, and Dean Dunne’s pike of 10lb 10oz was the best fish of the day. A drop in temperatures spurred Paul Bourke into action on Tuesday as he predicted the chill might bring the pike on the feed. He was duly rewarded for his endeavours, as he managed 16 pike to the boat, and the top 5 came in at 110cm, 106cm, 105cm, 94cm and 91cm, winning him this week’s Catch of the Week accolade.

A nice Lough Derg pike on a cold Tuesday morning

More and more anglers are becoming interested in fly fishing for pike, as it is a fun way to fish for them using relatively light tackle. But it’s not often easy for a beginner to figure out where to begin with it all in terms of tackle, flies etc. In this week’s edition of the River Whispers Blog, Dan O’Neill talks to Chris Barry of Go Fishing Ireland, who is an experienced pike fly angler, guide and casting instructor, and they discuss the ins and outs of fly fishing for pike.

To coarse angling now, and the CM Lakelands Muckno Winter League continued last weekend as anglers lined out on the banks of a rain-swollen lake. Fishing wasn’t quite as bad as expected, with Darren Fairhurst bagging a creditable 4.6kg to take first prize on the day. Unfortunately, the VDE Baggers didn’t even break the kilo mark at their weekend match, despite it being split over two venues. Neither venue produced, and while Carrick Lough at least threw up a weight of 760g, the best that Creeve could muster was a measly 110g… Back to the River Whispers Blog now, rudd is a fish species usually associated with summer days, when you can often see them dimpling the surface as they feed towards the top of the water column. Because they feed close to the surface, they can be fished for with a dry fly, and in this week’s blog, Dan O’Neill shares a few tips and tricks on how to set up to catch these beautiful but elusive fish.

Mixed bag from a soggy Lough Muckno

The team from Piscari-Fly reported on the recent Leinster Qualifiers held at Laois Angling Centre in their latest newsletter. Anglers were battling for a top-six finish, which would give them a place at the All-Ireland Qualifiers next year, but it seems that fishing was relatively tough, with some pegs producing well but others pretty barren. Nonetheless, 73 fish were landed, and Brian Conway’s eight fish was enough to give him first place. Moving from expert to novice, for those beginning their fly-fishing journey and looking to brush up on their skills, angling guide and instructor Dan O’Neill breaks down that most basic but often tricky to master fly-fishing cast: the roll cast.

roll cast
On a roll… with Dan O’Neill

We wrap up this week’s reports with salmon angling, where Glenda Powell is busy planning for the 2025 season both at home and abroad. This week, she has released information on some of her planned events/tuition/courses, etc., for the coming year. She also has Christmas vouchers available for anyone looking to give a salmon angler a gift.

Salmon Logbooks

We would like to take this opportunity to remind all salmon and sea trout anglers to return their angling logbooks (setting out their fishing and catch record) and any unused gill tags.

Stocking Fillers

Finally, on the run into Christmas, a number of guides, tackle shops, etc, will be offering vouchers and gift cards that may prove to make a useful stocking filler for the angler in your life. The Irish Specimen Fish Committee Fish Atlas proved a popular present last year, and there are still copies available to purchase for this year’s Christmas stockings. For the next couple of weeks, we’ll be collating all interesting offers we find and publishing them on this webpage. 

It will be dry but cloudy in most areas today, with the odd spot of drizzle or mist. It will be cool, with temperatures between 4°C & 8°C, dropping to near zero overnight. Saturday will start dry and bright, but will become cloudy later on with some patchy light rain in places. Sunday will be much the same, albeit a little breezier and milder. The weather will remain like this until Tuesday evening, when some more persistent rain will spread from the southwest, heralding a few days of wetter, windier weather.

Safe fishing to all and tight lines, especially here in Ireland.

IFI Staff
Catch, Photo, Release

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