Well, we waited in vain all summer for a prolonged, mild, settled spell of weather, and then along comes one in November when we are least expecting it. Temperatures have been up to 3°C above average (even hitting highs of 20°C in places!), and rainfall has been well below average, but we have been smothered by a blanket of low-lying cloud that has kept the sun firmly out of sight. It seems many anglers across the country have been taking advantage of the balmy spell to extend their season by a few weeks, and in some cases, it has produced memorable results…

The settled weather is certainly a welcome occurrence for those charter boats still in the water. After a season where multiple days were lost due to bad weather, John Fleming of Blue Shark Angling Galway has been taking advantage of the calm weather to get to the offshore reefs where pollack, coalies and wrasse have been feeding well. Charter boats in Clare are also making the most of the weather extended season, as Luke Aston was also able to get a bit of good reef fishing in for his clients, and Sean Maguire of the Isle of Aran found the warm sea temperature has kept fish on the feed, providing good sport for his anglers. The settled weather also allowed David Norman of Angling Adventures West Cork to get afloat again, helping a client get used to his newly purchased kayak. David gave it a good workout on the water, and they even managed to catch a few decent pollack on the fly. On the north coast, Neville Snoddy was out for a day’s pollack fishing when all of a sudden something much larger grabbed his feathers. As it tore off, he knew it was something a bit special, and twenty minutes later a fine 40lb tope was brought to the boat, and was brought aboard for a quick photo before being released back to the water. November is known as a good month for bass fishing, and often, some of the larger fish are caught at this time of the year. Last week’s big tides brought success for Cormac Walsh, who used some large top-water lures to take bass in places he had rarely encountered them before.

The bluefin tuna season will be coming to a close soon so there are not too many more opportunities to fish for one of these goliaths this year. Luckily for Simon McLarnon, he finally managed to get out for a tuna trip last week having had multiple trips cancelled due to weather. But it was worth the wait, as Simon wrote in to tell us of his memorable day, when all four anglers in the party managed to get a tuna. Simon’s “Full House’ of tuna wins this week’s Catch of the Week. The south coast seems to see the tuna arrive later in the year than the north coast, as skipper Adrian Nowotinsky reported an increase in activity in the Union Hall area, and he managed to tag a couple of fish in what was probably his last trip of the season. Also on the south coast, skipper Gavin Tivy credits the high pressure for the increase in tuna activity off Youghal, with eight tuna brought to the boat during the week.

The Irish pike are likely getting disorientated, what with the mild weather and warm water temperatures this late in the year. Chris Scally certainly found them to be a bit fickle when guiding a couple of clients recently. But while there wasn’t much in terms of quantity, there was some quality as both his clients beat their PBs with 100cm+ fish. Mick Flanagan of Midlands Angling is a fella who has won plenty of silverware in his time, but one trophy that has always eluded him is the Moffat Cup, a yearly memorial pike competition held on Derravaragh. Well this year Mick can finally lay that ghost to rest, as, after numerous attempts, he eventually got to lift the trophy at the weekend. Also in the midlands area, Kevin Lyons had a regular guest stay with him for a couple of days last week. They opted to fish with deadbaits, and after a slow start each morning, the pike became active later in the day, and they managed some good pike up to 96cm. To finish up the pike angling news, pike anglers will be interested to hear that Norbert Renaud of L’ile Verte Pike Fishing Lodge in Cavan has launched a new online shop, with a range of pike flies, lures, clothing and various other types of gear and accessories available. Norbert spends a lot of time crafting impressive-looking handmade lures and flies, which will no doubt be attractive to Irish pike.

The Dodder Anglers are the largest angling club in the country and with the river closed since the end of September, that leaves a lot of anglers at a loose end. So, to keep the club active over the winter months, they arranged a trip to Southern County Fishing Resort for a day out. It was a relaxed day, with the more experienced anglers helping out the novices, and they ran their O’Connor Cup competition, a junior event that was won by Joe Swain. Peter Driver of Piscari Fly was also chasing rainbows last week as he brought his daughter Lily to his local put & take at Ardaire Springs at the weekend. Lily had spent the previous night tying up a few killer patterns, with which she managed to tempt a few nice trout from the margins in front of her proud dad. To finish off the trout angling reports, the Ireland on the Fly team continues their round-up of the angling season by speaking to lough fishing experts Mike Keady and Eamonn Ross to find out how the fishing went throughout the season and what key learnings there were from the difficult conditions at times during the year.

In coarse angling news, Oaklands Lake kicked off their winter match season last weekend, and unluckily for them, they chose the wrong bank to fish, as the anglers who fished the opposite bank fared much better… Nonetheless, they still caught plenty of fish, and only 5kg separated the top three, with Aiden Browne taking first place with 28kg+. Meanwhile, the Munster Coarse Angling Club held the second round of their winter league at Portumna last weekend. They fished on two sections, the town stretch and stick ups, with the town having more consistent weights including an 18lb+ bag which claimed top spot for Steve Grogan.

And now the weather

Friday will be cloudy throughout the country, with occasional patches of rain and drizzle and temperatures between 12°C and 15°C. Saturday will be much the same, but with a few brighter spells here and there. Some heavier and more persistent rain will develop in the southwest on Saturday evening. Things will start to change on Saturday night as a cooler air mass moves in from the northwest and this will extend countrywide by Sunday afternoon. Temperatures will drop to between 3°C and 7°C on Sunday night and Monday will be a drier, brighter day with a chance of some frost overnight into Tuesday.

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

Sea Angling Reports

• More good charter fishing in Carrigaholt
• Good fishing just keeps going in Clare
• West Cork tuna fishing going well as season’s end draws near
• Bluefin tuna good off Youghal last week
• Kayak anglers get good pollack and wrasse West Cork
• Bait fish abundance brings November bass
• Full House of Bluefin Tuna for Simon & friends fishing with Tuna.ie
• Surprise catch for north coast small boat angler
• Settled spell brings good late season fishing in Galway Bay

Pike Fishing Reports

• Mick finally wins Moffat Cup
• L’ile Verte Pike Lodge launches new online lure shop
• Quality over quantity for anglers fishing with Fish Tales
• Kilkenny Angler has nice Pike Fishing Weekend at Melview Fishing Lodge.

Trout Fishing Reports

• Latest episode of Ireland on the Fly: Loughs Brown Trout Review with Mike Keady & Eamonn Ross
• Dodder Anglers venture south for O’Connor Cup
• A fishing journey begins for Lily with Piscari Fly

Coarse Angling Reports

• Adrian Browne wins first round of Oaklands Winter League
• Steve Grogan wins second round of Munster CAC winter league
• Split venues leads to lopsided match for Leinster coarse anglers