The weather hit angling hard last week and the weekend was particularly bad following Friday and Sunday’s stormy conditions. All branches of our sport were affected and for many the only course of action was to take to the “high stool”. There were notable exceptions though, particularly from the coarse angling scene where the big festivals fished well even when the weather was poor…

Salmon fishing wasn’t great for the most part last week. Few rivers performed well as anglers tried to cope with flood levels and brown water. The Munster Blackwater is high, though there is still a chance of a fish in the upper river or tributaries. Only 8 salmon were reported from the Lee last week. The Bandon did better, though most of the fish met were quite coloured and this has continued to be the case for the early part of this week. There were no catch reports from other rivers in West Cork. Lough Currane and the upper lakes are producing good numbers of sea trout, though Friday’s storm stopped the Currane Championship before it could get going. The event was postponed to the following day and Liam Ellis was the winner of this popular catch and release competition. Crumlin in south Connemara reports that the lake there is high but fishing well for seatrout and the anglers on the Erriff reported 6 salmon and 13 sea trout last week. The Moy put down another tough week and only 100 or so salmon were reported, most from the Foxford area. There were 8 grilse caught on the Drowes and water levels were good for the most part. The Owenea did a bit better and 10 fish were landed.

There were some great looking fish from Lough Sheelin last week, but overall the lake was quiet enough – “a week of fishing, not catching”. Other fly anglers had some success on Owel and Lene, while one angler trolling on Lough Ree had a trout of 8.5lb. Fly fishing on Lough Corrib was much improved last week with plenty of good fish on dry sedge patterns. Mask, though high, is also fishing well and trout are coming to wets mostly. Trout anglers described the sonaghan fishing on Melvin as fair last week.

Having led from the first day of the World Pairs, German anglers Jens Koschnick and Thorsten Kusters went on to win the €10,000 first prize with a combined weight of 189.905kg over the five days. This year’s competition saw some of the best weights ever caught in the event despite the weather. Neil Parkinson won the Arvagh International with 75.480kg. Weather conditions were challenging at times but good weights were recorded at all venues. The Arvagh King of Clubs is being fished this week and at the end of Day 3 Ian Fieldhouse is leading the field on 45.810kg. Lee Addy won the Irish Open Feeder championships on Lough Muckno for the second year in a row. To the south of the country, England Youth International Alex Clements won the Granville Cup with a 3-day weight of 59.240kg on his first visit to Inniscarra.

Pike angling reports reflect the impact of the weather and though there were a few fish reported from Lough Derg, Monaghan and Longford, the catches were not as good as they had been recently.

It was a tough week for sea anglers too, particularly the charter boats. Many were tied up as they waited out the worst of the weather. With both estuary fishing and open sea available to the Clare Dragoon in Carrigaholt, Luke Aston managed to get some good fishing apart from Friday and Saturday and the fishing really picked up this week as sea conditions improved. Small boat anglers in Cork Harbour have lots of options even when the weather is poor as they can often fish a quiet corner for a conger if nothing else. Last week’s reports are better than that though, and there were loads of fish reported by the crews taking boats from the Bellavista Angling Centre.

Tomorrow will start out wet in the west, but the outlook is for mostly dry weather apart from a band of rain on Saturday night which will clear eastwards to scattered showers on Sunday. Monday will continue mostly dry with just a few isolated showers but cloud will increase from the northwest with outbreaks of rain there likely later on Monday night and Tuesday.

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

Myles Kelly

Catch, Photo, Release

If you have an angling story to share with the Irish Angling Update please send it to contact@fisheriesireland.ie.

Headlines

Salmon fishing reports

• Another tough week for the Moy’s salmon anglers
• Just a few salmon on the Lee last week
• South Connemara producing sea trout as Cal finds the silver
• Good water helps fishing on Erriff as late season sport produces fish
• Difficult fishing conditions on the Munster Blackwater
• Good sea trout on Currane, Liam Ellis wins CnR competition
• Sea trout OK, but salmon still poor on Laune
• Bandon water levels suit fly and spinner, salmon to 14lb caught
• 6½lb grilse caught on a spinner from beat 5 at Owenea fishery
• 8 grilse caught on the Drowes despite low water levels

Trout fishing reports

• Lene trout not always easy, but don’t give up
• Steve turns a big trout on Ree
• Owel anglers pipped by postman at trout competition
• Googling trout in the midlands
• Mask fishing very well in high water
• Sedges produce great late season sport on Corrib
• Fairly good Sonaghan fishing at Lough Melvin followed by storm
• Trout going off the boil at Sheelin

Coarse angling reports

• Good bream, hybrid and roach fishing in Longford
• Fieldhouse has field day at Arvagh King of Clubs
• Great weights in challenging conditions at Arvagh competition
• Anglers enjoy coarse competition on Navan Blackwater
• Lee Addy wins Irish Open Feeder Championships on Muckno
• Clements wins Inniscarra’s 3 day Granville Cup with 59.240kg
• Koschnick and Kusters win €10000 prize at World Pairs
• Nice fish for Belfast men at Oaklands Lake fishery in Wexford

Pike fishing reports

• Belgian anglers can’t get enough of Longford pike fishing
• Monaghan – good for kayak anglers and pike
• Weather not great for Derg pikers

Sea angling reports

• Cork Harbour produces even in poor weather
• Good fishing for Clare charter boot anglers this week
• Killinarden anglers take to the seas

News clippings

• The Reel Thing – Jo Rippier enchants with tales from the riverbank, Irish News
• German duo win World Pairs Angling Championships, Leitrim Observer
• €103,100 for major upgrade of angling facilities in Carrick-on-Shannon, Leitrim Observer
• Anglers, trail walkers, and wheelchair users set to benefit from funding for pathways, Donegal Now
• Rural Angling Projects To Benefit From €500k Funding, Afloat
• IFI secure €113,659 for Cloone Bóthar na Naomh Heritage and Nature Trail, Leitrim Observer
• German Anglers Take Top Prize in Lakelands & Inland Waterways World Pairs Angling Championships, Afloat
• Not many people have seen the gudgeon fish, Irish Examiner
• Dep Collins says Council will clear gravel in River Bandon, The Southern Star
• Angling Notes: Irish Wheelchair Association’s fishing day, Irish Times
• Call to dredge Shannon and lower water in Lough Allen, Leitrim Observer
• Dublin Angling Initiative Hosts First Night Fishing Event With Darndale Youth Group, Afloat
• Eco concerns put brakes on €4m trail, Leinster Express
• French sailor pays tribute to Irish coast guards who saved his life off the coast of Wexford – Irish Mirror

Other news

• Launch of the FIPS-M World Shore Angling Championships – 16th Sept
• Inland Fisheries Ireland awarded half a million funding for development of rural angling projects
• Dublin Angling Initiative Hosts First Night Fishing Event with Sphere 17 Youth Group from Darndale
• Inland Fisheries Ireland announces agreement with Angling Federations on trout production