Wet, wet, wet… oh wait! Our usual November weather has been anything but. Three weeks of very little rainfall and temperatures closer to those of May are not what we usually get in November. Wasps are still buzzing around, the grass is still growing well, and cows are still grazing in the fields – a far cry from our usual Novembers. Climate change is certainly changing our seasons, and that is impacting on water temperatures and fish. The mild spell is set to come to a sudden end next week, however, with a Met Eireann weather advisory for much colder weather from Monday. See oar forecast below for more details.

Last week saw Ireland host a major fishing event, the Youth & Junior World Shore Angling Championships. Held on the beaches of Co. Wexford, the event was a huge success. Although glory evaded the Irish teams on this occasion, the young anglers representing our country gained fantastic experience that will stand to them in future years. The Youth event was won by France, while Spain are the new Junior world champions. It was a privilege to attend and see these talented young anglers competing. And congratulations to the IFSA volunteers who gave so much time and effort to run such a successful event.

Elsewhere on the sea angling front, a 77cm painted ray was the highlight of a winter league competition for the Killybegs Mariners, but it was a haul of flounder that won Stefan Martin the top prize.

John Burke with a lovely Painted Ray of 77cm

South Shore SAC held a competition at Dodds Rock which saw fishing improve markedly as darkness fell, with 19 fish the winning catch for Dan Costello.

The bluefin tuna season ended this week, and what a week to cap the season for Killybegs Fishing Trips, the highlight undoubetdly being the first tuna for 13-year-old Noah Kennedy, the youngest angler to boat a tuna on the Fiona Tee, and wins our Catch of the Week. It was a great season too for the Fiona Tee, with just two blank days.

On the south coast, the settled weather allowed skipper Sean Maxwell to get to some offshore wrecks, and some very good ling were a fine reward for his guests.

Adam with the best ling of the trip
Adam with the best ling of the trip

Staying on the south coast, David Noprman reports excellent kayak fishing for pollack, with plenty of bait fish around to keep them feeding well into Autumn. We have notices of some big upcoming competitions too, including the All-Ireland Open Shore (Jimmy Smith) and the All-Ireland Cod Championships, both being held in Youghal. Entries are now open for both, so get cracking!

To fresh water now, and Portumna Coarse Anglers held a two-day competition on the Shannon, which produced some fantastic bags. Paul McCaul was the top rod with an incredible 61lbs 1oz, including over 40lbs on Day 2!  A mixed bag was reported from Lough Muckno, where Rimantas Kondrakas won the first round of the C/M Lakelands Muckno League with a weight of just over 6kg.

VDE Baggers held a match at Lough Skeagh, where Dominykas Kuklys’ versatility came to the fore as he notched up a bagful of skimmers on the tip before switching to the pole and hammering the smaller roach to give him the winning bag of 6.2kg.

Pike fishing reports have been slow lately, probably due to the mild conditions and unseasonal water temperatures, but that may all be about to change with next week’s more wintry forecast. Kilkenny angler John spent two days with Kevin Lyons at Melview Lodge in Longford recently, and while fishing was indeed tough, John landed some lovely pike on deadbaits.

The 2024 Barrow Perch Bonanze was held over the weekend, and perch, pike and a bonus bream were all caught on lures, but it was Colin Rutherford who took top honours on the day, with his best 5 perch measuring 141cm.

Young Anthony O’Neill has started to bring younger brother Daniel along on his trips, and it looks like dad Dan will have his hands full, with two future angling tyros keeping him busy. The recent highlight was Anthony’s PB pike on the fly, but Daniel also lost what would have been a good first pike at the net. Read about their exploits here.

Anthony with pike on the fly
Anthony with pike on the fly

Trout anglers are enjoying a rest (!) from fishing, but many will be busy tying flies for nesxt season. Peter Driver from iscari-Fly is back doing live flytying shows for Piscari club members, well worth checking out. You can also check out their Youtube channel, with many previous flytying sessions online.

Finally, the Irish Specimen Fish Committee Awards ceremony for the 2024 season will be held on the 15th of February 2025 at 14.30. All anglers are invited!

And now the weather

The mild spell continues today, wirh temperatures of 10 to 13C, but it turns fresher for the weekend. Saturday will see damp conditions in the south, drier further north, with rain and drizzle clearing the south coast later on. Feeling somewhat fresher with afternoon highs of 8 to 11 degrees in moderate northwest winds

Sunday will be a fresh and bright day for much of the country with spells of sunshine and just a few showers in northern and western coastal counties. Cloud and rain moving in from the northwest towards evening. Highest temperatures will range from 7 to 10 degrees with moderate westerly breezes

Brrrr! There is a weather advisory for next week, with forecasters showing a high confidence for a spell of cold and wintry weather from Monday night onwards and throughout much of next week with frost, ice and some wintry showers. Starting on Monday with outbreaks of rain and the chance of wintry showers, and temperatures from 4-12 degrees (north to south).

A cold northerly air-flow develops over Ireland from Tuesday to Friday bringing a mix of sunshine and scattered wintry showers of hail, sleet and snow. Showers will be most frequent across Connacht and Ulster with some lying snow expected, especially over the hills but not exclusively. There will be widespread frost and ice at night with some hazardous travelling conditions. Typical daytime temperatures will range from around 3 to 6 degrees whilst night-time temperatures will range from around zero to -3 degrees

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

IFI Staff
Catch, Photo, Release

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