Home Blog Page 137

Irish Angling Update 27 February 2025

By
IFI Staff
-

Wind and rain – the early part of the week was dominated by this familiar theme, with a gale on Sunday ruining many people’s fishing plans. The weather has started to settle over the last couple of days, however, with high pressure building towards the weekend and a few calmer days in store.

The inclement weather has meant few angling reports, with many rivers unfishable and club events cancelled. Water temperatures on many lakes are still unseasonably cold too, making for difficult conditions there. Spring is on the way, however, and hopefully the end of meteorological winter tomorrow sees an improvement in temperatures and weather for everyone. There’s a noticeable stretch in the evenings too, with the clock change just a  few weeks away giving us long evenings, and more fishing opportunities to look forward to…

Pike angling usually dominates the angling scene at this time of year. Leinster Pike Angling Club held their first competition of the year at the weekend, and fishing was excellent, with several 50lbs+ bags recorded. Rodney Gaynor was the top rod on the day, as he landed 21 fish for a combined weight of 68.5 lbs.

Limerick Pike Anglers also held a competition at the weekend, with Tommy Williams landing over 31lbs of pike to take the win ahead of Sam Brown.

To coarse fishing, and the Erne Anglers had a great turnout of 37 anglers on a windy day and a rising River Erne for the latest leg of their winter league. Tony Evans was top rod on the day with 10.400kgs including some nice bream.

CM Lakelands Feeder club fished a sheltered Rockfield Lake on Sunday, keeping the heavy wind at their backs. Rimantas Kondrackas continued his fine form of late with a good performance catching 40 fish which included 2 bream and 15 small skimmers for a good weight of 10.000kg to win the match.

In Munster, Kevin Leahy took a narrow win in the Munster Coarse anglers winter league, taking the final leg to fend off the challenge of Richard and Ian to pip them to top spot. Despite the conditions, bites were plenty, with Kevin bagging 11lbs 6oz to win it.

On the sea angling scene, it takes a lot to stop the Killybegs Mariners from getting out and wetting a line, and weather was no obstacle last weekend. The lads had some great catches of a few different species, including  bass, turbot, flounder, trout, coalfish and whiting, plenty indeed to keep the rod tips bouncing.

Ballybrack SAC fished a club comp at Dodds Rock beach, where junior anglers put the seniors under serious pressure. New junior member Jessie Murphy took a fine haul of 11 fish to win the junior section, and the senior members had to pull a few tricks out of the bag to do better. Eric Gasparro won Zone B, a late dogfish boosting his score, but it was Stephen O’Reilly in Zone A with 14 fish who took the overall honours.

Down in Kerry, a certain JP Molloy ditched the kids and took his better half on a “romantic” trip to Dingle, where he proceeded to win the Tralee Bay SAC competition on Ventry beach, a venue he knows only too well. Weed was an issue on the night, but the Tralee Bay crew stuck at it. There were 214 fish caught over the course of the evening which included dogs, coalies, conger, pouting, flounder and whiting. JP won with an impressive 23 fish, Martin McGowan picked up 2nd place 18 fish and Fiachra Cronin took 3rd place with 18 fish.

Game angling has suffered with the weather, and there were no salmon reported from a high and very windy Lough Currane.

Some hardy angers were out on Munster rivers before the deluge came on Sunday, including Lukasz Ryz who had some nice trout. Many rivers will open this weekend, and the more settled conditions should see plenty more anglers out and about.

Elsewhere, Sean Dempsey fished his socks off at Ardaire Springs fishery to retain the TAFI Senior Bank Trophy, landing 14 trout to finish clear of the field again.

And now the weather

The forecast is much nicer than of late, with some more settled weather and high pressure building for the weekend. Friday will start cool after a frosty night in many parts, a dry day with plenty of sunshine but some cloud building later on. Highest temps of 7-10C in mostly light to moderate winds, fresher on NW coasts.

Rain early Saturday will clear southeastwards, followed by drier and brighter weather. Highest temperatures of 8 to 11C in with light to moderate southerly winds, turning northwesterly after the rain. Sunday and Monday look fairly settled also, mainly dry and bright but turning cloudier on Monday, highest temps of 9-13C in light to moderate southwesterly winds.

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

IFI Staff
Catch, Photo, Release

If you have an angling story to share with the Irish Angling Update, please send it to [email protected].

All the angling news

Pike Fishing Reports

Coarse Angling Reports

Sea Angling Reports

Trout Fishing Reports

Salmon Fishing Reports

 

Ballybrack SAC Juniors impress at Master Angler Comp

By
Paul O'Reilly
-

This report in from the IFSA affiliated Ballybrack Sea Angling Club:

Ballybrack SAC’s first Master Angler Competition for 2025 saw 17 anglers line the shores of Dodds Rock in Courtown yesterday.

A 3pm start saw baits hurled into a lumpy sea, tailored by the light southerly winds present. Things looked promising from the get-go, however, it was noticed by many how much the venue has changed after recent weather events. The majority of the bank has been significantly pushed out and the shelf of shingle and stone along the beach has dissipated into the gully for the most part. A few anglers managed some nice flats early on which made things interesting.

The 4 junior anglers that turned out didn’t waste much time putting the pressure on the seniors. Sean Keane with a nice 26cm flounder would take a share of the biggest flat fish pool, while Kalim Byrne scratched one out to beat his dad on the next peg and earn his place on the leaderboard. Paul Crimmons on his debut was rewarded well for his huge effort, also doing very well in his zone with some whiting and a flounder. The angler of the day had to go to new Junior member Jessie Murphy who fished his socks off and had a fine haul of 11 fish on a tough day. A well-deserved winner in the juniors. Great fishing Jessie!

Zone A started off slow with anglers struggling to find the fish in daylight. However a few fish came early for some, Peter Taite at the end of zone A managed a couple early on, one of which saw him take a share of longest flatfish Pool. Stephen O’Reilly and John Hughes also finding fish. With light fading a few more fish started to feed in places. Paul Tyndall made a burst for top spot catching well at distance. Claiming 2nd place, he just fell short of Stephen O’Reilly who fished a great match and won the beach with 14 fish. Well done Stephen. John Keane who struggled early on managed to come back into it and take 3rd place.

Zone B started off at a similar pace. Joe Cannon, Darragh Mulligan and Eric Gasparro all on the scoreboard early. The fish didn’t turn up in numbers coming into darkness, however Eric Gasparro managed pick them off and find a few, including a high scoring dogfish in his tally to take 1st Place. A close 2nd went to Joe Cannon who seems to always find fish on a tough day. Cian Corcoran claimed 3rd place with a few very well earned whiting.

A very enjoyable first competition of the year, but the highlight for most was seeing the junior anglers fish so well.

Zone A:

  • 1st Stephen O’Reilly
  • 2nd Paul Tyndall
  • 3rd John Keane

Zone B:

  • 1st Eric Gasparro
  • 2nd Joe Cannon
  • 3rd Cian Corcoran

Longest Round:

  • Eric Gasparro 28cm Whiting

Longest Flat:

  • Sean Keane and Peter Taite 26cm Flounder

East Coast Sea Angling – Wicklow to Blackwater

Erne Anglers Winter League – Round 8

By
Paul O'Reilly
-

Thirty seven anglers turned out for the eighth round of the Erne Anglers Winter League in windy conditions on a rising River Erne.

The match fished well on some sections with some quality fish making an appearance. Best section on the day was Bellanaleck Marina with three of the top four coming from there.

Winner of match 8 was Tony Evans peg 20 on Derrychara winning the £190 first prize with 10.400Kgs a catch that included three bream.

Runner Up was Eddie G on peg 2 at Bellanaleck Marina with 9.125Kgs, Johnny McKinley was third on peg 6 with 8.450Kgs.

Other Section winners were Aidy Cairns on Bellanaleck Middle, Jeff Margretts on Bellanaleck low, Anthony Sparrow on Ring, Colin Martin on Schools and John Potters on Portora.

Next match will be on March 9th.

JP Molloy wins Tralee Bay SAC comp at Ventry

By
Myles Kelly
-
Ventry

Tralee Bay Sea Angling Club reports on their second competition of 2025 fished at Ventry on Sunday…

Our second master angler competition of the year was held in Ventry last night Saturday 22nd of February 6 pm to 10pm. Thirty anglers attended the well anticipated competition.

Lines In was at 6 pm and it wasn’t long before the first couple of dogs made an appearance along the beach. Martin McGowan and Figgs were off the mark on the high pegs while Shane McMahon was off the mark on the lower pegs. Connie, Caiden, Brahim were also off the mark early with dogs and coalies coming in off the reef.

dogs in a bucket
Dogfish ready to measured and released

As the match progressed the weed in the water was making the fishing very difficult for some anglers, with that the winds picked up making the night a bit of a nightmare. But the determination of the anglers was winning, picking off dogs, pouting, conger and coalies. Wilbert Sison picked up a beauty of a flounder in the cover of darkness.

Wilbert's flounder
Wilbert’s flounder

As lines came in at@ 10pm numbers on cards were being thrown around but it was a very tight match in the end. There were 214 fish were caught over the course of the evening which included dogs, coalies, conger, pouting, flounder and whiting. JP Molloy won with an impressive 23 fish, Martin McGowan picked up 2nd place 18 fish and Figgs took 3rd place with 18 fish.

30 anglers fished with penn points available.

Official results

JUNIOR

3rd : Bobby Fitzpatrick 2 fish 100 points
2nd : Chris Sanbak 3 fish 131 points
1st : Caiden Moriarty 4 fish 200 points

SENIOR

3rd : Fiachra Cronin 18 fish 881 points
2nd : Martin McGowan 18 fish 900 points
1st : JP Molloy 23 fish 1072 points

BEST FLAT : Wilbert Sison 35cm flounder
BEST ROUND : Shane McMahon 50cm conger

Thanks to everyone that fished in testing conditions it was a great turn out.
On to the next

Tralee Bay Sea Angling Club
Web: www.traleebaysac.org

Join Tralee Bay Sea Angling Club

Tralee Bay SAC  is a thriving community of enthusiastic anglers – young and old, experienced and newcomers – with new members joining all of the time. We have a busy schedule of shore and boat competitions and lots of social events planned throughout the year. Tralee Bay is a family friendly, welcoming club with a reputation for promoting angling and encouraging newcomers to the sport.

Joining could not be easier – simply get in touch with us via our Contact us page leave your address and we will send you out an application form. Please also let us have your email address – especially if you have any queries for us. We are especially eager to hear from junior anglers who want to take advantage of club membership. For more information on joining see here – Joining Tralee Bay Sea Angling Club.

Rockfield the venue for latest CM Lakelands match

By
Paul O'Reilly
-

This report from the CM Lakelands Feeder Fishing Club on their recent match:

The Club had a match today on Rockfield lake on Sunday. The weather wasn’t too bad on the lake, as it was sheltered well enough from the wind and rain, ideal for a feeder match.

Rimantas Kondrackas continued his fine form of late with a good performance catching 40 fish which included 2 bream and 15 small skimmers for a good weight of 10.000kg to win the match.

In 2nd overall was that man again Piotr Horbiński with a weight of 3.340kg of small roach and odd small skimmers.

Finishing 3rd Overall was club treasurer Paul Leese who had a weight of just under 3kg of small roach, and odd small skimmer.

Section winners were Niall McKitterick (2.490kg) and a special mention to our new club member  Yehvan Kuslyuyi from Ukraine who won his section with 2.410kg made up of a bream and small fish in his first feeder match ever.

Coarse Fishing Map of Cavan

 

More wind, high water and no salmon for Currane’s anglers

By
Myles Kelly
-
Lough Currane
A wild day on Lough Currane

Vincent Appleby is back again this week reporting from Lough Currane…

February 20, 2025. A Currane angler reported extreme weather conditions on the lake. Additionally, he observed that the water level had risen by two feet. Based on my observations at the Butler Pool, I can confirm this. Talking of the rough weather the wind speeds are as follows, Wind SW average speed was 45km/h, gusts speed up to 70km/h, average gusts speeds 65km/h. Yesterday’s weather, amount of rainfall 16.4mm, maximum air temperature 12.8°C amount of sunshine none

February 21, 2025. There was significant rainfall early this morning. Detailed information will be provided in tomorrow’s notes. A Currane angler reported that he went down to bail his boat, which concluded his activities for the day. The average wind speed throughout the day was WSW 35 km/h, with gusts reaching up to 50 km/h, accompanied by intermittent showers. Yesterday’s weather included a total rainfall of 5.8 mm, a maximum air temperature of 14.0°C, and 3 hours and 1 minute of sunshine.

February 22, 2025. The Currane Angler’s report:

Hi Vince,
5 boats were out, but the lake was high and dirty.
CA

Wind was moderate from the West, shifting to WSW and SW, with some clouds but mostly bright sunshine. Yesterday’s weather had 14.3mm of rain, a maximum temperature of 13.2°C, and 3 hours and 6 minutes of sunshine.

February 22, 2025. Tthe day’s fishing activities were significantly impacted by weather conditions. There was a strong southwest wind with an average speed of 50 km/h and gusts ranging from 70 to 83 km/h, accompanied by heavy showers. The previous day’s weather included 0.3 mm of rainfall, a maximum air temperature of 12.8°C, and 6 hours and 5 minutes of sunshine.

February 24, 2025. There were no reports of any Catch and Release (C&R) incidents. The weather was characterized by strong west-southwest winds veering to the west, with gusts up to 52 km/h and an average wind speed ranging from 35 to 39 km/h. The previous day’s weather included 18.9 mm of rainfall, a maximum air temperature of 13.8°C, and 2 hours and 5 minutes of sunshine.

Ballinskellig Bay
Ballinskellig Bay

February 25, 2025. There were no notable activities reported by the Currane anglers. Despite this, I am pleased to share some positive news: Mr. Patrick Fogarty of Centra, Waterville, is sponsoring the Ernest Appleby Cup for the Currane angler who catches the largest Salmon during the 2025 Salmon season, along with a €100 voucher for the season. Anglers are reminded to present their catch at Fogarty’s Centra as proof.

Ernest M. H. Appleby
The picture above is Ernest M. H. Appleby RIP who caught 7 Salmon on the troll on Lough Currane while fishing with his Gillie Mr. Jack O’Sullivan RIP in 1973. Which is the record for the most Salmon caught on the troll in one day, Hence The Ernest Appleby Cup.

The weather today featured fresh winds from the west-northwest, shifting to the west, accompanied by heavy showers at intervals. Yesterday’s weather data recorded a rainfall amount of 2.2mm, a maximum air temperature of 11.2°C, and 6 hours and 7 minutes of sunshine.

February 26, 2025. There were two boats out by all accounts, their lines were slack, and their blood pressure was high, you could say their language was fluent. Wind, NNW fresh veered NW, NNW, yesterday’s weather, amount of rainfall 6.5mm, maximum air temperature 9.9°C, amount of sunshine 6hours.

Vincent Appleby
Eureka Lodge, Caherdaniel West, Co. Kerry.
Telephone: +353 (0) 87 207 4882
E-mail:[email protected]
Web: www.salmonandseatrout.com

Sea Trout – Catch and release only

Inland Fisheries Ireland wishes to remind anglers that the Conservation of Sea Trout (No.7 or Kerry District) Waterville Area Bye-Law No. 971 of 2019 remains in effect. This Bye-law prohibits the retention and possession of any sea trout (Salmo trutta L.) taken by any fishing engine or by rod and line in the Waterville area i.e. that part of the sea eastward of a line drawn from the most westerly point of Bolus Head to the most westerly point of Lamb’s Head and to all the waters discharging in to it.

The Bye-Law mainly affects seatrout fishing on :-

  • the river Inny (Knockmoyle) and its tributaries
  • the waters of the Waterville system, including the Waterville River, Lough Currane, the Cummeragh River and all their tributary rivers and lakes
  • the waters of Ballinskelligs Bay

FLEKSI

A new online survey has been developed by IFI for the Currane catchment to gather anglers’ knowledge – the survey method called FLEKSI was developed by IFI to help give an insight into the status of the fishery. Currane Anglers are needed for Citizen Science survey to examine fish stocks

For more information on the daily conditions, all the craic and news be sure to check out Vincent Appleby’s Salmon and Sea Trout blog for regular reports with back dates, petitions, public consultation notices, readers letters and videos and more of what’s happening on Currane.

Go fishing….

Guides and boat hire

Fishing with Dom

Address Spunkane Waterville Kerry Ireland Mobile Phone: +353 87 2051515 Website: https://fishingwithdom.com/
More information
Find on Map | Return to top.

Fly Fishing on Lough Currane

Address Termons Waterville Kerry Ireland Mobile Phone: +353(0) 87 922 8659 Phone: +353(0) 66 9474146 Website: flyfishingatloughcurrane.com
More information
Find on Map | Return to top.

Lakelands Farm

Address Lake Road Waterville Kerry Ireland Mobile Phone: +353 87 4160200 Website: lakelandshouse.com
More information
Find on Map | Return to top.

Neil O’Shea

Address Caherbarna Waterville Kerry Ireland Mobile Phone: +353 87 9942792 Phone: +353 66 9474527 Website: oshealoughcurrane.com
More information
Find on Map | Return to top.

Old Daly’s Supermarket & Filling Station

Address Murreigh Waterville V23 X459 Ireland Mobile Phone: +353669474842 Website: dalysfoodstore.ie
Find on Map | Return to top.

Salmon & Sea Trout Fishing

Address Eureka Lodge Caherdaniel West Waterville Kerry V23 XD63 Ireland Mobile Phone: +353 87 2074882 Website: salmonandseatrout.com
More information
Find on Map | Return to top.

Waterville Boats

Address Spunkane Waterville Kerry Ireland Mobile Phone: +353 (0)87 2202355 Phone: +353 (0)66 9474800
Find on Map | Return to top.

Results of Brown Tag Draw for the Roughty River

By
Shane O'Reilly
-

On Wednesday 26 February, a draw took place to allocate 19 Brown Tags for the taking of salmon on the Roughty River. The requirement to hold a brown tag is set out in Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Tagging Scheme (Amendment) Regulations, signed into law by the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan, T.D.

A total of 86 valid entries were received from salmon rod licence holders. Each was assigned a number in advance of the draw.

Twenty-four (24) numbers were randomly generated. The first 19 successful entrants will be issued a brown tag no later than Friday 28 February. The final 5 numbers are reserved in case an angler declines or returns the tag allocated to them.

The draw was conducted by Sean Long (RBD Director) and observed by Chris Scanlan (Fisheries Officer) and  John Lawrence  (Communications Manager).

The selected numbers are:

  1. 2025170
  2. 2025144
  3. 2025121
  4. 2025115
  5. 2025184
  6. 2025152
  7. 2025102
  8. 2025169
  9. 2025154
  10. 2025134
  11. 2025135
  12. 2025176
  13. 2025142
  14. 2025126
  15. 2025158
  16. 2025131
  17. 2025167
  18. 2025108
  19. 2025151

The 5 reserve numbers are:

  1. 2025177
  2. 2025172
  3. 2025107
  4. 2025181
  5. 2025166

The Brown Tags will be issued by post.

The second Roughty Brown Tag Lottery  will open for entries 14 March to 13 April, with the draw taking place on 16 April.

Kevin Leahy wins last match and Munster Coarse Anglers Winter League

By
Myles Kelly
-
winners

Munster Coarse Anglers fished the 9th and final match of their winter series at O’Briensbridge rowing course at the weekend. Kevin Leahy reports…

Only 5 of the original 14 competitors made it to the last match on Sunday. After the howling wind and pelting rain through out the night who would want to! Only the foolhardy and those with a stake in the outcome threw off the duvet and venture out on such a miserable morning!

O’Briensbridge has fished well below parr on our previous two visits so not a lot was expected but we knew if tucked ourselves in, the high banks behind would shelter us from the worst of the wind and rain.

All that was needed was bites and with the first few casts of a feeder they came, not big fish, but a bite a chuck keeping everyone busy till the last cast.

The three way tussle between Richard, Ian and myself for this year’s top spot (and bragging rights) when down to the wire with only dropped fish making the difference.

Today’s results

1st Kevin 11lb 6oz
2nd Ian 9lb 15 oz
3rd Richard 9lb 13oz

This year’s League Results

1st Kevin 8 points
2nd Richard 9 points
3rd Ian 10 points
4th Ray 15 points
5th Pawel 19 point

Go fishing…

logoAnyone who would like to fish the Munster Coarse Anglers Winter League can contact us by commenting on our Facebook page

Join the club…

Munster Coarse Angling Club are affiliated to the National Coarse Fishing Federation of Ireland, NCFFI the National Governing body for coarse and predator fishing and casting. www.ncffi.ie

Sean Dempsey retains TAFI Senior Bank Trophy

By
Shane O'Reilly
-

The Trout Angling Federation of Ireland held their Senior Bank Inter Pro championships at Ardaire Springs at the weekend. 23 anglers lined the lakeshore as the morning session got underway, and the fishing was top-notch as nice weather conditions and active fish meant plenty of bends in rods. Strong sunlight and flat calm meant that the afternoon session was a lot trickier. In the end, last year’s winner, Sean Dempsey, put in a sterling performance to retain his singles title, while the Connaught Anglers were the top team. Full results below:

Big bags for Leinster Pike Anglers

By
Shane O'Reilly
-

The Leinster Pike Angling Club held their first competition of the year at the weekend, and they had some quality fishing with numerous 50lb+ bags recorded. Rodney Gaynor was the top rod on the day, as he landed 21 fish for a combined weight of 68.5 lbs. Luke Kearns came in second as his 23 fish totalled 62.13lb. And third place went to Donagh O’Connell with 18 fish for 50.4lb. James Callaghan had the best fish of the day with a nice 15.2lb pike.

1...136137138...2,000Page 137 of 2,000
Fishing in Ireland

EVEN MORE NEWS

POPULAR CATEGORY

© Inland Fisheries Ireland