Hardy perennial anglers Eamonn Mc Callion and Chris Mc Govern have a last cast at the Mill Pool on Opening Day 2014.
Shane Gallagher from the Drowes Salmon Fishery reports from the Drowes fishery on the first day of the season:
No fish were reported from the river today despite the best efforts of the hardy souls who battled high water and inclement weather. All prizes for the first salmon of the year are still up for grabs. The water has dropped just a small fraction but remains in full flood. The forecast is for more wind and heavy rain over the coming days which will mean conditions will remain difficult for fishing. Thanks to all those who made the annual opening day pilgrimage despite the conditions.
Fishable places were difficult to come by in the high water. Opposite the cattle shed on January 1st afternoon.Fishing the flood.
OUTLOOK:
Changeable and very unsettled for the first week in January.
Friday morning will continue stormy with a risk of damaging gusts. The winds will just slowly abate during the day.
Heavy showers will occur also on Friday and Friday night. Feeling cold. highest temperatures 5 to 8 degrees and lowest Friday night from +3 to -1 degrees.
Saturday will be a bright cold day with some sunny breaks, but showers will occur widely across the south and west – some turning wintry with falls of hail and sleet possible.
After a widespread sharp frost on Saturday night, more rain and strong winds will spread countrywide on Sunday bringing a brief rise in temperatures.
The weather will revert to colder conditions and occasional showers for the early days of next week Many of the showers will be wintry and winds predominantly from the southwest will be often strong.
Persisting with the fly for opening day despite difficult conditions.Hardy perennial anglers Eamonn Mc Callion and Chris Mc Govern have a last cast at the Mill Pool on Opening Day 2014.
Just like the highway to Hell, the road to the Drowes to catch Ireland’s first salmon of 2014 is paved with good intentions.
Anglers trying to catch the first salmon of 2013
Cinderella anglers across Fermanagh will already have taken the pledge. They’ll have vowed to leave that New Year’s Eve Ball and be safely tucked up in bed long before the clock strikes midnight, ready for an early start the following morning.
Such promises can be as empty as any New Year Resolution, especially if the glass on the table is full.
Some Cinderellas will arrive on the river bank, mid to late morning, sunken red-eyes staring unfocused from a grey, pasty, unshaven face. With any luck they will have swapped their ball gowns for something a little bit more apropos but that’s as far as their preparations will have gone. Just watching them getting into their waders and tackling up can be as funny as any Christmas pantomime…..
The river Blackwater which burst it's banks during recent flooding in Mallow town, Co. Cork.
STORMS are expected to pound the south and west coasts from early evening as the unsettled weather of recent weeks shows no signs of abating.
Met Eireann expects gusts of up to 120kph on exposed coastlines with up to 15mm of rain, but said the entire country could expect wet and windy conditions.
And forecaster Joan Blackburn said while there may be some respite on Saturday, more rain and strong winds would return on Sunday.
Flooding is a distinct possibility in the west and south due to a combination of high tides and low pressure.
“The best part of Thursday will be the morning, with some frost but not widespread,” she said. “But by lunchtime the clouds will be gathering with strengthening winds….
Kit Dunne of Wicklow Boat Charters reports from Cork during Christmas and look what santa brought in for him and the rest of the Boat Team Ireland crew! :
In a break in what has been horrendous weather lately the members of Boat Team Ireland hosted a fundraising competition out of Cobh. 50 committed anglers and supporters took advantage of the break in the weather and enjoyed some fishing in Cork Harbour during the Christmas week. We set off at 9.30 after a lot of meeting and greeting on the pier, some seasonal wishes and a dose of the usual banter associated with fishing.
Most boats opted for the harbour area and targeted Dabs, Whiting and Dogfish with a chance of a PoorCod, Ray or Codling. This paid off for Dave Callaghan who took 2 longest fish prizes for his Dab of 35cm and a Whiting of 45cm, while Joey Gough took the longest Dogfish prize with his dog of 72cm.
The Lagosta heads out on what was a great morning.
The top 2 prizes for Heaviest & Longest fish went to 2 Ling taken onboard the JohnBoy, local angler Romas landed the heaviest Ling of 5.4kg, while Arklow-man Gary Creigan coached by his Club mate Pat Swan netted the longest Fish prize for his Ling of 96cm. Romas took the Voucher for 2-Days Angling plus 2 Nights accommodation for 2 compliments of Wicklow Boat Charters while Gary took the 2 Nights accommodation plus Dinner for 2 at the Commodore Hotel, compliments of Pat o Shea. The prize for most species went to Wicklow angler Kieran Nichols for his 5 species. Kieran took the 100Euro Tackle Voucher supplied by the Team, a total of 32 prizes were given out on the day with a prize fund in excess of 2000Euro, supplied by Team members and sponsors.
Joey Gough and Steve Guest chill out, no pressure today !
On the Specimen Fish front we had a few near misses on the day, Dave Callaghan’s Dab of 35cm long was well within the length range for a specimen, (typically between 34 to 38cm). On the next day local angler Ken Hegarty fished similar grounds and bagged himself a Specimen Dab of 1.55lb. It goes to show, you just never know, we had Ling to 11lb, near specimen Dabs and Whiting and one boat had about 10 Conger on a clean mark inside the Harbour.
Dave Callaghan with another fine Dab.
The Team wish to thank everyone who took part on the day, all supporters of the Team, the Skippers, and a few Main Sponsors of prizes ; B&D Windows, Wicklow Boat Charters , The Commodore Hotel, and Halfway Angling Centre.
Boat Team Ireland 2014
Liam O Callaghan (Captain), Pat Swan, Padraic Clear, Mick Barry, Heiko Dreier, Brian Whelan, (Substitute).
1.55lb Dab for Ken Hegarty the following day on the same grounds
MAIN RESULTS;
HEAVIEST FISH
Heaviest fish went to Romas for his 5.4lb Ling, Romas took the Voucher for 2 Days fishing for 2 persons with Wicklow Boat Charters and 2 nights for 2 at the Grand Hotel, Wicklow. Sponsored by Wicklow Boat Charters.
LONGEST FISH
Longest fish went to Gary Creigan for his 96cm Ling, Gary took the Voucher for 2 Nights accommodation for 2 including a meal for 2 at the Commodore Hotel, Cobh. Sponsored by The Commodore Hotel
MOST SPECIES
Most species went to Kieran Nichols for his 5 Species, Coalfish, Conger, Dab, Dogfish and Whiting, Kieran took the 100Euro tackle voucher supplied by the Team.
Angling Charters are offered on a full-day, half-day and evening trip basis and can be tailored to suit your needs.
All levels of anglers are catered for. Anglers will benefit from your skipper’s angling experience and local knowledge with adviceand guidance on-hand at all times.
SPECIALIST ANGLING CHARTERS
Specialist Angling Charters are offered for those who wish to target specific species, specimen fish or try new methods of angling.
ANGLING COACHING
Whether you’re a Club, Individual, School or Junior you can have an angling coaching session or programme tailored to suit your needs.
Jason O'Riordan with a nice bow on a bloodworm at Ardaire
In the eye of a storm guide Jason O’Riordan and fishing colleague Shane lead the way at Ardaire Springs in Mooncoin and show us that it can be done!
December 27th : A storm raged across Ireland last night and today’s forecast was for gusts of wind to 150kph. Fly fishing – surely not! BUT, Shane and I were committed to fishing Ardaire springs – and opted to brave the elements! When we arrived at Ardaire the wind was howling. There was a little shelter on one side of the lake, and a lot of waves on the other. Shane opted for buzzers on an intermediate line and I decided to fish a bloodworm on a floater. I was first to get amongst the fish.
Jason O’Riordan with a nice bow on a bloodworm at Ardaire
This method caught 15 trout for me in the morning which was superb fishing.
Another one falls to the bloodworm
In the meantime Shane had been hitting some very nice fish on his buzzers and seemed happy to be breaking in his new Greys rod.
A nice fish on the new Greys GR50 10ft rod
l moved around the lake trying any likely looking spots and landed a few more really good fish including the belter pictured below.
A super Ardaire Bow
After lunch the fishing continued to be good but did slow a little. I switched to buzzers and had a few more bows and the odd small brown.
As the wind died down and the temperature dropped the fish went deeper and we both switched to mini-lures on sinking lines to try and tempt a few more fish.
Shane into one…..and safely landed
As the light began to fade I managed a few more bows before it was time to tackle down and head home.
Overall it was a great days fishing and worth the trip.
Hardy/Greys approved guide and an IFFF Qualified Fly Casting Instructor
Notes: Jason has a lifetime of experience in fishing and guiding on the rivers, lakes and coastline in the area. Jason has given talks on fishing techniques at the leading angling shows in Ireland. Game Fishing Ireland offers guided packages for salmon, river trout, lake trout and saltwater game species. Fishing packages can vary in price depending on the target species and time of year. A typical package can include permits, travel, guiding, and packed lunch. Tackle hire is also available.
Happy New Year to all anglers on a bright day from Ireland here in Dublin after a very wet festive week’s weather which kept anglers away from the fish. It has been a very quiet start to the New Year and salmon anglers fishing the River Drowes and the River Liffey in the hope of landing the first salmon of the season have had no luck so far. All our rivers are very flooded and consequently, anglers struggled to fish yesterday never mind try to hook a salmon in the conditions. Weather prospects look bleak for the rest of the week too with more Atlantic wet weather systems along with stormy conditions forecast to swing in over the country for many days to come.
Very few anglers ventured out over the Christmas period but there was a pike competition up in Monaghan between the Newgrange anglers and the local O’Casey’s anglers on a nearby lough. In the high water levels a few small pike up to 6 lb. were recorded on the day and the Newgrange anglers took the honours on the day. Other anglers struggled on other flooded loughs in a few places around seeking some pike action with little reward. There were no sea angling reports over the festive season so far but I am sure we will have some reports in soon.
A lavish new Irish Sea Trout book “Nomads of the Tide” is now in the bookshops written by Chris McCully and Ken Whelan and covers 50 waters all around Ireland.
With a bit of luck, a first salmon of the new season should come to the net soon and we will have the story and photo of the catch along with plenty more angling stories in 2014
Save the date….mark the calendar…..Gerard Doran is among the many who will be attending this years Irish Angling Expo on February 15th and 16th.
Gerard who competed from club level right up to Inter-Provincial and Home Nations championships offers sound advice and guiding tips,
South East Angling Services will be exhibiting at the 2014 Irish Angling Expo .Ger is delighted to attend such a prestigious event which is held in the National Show Centre, Swords, Co Dublin on the 15th and 16th of February. The show caters for all aspects of angling so pencil those dates into your diary to attend. More information about the show and South East Angling Services’ stand will be announced closer to the event. Check his website
You will be glad to hear that guide Jason O’Riordan of www.gamefishingireland.ie has decided to add another date at the Ardaire Springs Angling Centre:
Due to demand for the Stillwater Fly Fishing Course we have added a second date. This course will take place at the excellent facilities of Ardaire Springs Angling Centre on Sunday March 9th 2014 at 9.30am.
At a very affordable price of just €60 per person this course will cover:
Dry Fly
Wet Fly
Lures
Nymphs/Buzzers
All aspects of these techniques will be covered including tackle choice, leader set up, fly selection and presentation. The course tuition will last for approximately 4 hours and course participants can fish on at Ardaire for the rest of the day. We will be available to provide further advice if needed. Course participants will also be provided with a set of course notes.
If you want to learn about stillwater fly fishing or just improve upon your current knowledge book a place by contacting Ned at 086 812 8937 or myself at 087 2965712. Places are limited. A booking deposit of €30 applies.
Ardaire Springs in Mooncoin, Co. Kilkenny
To make a booking contact..
Jason O’Riordan
Hardy/Greys approved guide and an IFFF Qualified Fly Casting Instructor
Notes: Jason has a lifetime of experience in fishing and guiding on the rivers, lakes and coastline in the area. Jason has given talks on fishing techniques at the leading angling shows in Ireland. Game Fishing Ireland offers guided packages for salmon, river trout, lake trout and saltwater game species. Fishing packages can vary in price depending on the target species and time of year. A typical package can include permits, travel, guiding, and packed lunch. Tackle hire is also available.
Brendan O’Reilly reports that today Newgrange Active Angling club had a club challenge match with local pike angling club O’Casey’s on a Lake in Monaghan. With water high we knew it would be difficult. It was a bright day and a couple of fish coming to both teams in the first hour, 2 to O’Casey’s Johnny Brady and 2 for Brendan O’Reilly for Newgrange. O’Casey’s had the better fish and had the lead, but fishing slowed down for a while as both teams went in search of fish. Paul Reynolds of O’Casey’s caught the next fish to extend the lead, then 2 fish for Newgrange 6-lb and a 5lbs-4ozs gave the honour’s to Newgrange Angler’s by 3lbs-11ozs. All in all a good day’s fishing was had.
Brendan advises that Newgrange new membership will closing on Feb 22nd Brendan O’Reilly with his 6lb Fish Darragh Pictured Here With His 5lb 4oz Fish at Today’s Match
THE recently published Nomads of the Tides – Fishing for Irish Sea Trout, will make an ideal present at this time and belongs on every game angler’s bookshelf. Written by Chris McCully and Ken Whelan, this lavish publication describes 50 Irish sea-trout waters – estuaries, rivers and loughs – with grid references, historical details, travel, permit and accommodation information. Chapters include the history of Irish sea-trout fishing, tackle, angling techniques and fly-patterns, while a separate section is devoted to the biology of the species… Irish Times, 23/12/13. Read the full article ‘Delight fore game-anglers as 50 Irish sea-trout waters are outlined in book‘.
