Colin Gardiner from Lurgan with the second spring salmon from the Drowes River this season. The fish was caught last Monday from the Boathouse Pool at Lareen on a black Flying “C” and weighed 4.5kg
THE Ireland Angling Show will again be held at the National Show Centre, Swords, Co Dublin on February 15th and 16th. Mara Media has grown the show to bring together all aspects of angling under one roof where visitors can meet angling celebrities and experts to share knowledge and advice.
Back by popular demand is Henry Gilbey, Mike Thrussell and world champion fly-caster Hywel Morgan. World pairs champions Cathal Hughes and Philip Jackson will present a talk each day and host a “Pole Cupping” competition for kids.
Friends of the show Glenda Powell, Mary Gavin Hughes, Stevie Munn, Jim Clohessy and many more will share advice and tuition free of charge. For those with an interest in fly- tying, a selection of world class tyers will practise their craft….
Colin Gardiner from Lurgan with the second spring salmon from the Drowes River this season. The fish was caught last Monday from the Boathouse Pool at Lareen on a black Flying “C” and weighed 4.5kg
With three prestigous titles up for grabs the burning question was, who had actually won? As the number crunching began in Kilmuckridge this evening, word began to circulate about this years winners and all was eventually revealed at this evenings presentation in Sean Og’s. This event is gaining more and more popularity each year and today sixty seven anglers fished the event. Catches were fantastic over the event with 815 fish caught on Thursday, 356 on Friday and 836 on Saturday. These and hundreds of undersized fish were all returned to the water. This years individual title went to Paul Tyndall who put in some great performances over the three days. In second place in the individual was Karl Whelan and third place went to Chris Clarke from the New Forest in the UK.
Champion Paul Tyndall Receiving His Cup and Crystal at Sean Og’s This EveningChampion Paul Tyndall (centre) with Second Place Finisher Karl Whelan (right) and Chris Smith (left) Who Finished in Third Place
In the two man team event it was again Paul Tyndall with his team mate Stephen Glynn who took top honours narrowly beating Joe Byrne and Dave Roe into second place. In third place were Billy Buckley and Kevin Lewis.
Two Man Team Champions Stephen Glynn (left) and Paul Tyndall (centre) Receiving Their Awards at This Evenings Presentation.Dave Roe (left) and Joe Byrne (centre) Were Second in the Two Man Team Event
In the four man team event, the top honours went to Dave Roe, Joe Byrne, James Ryan and Joe Carley. Second place went to Karl Whelan, Eric Salmon, Paul Heffernan and James Gordon. In third place were Billy Buckley, Kevin Lewis, Dave Dobbie and Isaac Muir.
Winners of the Four Man Team Event (l to r) Joe Byrne, James Ryan, Dave Roe and Joe CarleyRunners Up in the 4 Man Team Event Getting Their Awards This EveningThird Palce Finishers Receiving Their Award This Evening at Sean Ogs in Kilmuckridge
Anglers nationwide are delighted with the recent re-opening of Courtown Angling by well known sea angler and charter skipper Joe Byrne. According to Joe “the new shop is centrally located in the town and anyone wishing to visit will have absolutely no problem finding the premises. The shop is extremely well stocked with all of top brands and as usual fresh and frozen baits are available. In addition to this Joe will be in situ to hand out expert advice to help put you on the fish straight away. So if you are planning a day out fishing, need advice and some tackle or bait why not drop into Joe in the new shop in Courtown or give him a call on 087 6613145.
Joe Byrne (proprietor) with Dave Roe at the New Courtown Angling PremisesJoe’s Well Stocked Shop in Courtown
A Nice Treble Including a Fantastic 34cm Flounder Taken Today on Day 3 of the Event
The third and final day of the 26th Irish Winter Sea Angling Festival got under way this morning at Kilgorman beach in Co. Wexford. As is usual, the Irish weather provided an interesting and mixed bag for competitors. Strong winds whipped up a good swell on occasions and sending a number of anglers bivvys skating down the beach. Thankfully the winds did not last the whole day and conditions did change from hour to hour.
Day 3 of the Festival was fished at Kilgorman Beach
Fishing today took place from 11am till 4pm and a number of interesting duels were in the offing. The individual title is particularly interesting with Paul Tyndalls performance yesterday putting him in the runing with Dave Roe and others. As on the previous two mornings the event started with a good flurry of activity with lots of fish being taken. As the fishing slowed anglers changed tactics regularly to try to keep in touch with the fish. There were lots of undersized fish as well with one angler recording 11 undersized fish in a row. With three hours gone Paul Tyndall was having a cracking day and was on 16 fish. A number of other anglers were well ito double figures as well and everything was still to fish for. Best flat at this stage was a well conditioned 34cm flounder but this was beaten later by a 36cm flounder.
Changeable Weather Today at KilgormanA Very Squally Period at Kilgorman Today
With todays fishing now finished the speculation has started as to the final placings. The final results of the competition will be announced later this evening at the presentations at Sean Ogs in Kilmuckridge and these will be posted as soon as they become available.
A Nice Treble for JP Mulloy Included a Fantastic 34cm Flounder Taken Today on Day 3 of the Event
This years event (the 26th since its foundation) saw increased numbers of anglers from overseas and it is expected that this will continue to grow in the coming years especialy in the run up to the world championships. The field of competing anglers increased for todays event with an additional 7 anglers taking part.
Another Quality Treble Today at KilgormanAnother Double for This Angler Mid Way Through the EventSean Ivory in Action at Todays Event on Kilgorman Beach
The weather forecast for day 2 of the Irish Winter Shore Angling Festival was not great, with lots of rain forecast but thankfully, most of the rain fell overnight. Today, weather wise, turned out to be better than expected with only a sprinkling of showers. It was mlder than yesterday too and the wind had also dropped overnight. The water was stilll coloured following recent strong winds and heavy rainfall.
Competitors at Old Bawn Today
The venue for day 2 of the Irish Winter Shore Angling Festival were the beaches at Old Bawn, Co Wexford and there was an expectation that the fishing would be great today. However, fishing was to prove more difficult than anticipated. From the “all in” fish were taken all along the beach with some nice flounder and dabs being taken. Many fish were taken close to the shore in the gullies. After about an hour, the early burst of activity had subsided and anglers had to work extremely hard to keep the fish coming in. A number of anglers were all within striking distance of each other and a bad day could have seen some of yesterdays leaders slip back. Catches were down on yesterday with circa 19 fish being the best catch of the day. It was a close run thing though and as the event entered the last 15 minutes Paul Tyndall had a storming finish with 5 fish. Tomorow will be an interesting contest with a number of people still in contention for the individual title. In particular, I will be keeping an eye on the battle between Paul Tyndall and Dave Roe. The best flatfish today was a nice 36cm flounder taken by Michael Quinn and best round fish was a 24cm codling taken by James Ryan. Fishing on the final day of the event tomorrow will be very interesting indeed. Today’s results supplied by Michael Quinn and the committee are as follows.
Individual
1st Dave Roe, 2nd Paul Tyndall, 3rd Billy Buckley, 4th Sean Ivory, 5th Karl Whelan, 6th Paul Whelan, 7th Chris Clarke
Paul Tyndall With a Nice Double at the Start of the Day
Two Man Team
1st Dave Roe & Joe Byrne, 2nd Billy Buckley & Kevin Lewis, 3rd Paul Tyndall & Stephen Glynn, 4th Ashley Sampson & Gareth Griffiths
Four Man Team
1st Billy Buckley, Kevin Lewis, David Dobbie, Isaac Muir, 2nd Karl Whelan, Eric Salmon, Paul Heffernan, James Gordon, 3rd Dave Roe, James Ryan, Joe Byrne, Joe Carley, 4th Ian Knight, Peader Taite, Jack Keegan, Paul Tyndall
Super Pool
Paul Tyndall, Dave Roe, Sean Ivory
Long Flat
1 Micheál Quinn 36cm Flounder, 2 Joe Duggan 35cm Flounder
A Nice Flounder Taken Today at Old Bawn
Long Round
1 James Ryan 24cm Codling, 2 Isaac Muir 23 Rockling
Eugene Andrews With Anothe Nice Flounder at Todays EventThis Beautiful Sea Trout Made a Guest Appearence and Was Returned Carefully to the Water
Carty’s Land and Sea are holding the 1st leg of their Shore League tomorrow Saturday January 25th on Rossnowlagh beach, Donegal at 3:30pm.
Fishing is from 4pm – 8pm
Fee €15
Sean also informs us that he hopes some Fly tying classes in the shop one evening a week in the near future depending on demand. So if you are interested contact Sean Carty ; Carty’s Land and Sea Sports,
Bundoran, Co. Donegal. Tel: +353 (0) 86 3903655 Web:www.landandseasports.ie E-mail: [email protected]
Catch & Release practice is very much to the forefront of angler’s minds lately as it should be. Sean Jordan of Bass fishing Wexford has years of experience behind him and discusses how best to handle fish and safely return them. From choosing your tackle, catching your fish to the quick photo before release, Sean gives excellent advice on his blog as follows;
“Angling has evolved in greatly in the last 40 plus year’s since I first picked up a rod, and one of the biggest advance’s in the last 2 decade’s is the growing appetite for better Catch & Release practice’s among sporting angler’s, most of it is common sense associated with good fish handling” read more on C & R Best Practices Handling fish Releasing fish
To make a booking……
Sean Jordan, Bass Fishing Wexford Address: Sean Jordan, Belgrove Cross, Duncormick, Co. Wexford, Ireland.
Telephone: +353 (0)51 563132 or +353 (0)86 2611436 Email: [email protected]Web:www.bassfishingwexford.com
Richard Kinnaird wins Catch of the Week for the first caught and released salmon of the season from the Upper Mill Pool this afternoon
Superb work by Richard Kinnaird as he sweeps all the prizes with his fly caught salmon which he released on the Upper Mill Pool this afternoon. Shane Gallagher from the Drowes Salmon Fishery reports:
GoPro Goes! Richard Kinnaird from Co. Antrim caught and released the 3rd fish of the season from the Upper Mill Pool on the river this afternoon. The fish fell to a #8 green butt Cascade tied by Denis O’Toole from Wicklow. As this was the first caught and released fish from the river this season Richard won the GoPro 3 Plus and as it was also the first fish of the season on fly Richard also won the selection of Salmon Flies donated by Denis O’Toole and the hand carved wooden fly box made by Peter Zahnd. Not a bad result for a days fishing and well done Richard on the release and he wins our Catch of the Week. The water has risen to 0.8 on the gauge following persistent rain overnight and this morning. Richard Kinnaird with the first caught and released fish of the season from the Upper Mill Pool this afternoon and wins the Catch of the Week Richard with the GoPro 3+ and the selection of O’Toole salmon flies in presentation box. The released fish was also the first of the season on fly. Gauge has risen to 0.8 metres following rain overnight.
The 26th Irish Winter Shore Angling Festival 2014 got under way today Thursday 24th January at Balinoulart in Co Wexford. Anglers from England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all travelled to compete in this prestigous event. Sign in took place at Sean Ogs in Kilmuckridge and after receiving all relevent information, anglers headed off to their pegs to set up and await the all in which was called to be called at 12 noon. Fishing would take place over the next five hours on what was a quite mild day for January. The tide was coloured and was dropping back. Winds were over the anglers backs and were light. The was a watery sunshine on occasions as the day brightened but it was generally overcast and was quite cool from the early afternoon. Expectations were running high as the event got under way.
A Beautiful Day for the Sea Angling Festival at Balinoulart in Wexford
There was a lot of activity from the start and anglers could be observed heading to the waters edge to return fish all along the beach. Flounder were by far the most abundant species but dabs and whiting were also taken. A number of trebles were reported right from the off and this produced a good early lead for Paul Whelan. The fishing slowed after the first hour as the tide dropped further and then the grind began. Anglers worked really hard trying to eek out those additional fish that just might take the section. Late on dabs at distance accounted for the majority of fish. Longest round fish of the day was taken by Alan Mulcahey a nice 29cm whiting and longest flat fish was take by Paul Tyndall, a super flounder measuring 38cms. As the 1st day entered the last hour it was really all to play for with a number of anglers well within range of each other. However, a strong finish by Dave Roe has put him ahead in the individual event at the close of day 1. Results of all events can be found below.
Dave Roe in Action at Balinoulart Today
Individual
1st Dave Roe, 2nd Paul Whelan, 3rd Billy Buckley, 4th James Gordon, 5th Sean Ivory.
2 Man Team
1st Dave Roe & Joe Byrne, 2nd Paul Tyndall & Stephen Glynn, 3rd Billy Buckley & Kevin Lewis
Joe Byrne is well placed in 2 and 4 man Teams but Will be Looking to Make up Ground Tomorror
4 Man Team
1st Dave Roe, James Ryan, Joe Byrne, Joe Carley, 2nd Karl Whelan, Eric Salmon, Paul Heffernan, James Gordon, 3rd Billy Buckley, Kevin Lewis, Dave Dobbie, Isac Muir.
Karl Whelan Had a Good 1st Day at Balinoulart Today
Super Pool
1st Dave Roe, 2nd Paul Whelan, 3rd Billy Buckley
Long Flat
Paul Tyndall 38 cm Flounder, James Gordon 33cm Flounder
Long Round
Alan Mulcahey 29cm Whiting, Gareth Griffiths 27cm Codling
January pollack from the donegal coast on soft plastics
There was a little less rain in the last week and overall the weather was a bit more settled and mild. Many rivers saw their levels drop a bit which was good news for salmon anglers and improved conditions in coastal areas meant sea anglers managed to get out on shore and afloat.
Thomas White wins Catch of the Week with this 179lb skate
Good luck to the competitors in the Irish Winter Beach Festival which starts today on Wexford’s beaches. Hopefully conditions will remain suitable for the event as the venues have been fishing well. The 2014 Interprovincial Shore Competition was fished at Waterfoot earlier this month with freezing temperatures, biting winds and of course rain. The Ulster ladies took the Womens Interprovincial Championship after a some good fishing at Waterfoot, though the fishing the following day at Benone was less productive. The men began with a very tough session on Portstewart beach, moved to Whiterocks for the second session and joined the women on Benone for the final session. Leinster won the Mens Interprovincial Championship. The species caught were flounder, turbot, rockling, whiting, coalfish and sea trout with one bass reported at Benone. Staying in the competition scene Tralee Bay Sea Angling Club reports that 609 fish were caught at the John Lacey Memorial Competition. Coalies and flats made up the catches and the eventual winner was Phil Ord. Anglers fishing from the rocks at a number of venues are reporting some good pollack on soft lures. In Donegal skate, spurdogs and more made for some very satisfying small boat fishing. Small boat anglers are enjoying some good fishing in Cork Harbour where whiting around 40cm are making a very welcome addition to catches. Meanwhile charter boat anglers off the Antrim coast also had some big fish including skate to 179lb.
The River Laune and Lough Currane opened for salmon fishing last Friday. Although there has still been no salmon on Currane, The Kingdom was not slow to produce a salmon this season. Ger O’Shea fishing on the Flesk had a lovely fish of 11.25lb. Further down the system, below the lake, the river remained quite high. The Drowes saw its second fish of the season landed on Monday afternoon. Colin Gardiner had a 10lbs fish from the Boathouse on black Flying C with a silver blade. There are sill a number of kelts in many of our salmon fisheries attempting a return journey to the sea. Anglers are reminded that all kelts must be carefully handled, safely retuned and recorded in your logbook.
On January 12th Go and Catch club member Nerijus Jankunas took advantage of the somewhat improved conditions to fish for pike in a Co.Cavan. The lucky Lithuanian landed a super 27.5lb pike which fell for a deadbait.
Prospects
Outlook is for changeable and unsettled over the weekend. Met Eireann tell us to expect some cloudy, wet and wintry weather. It is likely to be windy a lot of the time with some high Atlantic seas also. Not what you’d be hoping for, but no doubt not bad enough to keep you off the water altogether.
Tight lines,
Myles Kelly Catch, Photo, Release
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