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Weed hampers fishing at latest Ulster Krakens outing

By
Shane O'Reilly
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The following report is taken with courtesy from the Ulster Krakens SAC Facebook Page:
Ulster Krakens – Master Angler League Qualifier Leg 6 Report
Saturday, 7th June saw the Krakens head to Waterfoot Beach for the 6th leg of their master angler qualifier match. Fishing was from 7pm-12am on a filling tide, over the top, and down. The weather had been forecasted for rainy showers and a brisk NW wind with wind gusts of around 23mph.
6pm approached with the beach pegged at the flat roof (even though the flat roof house is no longer). The beach looked in good shape, the only thing that stood out was that the may bloom seemed to be thick in tight. With the pegs drawn, off we went. I’m not sure many of the boys fancied this one to be honest. Whispers in the car park before we headed down began with dogs, dogs, dogs…
For the second match in a row, Craig and Raymond were pegged beside each other, David drew the end peg up towards the play park. 7pm came around quickly and first casts went in, Raymond got off to a flyer with a treble shot on his first cast however things slowed down very quickly with the odd fish being landed, you could hear the groans down the beach with the weed playing havoc with baits being masked within minutes of being in the water.
A nice wee turbot
Gavin was winning the award for most species on the night with 5, Bert on peg 2 battled away to find a couple of counting fish, Ally on peg 1 was getting a few fish early on, but the fish seemed to switch off in front of him as the match progressed. Andy on peg 5 was going strongly, also with whispers of 6 fish at the midway point. Stephen Kinning in true fashion, kept plugging away on peg 6. Neil was quietly getting fish on the card, too. As darkness approached, everybody’s attention turned to dogs. Craig had been going for them since early with no success; however, Raymond’s first cast produced a dog… Craig could be heard down the beach, not sounding too happy.
🤣
In the end, it wasn’t grea,t but there were a few fish and good banter on the night.
At the halfway point, David Rainey is leading the flat fish of the year award, and Stephen McGarrell is leading the race for the biggest round fish of the year.
Species caught were: flounder, dab, turbot, weaver, whiting, poor cod and dogfish.

Results as follows:
1st Raymond “fish whisper” McCann 14 counters +5 unders for 451 points
2nd David Rainey 9 fish for 341 points
3rd Stephen Kinning 8 counters +unders for 222 points
4th Craig Henderson 7 counters +2 unders 219 points
5th Andrew Mc Callion 8 counters + 1 under for 188 points
Biggest Fish on the night was Raymond with a 23cm flounder 
Apologies for the lack of photos. It wasn’t a night to be taken pictures!

Ringsend SAC prevail over Ballybrack SAC at the inaugural Interclub Challenge Cup

By
Shane O'Reilly
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The following report is taken with courtesy from the Ballybrack SAC Facebook Page:

Saturday, June 7th, Kilgorman Beach, Ballybrack SAC vs Ringsend Angling Club

Last Saturday saw the first interclub perpetual challenge cup between Ballybrack SAC and Ringsend Irishtown Angling Club. This new format is something that has been long overdue, and desired by match anglers. A matchplay style competition took place with 15 of Ballybracks’ finest, taking on a superb 15-man lineup from Ringsend. With a lot of planning from both sides, the venue and date was set. Anglers turned up for the event in great fashion, bags of carbon and boxes of bait at the ready. Although the tides were small the conditions were fantastic, putting everyone in great form for the anticipated debut match.

Competition kicked off at 4pm with all the Brackers fishing the odd pegs and Ringsend lads fishing the evens. First cast returned some good results for both sides up and down the beach, with Paddy Hamilton from Ringsend starting strong with a high-scoring double dogfish, while Jamie Forsyth with a lovely Treble also put the pressure on for Ringsend. A great start from the middle of the beach. Joe Clancy on the lower pegs returning a dogfish first cast was also pleased with himself

Some anglers on the lower and higher pegs from both sides had a slower start, but eventually managed to find fish. In Particular, Eric Gasparro from Ballybrack, who had a couple of quiet hours while Brendan Byrne was picking off fish , managed to step up the pace and find the dogfish at a distance to tally up a fine haul of 8 dogfish, 2 smoothound and a couple of flounder. That lad can catch fish from a puddle on the side of the road. On the Ringsend side others were also starting to find the fish with Wayne Hamilton on Peg 2 getting into form and keeping Cian Corcoran in his sights who was steadily picking off the dogs at distance. Cian finished strong in the end gaining a point for the Brackers. On Peg 7 Junior Sean Keane managed to scratch out some fine flounder and a bass to also get a point on the board over Eddie Kiernan. Paddy Hamilton finished strong to take home the point for Ringsend over Lar Mooney.

Stephen Glynn in his true form retrieved the fish of the day with a fine Smoothound of 97cm which won him biggest round fish in his zone and also tidying up his card nicely with 7 good scoring fish and a Ballybrack point on the board over Ringsend’s James Kinsella, who had a good return of fish. Jack Keegan on his return was rewarded biggest flat fish in his zone/ shared with Paul Tyndall for a fine flounder. Eric Gasparro also doing well in the pools with a 92cm Smoothound and 27cm Flounder. Darragh Mulligan fished a great match but was beaten by Jamie Forsyth who battled out a fish in the final hour to take a point for Ringsend. Darragh made the Pools in Zone A with a 27cm Flounder. Also on the lower Pegs, Ringsend’s Tony Byrne took a point over Shane Kavanagh and claimed pools money for a fine 80cm Smoothound. Sean Hickey, with 3 good scoring fish, was beaten by veteran match angler Stephen Byrne from Ringsend.

Smoothies are always a welcome catch!

Joe Cannon, consistent as ever, picked off the fish nicely, gaining a point over Martin Ryan on the higher pegs. And Jay Shaw from Ballybrack also fishing a great match for a point on the board against Mikey Byrne. In the middle of the beach, Paul Tyndall and Ruari Ludden battled it out until the final whistle at 9pm, with Ruari taking a point home for Ringsend. John Keane, struggling on peg 5, eventually found a dogfish at a distance which would measure 4cm longer than Joe Clancy’s to pip the point for Ballybrack. Conor Clancy from Ringsend tidied up his match against Jack Keegan for the win. Anthony Gannon ended up with a fine haul of fish on peg 31 but had no opponent Nevertheless, super fishing Anto Junior Jesse Murphy who fought hard for a fish was beaten in the end by Junior Luke Kinsella who had a nice mixed bag including two small Tope. Brian Byrne from Ringsend took a point for Ringsend over Junior Paul Crimmons who has been on great form lately and fished a great match.

The competition was very close from peg to peg, which made for great sport and great fun for everyone on both sides. Ringsend came out on top in the end after fishing a great match, and are the first name to go on this fantastic Cup. Well done Ringsend, a well deserved result. Scores finished up Ringsend 9 points and Ballybrack 6 points.

Ringsend take the trophy home this year

It’s safe to say that every single angler enjoyed the competition, camaraderie and most importantly the craic. The first of this perpetual cup was a great success and we are looking forward to next year already to put Ballybrack SAC’s name on that cup.

Tight Lines

Go Fishing…

Sea Angling on the East Coast

 

 

Team Ireland arrives in Lithuania to defend world title

By
Paul O'Reilly
-

The reigning World Champions, Team Ireland Feeder , are in Lithuania and have completed two days of training on the mighty Skirvytė River. On Tuesday, the team took part in the Official Opening Ceremony, marking the start of what promises to be a thrilling championship campaign.

The Skirvytė River, a powerful 9km-long waterway up to 400m wide, presents a unique challenge for them. Known for its fast-flowing current, it’s a venue unlike any the team has faced before. Adding to its intrigue, the river’s left bank lies within the Russian Federation, making this championship setting truly distinctive.

Representing Ireland in this year’s championship are:

  • 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗹 𝗕𝘂𝗰𝗵𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿
  • 𝗥𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗗𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗲
  • 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻𝗻𝘆 𝗠𝗰𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗹𝗲𝘆
  • 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗢’𝗗𝗼𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘆
  • 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀

They are joined by 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗪𝗵𝘆𝘁𝗲, making his international debut as the team’s reserve.

Supporting the squad on the bank are Assistant Manager Nigel Houldsworth and Coach Roger Baker, alongside bank runners Dara Finnegan, Chris Haigh, Deimante Karalaunis, Nick Richards, and Sharon Sweeney.

We wish Team Ireland the very best of luck as they continue their preparations over the next few days ahead of the main competition on 14th and 15th June.

The squad will be keeping things close to their chest while they study and adapt to the intricacies of this challenging venue—we will bring you updates when we can.

Lough Derg Predator Challenge 2025

By
Paul O'Reilly
-
This report from the organisers of the Lough Derg Predator Challenge 2025: 

On Sunday 8th of June, after a postponement in May due to terrible weather, the Lough Derg Predator Challenge 2025 finally took place and twenty five battle hardened fishing teams took to the water to challenge for the title.

The aim was to catch all three predatory species – Pike, Perch and Trout – to be able to “battle” for the prizes. The weather looked absolutely perfect on Sunday morning – overcast with some wind (too much for some at times) and a few light showers – perfect for fishing for the three sought after species and nothing so bad that would stop good anglers from fishing!

Looking towards Scarriff, Lough Derg
Scarriff Bay, Lough Derg

The competition started at 9am and not long after the first fish was landed (only took 9 minutes to catch first fish of the day!). Fishing continued till 4:50pm (the scoring app closed at 5pm and all anglers had to be back at the meeting point to bring back measuring board and hi-viz jacket). After all pictures and videos had been checked, rechecked and validated, we had the leaderboard for this year’s Lough Derg Predator Challenge!
  • First Place – Team Catch&Release 385cm (longest 3 fish+bonus ) Trophies + cash prize
  • Second Place – Team Tajnos Agentos 379cm (longest 3 fish+bonus) Trophies+ cash prize
  • Third Place – Team IrishfishingTours 368cm (longest 3 fish+bonus) Trophies + cash prize

This year one of our sponsors has asked us to award the longest Trout in the competition

  • Longest Trout – Team TWO4FISHING 45cm Trout

We also had some sponsorship from some fabulous lures handcrafters, a big UK company and a Fishing Tackle shop from Athlone, this prize went to

  • 4th Place – Team TWO4FISHING voucher for Jurassic Lures – Handmade Quality to be spent on his website https://tkart.eu/en/
  • 8th and 9th Place – Team EC Flash Tails and Team Wildhunter – Vouchers from PAN hand made LURES https://panlures.com/

Other prizes included:

Also – a special prize was handed to the youngest angler registered for this competition, fishing with his father – a Kingfisher a set of lures from WET-NETS.IE.

Well done to everyone who took part in this competition.

Well done to top 3 and and the framers.

Calling all Kildare Anglers

By
Shane O'Reilly
-
Fishing on the Grand Canal

Kildare County Council are currently formulating an Outdoor Recreation Plan for the county. The overall aim of the plan is to increase participation in outdoor activities, and they are seeking input from any interested parties. So if you are an angler, angling club or other stakeholder, they are interested in hearing from you to learn about the role angling plays in getting people outdoors. They are running some information meetings & workshops later this month:

Monday 23rd June 7pm- 9pm in the Corrib Centre at Glenroyal Hotel in Maynooth, Co Kildare

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/kildare-outdoor-recreation-and-sports-groups-workshop-tickets-1405289261009?aff=oddtdtcreator

Tuesday 24th June 7pm- 9pm in the Keadeen Hotel in Newbridge, Co Kildare

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/kildare-outdoor-recreation-and-sports-groups-workshop-tickets-1405384255139?aff=oddtdtcreator

While attendance is free, booking is essential and the events cannot be accessed without a ticket.

Next generation bloom at NCFFI Development Days

By
Paul O'Reilly
-

This report from the National Coarse Fishing Federation of Ireland (NCFFI):

We had another fantastic session today as Round 2 of our Development Days took place at Gaulmoylestown Lake. It was great to welcome back our young anglers already on the pathway, as well as meet some enthusiastic newcomers keen to get involved and develop their skills.

This session included a fun, inclusive match for all participants, with some impressive angling on display throughout the day. Well done to everyone!

Our next event will take place at Oaklands Lake on July 19th, and we’re looking forward to seeing you there. With experience growing among the group, we encourage all participants to join our upcoming events dedicated to young anglers—an ideal introduction to the competitive angling scene.

Reserve your place now at one of the upcoming Youth Events:

New this year: An Under-12s category, ensuring there’s something for everyone to enjoy. Prizes and medals for the top 3 in each age group, plus tackle items for all participants!

A big thank you to Dave at Gaulmoylestown AC Carp Match Ireland for hosting us, to Irish Bait and Tackle Limited for sponsoring the live bait, and to Inland Fisheries Ireland for their ongoing support of these sessions.

Thanks also to Jack Tisdall, Team Ireland Float Manager Jason Ward, International Angler Jamie Murray, and ERNE Anglers‘ Coach John Tipton for their guidance on the bank.

Blackwater Salmon anglers seeing a few fish, catching them too

By
Myles Kelly
-
Mike Mawhinney, Blackwater Salmon Fishery
Mike Mawhinney, Blackwater Salmon Fishery

Noel Fitzmaurice from the Blackwater Fishery has the following report from the river…

We are beginning to see a few more fish in the system in the last couple of weeks. However the numbers are far lower than we would expect for this time of year.

With that said, we salmon anglers are nothing if not the eternal optimists. Some of our visitors were lucky enough to pick up a few fish along the way.

We are hopeful for the months ahead. As they say,

Once you have a fly in the water, you have a chance.

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.
Contact Glenda Powell: Lismore, Co Waterford,
Email: info@blackwatersalmonfishery.com
Mobile: +353 (0) 872351260 Telephone: +353 (0) 5853929
Web: www.blackwatersalmonfishery.com

About the Blackwater and a full list of fisheries

Cork Blackwater

John Browne wins third round of Oaklands Summer League

By
Myles Kelly
-

John Browne reports on the third round of the Oaklands Summer League fished at the weekend…

On Sunday at Oaklands we ran the 3rd round of our Summer matches. Breezy conditions all day but no rain thankfully.

John Browne was in winning form on the day netting 61.690 kg. A close 2nd was Paddy O’Neill with 55.460kg and 3rd was Andrei Pirchio bagging 34.670kg.

Today’s Results

  • 1st John Browne 61.690 kg
  • 2nd Paddy O’Neill 55.460 kg
  • 3rd Andrei Pirchio 34.640 kg
Section winners
  • A Leo Lynch 33.340 kg
  • B Adrian Browne 30.820kg
  • C Alan Sharky 34.460kg

Junior’s

  • 1st Charlie Upton 13.140 kg
  • 2nd Michael Urbanski 10.010 kg
  • 3rd Conor Fitzharris 6.370 kg

Thanks to all the lads who travelled down.

Go fishing…

The John Kearney Memorial Match will be fished this Sunday 15th June. Check in is at 8.30am with fishing from 10.30am to 3.30pm.

There will be the Perpetual Trophy for winner, as well as 1st, 2nd, 3rd & other Novelty prizes.

BBQ & presentation after match.

All proceeds of the match go towards Youth Team Ireland for this year’s world championships in Spain.

Entry € 20.

Book your place at the Oaklands Facebook page.

Oaklands Fishery

Address Marsh Meadow New Ross Wexford Ireland Phone: +353 51 445348 Mobile Phone: +353 87 6988979 Mobile Phone: +353 87 781 1042 Website: oaklandslake.com
More information
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Ballykinealy Strand Delivers at Latest Master Angler League Competition

By
Myles Kelly
-
mullet
A triple shot of golden grey mullet

West Cork and District SAC fished the latest leg of their Master Angler League at the weekend…

Sunday afternoon saw the latest round of our 2025 Master Angler League, hosted at the scenic Ballykinealy Strand, where anglers faced off in prime conditions from 2pm to 6pm. Spirits were high and so was the fishing quality.

mullet

A triple shot of golden grey mulletRight from the start, Troy Francis on Peg 1 made his intentions clear with a great opening cast – a treble shot of golden grey mullet. He quickly followed this up with another four mullet in successive casts, leaving the rest of the field scrambling to keep pace. Despite Troy’s early lead, all competitors were getting fish on the cards, ensuring a competitive and lively match.

As the tide pushed in the mullet moved on, but the remainder of the match was dominated by lively school bass, testing skill and tactics alike.

A triple shot of bass
A triple shot of bass

In the end, Troy’s early momentum and consistent pressure throughout earned him a commanding victory, finishing with 32 fish for 1021 points. A masterclass performance!
Stephen O’Donovan claimed a well-earned second place, tallying 19 fish for 582 points. He also swept both pools, landing a 40cm golden grey mullet and a 16cm flounder.

mullet

Alan O’Dowling rounded off the podium with a solid 15 fish for 474 points, displaying his usual composure and consistency.

Species caught on the day included Bass, Golden grey mullet, Thin-lipped mullet and Flounder

Final Results:

  • 1st – Troy Francis – 32 fish – 1021 pts
  • 2nd – Stephen O’Donovan – 19 fish – 582 pts (Pool Winner)
  • 3rd – Alan O’Dowling – 15 fish – 474 pts
A Special Shoutout:

We’re proud to wish the very best of luck to Alan O’Dowling (Captain), JP Molloy, and Barry O’Rourke, who will represent Team Ireland at the Home Nations Championships next month in Ulster

Go fishing…

All about West Cork and District SAC…

West Cork and District logoThe club was formed on march 19th 2009, in the small picturesque harbour town of  Kinsale County Cork. We’re an inclusive club, this can be seen in our membership profile; from anglers who are new to match fishing all the way up to members of the Irish World Shore Team 2010, two of which are in the club! The club holds circa 10 competitions per year, members are encouraged to practice a catch and release policy in the interests of conservation. Anybody wishing to join our club is always welcome, just use the contact us page and we will give prospective members full details.
Web: http://westcorkanddistrict.webs.com/
Facebook: facebook.com/pages/West-Cork-and-District-SAC/

Sea Angling from Bunmahon to Helvic

Thick lipped mullet, skinny water, fly rod – success

By
Myles Kelly
-
Mullet on fly
Mullet on fly

Dave Norman of Angling Adventures West Cork, found Thick lipped Mullet feeding in skinny water where they didn’t expect to find him…

Not knowing what flies they wanted (If any!) I started with various Shrimp and Apps Worm patterns on the point with two droppers, then one, but partly due to the weed I ended up reducing down to a single Flexi Worm presentation with a short 7ft / 11lb fluorocarbon leader, with my preferred indicator just beyond the midway point.

Flexi Worm
Flexi Worm – a bit worse for wear after a few strong mullet

The takes were quite subtle, I easily hooked a dozen, got broken off a couple of times, had hook pulls  and straightened hooks due to the weed building up on the leader, one just hooked just outside the mouth but three decent Thicks nailed fair and square! I could have carried on for a couple of hours more but decided to leave them in peace, still feeding hard…

Another mullet falls for the Flexi Worm
Another mullet falls for the Flexi Worm

Keys to success were – Recon (Finding them, and just as importantly finding them feeding), Stealth – Keeping ultra-low, Putting the brakes on as much as possible and not allowing the fight to go on too long in the light stringy weed that would build up with every passing second as the fish tried to career off in all directions, Playing the fish hard with a very high rod tip to reduce line in the water for the same reason (The weed) and to summarise, generally adapting to the situation in front of me.

What they like about the Flexiworm is a mystery to me, my personal theory for now is that it’s something red (Which we know they like) it has life like movement, and is slow sinking – so easily sucked up to be tested with that highly sensitive Mullet top lip, by which time an indication of what’s going on has been given to the vigilant fly Angler who has strip struck, set the hook… and it’s all too late !!

Hats off as always to the pioneers of this exciting and relatively new form of saltwater flyfishing!!

Go fishing…

Contact me now to arrange your Guided Trip or Workshop – Mullet, Pollock, Bass, Wrasse,
Fly or Lure, Kayak or Shore, plus Junior Coarse Fishing.
david.aawc@gmail.com

Angling Adventures West Cork

Address Clonakilty Cork Ireland Mobile Phone: +353858492691 Website: anglingadventureswestcork.ie
More information
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