The first named storm of the season paid us a visit last weekend. Ashley whacked the west coast in particular with wind and waves, while the rest of the country took a milder lashing. That put paid to fishing for a day or two for all but the hardiest (or daftest) of anglers, until things had settled back to normal.

Before the storms came, we did get some fishing in last week, and no better place to start than Crosshaven in Cork, where Team Ireland ground it out to finish with the highest scoring individual angler and secure the team silver medal position at the 59th World Boat Championships. Liam O’Callaghan was the highest scoring angler across the three competition days and, pending an appeal around a FIPs-M scoring systems error, should be crowned world champion and outright individual gold medalist – what an achievement for him! Liam and the Irish team win our Catch of the Week for this week.

Some other Irish teams are preparing for a tilt at a FIPS-M world championship medal in the coming weeks. First up are the Irish Kayak Angling Team who are competing in the inaugural World Championship Kayak Fishing in Valencia, Spain from October 16th to 31st – good luck to them! The following week, the Irish U16 and U21 Shore Angling Teams take on the rest of the world at the FIPS-M World Shore Championships which will be held on beaches in Wexford – we look forward to bringing you all the news from that one.

Competitors at the World Boat Championships

Corrane Sea Angling Club hosted the Connacht Closed Gold Medal recently, with three sessions fished on venues on Achill Island and Mulranny. Kevin Barber, with a second place finish on the Sunday session to add to second and third on Saturday, won the Closed Gold Medal by a single point.

In club news, the West Cork and District SAC moved venue to Ferrypoint for their latest fixture. Youghal beach was the original venue but with the forecast for high winds and big spring tides, it would have been very uncomfortable. Species on the night consisted of mostly coalfish and bass with a few codling, eels, flounder, gilthead bream and whiting.

Looking gilty at Ferrypoint

The usual coarse fishing club matches and leagues have been taking place around the country and the mild weather has been beneficial in keeping the fish active. In Monaghan, the CM Lakelands Club fished a blustery match on Muckno, but skimmers don’t mind the wind and plenty were caught. The IASCaire Club also got out for round 3 of their Autumn League on Annaghierin, with skimmers also helping to bring up the weights for them. In the south east, Oaklands held a two day silver fish match where anglers had to sneak out the bigger silvers in between the carp, who were intent on gobbling up everything that was thrown at them.

In other coarse fishing news, there has been a change of venue for the National Coarse Fishing Federation of Ireland (NCFFI) All Ireland Youth Feeder Championships this Saturday; the event has been moved from Lough Allen to Lough Gowna due to storm damage and high water at the former venue. The NCFFI have this week named the U15 and U20 teams who will represent Ireland at the World Youth Angling Championships in Spain in 2025 – congratulations to all of those elite young anglers who made the grade.

With wild trout and salmon fishing wrapped up until next year, we have a review of the final month of the season on Lough Corrib, where fly fishing was reasonably good for what turned out to be a fairly warm and dry month, but trolling was even better. In the south east, we have our usual newsletter from Piscari-Fly and this week the guys are fishing Laois Angling Centre and then heading to Wales for a practice session for the Hanak European Grayling Festival around the River Dee.

All calm on Corrib

Pike angling reports were thin on the ground this week, but Midlandangling.com’s Mick Flanagan had great fun after jacks on the Inny. Fish were hunting hard, hitting every lure he had and Mick had a ball fishing for them. The Newbridge and District Pike Angling Association will hope that the pike are just as active for their open pike competition this November; they have announced the date – it will be held on Sunday, 24th, on Blessington Lake in Wicklow, so make sure and contact them to take part.

Specimen Fish

The deadline for submitting specimen claims is approaching fast. If you were lucky enough to catch a specimen fish this year and want to claim it, get your paperwork into the ISFC as soon as possible so that the ISFC can assess it. All specimen claims to be submitted by 31 October. Further information is available here.

Specimen fish Awards

Irish Fly Fair

The 12th annual Irish Fly Fair and International Angling Show is back in Fermanagh next month. This prestigious event will be held at the fabulous four-star Killyhevlin Hotel and grounds overlooking majestic Lough Erne. Dates are set for 16th and the 17th of November and doors open at 10am both days.

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…

Dry Friday night, but some showers in the south. Fog will form in light winds. Lows of 5°C to 10°C, mildest in the southeast.

Scattered showers and occasional sunny spells for most areas on Saturday, with rain moving southeast across the country, clearing later. Highs of 12°C to 15°C with light winds veering south to north. Dry but cold in most places overnight, with isolated showers in the north. Lows of 2°C to 6°C, in light winds.

Rain will move east during Sunday, heaviest in the west. Southeast areas staying dry until evening. Highs of 11°C to 14°C. Cloudy with some rain overnight. Lows of 9°C to 13°C, moderate southwesterlies.

Outbreaks of rain will clear southeastwards during Bank Holiday Monday morning and it will become drier but cloudy. Highs of 13°C to 16°C with westerly breezes. Cloudy and mostly dry with some drizzle or fog. Lows of 8°C to 11°C with light variable winds.

There will be small craft warnings in place for all coastal counties at different times over the weekend. 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

If you have an angling story to share with the Irish Angling Update please send it to [email protected] and don’t forget that all of our fishing reports are available on our dedicated Angling Ireland Facebook page.

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