Frank Maunsell from the Owenmore Fishery reports that the rain is just right and the fishing is great…
The last few days on the river have been terrific. We have had just the right amount of rain falling every second day which has kept the river in perfect fishing order. We have had south westerly winds which is the best wind on the fishery and we have had loads of fish. Every man on the river has had fish and even though the winds were quite strong which made fishing very difficult on the lakes one of our regulars had 10 trout on the lake yesterday weighing up to 2 1.2 lbs. An 85 yr old man walked across the Bog into Finnertys lake and had a most enjoyable day.
The grilse have arrived. We saw a fair share of them entering the river and one of our regulars had two on Friday 5 lbs and 7 lbs. The weather is looking good (rain) for the foreseeable future.
There are approximately five miles of fly fishing along the main part of the Owenmore River in Kerry, with 33 named pools and an additional 180 acres of lake fishing in this Kerry beauty spot. The salmon, grilse and sea trout begin to run in April. The runs continue through spring and summer into early October.
The first documented reference to the Galway Fishery is found in the Pipe Rolls, a collection of financial records maintained by the British Treasury. The Rolls of 1283 AD refer to the fishery at the time being part of the property of Walter De Burgo. The fishery passed through several ownerships until 1521 when Henry VIII granted a licence to Janet and Anthony Lynch to have three nets upon the river of Galway between the bridge and the sea and to build one water mill upon the river wherever they thought proper…
The Galway Advertiser, 09/07/15. Read the full article ‘The Galway Fishery‘.
Some years back, a fishing guide acquaintance of mine led pro golfers Tiger Woods and Mark O’Meara out on Oregon’s Deschutes River for a day of fly-fishing for steelhead. As my friend recounted this special day, it struck me that many golfers I know fly-fish — and vice versa. Perhaps it’s the outdoor setting, pitting man against obstacles (be they finicky trout or gaping bunkers). Perhaps it’s the similitude of the swinging/casting motion, and the fact that the ball and the fly go farther when you move smoothly… Washington Post, 09/07/15. Read the full article ‘Fly-fishing and golf in County Mayo: You’re in for good craic‘.
A father of four caught with three sea bass — one more than was allowed — while fishing on Derrynane Bay, is to have his fishing rod and gear confiscated. The man, who is unemployed, must also pay costs of €250 as well as a €150 fine. Last month Cahersiveen District Court was told how Stephen Bradshaw, aged 49, of Seaview, Sneem, Co Kerry, was summonsed by Inland Fisheries Ireland… Irish Examiner, 10/07/15. Read the full article ‘All about that bass: Man’s fishing rod confiscated‘.
The weekend saw quite a bit of rain and the weather has been blustery enough since the last Irish Angling Update. The floods brought on improved runs of salmon which have continued into this week. There were some good pike fishing reports recently and coarse anglers also enjoyed the duller weather. Shark fishing in Cork continues to dominate the sea angling reports but there were some good ground fishing reports too…
UK angler Tony Ling wins Catch of the Week with a fantastic 5lbs 10z trout taken on a Caenis pattern on Lough Corrib
On the Drowes a mixture of grilse of 3 to 4lbs and some larger fish were running last week despite the low water, quickly passing through to Lough Melvin. Salmon angling on the Moy System improved further with over 500 fish reported for the week. The best of the fishing was confined to the tidal section of the river and the reaches upstream from Foxford town. Despite changing weather conditions, anglers caught 27 salmon (11 released) over the past two weeks on Carrowmore Lake. Along with the grilse there are very good numbers of sea trout entering the system providing extremely enjoyable fishing. Reports from Connemara are sparse, as low water levels over the last week were superseded by heavy rain on Tuesday, following which rivers have been in flood. As the floods clear salmon and sea trout are starting to move in better numbers. There were about 20 fish at Delphi in the last week, most of these were caught over the weekend. There was a great run of sea trout on the Owenmore in Kerry and over 30 fish were caught over the weekend. Billy Downes reports that there was beautiful water on the Laune but very few fish to be seen and fewer still willing to take a fly. On Lough Currane a dozen salmon and at least 10 sea trout to 7lb 8oz were reported. The Ilen River saw 15 salmon landed and anglers are also enjoying good sea trout fishing, while on the Coomhola 6 salmon to 12lb were reported. Big fish also featured in the Bandon reports where amongst the grilse, fresh fish to 15.75lb were taken by anglers. The run of grilse continues on the Munster Blackwater and the odd bigger fish to 12lb has also been taken. The grilse are not yet in the Suir in big numbers but the end of last week saw a lovely fresh salmon estimated at 15lb caught and released by junior angler James Byrne. Water conditions are now low and clear in the River Boyne and some salmon have been caught recently on the lower stretches. The latest fish taken was caught on Wednesday morning at Oldbridge and weighed in at 15lbs. Sea trout fishing has been reported as very good on the lower reaches over the last couple of weeks and there are currently lots of small fish in the river.
The Irish Ladies Fly-Fishing Association report that 11 ladies fished their 2nd event of the year at Bleach Lough. The winner was Julie Gerry with 10 fish, hot on her heels was Julie McGeever with 9 fish. Declan Gibbons reports that fishing has been relatively quiet on Corrib, however there is some spectacular sport still to be had as anglers continue to connect with wild trout to over 5lb on tiny Caenis imitations. Lough Sheelin is quiet also, as anglers tend to concentrate their efforts there on the Mayfly. Good hatches of Apply Green Midge, Buzzers and Caenis continue during the day and its not just the sedge fishing in the evening that produces fish.
Kayak anglers on Galway Bay report no shortage of pollack to 4 and 5lb but mackerel were said to in short supply last week. The reports of good shark fishing off the Cork coast continued last week. Charter boats in Kinsale, Courtmacsherry and Union Hall all report good catches of blue sharks. Wreck fishing is also reported as being good. Small boat angling is producing some exciting cod fishing for fly anglers with Richie Ryan, and anglers fishing with the guide are also getting some bass from the shore. Shore anglers in Ballina, Co. Mayo report good mullet fishing in the tidal reaches of the Moy with specimen fish being landed on dough. Nearby on Killala Bay anglers charter boat fishing had over 14 species in a session with 4 kinds ray being landed.
French pike guide Pierre Monjarret has had 75 pike over 1m to his boat since February. Last week on his last session until September, 3 pike of 106cm, 104cm and 103cm were landed . Some good summer piking was reported on Lough Allua where pike to 22lb were taken on deadbait. A mix of deadbaits and lures saw pike to 94cm caught by French tourist anglers in the Foxford area of Mayo.
Good tench fishing was reported from some East Clare venues last week and on Lough Derg at Scarriff an English angler had over 100lb of bream. The coarse angling club FishManiak won their inter club challenge fished on Lough Sillan where Piotr Horbiniul had the best weight at 14.63kg. Good tench and bream are reported from a number of Cavan venues where anglers are making up weights of 20-30lbs a day. Big bags contniue to be caught at Oaklands where the top three anglers in the Dunbrody Festival had 193lb between them. Junion and novice angler progammes being run at Carrickmacross, Naas and Lough Muckno are going well. These are run in a “summer camp” format and are a great opportunity for young anglers to build their skills, make new friends and, of course, catch fish.
In other news Operation Safe Water took place in Howth Harbour over the weekend. The operation involved members from An Garda Siochana, the Irish Coast Guard and the Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI); the objective of the operation is to perform a safety review with water users visiting Howth Harbour in north County Dublin. John McKenna, Howth RNLI Coastal Safety Officer commented, ‘A lifejacket is useless if you don’t wear it, but it’s also important to maintain it properly. Three simple steps could help to save your life – check that the gas canister is in good condition and screwed in properly, the firing head is within its expiry date and that a crotch strap is attached securely.’
As we go to post there is a Small Craft Warning is effect – Southerly winds will occasionally reach force 6 tonight on coasts from Valentia to Erris Head to Malin Head. Tomorrow will be dry and warm, however, rain will soon become persistent in western counties in the morning. The rain will spread east to affect other areas later but will become light and intermittent during the evening. Winds will be light to moderate, southerly later veering southwesterly. Highest temperatures 16 to 21C. Overall, the outlook is for the weather to remain changeable and unsettled over the weekend and well into next week. Temperatures mostly a little below normal.
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].
Development of anglers both Junior and Senior has always been at the heart of the Naas Club. We have seen many new anglers join us and are now competent anglers. Many people returning to fishing are now fishing the match scenes in Ireland with a few pointers in the right direction. We are proud to have introduced many new anglers to our sport and it’s great to see them progressing year after year.
Starting on Thursday 9th of July for 6 weeks we will be having our club coaching sessions. 6.30 till dusk
These will be held on various venues to suit the type of fishing being demonstrated on that evening. Coaching will be done by Peter Walsh ( level 2 first for sport coach) On each evening Peter will be appointing an assistant who is prolific in that field of angling. Our level 1 coaches will also be there depending on availability.
2 weeks on feeder fishing. all aspects from casting to rigs to set up etc etc and anything anyone requires help on.
1 week on canal fishing . Including a tutorial on hemp fishing. hemp can be a deadly summer bait on clear canals which we have plenty of around here.
1 week on pole fishing on open waters. rigs, methods, set up etc.
2 weeks are currently left open to let anglers decide what they require help on. we will arrange these as we go.
All levels of anglers welcome including absolute beginners.
Juniors and Seniors welcome. All equipment available to beginners and juniors if required. NEW MEMBERS ALWAYS WELCOME.
Juniors FREE. Adults optional donation (5er suggested) A donation box will be available at the venue to cover travel costs of the coach.
For the last four weeks IADA Coaches Peter Walsh, Rocky Farrelly, and Neil Keane, have ran coaching session on the wonderful Lough Muckno.
Over 20 aspiring young anglers from the local schools attended the sessions, and many attended every week such was the popularity of the program. The young anglers learned Feeder fishing and Pole fishing techniques and really had a great time.
There is no doubt several stars in the making and we look forward to having all the anglers back at more sessions later in the year. Paul Mcloughlin Irish Angling Development Alliance
085 2100880
This Young Pole Angler St Up Himself , Plummed the Depth, Baited Up and Caught Fish. He Shipped his Pole like a Seasoned Match Angler.
Today saw the final day of the fourth Carrickmacross Coarse Angling and Junior Development Clubs annual fishing summer camp. This event has been held at the Brothers Lake in Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan over the last four days. Today, Thursday 9th July saw the young enthusiasts turning up to a sun soaked Brothers Lake which differed greatly from the dreary Monday morning on the first day of the event. Those attending had been introduced to coarse and pike fishing by the clubs coaches and members of the club and had made great progress over the four days of the camp.
Some of the Participants at the Final Day of the Carrickmacross Coarse Angling and Youth Development Angling Summer Camp Today at the Brothers Lake in Carrickmacross
The mornings session ran from 9.30am to 12.30pm and at this stage the attendees were well familiar with the various coarse fishing techniques and were on the water catching fish much earlier than the other days. It was great to hear that anglers as young as seven had all picked up the lingo with comments like “oh he’s in again dad” echoing between the stands. There were lots of fish caught again today by the youngsters, all under the watchful eye of their coaches. Roach were the dominant species taken today but they were more than enough to keep these young anglers interested and entertained. At the end of the event all of the participants were presented with a gold medal by the team leaders and they were all congratulated by Tom Cogan and the clubs coaching team.
Peadar O’Brien Explains the Setting Up of the Seat Box and PoleThis Young Angler gets Hands on Experience in Unwinding a Pole Rig
The Carrickmacross Coarse Angling and Junior Development Club summer camp has been running for four years and has catered for over 80 novice anglers and improvers. The clubs youth development programme has already produced great results with some of the clubs top class junior anglers having already made their mark on a very competitive match scene. Some of the top clubs top juniors have also out-fished some of the seniors on a number of occasions. These young anglers were also on hand over the last few days to give back to the club and to offer help and advice to the new recruits and to help their club colleagues along.
A Junior Angler Who Has Come Through the System Helps Two More Youngsters at Today’s Event
It must be said that there is a great pool of talent in the club and they will surely be a force to be reckoned with in the coming years. There is no doubt that a number of these anglers may be set to do very well on both the national and international scenes.
This Young Pole Angler Set Up Himself, Plummed the Depth, Baited Up and Caught Fish. He Shipped his Pole like a Seasoned Match Angler.
One thing is certain a great time was had by all again this year at this fantastic event!
The Carrickmacross Coarse Angling and Youth Development Coaching Team Have Done a Fantastic Job
Andy Moore & Gael Impiazzi, UK, with two of their many Mullet from the tidal part of the Moy
High spring tides on Sunday last brought big shoals of grey mullet up high into the tidal part of the River Moy. UK visitors, Gael Impiazzi and Andy Moore, made the most of this and landed over a dozen of these hard fighters on light tackle using bread dough as bait.
The pair had several specimen mullet up to 7 lbs.
Andy Moore & Gael Impiazzi, UK, with two of their many Mullet from the tidal part of the Moy
Donal Kennedy reported on another cracking day’s fishing in Killala Bay. On July 1st, a party of anglers from Dublin set out to fish Killala Bay in which could only be described as glorious conditions. Everything was right about the weather: calm, soft drift, some sunshine with rain to follow later on in the day.
A good Thornback Ray
The skipper headed far out to the head of the bay to a spot where there was a strip of sand and hard ground all around it. It was well worth the try, with 5 varieties of ray being caught: painted ray, thornback ray, spotted ray, blonde ray and cuckoo ray! The best of the ray was well into double figures and all 25 were put back alive. Along with the ray, an array of other species was caught including plaice, dab, tub gurnard, pouting, grey gurnard and dogfish.
Painted Ray from Killala Bay
As the drift passed over harder ground it wasn’t long before the anglers met some fine pollack, ling and cod. Mackerel were also in good supply and at the end of the day some 14 varieties were caught.
To book a day’s fishing in Killala Bay contact Donal Kennedy on +353 (0)0868174509 or visit www.dkennedyangling.ie.
