A 1.8m shark from the Great White family has washed up on an Irish beach. The female porbeagle shark was discovered by photographer Bernard Fitzgerald as he was walking on Aughacasla beach in Castlegregory, Co Kerry, at the weekend. The arrival of the adult shark in Tralee Bay comes as a tagged Great White called Lydia is set to be the first recorded member of her species to cross the Atlantic as she swims within 1200km of our shores… Irish Mirror, 11/03/14. Read the full article ‘‘Great White’ shark washes up on Kerry beach‘.
Ian Powell reports from Blackwater Lodge on the Munster Blackwater where the fourth Springer for March was caught yesterday morning…
Dan O’Keeffe from Mallow landed an absolute beauty of 8lb. on spinner on Lower Kilmurry at the Island Stream yesterday morning – which shows the level is dropping as it would have been unfishable a couple of days ago.
Dan O’Keefe with his salmon
Rain fell in the upper catchment on Sunday but there was none at all down river. The upper river at Millstreet rose yet again late Sunday night by 25cm but it was already back 15cm by 07.00 on Monday morning. The level of the lower river crept back up again during Monday morning peaking @ 1.36m at 13.00 today. It was falling again by 15.00 and the clarity is ~4 feet – perfect conditions for spinning. The very very Good News!
A lovely sunny afternoon on the the Blackwater
The weather forecast is for dry mild weather right the way through into next week, so the river should continue to fall steadily. The picture above was below the Lodge at 13.00 yesterday on a glorious sunny day!
Prospects are looking very good indeed in the run up to the Bank Holiday weekend.
There is no problem for availability in the coming days.
Ian Powell Blackwater Lodge
Make a booking
The Blackwater at Fermoy – courtesy of Farson Digital Watercams
Richie and Mike Thrussell with a fine pair of bass
Eire Bass guide Richie Ryan has a further report on the Cork Harbour bass tagging project…
As you may recall this scheme is called the ESB Sea Bass Tracking Project and the acoustic array is supported by Science Foundation Ireland.
This project is in close collaboration with Inland Fisheries Ireland and anglers of Cork Harbour and in particular Cork Harbour Angling Hub.
During one of the shore outings with Dr Tom Doyle, a bass hooked by Richie and named Conor was seen to be bleeding. The dilemma was whether to tag this bass or not. Most anglers who catch a bass which bleeds after what is normally a frenetic fight will keep the fish for the table in the certain knowledge that it will not survive. Not so it would appear ! Conor was tagged, released and survived. The fish was monitored by Tom and his team throughout the summer.
A tagged bass makes a quick recovery and is off again
This knowledge is a boon to the conservation minded angler Richie says who wants to return all bass regardless of their condition. It has now been proven that just because a bass bleeds does not mean it will not survive after being released. This has been a bonus outcome from the tagging project.
Anglers will be glad to hear that the tagging project will continue in 2014 with a much earlier staring date. It is hoped as a result that far more bass will be tagged this year as a result. Richie Ryan
Saltwater fly fishing Guide. www.corkbass.com
Hamish Currie and crew made the most of the break in the weather in the weekend and had some enjoyable fishing in the deep water marks ff the coast of Northern Ireland…
The nice break in the weather allowed us to venture offshore to a deep trench north off Rathlin Island looking for some specimens.
Conger
We took frozen bait with us, just in case, but in the end we were able to catch about 100 herring in a very short time.
Spurdog
No big fish were taken but about a dozen or so congers and 10 spurdogs were landed all the same – a nice day in the office.
Jason O’Riordan of Game Fishing Ireland held a very successful course day at Kilkenny’s Ardaire Springs lyesterday. Ardaire which is situated in Ardera, Mooncoin, Co. Kilkenny covers over 2.5 acres of lakes, stocked with Rainbow and Brown trout ranging from 2lb to 20lb. Jason was on hand to show anglers Dry Fly, Wet Fly, Lures and Nymphs/Buzzers and all techniques were covered including tackle choice, leader set up, fly selection and presentation. Michael Rowe
Michael Rowe was pleased how the day turned our when he landed his first rainbow on the fly and the weather held up so they could have a barbeque in the evening!
Ardaire’s first competition of the Season is on next Sunday starting at 10am.
For a chance to catch Jason again travel to Ballyduff Bridge Fishery on the River Blackwater on April Sunday April 13th 2014 at 9.30am. At a very affordable price of just €60 per person. The course tuition will last for approximately 4 hours and course participants can fish the beat for trout (catch and release) for the evening.
Connaught Council IFSA congratulates Conor McDermott of Galway Bay Sea Angling Club for representing the province at Junior level. He finished 5th overall and made the Irish Home Nations Junior team.
The youths finished 2nd overall in the interprovinical – well done on the great effort. Unfortunately none of the lads made the top 5 in the individual placings to get a position on the Irish team.
Frank Maunsell from the Owenmore Fishery in Kerry reports;
The Owenmore River will be opening in April. Even though the weather has been appalling with all the wind and rain we have still managed to open up a 1000 metres of pathway which gives us access to 5 pools which were inaccessible. We hope the weather will be more kind to us than last year because the dry summer ruined our fishing even though we had the best run of sea trout in about 20 years.
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.
8 lb 11oz trout is our Catch of the Week and is among many good trout catches on a cold Lough Sheelin
Lough Sheelin Angling Report By Brenda Montgomery, IFI – March 3rd to March 9th, 2014
There are enough miles of bright water…to support the fly-fisherman’s deep-seated need to believe in infinite possibilities…
Christopher Camuto
Lough Sheelin twilight – March 5th 2014
Temperatures dropped to a chilly minus 2 degrees on Sunday night and the cold persisted up to Thursday, but it takes more than cold to deter the Sheelin anglers and this lake more than compensated for the chill factor by producing some first class fishing and some beautiful trout. Normally lakes are sluggish in the first few weeks of the season and there seems to be a gradual easing in for both fish and fishermen but not so for Sheelin as this lake has slammed in hard from day one giving its anglers good sport and excellent catches of wild trout in first class condition.
On Monday it was very bright with a little wind blowing which seemed the perfect combination for Monaghan angler Peter Boyle who connected with ‘the longest trout he has ever caught’, measuring in at 63.5cm and weighing 6lbs on the button of the digital scales, later that day he landed another ‘really fat’ trout which although a lot shorter than his first fish weighed heavier at 6lbs 2ozs…
Gary McKiernan of Lough Sheelin Guiding services has joined the now infamous ‘Over Eights Club’ by landing an impressive 8lb 11oz 68 cm trout last Wednesday after a 18 – 20 minute play off. This trout along with Peter Boyle’s 6lb 2oz catch two days before eptiomises the uniqueness and beauty of Sheelin’s wild trout – thick from head to tail with distinctive black spots on a seemingly translucent body.
Anglers need to sit up and take notice for Lough Sheelin has come alive and has the capability of turning every trout fisherman’s dream into a reality.
Making it look easy, Gary McKiernan of Lough Sheelin Guiding Services with his impressive trout of 68cm, tipping the scales at 8lbs 11ozs, caught and released March 5th on Sheelin, using a glister Ollie and this fish wins our Catch of the Week
We are in the very early part of the trout fishing season, the weather is finding it hard to shake off the dregs of winter and there is little sign of the warmth of spring. Water levels are still high.
Fishing on Sheelin, as is the case with every other Irish lake is cold, the air is cold and the water is cold, at the moment struggling at around 3.5 degrees. With the cold the trout tend to go down deeper in the water, also there is no fly life as yet to bring these essentially subsurface feeders to the top so it makes sense for the angler to use a sinking line and to use artificial flies/lures resembling as close as possible the food that the trout are eating at the moment which is predominantly freshwater shrimp and louse, snails and nymphs. Hunger of course isn’t the only reason that trout will take the fly, they can take it out of curiosity and out of aggression, defending its territory ( this is where the attractor fly comes into play) and that is why a team of 3 can strike gold for the angler, perhaps a humungus on the point, a hackled wet on the middle dropper and a dabbler on the top dropper, also if the rod tip is dipped in the water before you retrieve, it will be that little more deeper. If the water clarity is not good using a fly with a bit of bright colour threaded through it is a good plan making it more visible to the approaching trout.
The road to success is through studying what’s out there and learning this lake and the trout that are there in abundance. It can be tough going but this sport is called fishing for a reason and not catching!
If an angler is new to this lake, really the best way to learn it is by hiring out a ghillie, its money well spent as devoted Sheelin anglers are notorious for not giving away their hard earned information, trade secrets and personalized ‘killer fly’ combinations and who could blame them. Recently I overheard a frustrated visiting angler wryly remarking that ‘the locals don’t like giving anything away, it’s a sort of secret fly dressing, only to be seen by the blind, heard by the deaf and given life to by the dead’ on saying this that same angler landed himself a 3lb beauty using a humungus along the Western shore of the lake this week.
The most successful flies for this week’s fishing were the Dabblers, Hare’s Ear, the Glister Ollie, Bibios, Humungus (black & Silver and also black), Minkies, Golden Olive Bumbles, Connemara Black and the Midnight Stalker.
The best areas were Chambers Bay, Crover, Inchacup and around Merry point which varied daily depending on wind direction.
Peter Boyle’s heavy weight of 6lb 2oz Sheelin trout caught March 3rd
The duck fly is the first big fly hatch of the season on Sheelin but this doesn’t usually happen until April or late March if we’re lucky depending of course on our unpredictable weather. This fly is basically a very early black buzzer (belonging to the Chironomid family) and hatches in very large numbers particularly around the Bog Bay and Goreport areas from mid morning till early afternoon.
Eddie Shanagher, Clare with his 2 lb Sheelin trout
It is worth mentioning that Donegal hotelier Eamonn Gillespie has recently been appointed manager of Crover House Hotel on the shores of Lough Sheelin. Mr Gillespie who has an impressive career in the hospitality business is creating his own waves as he turns this hotel on its head and has already brought new and refreshing changes to this very beautiful place. Mr Gillespie sees Sheelin as a ‘magical retreat’ and is very tuned in to the visiting and local angling scene. The food is delicious and the hotel offers special accommodation deals for anglers, definitely worth a visit.
Thomas Lynch, LSTPA with his first Sheelin trout of 2014 caught using a humungus
Peter Boyle’s 6lb 63.5 cm Sheelin trout caught Monday March 3rd
Please remember anglers to abide by BYE-LAW 790 which strictly prohibits
All trolling on the lake from March 1st to April 30th (inclusive).
From May 1st to June 15th – no trolling between 7pm –6am and no trolling under engine between 6am – 7pm and
June 16th – October 12th – no trolling under engine between 7pm – 6am.
No trout less than 14 inches should be taken from the lake.
A catch & release policy is actively encouraged on the lake at all times
Fish have the right to share the earth with us; they are not here on sufferance … Dr. J.R. Dymond
Upcoming Competitions
The first competition of the year – The Kilroy Cup will be held on the lake on Sunday March16thfrom 11.0 am – 5pm, starting from Kilnahard pier. The lake fished exceptionally well for this competition last year and it proved to be a great fishing day for all so it would be worth an angler’s while putting this date in his/her diary for next weekend.
Please contact Thomas Lynch @ 087 9132033 for further details
The popular SheelinClassictrout competition now in its 10th year will be run onLough Sheelin on Saturday April 19th which is the Easter Bank Holiday weekend.
For further information on this competition please contact NoelMcLoughlin at 087 2179460
Please remember All anglers are required to have a Fishery Permit to fish Lough Sheelin which must be purchased before going out on the lake.
The heaviest fish for the week was a hefty over 8lb 11oz 68cm trout caught by Gary McKiernan (www.loughsheelinguiding.com) on a glister Ollie.
Total number of trout recorded: 25
Selection of Catches
Eamonn Ross Ballyconnell – March 2nd Eamonn landed two lovely trout weighing in at 3 and 4lbs respectively.
Paul Lunney, Ballyconnell – 3 trout heaviest weighing in at over 2lbs, all caught on the wets on March 2nd. March 7th 1 trout at 2lbs on a sooty olive dabbler.
John Mulvaney, Kells and Thomas Lynch, Kilnaleck – John caught a 2 ¾ pounder using a Minkie on March 3rd.
Ned Clinton, Crover – 1 trout at 1 ¼ lbs on a Connemara Black.
Gary McKiernan – 1 trout at over 3lbs on the wets, March 3rd, 1 trout at 8lbs 11ozs on the glister Ollie on March 5th fishing with Andrew Brown, Dublin.
Peter Boyle, Monaghan – March 3rd – 2 trout at 6 lbs (25inches) and 6lbs 2 ozs, both caught on the wets.
Patrick Peppard, Navan – fishing with Paul Barry reported a fantastic days fishing on Tuesday March 4th, 5 trout ranging from 2lb upwards were caught on the wets and all were released safely back, heaviest weighed in at 3lbs.
Cian Murtagh, Cavan – on Thursday March 6th 1 trout at 2lbs using a humungus fishing along Crover shore.
Mark Dundee, Northern Ireland – 2 trout on Monday March 3rd both averaged 2lbs caught using a humungus and a dabbler.
Tom McMullan, Dublin – March 7th ghillied by Gary McKiernan (www.loughsheelinguiding.com ) 4 trout in total (all released) heaviest was a beautiful 5 pounder (55cm) all caught on the wet fly.
Spring is in the air in Delphi as David McEvoy reports;
The first week in March has been altogether a different kettle of fish (sorry, excuse the pun) than the last three months. We actually even saw blue skies from time to time. It was a much better fishing week with the water at one stage falling to 48. We even got some warmer temperatures, both air and water.
We have had some seriously experienced Bavarian anglers here this week and it must be said that they fished hard all week and were duly rewarded for their efforts in landing three fish so far.
The first was a fish of approx. 10lbs taken off Finlough on a Collie Dog on Tuesday. This fish again like the previous off Fin had been in a month or so. The second, again on Tuesday came off the Waterfall pool weighed in at 8lbs 4ozs, was dead fresh and was taken on a Black and Yellow tube.
The third was taken on Thursday, a sea liced fish of 8lbs 7ozs from the Horseshoe pool on a Sunrae conehead. This fish was taken while the river was rising as we had quite a lot of rain yesterday.
Friday morning the river was at 65 and dropped steadily during the day. We got another belt of rain yesterday 11.5mms to be exact, which brought the river to just under 70. Today we have lovely conditions which hopefully will continue for the most part of the week. With this in mind I’ll be expecting to have plenty to report during the week.
Over 60 boats joined by a fleet of cars and vans sailed through the streets of Enniskillen on Saturday, March 1 in a powerful show of Fishermens antifracking solidarity. More than one hundred people watched the parade in Enniskillen. The threat to water is acutely felt for fishermen where many rivers and lakes across borders North and South are shared. Anglers from Northern Ireland were subsequently joined by boats from their southern counterparts… Leitrim Observer, 07/03/14. Read the full article ‘Fishermen rise up against Fracking in Enniskillen‘.
