Waterford & District Coarse Angling Club have been busy running events on their managed fishery the Ballyshunnock Reservoir.
Jack Ryan’s First Fish
The Family Angling Day run in association with National Family Recreation week and Waterford Sports Partnership saw young anglers and adults alike enjoy an introduction to various styles of fishing on the reservoir. Plenty of angling fun was followed by a BBQ but the highlight of the day was the launch of WDCAC’s first disability boat.
The winning juniors
The ‘Wheely’ is a purpose made vessel for the safe carriage of wheelchairs with suitable access for a range of mobility vehicles. The club who already cater for the disabled angler with purpose built stands on the reservoir are delighted that they can now offer everyone the opportunity to get out on the water no matter what life has thrown at them!
Mary Whittle about to set sail in the Wheely boat
The reservoir which is fishing well at the moment was also the venue for the first round of WDCAC’s Junior League at the weekend. The league which takes place over three Saturdays will see the juniors fish again this Saturday at Oaklands lake.
It has been a lot wetter and pretty dull for much of the last week. Not great weather for the beach but not bad for anglers. Inland there were some great reports from the various coarse angling festivals and some of the trout lakes. The run of grilse is continuing with a number of fisheries reporting exciting catches. At sea there seems to be no end to the blue shark and there were also some interesting ground and wreck fishing reports…
David Ball fishing on the Clare Dragoon latched onto this 900lb monster and brought it safely to the boat for unhooking. The next day he caught another one!
The big news this week is the back to back capture to two enormous six gill sharks, each estimated to weigh about 900lb. Luke Aston, fishing out of Carrigaholt in County Clare, has become a bit of a specialist charter boat skipper when it comes to these leviathans of the deep. So it will come as no surprise that it was from his boat the two monster fish were caught. What is surprising though is that it was the same angler who caught both fish! Congratulations to David Ball for this incredible and unique Catch of the Week.
Staying with shark fishing the high number of blue sharks off the south west of the country are providing great sport for anglers all along the Cork coast. At Valentia the charter boat anglers have been concentrating on pollack and similar species and have not been disappointed. The bass fishing in the area does not seem to be as productive, however, and the same can be said for most venues from Kerry to Wexford. Tralee Bay Sea Angling Club fished a competition at The Spa on Sunday and though it started well only a handful of species were landed on what was a quiet day at the office for the competitors. Going back afloat, good mixed species fishing was reported from anglers out on Galway Bay. At Newport 40 junior anglers fished the Daniel Peacock Memorial/National Junior Competition recently. Well done to winners Peadar O’Toole, David Loftus, Ruby McDonnell and Darragh O’Grady. At Sligo Bay there was some great fishing reported with tope to 57lb and cod to 13lb bringing smiles to anglers’ faces.
The recent rains have seen some good salmon fishing on many of our spate rivers and helped the run of grilse on other systems. Some nice floods on the Owenea in Donegal saw 11 salmon to 10lb landed, 5 of these taken on Sunday alone. There has been a pretty good run of grilse on the Drowes and about 30 salmon are being reported weekly. One party of Spanish anglers have landed 41 fish on the river in the last two weeks. With a total of 396 fish caught (110 released) the past two weeks were exceptionally productive at the Ballisodare Fishery. The Moy system saw its best week of the season so far with over 650 salmon reported. The best of the fishing was again in the tidal section of the river and around and above Foxford town. At Delphi the fishing has been steady since last week with good numbers of salmon entering the system and nineteen fish landed. The broken weather has lifted water levels significantly at Costello and Fermoyle and salmon are moving in on most tides. Across Kerry the grilse run is well underway and good sea trout fishing is also being reported particularly in the Owenmore Fishery and on the Kerry Blackwater. Salmon fishing on the Laune has continued to be quiet but there are good catches of fish being taken on the Killarney Lakes and up to 44 grilse were reported on the Flesk in recent days. Lough Currane did not fish well on those days it was too calm but as there were a few days when conditions were more suitable there were over 20 good sea trout and a similar number of grilse reported. The grilse run is also continuing to provide sport on the Bandon with fly being the best method. The Munster Blackwater has also continued to enjoy a decent run of grilse. Finally, although the salmon fishing has been slow on the Slaney since May, the sea trout fishing is currently pretty good.
After a slow start, the Peter fishing picked up considerably on Lough Arrow over the past week. The weather conditions on Lough Conn have not been much to write home about for much of last week but many anglers who ventured out on the lake were rewarded with some excellent angling. Lough Corrib has still a lot to offer with mixed weather conditions. Hatches of mayfly, sedges and Caenis are happening when conditions are favourable. Some good fishing reports also came in from Lough Mask where hatches of sedge and Caenis kept the trout looking up, but there was also some good Daphnia fishing. Lough Sheelin is becoming more and more a night time affair as the sedge fishing there improves.
The summer months see the coarse angling festival season pick up a few gears and there were some great reports for venues from Cork to Cavan. Although the fishing was described as tough at the Ballybay 2 day festival, winner Johnny Keith managed 44.730kg to take the win with a comfortable 11kg lead over Nick Seddon. The Muckno Mania Angling Festival is being fished this week and some great weights to 18kg were recorded on Day 3. More modest weights were made up at Lough Sillan where the Naas and District Anglers fished their Summer League. Recreational anglers in Cavan and Longford are reporting good fishing for bream and tench. Congratulations go to Brendan Collins who is the 2015 Waterways Ireland Open Champion after a fine display of dace fishing on the River Barrow at St. Mullins. More big bags were reported from Inniscarra where Trev Platt had 38.900kg in the 2 Day Open fished there. Junior anglers at Oaklands netted up to 140lb in the final of the Junior League. No doubt some of these anglers will be fishing for Team Ireland in the future.
Summer always sees a lull in piking and we only have a couple of reports this week from Mayo and the Cavan/Monaghan area where some entertaining fishing was enjoyed by visiting anglers.
As we go to post there is a STATUS YELLOW weather warning for Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Sligo and Clare. West to southwest winds of mean speeds 45 to 65km/h with gusts of 90 to 110km/h are forecast for western coastal counties overnight and Friday morning and the northwest during Friday afternoon and evening. There will be further heavy downpours at times also. There is also a SMALL CRAFT WARNING for tonight and tomorrow on all Irish Coastal Waters. It will continue wet, windy and cool for the weekend. Put away the bikinis and get out the fishing gear.
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 [email protected].
The 10th anniversary of the Daniel Peacock Memorial/National Junior Competition was fished on Sunday 28th June and hosted by Newport SAC. Over 40 junior anglers, all aged between 8 and 18 years of age, took part in this year’s event. The day began with a serving of freshly cooked sausages on the quayside and a hot cup of tea for the parents before all anglers took to the 5 boats and headed out to sea. Both the weather and the availability of fish on the day could have been a little kinder to all but, never the less, almost all anglers caught fish and everyone enjoyed the day. All junior anglers were helped throughout the day by the skippers & crew on each boat. Members of the Newport SAC committee were also on board each boat to teach and assist any angler who needed help.
A proud Darragh O’Grady with a fine thornback ray
The prize presentation was held in Hotel Newport, who also provided both hot food and sandwiches for all in attendance. As always, a great display of prizes were on offer, thanks to a combination of the Peacock Family’s generosity, the clubs hard working trophy officers and our generous sponsors, (particularly Coastal Zone Services who kindly sponsored a rucksack and T-shirt for every participant this year). The club wishes to thank each and every one of our sponsors, the skippers, stewards, committee and anyone who generally helped to make the day so special for the juniors in whatever way they could – (a full list of our fantastic sponsors is displayed below and on our website www.newportseaanglingclub.com).
A young sea angler in action
Our thanks also to all skippers who gave a reduced rate on the day for their boat hire, to the parents who helped out and the hotel and staff for providing the venue for the presentation. The prizes were presented by Mathew Peacock, Richard & Sue Steer (representing the Peacock family), Minister Michael Ring and Mary Sugrue of Coastal Zone Services. Every one of the juniors started and finished the day with smiles on their faces and no one went home empty handed, as every single entrant received a Newport SAC / Coastal Zone Services rucksack, a T-shirt, a plaque and an Inland Fisheries Ireland novelty pack in recognition of their participation.
The Winning Team – Damien Chambers, Ryan Chambers & Darragh O’Grady pictured with Minister Ring
The competition results were as follows:
Daniel Peacock Memorial/National Junior Competition Overall Winner – Calum Kennedy with a total of 120 points.
8 years to 13 years
8 years to 13 years winner: Peadar O’Toole
Runner up: Matthew Moran
3rd place: Ryan Chambers
4th place to 8th as follows: Neill Kirby, Matthew Hogan (Novice), Clodagh Moran, Darragh O’Grady (Novice), Kevin Cooney
14 years to 18 years
14 years to 18 years winner: David Loftus
Runner up: Damien Chambers
3rd place: Jessica Loftus
4th place to 8th as follows: Eoin Kirby, Christopher Nevin, Andrew Fearson, David O’Donnell, Rachel Moran
Novice Girl
1st place – Ruby McDonnell
Novice Boy
1st place – Darragh O’Grady
2nd place – Peter O’Donnell
3rd Place – Jack O’Grady
Teams
Teams section A:1st place – Damien Chambers, Ryan Chambers, Darragh O’Grady
Teams section F:2nd place – Calum Kennedy, Jessica Loftus, Niall McLoughlin
Teams section D:3rd place –Patrick Salmon, Eoin Kirby, Peadar O’Toole
10th Anniversary – Special Category
1st Place – Colin Coyne
Largest Ray:
David O’Donnell
Largest Bulhuss:
Damien Chambers
Individual Boat Winners:
Finnaun – Calum Kennedy, Barracuda – Matthew Moran, White Water – Damien Chambers, Inishoo – Clodagh Moran, The Restorick – Rachel Moran & Diarmuid Rowan
Skippers Prize:
Kevin Groden who skippered the Finnaun on the day
Newport SAC
Newport SAC holds regular shore angling outings for any juniors interested in learning how to beach cast. Rods will be supplied by the club for any new members on the day and full training will be provided. Anyone can participate so if you are interested, please contact Shane on +353 (0)86 2304436 for further details.
The 49th Newport SAC Festival competition will take place over the August Bank Holiday weekend, starting on Saturday the 1st of August & Sunday the 2nd of August (boat). This competition is open to all and there is also a novice section for those who have never fished before. Rods can be supplied if necessary and bait will be available on the boat. Newport SAC is taking bookings but places are limited so please contact Sue on +353 (0)86 3862568 for entries and the chance to win the Tom Moran Memorial Cup and dinner for two in Newport House Hotel. Check in on the day at 9.30am and the prize presentation will take place in Hotel Newport.
After a slow start, the Peter fishing picked up considerably on Lough Arrow over the past week. A lot of boats are out and anglers enjoying great sport mainly late in the evening and into the night.
Amongst the successful anglers were Francie White with 8 trout for the week averaging 2 lbs. and Thomas Walsh who caught 3 fish, heaviest 3 lbs. Gerry Martin also did well with 2 trout around the two pound mark. Philp Candon had two fish at 2 lbs. each, while Jimmy Frazer boated one at 2.25 lbs.
Decland Cooke reports that high summer on Lough Conn was not evidenced by the weather conditions for much of last week but many anglers who ventured out on the lake were rewarded with some excellent angling. Wind and rain prevailed, particularly during the latter part of the week but the trout continued to take flies freely at the lake surface.
Thomas Waldron from Ballina fished at Massbrook with various wetflies and was rewarded with some fine trout up to 2 lbs. Ian Wise and Johnny Warren from Crossmolina had good fishing in the relative shelter of Bog Bay and averaged 3 trout each over three fishing evenings. Their best fish was 2 lbs. and almost all were caught on dry olives.
Brian Clayton and his wife Mel had 7 trout on dry mayflies, tied on size 12 long shank hooks. Best fish 1.5 lbs. and all were returned. Barry Seagrave had 4 trout over 12″ best 2 lbs. on Royal and Grey Wulffs. Gary and John Binley from Foxford caught 17 trout over three trips all of those counted were over 13″ and were mainly caught on dry olives. Hot-spots were mainly on south Conn particularly around Coleman Shallows. Peter Forde from Belfast had 4 trout averaging 1.5 lbs. on traditional wets, while Pavel Wardsoki from Poland boated 2 good trout in Tolan’s Bay
There were two evenings where winds dropped and warm humid weather conditions prevailed. Steven Browne from Cloghans took full advantage of these conditions and had 6 fine trout to 2 lbs. on dry sedges over the two evenings. If we get more of this balmy weather in the coming week, expect more reports of good evening fishing for trout on dry flies.
With a total of 396 fish caught (110 released) the past two weeks were exceptionally productive at the Ballisodare Fishery.
On the river section, both fly and worm proved effective, while at the Falls all methods (worm, fly and prawn) caught fish. The Average size of fish was around the 5 pound mark, with quite a few bigger salmon on the scene.
Some good reports came in from Paul Hamilton who had two salmon on fly at the Falls, one of which was 8 lbs. Donagh McDonnell had two fish weighing 8 lbs. and 5 lbs. respectively, both on the worm. Kevin Flynn had two on the fly, biggest at 8 lbs., while Dermot Glennon enjoyed a good day on the prawn catching two nice fish weighing 8.5 lbs. and 7 lbs. releasing one. There were many more reports from anglers catching two or more fish a day.
A group of four French anglers enjoyed four exceptional days of salmon fishing with approx. 30 fish landed and many more lost. Most of their fish were in the 4 to 6 lbs. range with a few 7 pounders also.
Billy Downes of the Laune Salmon and Trout Anglers’ Associationreports that as of Thursday 14th July the water levels on the Laune are very favourable, and have been for the last number of days. Unfortunately anglers are not meeting fish in the Laune waters. Despite talking 20 anglers on the river over the last four days there is not even a report of fish seen, yet the Flesk has had 44 fish in recent days, according to Billy. There are further reports that anglers on the Killarney Lakes also enjoyed good catches last week.
Permits for Laune Anglers waters from now to the end of July only €25 per day.
Skipper John Fleming of the Blue Shark Angling Galway was in touch to say that following boat repairs, the Brazen Hussy is back at full throttle and taking bookings for charter trips.
Cuckoo Wrasse
Over the last week they have enjoyed good mixed species fishing, including cod, pollack, ling, launce, grey gurnard, octopus cuckoo wrasse and mackerel finally showing in abundance.
John is planning a few shark trips over the next couple of weeks given suitable weather conditions, and can be contacted at 087 7571320.
To make a booking…
John Fleming
Brazen Hussy 2,
Blue Shark Angling Galway, Phone John Fleming : +353 (0)87 7571320 Facebook:
Terry Gallagher reports that the broken weather has lifted water levels significantly, and salmon are moving in on most tides. Peter McDonagh kick started July in style with 3 grilse taken on Beat 1 – best 5lbs. First time visitor to Casla, Frank Steppenbeck, caught his first ever salmon fishing Beat 1 and followed it up with his 2nd later in the day! The fish were 5lbs and 4lbs 8oz, making for a very happy angler! Micheal Dillon was on the beat the next day and landed another fresh grilse of 5lbs. Another newcomer, Brendan Burke was very pleased with the 4lbs 4oz grilse and 6 sea trout he caught on the river. Brendan remarked that if he landed all the sea trout he hooked/rose then the figure would have been closer to 15. Regular visitor, Pat Farrelly, triumphed yet again during his day on the river when he landed 3 grilse, 7lbs, 6lbs and 3lbs 8oz. Geoffrey Fitzjohn also returned to the middle river beats and caught a grilse of 5lbs in the Round Pool. The fish he noted was in excellent condition, a classic stocky Casla grilse.
Neil Spellacy landed 3 grilse on Friday, including a fish of 5lbs 12oz and two fish of 4lbs (2 released). Sean Kelly also had 3 the following day, including fish of 5lbs, 4lbs & 3lbs (all taken on the ubiquitous Black Shrimp!). All were bars of silver fresh in off the tide. Since then water levels have been kept up well with more rain and fishing prospects are very good for the coming week.
Contact Terry Gallagher at [email protected] or on 087 2399988 to book fishing.
Ronan Cusack reports that fishing on Mask has varied over the last week due to the ever-changing weather conditions.
The first good report of daphnia fishing came from Ballinrobe angler Kevin Beattie this week. Kevin had 7 fish over the size limit, plus a few undersize across the middle of the lake on Sunday (best fish 1.5lbs, all returned). Conditions on the day were perfect, with grey skies and a nice breeze. David Connors, also from Ballinrobe has put in a few early mornings on Caenis over the past week or two and enjoyed some great sport (best fish to date 2.5lbs). David reported seeing some unbelievable rises of fish, but typical of trout feeding on Caenis, difficult to sneak up on when you’re on your own. Richie Cameron has been chipping away on the dries and picking up fish most days he’s out. Noel O’Toole from Galway had a cracking fish of 5.5lbs on dries, at the mouth of Caher Bay on Sunday last.
Fly hatches over the past week have been good, with plenty of Caenis on the calm mornings and reasonable hatches of sedge to keep them interested during the day.
The forecast for the coming week is again for broken weather, so if you’re out, bring the dries and the deep is defiantly worth a look.
