So that was Storm Bert, and Bert certainly made himself felt around the country. Before his arrival we were caught in a cold icy spell, and then we were whipped by strong winds and lashed with heavy rain. And there was some amount of rain, up to nearly 3 times more than normal. It has remained unsettled over the last few days and there is more wind and rain on the the way. Needless to say all the land around our rivers and lakes is water logged and the rivers and lakes themselves are high. The estuaries are full of flood water and it’s a wonder that anyone managed to wet a line at all…

Starting with trout angling, congratulations to Mikey Foley who won the TAFI Munster Banks competition at Adaire Springs. The fishing was pretty good considering Storm Bert, and the 14 anglers who took part caught 123 trout between them. In other rainbow news Laois angling centre was fishing well on Sunday which will be well received by those who’ll fish the TAFI Leinster Banks competition on December 8th. If you’re interested in improving your casting you should probably take note of the the latest River Whispers, there’s also a report on the recent Irish Fly Fair and a lot more besides…

Aaron with his 8kg+ winning bag

Lough Muckno proved a refuge for coarse angling over Bert’s weekend ravages. Peter Walsh put on a great performance in the CM Lakelands winter league. Peter caught a couple of bream which he backed up with small skimmers and hybrids for a winning 5.68kg. The VDE Baggers switched venues to fish Muckno on Sunday due to flash floods. The move paid off for Aaron Hutchman who put in a solid performance on the pole to rack up the winning bag of 8.260kg. Going back now to 17 November, Dean Murray won the 2nd match in the Athy Anglers winter league with 36lb 12ozs. Water levels were low for the match, I’m pretty sure that’s not the case now! Finally in River Whispers from Dan O’Neill there is some information on winter tactics for roach and the appeal of gudgeon.

On to pike angling now and the reports from Lough Derg are that last week’s cold temperatures really got the pike going and that fish are still on the feed following the weekend’s tempestuous weather. In short the 1m plus fish biting hard! Regular Belgian anglers Jean-Pierre and son Nick along with long-time friend Alain were back at Melview Lodge for yet blockbuster fishing holiday. In the first couple of hours they had 4 pike between 87cm and 97 cm and finished up their 6 day trip with 87 pike which included a number of 90s and 100cm plus fish. On Sunday Newbridge Anglers fished a big competition at Blessington – 94 senior anglers and 46 juniors took part! Unfortunately a mix of heavy rainfall and snow melt completely flooded the lake and the fishing was poor. Despite the pike not taking part in equal numbers there were some nice fish caught and the club enjoyed their day out.

wrasse

We finish with sea angling, and obviously last week’s weather made it just about impossible to get anything much done at all. Before the worst of it hit Dave Norman was out with Patrick Hamrock and they had good fun with wrasse and pollack on lures in West Cork. Looking to the future, South Shore SAC will be hosting the 6th leg of the Leinster League in the Wicklow area next weekend. Good luck to everyone involved.

Finally, a huge congratulations go to the Irish shore angling team who came 3rd in the World Championships in Spain last week. Well done to Troy Francis, Chris O’Sullivan, JP Molloy, Derek Kenrick, Tim O’Sullivan and Ciaran Fogarty, with team managers Darren Ryan and Ruairi Coleman providing brilliant support. Chris O’Sullivan gets a second mention for his outstanding angling on the last day that saw him rise through the ranks to take individual Silver.

In other news…

As salmon and trout are either spawning or getting ready to, salmon and trout anglers might be interested to know that the public consultation is underway for the Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Tagging Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 2024, to provide for the management of the wild salmon and sea trout fishery by Inland Fisheries Ireland from January 1st, 2025. Anyone wishing to submit observations on or objections to the draft regulations can do so by email or post. The closing date for submissions is 18th December 2024.

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.

Agus anois an aimsir…

âš  As we go to press there is a Small Craft Warning for all coasts of Ireland which will remain valid until midnight on Saturday. This will be accompanied by gale force winds in the west and north on Saturday with gales continuing on Sunday from Valentia to Rossan Point to Belfast Lough.

Saturday will start with light rain, drizzle and mist spreading from the southwest in the morning. More persistent rain will develop in the west and southwest towards evening, spreading across much of Connacht and Munster after nightfall. Sunny spells and scattered showers spreading from the west through Sunday, some possibly turning heavy at times. Highest temperatures of 11 to 13°C, with moderate to fresh southwesterly winds, veering westerly by evening. On Monday it will be mostly a dry, bright day with winds becoming lighter towards evening time, but the unsettled weather will continue and temperatures are to fall again.

Don’t forget to check the forecast before heading off and if you’re going to sea, check the tides.

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

IFI Staff
Catch, Photo, Release

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