Home Blog Page 1507

Courtown Angling & Moonfleet RNLI Fundraiser

By
myleskelly
-
Winner
Dave Roe (on right) was the eventual winner with 42 fish

Stephen Brennan of IrishSportFishing.com has the results from the RNLI fundraising competition held on Kilgorman Beach at the weekend…
Courtown received a double boost last weekend with the re-opening of Joe Byrne’s ‘Courtown Angling’ on the main street, and the great support for the RNLI fundraising competition held on nearby Kilgorman Beach.

Newly refurbished Courtown Angling
Newly refurbished Courtown Angling – www.courtownangling.com

The RNLI fundraising competition was sponsored by Moonfleet Angling who put up some great prizes including rods from the increasingly popular Yuki range. Fair play to Moonfleet Angling.
Kilgorman Beach
Kilgorman Beach

The conditions on the day were perfect with little wind and some welcome winter sunshine. This coupled with a sea that had been hammered by the recent storms created some nice coloured water close-in which was full of fish.
dabs
Treble-shot of dabs

Anglers caught from the start with Flounders, Dabs, Whiting and Rockling making up the bulk of the catches. There were a few undersize fish around (mostly pin whiting), but there was also the occasional decent flounder for a few lucky anglers.
Winner
Dave Roe (on right) was the eventual winner with 42 fish

There was no need to cast far which is normal for this beach, and best baits were lug, wrapped lug and maddies. It was one of those competitions where you needed to be reeling in at least a double shot each cast to stay in with a shout!
The top 3 on the day were,

  • 1st Dave Roe, 42 fish
  • 2nd Paul Tyndall, 36 fish
  • 3rd Shay O’Neill, 36 fish

Irish Winter Beach Festival

The Irish Winter Beach Festival is on in a couple of weeks. The tides will be similar, so lets see what sort of fishing it will produce. Anglers will be fishing for the same species with the same baits on similar beaches, so hopefully the conditions leading up to the event will be favourable!
Stephen Brennan
IrishSportFishing.com

Find out more…

For more photos and the full story see the blog IrishSportFishing.com
To find out more about the Irish Winter Beach Festival, how to register, who to contact and more see 26th Irish Winter Shore Angling Festival at Wexford

Country Mattters: Clearing a shed can be a killer, Irish Independent

By
myleskelly
-

IT doesn’t bear thinking what the recent rainstorms have washed down through fields, along roadsides and into drains and river systems, the consequences of toxic wastes and varied detritus being difficult or impossible to identify or quantify. Time alone will tell the gloomy tale…
Irish Independent, 12/01/14. Read the full article ‘Country Mattters: Clearing a shed can be a killer‘.

And on the seventh day . . . the first salmon of 2014 is landed at Leitrim, Irish Times

By
myleskelly
-

Almost a week after opening day, the first salmon is caught by Ballyshannon angler. The first salmon of 2014 was caught on Tuesday January 7th at 2.30pm on the River Drowes by Ballyshannon angler Eoin McManus while fishing the pool below Lennox Bridge on the Leitrim side of the river. The fish weighed 3.6kg (8lb) and fell to a size-7 brown Rapala lure…
Irish Times, 13/01/14. Read the full article ‘And on the seventh day . . . the first salmon of 2014 is landed at Leitrim‘.

Lanterns and boars: fascinating fingers of fish food, Irish Times

By
myleskelly
-

Deepwater stock includes some of the smallest fish, newly targeted for trawling in the hunt for species to be minced into food for farmed salmon – even, indeed, for the human frying pan… …Days and nights of wind: not quite the worst we’ve known, but very nearly. Terraces of waves piled up to the horizon and tumbling down a slope of foam to claw at the edge of the dunes…. …Once, in the 1980s, such a storm left the tideline littered with thousands of dead fish, all with gills snapped forward in some tumultuous surge of sandy water. Most were the rockfish of inshore waters…
Irish Times, 11/01/14. Read the full article ‘Lanterns and boars: fascinating fingers of fish food‘.

Tralee Bay specimen hunters nearly lose it looking for a big one

By
myleskelly
-
Timmy and a grey gurnard
Timmy was happy with this catch

Some Tralee Bay Club Anglers went on a specimen hunt recently and got some very good results, along with some very funny stories…

Troy “The dodge” Francis, Timmy “Bookies” Ward and Eugene “Lucky” Farrelly went to a secret location in north Kerry to target some rare species.

A Poetica rod, Penn reel, a tripod and another rod/reel took flight on an unexpected gust of wind and landed in the deep ocean. But thanks to Timmy Wards river angling skills, all was not lost. Timmy hooked the tripod on one snood and the Poetica on the other snood… …and  he reeled up everything!  You wouldn’t see it in the movies! I think Eugene owes Timmy a few pints after that.

Troy and his conger
Troy is happy with his catch… “You can’t bate luck”

The trio were hoping for a specimen of some sort but that didn’t come to pass. However, there some very good congers caught. Troy had one tipping the 20lb mark and a very nice grey gurnard was also caught.

Eugene and a dab
Eugene with another 30cm dab.

There were some fine dabs up to 30cm and loads of whiting and coalies.

Timmy and a grey gurnard
Timmy was happy with this catch

The grey grunard specimen is 1.5 lb but the lads never weighed this one.  At 37cm do you think it would have been an Irish specimen? (At 37cm a grey gurnard would normally weigh about 1lb – IFI)

All the anglers were were fishing catch and release.

John Tobin
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.

Storms stop Kerry bass fishing, but improving conditions will see fish feed

By
myleskelly
-
Anglers
Heading home

John Quinlan from Thatch Cottage Ireland reports that the improving conditions should see bass move back on to the beaches…

Fishing has been at a virtual standstill for most of the Christmas period with gales and massive seas lashing the south west coast.  I suspect that as soon as things calm down bass will be there to be caught.  While rough seas and high winds make life very difficult for anglers these conditions can be ideal for bass to feed in as large amounts of food are dragged up from the sea bed.

John Quinlan
Thatch Cottage Ireland
Kenneigh West, Cahersiveen, Co. Kerry

Make a booking

We are now taking bookings for the 2014 season.  Lure and fly fishing for bass normally begins mid to late March with April and May often giving superb sport.  Please get in touch to check for best times and availability. If you fancy a spring bass fishing break just give John a call on (066) 947 4721 (or +353 66 947 4721 from abroad).

E-mail: [email protected]
Web: www.thatchcottageireland.co.uk

Anglers
Heading home

 

First bass of the year reported from East Cork venue

By
myleskelly
-
bass
Bass! This is the first bass reported to us in 2014

East Cork shore angler “RockHunter”, of the blog by the same name, is back amongst the bass – our first reported bass of 2014…

We finally had a bit of calm weather last Tuesday after been hit by one storm after another since Christmas. It was my first opportunity to get out fishing since the beginning of the year. I decided to try a new mark that I had investigated the previous Saturday afternoon. It was a flat beach which steepened up over the last 30 m or so. I reckoned that the break in slope would be a place where bass would swim along while searching for food from about mid-way into the rising tide. It would also be sheltered from the southwesterly winds so would be a comfortable place to fish.

I got a likely looking spot along the shore about 2.5 hours after low tide and set up two rods, one with a 4/0 pennel pulley baited with crab and the second with a two hook flapper with size 1 and 1/0 circle hooks; the lower hook baited with crab and the other with razor fish. It was a clear night, with a bright half moon and just a light breeze. There was a fairly small surf since the area was sheltered from the open sea. The more open local beaches such as Whiting Bay and Ballybrannigan were still too rough to fish after after the stormy weather. The scent of the bait would be lost within the churning surf.

Not long after setting up I had a good tug on the rod with the pennel pulley. At first I thought it was a small bass but as I got the fish in close I realized it was a dogfish. No sooner had I released it when there was a bite on the second rod; another dogfish. Fifteen minutes later I had another dogfish, this time it was what must have been the smallest one I have ever caught, followed shortly but a fourth dogfish.

dogfish
The 6th doggie of the session

It then got quiet. I had a couple of missed bites but caught nothing more for nearly the next two hours. Then over high tide I returned to the rod stand after taking a stroll along the shore to find the line had gone slack on the rod with the pennel pulley. I retrieved the slack and then connected with a fish which put up a better fight compared to the dogfish and as I eased it into the shallow water I could see a glint of silver in the moonlight – it was a bass! Not a big fish, with a weight of about 2 lbs and a length of 43 cm, but nevertheless it was my first bass of 2014.

bass
Bass! This is the first bass reported to us in 2014

I had been thinking of packing up at high tide, but getting the bass gave me some encouragement to stay on longer. About half an hour later I had another dogfish. This was followed by the sixth dogfish of the night about 40 minutes afterwards.

At that stage I decided to pack up and save my remaining crabs for the next session. So while it was not a great session I was happy with getting my fist bass of the year. That was a better start to the year than 2013 when it was well into April before I got the fist bass of the year. So let’s hope 2014 proves to be a better year than last year for bass fishing.

Rockhunter
rockhunter-southcoastbass.blogspot.com

Fast sinkers for best results at Rathcon Winter LEague

By
myleskelly
-

Dermot Page reports on the 2nd qualifier in the Winter League at Rathcon…

The 2nd qualifier was held today in very testing conditions. 20 anglers landed 37 fish over the 4.5 hrs. Some pegs were virtually unfishable such was the strength of the southeasterly wind.

The 1st hour was the best with at one stage 7 fish hooked at the same time around the lake . Di5 or 7 lines were the best bet with a variety of coloured lures in particular a yellow and orange FAB.

The top 5 qualified for the final in March. The next qualifier is in Febraury, apologies to all those who could not get into this one, there was a lengthy reserve list and places are limited for the next one .

The results were:

  1. Ger Fogarty 6 fish
  2. Paul Owens 5 fish
  3. Robbie Phelan 4 fish
  4. Hubert Smith 4 fish
  5. Tony Sweeney 3 fish (and biggest at 63cm)

Many thanks to Southside Angling for sponsoring a prize
Dermot Page
Rathcon Lake

Go fishing…

Rathcon is a delightful managed fishery approximately one hour south west of Dublin. To arrange fishing contact Dermot Page, [email protected], in advance.
www.rathcon.com/fishing.htm or on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/rathconlake

Irish Angling Update, 09/01/14

By
Paul Bourke
-
Blackwater
Corner of the Blackwater on the River Drowes

Happy New Year everyone. Ireland has had a wet a windy start to 2014 but it has generally been mild and not too miserable on the opening days of the season so far.  Temperatures while cold at times have been good but plenty of rain over the Festive period has left many rivers and loughs very flooded and it has taken some time for the first salmon to be banked.

Salmon
Eoin Mc Manus with the first salmon of 2014.

Stormy conditions and high water levels greeted anglers trying to land the first salmon of the year last week on the River Drowes.  On the 7th of January, local angler Eoin McManus landed the first salmon of 8 lb. on a Rapala lure near Lennox’s bridge and the fish was photographed and sold for charity. The bright silver fish wins our Catch of the Week to kick off the new season.  Water levels while still high on the river are starting to drop now so more salmon should be caught in the next few days.

There was a fair bit of Pike fishing in the past two weeks and Roly Byrne certainly got into a few nice fish on the River Barrow.  Up on the upper Boyne loughs, Dougie Robinson landed a great pike and Catch of the Week contender of 25 lb. 6 oz. on a deadbait.  An Ireland vs Poland Pike Match will take place on Saturday 25th January in the Ballybay area. Angling guide in the midlands, Michael Flanagan reports on some nice canal pike action as the bigger loughs in the area were stormy and flooded.  Many anglers we hear got plenty of fishing gear from Santa so I hope to see many more anglers out fishing soon.

On the Coarse angling front, there was a nice report of the 14 lb. 8 oz. common carp and several other good carp for anglers fishing “the Lough” in the middle of Cork City.  The World Feeder Fishing Championship will be held on the Lee reservoirs at Coachford on July 19th and 20th 2014.

There was a fair bit of sea angling activity to report and well known sea angler, Stephen Brennan enjoyed a shore outing to south Wexford landing bass and a fine Specimen Flounder.  This weekend sees the Interprovincial Shore competitions commence this Friday the 10th of January in Ulster.  The 3rd Irish Bass Festival will be held on July 25th, 26th and 27th 2014.  Despite the stormy weather, there was some Codling landed on a shore competition on Ballyquinn near Brandon in Co. Kerry.  In Cork Harbour, there was a big range of species reported from boats fishing within the harbour area in the past week.

There were several reports in the past fortnight from the Ardaire Springs Fishery in Kilkenny where angling guide Jason O’Riordan and his son Luke and others enjoyed some terrific Rainbow Trout fishing.

The middle of the week has seen the weather improve and there should be some good fishing in this weekend both in freshwater and at sea.

The forecast is for a cold, crisp day tomorrow but rain will become widespread in Western and Southern areas on Sunday morning, locally heavy. This rain will spread to the rest of the country in the afternoon and early evening. Cold broken weather is coming next week with wintry conditions expected.

Tight lines especially in Ireland,

Paul Bourke
Angling Information Officer

Catch, Photo, Release

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

Headlines

Salmon fishing reports

Pike fishing reports

Coarse angling reports

Sea angling reports

Trout fishing reports

News clippings

Other news

Blackwater
Corner of the Blackwater on the River Drowes

Specimen flounder well worth getting up for!

By
IFI Staff
-
Flounder no 1 - 2.6 lb
Flounder no 1 - 2.6 lb

Persuasive man Stephen Brennan rounds his friend and his bait up and heads off in search of flounders.  He reports;

I love it when a plan comes together. The target this time was big flounders, and the first step in this plan was to sort out some crab for bait – this is not easy at this time of year. The second was to persuade Joe Byrne to get out of bed at a stupid hour and go fishing – this is not easy at any time of year!  And lastly, I needed the unpredictable weather gods (and flounder gods) to be kind.

Crab and Joe
Crab and Joe

With crabs and Joe onboard, we headed south to flounder country and arrived at our spot while it was still dark. I had no idea what was in my tackle box as I hadn’t been fishing in months, but luckily I had enough gear to get me through. There was enough line on my reels, and I found a couple of rigs that would do the job (they were at least 8 years old!). Estuary flounder aren’t too fussy, and I can recall many occasions where anglers using more crude tackle have out-fished those using lighter, competition-style tackle. Anyway, I purposely chose not to change the size 1 hooks to a smaller size as they were ideal for the big flounders I was after. It had nothing to do with me being too lazy to change them, I swear!

A bass for Stephen
A bass for Stephen

First cast resulted in a slack line bite. Happy days, although it turned out to be a bass of around 3lb. Still it was very welcome (there were actually reports of a double figure fish taken in the area earlier in the week which was always in the back of our minds!). Next cast I had a flounder of 36cm. Joe got one of 39cm, and we had a few more of similar size.

After around an hour and a half I had a good bite, and whatever I’d hooked felt a good bit heavier on the retrieve. It turned out to be a really thick fish of 2.6lb (the specimen weight is 2.4255lb). We continued to catch steadily throughout the session, with the occasional double and even treble shot coming ashore.

Flounder no 1 - 2.6 lb
Flounder no 1 – 2.6 lb

Amongst these fish I managed another two specimens – one of 2.5lb and another of 2.6lb. The longest fish was 46cm. The target was to get one fish over specimen weight so to get three in the same session was a real bonus, and not something that happens regularly. Joe did a great job of keeping the smaller fish away from my baits so that the bigger ones had the chance to find them – thanks Joe! He even fished either side of me just to make sure he got all the little ones!

Joe Byrne with a nice treble shot
Joe Byrne with a nice treble shot

The majority of estuaries along the south coast hold big flounders and winter is without a doubt the best time to target them. They aren’t a difficult fish to catch, and if you’re looking to target something while having a relaxing day out then look no further. There’s no rushing around involved, and no fancy tackle or rigs required. The bait is probably the only tricky factor with crab being the only bait worth considering.

More good fish, including specimen no.2 on the right
More good fish, including specimen no.2 on the right

As always with flatfish make sure to unhook the fish gently, taking the time to remove the hook with a disgorger if the fish has swallowed the bait.

Hopefully I’ll get the chance to go after them again over the holidays, as the bigger flounders should stay around for the next month or so. I’ve had fish up to 50cm from these estuaries, and would love to get one bigger!

Stephen BrennanStephen Brennan - Back she goes..

Irish Sport Fishing

Web: www.irishsportfishing.com

1...1,5061,5071,508...2,000Page 1,507 of 2,000
Fishing in Ireland

EVEN MORE NEWS

POPULAR CATEGORY

© Inland Fisheries Ireland