Sunrise surface action for the Cumbria crew, Ade, Rich, & Ricky enjoyed some early morning surface action on their third visit to me in Wexford. I spotted the “Melee” of Bass, Mackerel, Sprat, Gull’s, & Terns about 80 yards to our right, and as luck would have it, it was coming our way. Spook’s, Gunfish, + Z-Claws were dealt out, + clipped on rapidly as we made our way to the waters edge observing some big splashes on the fringes of the shoal as they pushed the Sprat against the shore, gull’s squabbled for the prime spots on the strand in expectation of the mass beaching of the silver buffet. The lures didn’t even have to move when they touched down to get hit in a frantic ten minutes of action, that saw 11 fish landed, a few lost, a few in the 60-65cm bracket but mostly in the 50’s.
Alas, they departed as quick as they came, as they do, but fond memories are made on mornings like this……..
Salmon parr 216 mtrs above sea level in the Turraheen river - Photo Noel Power IFI
According to Met Éireann Autumn begins today the 1st of September. August left anglers in despair as they waited for higher water levels and the fish, unlike our soccer hero Robbie Keane, decided not to play ball.
The Drowes saw little activity this week and only a few grilse were recorded. Owenea Fishery had only 23 rods and the gauge average for the week was low at 0.16 metres. However 15 year old Jordan McGrory led the way on the Crana river in North Donegal. This young angler caught and released a fish around 7lb which was fresh off the tide on a flying red c from the Willow Pool. The Moy is crying out for fresher and wetter weather. To date 5,290 salmon were reported; only 74 salmon this week.
The Boyne brought spirits back up with two French visitors who enjoyed some good fishing after the rain. On day one they had two fish that were landed and released, 3 more fish lost and a few missed as well. September is usually a good month for the Erriff and with some extra water this week a local angler recorded 5 sea trout ranging in weight from 0.5lbs to 1.25lbs on a Silver Stoat’s Tail plus some fresh grilse.
Gabriel from France with his fish from the River Boyne which he released
In Cork, the Lee had a poor week but the Bandon had some excellent catches by visitors on a day ticket. One gentleman and his friend had 5 fish between them to 17lbs. The Bandon Angling Association reminds all members that September is fly and spinner only on club waters. The Munster Blackwater reported a few nice salmon to 7lbs which were caught and released at the Ballyduff Bridge and Ballincurrig during the weekend.
Not much action for the Laune anglers even though water levels are good now but the lads at the Currane were kept busy with sea trout ranging from Junior class right up to a cracker at 9½ lbs. Friday 9th and Saturday 10th September sees the annual 2016 ‘Currane Championship’ Waterville’s Sea Trout Catch and Release Fly-fishing Competition, organised this year by The Waterville Lakes & Rivers Trust. I’m sure Vincent Appleby will be on standby with his camera to capture all. So smile!
Again in the trout department the Boyne was a winner. Water levels were good and some lovely wild brown trout were caught using the nymph fishing techniques. On Sunday the Lough Ennell Perpetual Cup was fished. Noel Farrar of Tallaght Co. Dublin had a cracker of 3.340lbs to take Top Rod. The very choosey fish at Lough Sheelin made life hard for the rods who were out. 35 fish in total for the week, the heaviest being a 5 lb trout caught using a Klinkhammer by Dublin angler Mark Trent.The Garrison & Lough Melvin Anglers hosted their 4 day Melvin Open Pairs 2016 competition. James Cox came and Fechin McMorrow Jnr came in joint winners. Lough Corrib held its head high this week with Cornamona, Oughterard and Greenfields fishing well. Eugene Willis from the Garrykennedy Angling Club landing a beautiful trout a little over 5.5lbs on a dry sedge.
Pawel Orlow from Fishmaniak.pl. reminds us that they are running a boat pike competition on Garadice Lake. This 2 days competition will be an evening session and will take place on Saturday afternoon 3rd of September. The club had a very successful boat competition on Sunday 21st of August on River Shannon at Banagher.
A busy week for sea anglers be it from shore or boat. Donegal shores brought an array of colourful wrasse and German anglers were delighted with 20 species around the Mayo coast. Amongst the fish caught were five species of ray, various flatfish including turbot and brill as well as grey, red and tub gurnard to name but a few. A kayak angler tested the waters in Kerry and although the fish caught were no record breakers, the scenery was breath-taking. Clogherhead in Co Louth had an invasion of mackerel shoals and a good few fish following this bait in. The local seal population made sure they got first choice.
Blues to 2.1 mtrs, porbeagle to 1.61 mtrs, skate averaging 85lbs, conger to 35 lbs, ling to 18lbs, bullhuss to near specimen weight at 13 lbs and plenty of medium Pollack, coalfish and cod provided great sport for Courtmacsherry charterboats. Reports from Bass anglers differs depending on what coast you were fishing. Those who chose Wexford were disappointed with the numbers and those who fished in Cork were delighted. An excellent fish at 12lbs 8oz was landed by Noel O’Sullivan plus a PB for visitor Vin Heron at 9lbs. Our ‘Catch of the Week’ goes to a Dublin angler Patrick Fagan who caught a prize specimen gilthead bream 5lb 12.8oz and measuring 54cm. A fine lump of a fish !
Patrick Fagan with his specimen gilthead bream of Specimen gilthead bream 5lb 12.8oz is our ‘Catch of the Week’ winner
The much awaited Lakelands and Inland Waterways World Pairs Angling Championships, Ireland’s most prestigious coarse angling event takes place from Monday 5th to Friday 9th September. In addition to the Pairs Championship, there is also the Daiwa Cup which rewards the best individual anglers. Inniscarra Lake was the place to be this week. They started their three weeks of match fishing on the Lake which started on Saturday with the O’Callaghan’s Open ahead of the Celtic Shield 3-Day festival. Julian Kendrick of County Offaly won the festival with a top weight of 51.900kg. Just ahead of Alistair Ogilvy, last year’s Celtic Shield and Vintners Cup winner with 49.140 and in 3rd was local man Pawel Swistun with 45.380.
Winners of the Portlaoise Fishing team event at Blessington lake in Co. Wicklow were. 1. Jason Byrne 2. Clive Condell 3. Michal Kobryn. They fished with a strong breeze and foggy conditions. In Cavan pleasure anglers had plenty of Bream, Tench and good Roach in the Arva/Gowna/Killeshandra/ Carrigallen area. The Town Lake Killeshandra is also producing big Bream.
This year’s NCFFI Junior All Ireland Championships took place at Killykeen Forest Park on Saturday 27th August followed by the Inter-Provincial Team Championships on Sunday. Well done to winners Cillian Flynn, Caolan Donnelly, Eoin Rogers and Jamie Edwards.
In other news the prestigious Rosslare Small Boats Festival takes place from 10th – 17th September in Rosslare, Co. Wexford. The festival, now in its 31st year, will attract 138 anglers from Wales, Scotland, Isle of Wight, England as well as Ireland, generating huge revenue for the Wexford area. Definitely one to look forward to. This coming Sunday we also have the Lough Owel Trout Preservation Association hosting their last club trout competition for the 2016 season. Lots of competitions and events in the coming weeks, so no excuse.
Looking ahead to the weekend Met Éireann say Saturday will see rain spread to all parts of the country and turn heavy in places. Most at risk from heavy rain will be southern and southeastern areas, although some heavy falls may also occur later in the west and north. During Sunday, some showers will persist early on but mainly dry and bright conditions will develop for the afternoon and evening; west to northwest winds will slacken as the day goes on and temperatures will recover normal values generally.
Sue and Vin Heron are back fishing in Cork Harbour again this month. Every year they preen their feathers and fly West to Cobh in search of the elusive bass and of course a few sessions of saltwater fly fishing. Eire Bass guide Richie Ryan looks forward to their week long session every year. There’s always great banter on board “Sea Hawk ” during these visits. Sue Heron
Regular readers of this diary may remember that Vin won the bass competition last year on his 70th birthday. This year on day one Sue landed the first two bass so hubbie was under a lot of pressure ! As the day was finishing , Vin landed a whopper of a bass , close on 9Lbs weight.
Then to the saltwater fly fishing on day 2. A steady stream of pollock were landed until all aboard noticed a massive amount of gull/gannet activity about 2 miles away. Richie headed for the mark and the couple were straight into a mackerel a cast. The fly , nicknamed Richie’s Raider by Tony Vallack , another British visitor , proved it’s worth again. Mackerel were a great hit on the fly for both anglers. Vin Heron with PB, 9lb Bass
Another full session on the bass the following day proved fruitful. Sue was the first off the mark so it was now 3 bass to Vin’s one. Then things came right for Vin , 2 beautiful bass , one nearly eight pounds weight was landed in quick succession. So it stands at 3 all with a few days to go , no pressure ! The guide was impressed with the size of the bass , none under 5 Lbs. Declan Collins finds his bass mojo !!!
In addition Richie was delighted to hear that Noel O Sullivan had a 12 Lb bass during the week. Noel is one of the guide’s super subs aboard ” Sea Hawk”. Then to cap it all , Declan Collins from Cobh has found his bass mojo with a mighty return on his boat the last few weeks. So Cork harbour is fishing well for bass this summer if you’re prepared to put in the hours. Richie Ryan
Saltwater fly fishing Guide. www.corkbass.com
Make a booking
Why not try fishing from the first licensed saltwater fly-fishing boat in Ireland in the second largest natural harbour in the world? Your guide, Commander Richie Ryan Retd. , has built up a huge knowledge of bass fishing, over the last 30 years. With a purpose built boat he is insured to carry up to 3 anglers. Bass and pollock on the fly are the main target species. Young and old are welcome and if you have no knowledge of fly-fishing, other methods are available. Richie has been responsible for a vast number of clients catching that elusive first ever bass.
If you want to book Richie then go to www.corkbass.com
A round up of all the catches from the Munster Blackwater:
BLACKWATER SALMON FISHERY
Glenda Powell is just back from the Irish Game and Country Fair at Birr Castle, Co. Offaly last weekend and is already preparing for the next event. After all it’s just 73 days to The 7th Irish Fly Fair & Angling Show on the 12th & 13th November in The Galway Bay Hotel.
Glenda will be giving a Fly Casting Demonstration. She is regarded as one of the world’s leading fly casting instructors and has been teaching fly casting and fishing for 23 years.
Early moring Photo by Brendan Peppard
BALLYDUFF BRIDGE SALMON FISHERY
Ballyduff Bridge Salmon Fishery tell us that young Matthew Fagan on Thursday last caught and released a 3lb fish at Ballyduff Bridge, showing his Dad once again.
Matthew Fagan C& R
Well done too to Martin Cronin for catching and releasing a 7lb fish on Tuesday at the Bridge and to Patrick who also caught and released 2 fish at Ballincurrig at the weekend.
Go fishing…
Blackwater Salmon Fishery
Blackwater Salmon Fishery has 3 beats downstream of the weir and 2 upstream of the weir. Blackwater Salmon Fishery offers fishing on approximately 5 miles of the river Blackwater. The fishing is spread throughout the middle section of the river to offer good sport throughout the fishing season. Due to the location of the beats, fishing can still usually be offered in low or high water.
Ballyduff Bridge fisheries control a number of beats of the Munster Blackwater. The Ballyduff Bridge beat is almost a mile long offering a huge variety of water and is particularly suited to fly fishing. Upstream near the village of Ballyhooley (a few miles outside the town of Fermoy, Cork) we have two beats. The Ballincurrig Beat is one of the most beautiful locations along the river and has an excellent piece of fly water flowing into a deep pool. Just downstream on the opposite bank we have a short but productive beat, called Magners. This beat fishes also well in high water.
Darren Leatherbarrow from Southport Sea Angling Club in UK, with a bass that was caught and released at last year's Rosslare Small Boats Festival
The prestigious Rosslare Small Boats Festival takes place from 10th – 17th September in Rosslare, Co. Wexford. The festival, now in its 31st year, will attract 138 anglers from Wales, Scotland, Isle of Wight, England as well as Ireland, generating huge revenue for the Wexford area.
This event is sponsored by Inland Fisheries Ireland, Garmin, DAIWA, Wexford County Council, Fáilte Ireland, Sea Angler magazine and IPB Insurance. It is top of the small boat angler’s calendar and many fishermen return year after year to participate in this prestigious event.
The festival started in 1985 with five boats fishing and has gone from strength to strength with 42 boats participating this year, contributing approximately €300,000 to the local economy. The high standard of the competitors along with the excellent quality of fishing in Wexford is renowned with 38 different fish species recorded in 2015.
Darren Leatherbarrow from Southport Sea Angling Club in UK, with a bass that was caught and released at the 2014 Rosslare Small Boats Festival
It is anticipated that boats will launch at Kilmore Quay and fish at a number of locations along the Wexford coastline in search of as many varieties of sea fish as possible. Fish may include cod, bass, whiting, ray, gurnards, dogfish, wrasse, bull huss and conger. The boat which achieves the highest number of fish species over the week will win the prestigious ‘Rosslare Small Boats Competition’.
There are also prizes for winners each day along with prizes for nominated species of fish and the biggest fish caught. There is an attractive prize fund worth €20,000, which consists of fishing equipment and substantial monetary prizes and engraved trophies. Anglers will be based at ‘Redmonds The Bay’ in Rosslare Strand where they will gather each evening after to discuss their catches of the day!
Inland Fisheries Ireland will have a marine fish tank for the purpose of displaying fish species that will be caught and released during the competition. People will be able to view marine fish such as thornback ray, ballan wrasse, gurnard and bull huss which will be kept in the fish tank and released back into the sea alive. The educational benefits of the tank and practising catch and release for marine species are hugely beneficial in terms of conservation and creating public awareness of our sea fisheries resource.
The prizegiving ceremony will take place on Friday 16th September at 7.30pm in Redmond’s The Bay in Rosslare Strand. For all queries in relation to the festival please contact Ms. Josie Mahon, Inland Fisheries Ireland, Tel: 087 6538202 or email josie.mahon@fisheriesireland.ie.
Guide Vincent Appleby reports from Lough Currane where the pace has slowed down a bit but some excellent sea trout still caught… 25/08/2016: My Noble Anglers went out on Lough Currane this day with anticipation with their fly rods at the ready but by the end of their day they headed for the Bars, all they were looking for was Commiserations for their lack of their ability to produce a wild Atlantic Salmon or a Lough Currane specimen Sea Trout and all I can say is you’d want to pull your act together in all departments. Wind SW fresh with reasonable cloud cover with the odd shower. Sea horse photo by Ita Hannon 26/08/2016: All quiet on the SW front as the anglers looked to the heavens praying for a rod bender but their prayers weren’t answered, one can only come to the conclusion either they lack the skill in their choice of fly selection or drift or they weren’t praying hard enough and in my opinion they failed in both departments. Wind SW with reasonable cloud cover at times.
Its that Time of year again and to all you competitive Anglers, just to let you know, you can book your boat or seat for the annual 2016 ‘Currane Championship’ Waterville’s Sea Trout Catch and Release Fly-fishing Competition, organised this year by The Waterville Lakes & Rivers Trust, it will be held on Friday 9th and Saturday 10th September. The entry fee €150 including
Dinner at the prize giving on the Saturday evening. All are welcome to enter! Contact, Mr. Kevin O’Sullivan at 0876889775 27/08/2016: Straight to Sea Trout fly department, Dr. Tim Gleason fishing with his Gillie, caught 3 Trout to his fly rod. Staying on the drift, Mr. Arnold Slater caught 3 Trout to his fly rod, while fishing with his Gillie Mr. Neil O’Shea of www.oshealoughcurrane.com and in Neil’s hired out boat department, in the past few days fly anglers from Co Mayo, caught 10 Sea Trout, ranging from Junior class up to 5 lbs. Wind SE fresh with good cloud cover. 28/08/2016: There were no records broken on Lough Currane Salmon and Sea Trout department, or in the https://www.facebook.com/CharlieChaplinOfficial/?fref=ts and you can say without any fear of contradiction they have made themselves look like right Charlie’s in all departments and its as simple as Black and White and not much could be said for the Green and Gold either, so the least said the soonest mended. Wind W light with bright sunshine all day. 29/08/2016: UK angler Mr. Arnold Slater, while fishing with his Gillie Mr. Neil O’Shea of www.oshealoughcurrane.com was in good form again with his fly today with 4 Sea Trout, ranging from Junior class up to 3 lbs. Now we head for the backdate department, In the hired out boat department of www.lakelandshouse.com on Saturday the 25th. Mr. John Burton caught 5 Juniors on the drift. Now to the apology depart, I was severely criticised by a local Gillie for failing to check my email for a photo that was sent by his client Dr. Tim Gleason, all I can say is Guilty as charged and again I apologise to Tim and his Gillie for this discrepancy. Wind W light to fresh and overcast with misty rain at times this morning. Sea Trout cuaght by Dr. Tim Gleason 30/08/2016: Well my noble anglers had a good excuse for not procuring a wild Atlantic Salmon or a Lough Currane specimen Sea Trout today, because it was wild out there with a strong SW wind blowing down the Lake so on that note don’t forget to book your seat for the annual 2016 ‘Currane Championship’ Waterville’s Sea Trout Catch and Release Fly-fishing Competition, organised this year by The Waterville Lakes & Rivers Trust, it will be held on Friday 9th and Saturday 10th September. The entry fee €150 including
Dinner at the prize giving on the Saturday evening. All are welcome to enter! Contact, Mr. Kevin O’Sullivan at 0876889775 31/08/2016: Lough Currane was mainly quiet, just the odd Junior being caught, so on that note we go back to yesterday and the C&R department. Mr. Paul Clark, fishing out of www.oshealoughcurrane.com and fishing with his Gillie, caught 5 Sea Trout in the Junior class and finished his day off with a cracker of a Sea Trout of 9 ½ lbs. I must apologise to Mr. Paul Clark and all the readers of this Blog for not putting this fine catch in yesterdays notes. Wind W light to fresh with reasonable cloud cover.
That is your ration from the last week on Lough Currane, from your Gillie and the Waterville Fishery, no spin no fly’s just facts. Vincent Appleby
It’s that Time of year again and to all you competitive Anglers, just to let you know, you can book your boat or seat for the annual 2016 ‘Currane Championship’ Waterville’s Sea Trout Catch and Release Fly-fishing Competition, organised this year by The Waterville Lakes & Rivers Trust, it will be held on Friday 9th and Saturday 10th September. The entry fee €150 including
Dinner at the prize giving on the Saturday evening. All are welcome to enter! Contact, Mr. Kevin O’Sullivan at 0876889775
Find out more about Lough Currane…
The rivers and lakes of Waterville drain a large catchment and are regarded by many as the foremost Salmon and Sea-Trout fishery in the country. The lake system is well developed with access to boats and guides being readily available to the tourist angler. The Sea-Trout caught here are renowned for their size and quantity. For more details see
Arne Seiberlich, Germany, with a nice tub gurnard from Killala Bay
Sea anglers Lars Berding and Arne Seiberlich from Hamburg, Germany, experienced some excellent boat and shore fishing along the North Mayo coast during the week.
They started off with two days on board charter skipper Donal Kennedy’s boat Leah fishing Killala Bay. The weather was perfect on both days and, as a consequence, Donal was able to put them on the best drifts. The result was phenomenal with over 20 species caught over the two days. Amongst the fish caught were five species of ray, various flatfish including turbot and brill as well as grey, red and tub gurnard to name but a few.
Later in the week the two German anglers tried several shore marks along the North Mayo coast but it was Lacken Strand north of Killala that rewarded the anglers with several flat fish and two fine sea trout.
Arne Seiberlich, Germany, with a nice tub gurnard from Killala Bay
Lars Berding, Germany, with a fine North Mayo sea trout
To book a day’s fishing in Killala Bay contact Donal Kennedy on +353 (0)086 8174509 or visit www.dkennedyangling.ie.
There wasn’t a notable increase in the number of anglers fishing the Moy system over the past week, with just 74 salmon reported which brings the total catch for the year to date to 5,290 salmon.
The Ridge Pool only produced 2 grilse for the week: one for Michael Bothwell, Northern Ireland on spinner and one for flyangler Tom Noonan from Tipperary.
Michael English, UK, was successful fishing the Mt. Falcon water catching 3 fish on fly, while Mark Salmon, Dublin, had two on spinner on East Mayo. Also on East Mayo, Brian White, Dublin, had a 4 lbs. grilse on fly.
It is hoped the fresher, wetter weather will see things liven up a little in the next few days so that anglers can look forward to a successful last month of this year’s salmon season on the Moy.
Fishery manager Osgur Grieve reports on fishing from the Erriff for the period 19th – 30th August. Norman Goldberg and his son Jules stayed and fished for a few days with us and were very unlucky to have lost 4 salmon between them for their stay from Beats 3 and 9. On the 20th Clare O’Neil also lost a fish, this time from the Quarry pool on Beat 2. Fishing can be tough sometimes but hopefully next time things will improve for them. The next flood brought on good action to local angler James O’Neill who had a small fresh grilse of 2.5lbs on a Munro Killer tube as well as returning 5 sea trout ranging in weight from 0.5lbs to 1.25lbs on a Silver Stoat’s Tail.
The Erriff traditionally fishes very well in September and could be well worth a throw if thwe weather is right over the next few weeks. For bookings please call (095) 42208 or check www.errifffishery.ie
Eugene Willis with a fine 4.5lbs Corrib trout, August 2016
Declan Gibbons reports that Corrib is fishing reasonably well as we come into the last month of the season. Anglers are requested to bear in mind that trout will be preparing for spawning soon, and to exercise restraint in considering whether to take a fish or not.
In the Cornamona area Shay White from Boyne Valley, Co Meath enjoyed good fishing dapping, landing 2 trout in the Dooras area – one of 2.5lbs and the other 3lbs.
On Monday last Ted Wherry from Mayfly Lodge, Ballynalty Bay (tedatmayflylodge@outlook.com) reported excellent fishing in a 3 hour session in the afternoon for Richard Robinson and himself – all fish released and caught on small sedge patterns.
In the Oughterard area Paul Coridia from Kerry staying at Currarevagh House (091 552312) enjoyed excellent fishing to the dap in the area, landing 18 trout for an estimated 32lbs.
Also in the Oughterard area Basil Shields of Ardnasillagh Lodge (091 552550) reports reasonably good fishing on the lake with olive and sedge hatches being the most prevalent. Antrim angler Tommy Coulter had 2 fish on olives – best fish 2.25lbs and John Gormley had 4 fish, also on olives, including an excellent trout of 4.25lbs. Meath angler Mike McCafferry had 3 fish for his day fishing on Corrib with the best fish being 1.75lbs.
In the Greenfields area 16 Members of the Garrykennedy Angling Club from Tipperary enjoyed two days fishing over the weekend – all fish were sportingly caught and released with Eugene Willis landing a beautiful trout a little over 5.5lbs on a dry sedge. Most of the group’s fish were caught on Saturday and mostly on dry fly patterns. Hopefully the Tipp lads have similar luck against Kilkenny next Sunday in the hurling!
Staying in the Greenfields area Braithreach na Coiribe hosted the Padraic McGrath Classic in which 36 rods participated and 10 trout were weighed in. First place went to Basil Shields and Tom Coyle with 2 fish for 5.35lbs. Second place went to Phillip Kavanagh and Alan Kenny with 1 fish for 3.5lbs and third place went to Eugene McCarthy and Noel O’Toole with 2 fish for 3.25lbs. Heaviest Fish (confined to members only) went to Basil Shields with a trout weighing 3.2lbs
Eugene Willis with a fine 4.5lbs Corrib trout, August 2016
