Anglers in Cork are reminded of a new byelaw which extends the close season for brown and sea trout fishing in the lower Lee.
The close season for brown trout angling in the lower Lee (downstream of Inniscarra Dam and all tributaries and waters flowing into those tributaries) is 1st October to 14th February, and for sea trout 1st October to 31st January, all dates inclusive. Previous close date was 12th October.
Another season passes on the Nore, and Dan O’Neill reflects on the ups and downs on the river bank:
Here we are again, at the least favourite side of the river season. Monday saw the end of another River Nore season. We now have time to look back over the season and fondly remember all of the glorious days and, of course, some of the less glorious days. This season, I met some tremendous people, and writing this brings me to wonder how they are and how their fishing trips have been since our trip on the Nore.
It’s always interesting to see methods used in different countries around the world, and it’s just as interesting to see if they work. As a guide, I have seen trout take everything from a size 10 Jimny cricket in bright orange to a size 24 Adams. It taps a little into what we feel confident using, does confidence make us fish the “confidence” pattern better, or is it because when confident, we don’t count the casts that don’t catch, so we are not as inclined to say “that don’t work” and be harsh on the new pattern which finds its way to permanent residence in the bottom of our chest pack or in the fly box of “Frankenstein’s creations” which also resides in the bottom of our chest pack or in the pocket that we dare not open on our fly vests.
Trout fishing this season was good, and I was never able to settle in on one technique for too long. The weather presented challenges most weeks, but like they say, “Don’t fear the storm; learn to dance in the rain”. At the start of the season, there were a lot of trout, mostly small; it took quite some time for the bigger trout to show and come out of their lies. I had some great days early season on streamers along the King’s River and even took my first dip of the season, which was the 19th of March, with a client from New York. It was the typical stumble, panic, try to think, get wet and check who saw kind of incident; before I knew it, I was on my knees in the water with a fishing rod and a smile. A good friend always said to me, “If you fall in, throw me the rod and your fly box”. Who needs enemies, right?
As the season moved on, we had some great fishing and trout numbers were strong. I am working on going through my patterns over the next few days and the tying of them; I hope to add it to the river whispers newsletter, which will give you a breakdown of the tying of them. I tie quite a few nymphs and some wet flies; I will eventually move on to the other sections, but for now, most of, if not all, of my spare time, is spent with my double-handed fly rod practising for my exam next year.
Looking back on my diary, I guided 400 trips myself and arranged a further 450; I am very lucky to have a strong team of guides that are as passionate as I am about fly fishing, which really shines through and ensures the client has a great time. Of course, it does come with a little bit of sadness, too. Taking people fishing and getting to know them is wonderful, but at times, the drive home leads you to hope that they will be safe for the rest of their trip and stay safe on their fishing adventures. It’s amazing how friendships can form in such a short space of time, but what is it about guiding that forms that friendship? I think in the time spent with a client, they develop trust in you quite quickly as I am a talking wading stick mostly; people trust you to keep them safe on the water and to catch them some fish or even their first fish. People also look for advice on surrounding areas, places to eat, places to visit, etc. I am happy to assist them and help them get more from their time in Ireland, which is important. I have often been to different countries and am not sure where to go or what to do, so it’s always useful to know a little more than what fly works best.
Salmon fishing this year was good. We had some early season and sprinklings of fish throughout the summer. Fishing was made hard at times by weed buildup, which choked up the river bed. When water did come, it pushed the weed down through the system, making it frustrating at times. I had some sea trout mid-way through the season, nothing big, maybe a pound or pound and a half.
So, long story short, the season was as special as the previous ones, and I met a set of people who are now new friends; I may never see them again, but I know of their journeys and was lucky enough to spend time on the wonderful River Nore with them. I stay in touch with some and get emails from time to time to show me their catches and places they fish. So here is the end for now for the mighty Nore. Thanks to everyone who came to see me over the season, and I’m sure we will bump into each other over the off-season, and also a big thanks to the lads in Inland Fisheries who I’m sure have great fun correcting my bad spelling on the reports from the Nore. Looking forward also to the new season and the challenges and friendships it may hold.
Peter Driver from Piscari-Fly gives an update on a great season ending session on the River Nore:
So I imagined when I got up this morning or maybe at some stage yesterday that with all the rain falling, that was it; there was no chance of a last cast on Monday. I didn’t get much chance to get out over the weekend, but a few customers were out and managed to pick up a few trout in very testing conditions.
But fishing was tough by all accounts so I kind of expected the chance of a last cast was gone. So got up this morning was tying flies all day and went to the post office at lunchtime to do our normal daily delivery of orders. I crossed over the river Nore on this journey and hey didn’t look too bad at all actually, if anything it looked like it had gone down a bit over the weekend. So raced back to the house, rang the wife and told her I was going fishing and headed down to Fennelly’s Weir in Ballyhick on the River Nore and as it turned out, the fishing was exceptional, is the best way to descibe it.
There I was, a fish on nearly every cast, hitting or getting it to the net. No massive big fish but really good quality trout for the whole evening, it was fantastic fishing. River was up a little bit, coloured, the stones were a bit clean and there wasn’t much rubbish in the river coming down. Obviously, it had gone through Saturday and Sunday. But what a way to finish the season; it has left a hunger in me now for the next 6 months. If only that rain had come a week ago, we could have had a cracking end to the season, but awesome to get a good session under my belt before the season closed, as I had lost a bit of heart at the back end of this season. The best nymph was the Golden Beaded Hare’s Ear with an orange tag and a 3.5mm bead with some lead in behind it to get it down.
That’s a wrap….. The end of the trout season for 2024, not one of my best seasons and all we can do now is clean down the gear and see what happens next season.
This byelaw prohibits any fishing for any type of fish in the defined waters of the River Barrow except angling with rod and line only using dead bait.
The following section of the river will be closed from 1st of October in any year to the 31st of January in the following year.
The stretch of river which will be closed is Maganey Bridge to Graiguecullen Bridge on River Barrow.
The National Coarse Fishing Federation of Ireland (NCFFI) is hosting the World Predator Championships this coming week in Lisnaskea, Co. Fermanagh. Many teams have brought their own boats with them and that means that the NCFFI must provide a steward onboard each just to verify that they are recording the correct measurements of the fish.
So, if you, or your friends, or members of your club who have an interest in pike fishing are available this Thursday 3rd, Friday 4th and Saturday 5th October (all or any of the days) and fancy riding with the anglers from 8am to 3pm, please contact the NCFFI organisers using the contact details listed below.
This week I fished with Curran all the way from Maine, Curran speaks of his experience and also a little about the fly rod we were using. Patrick Maye is a trout angler that can be the perfect remedy for a bad day, I fished with Paddy quite a bit and his humour can complement any fishing trip, let’s see how Patrick’s season went. Trout angler Ciaran Maye speaks about his journey so far. Anthony goes through some winter plans and his favorite bank side snack when predator fishing. I speak about my last couple of weeks fishing and upcoming events.
Curran from Maine emailed me some time ago looking to discover what the River Nore had to offer along the lines of trout fishing. With the water levels quite low I needed to do my homework on which location would work best for the duration of the trip. Here is how we got on.
“I have been looking forward to my trip with Dan on the river Nore for some time now. I have been reading reports and saw some articles on the Nore, so it added to my excitement. I usually fish medium sized rivers, not unlike the river Nore in places. I tend to use dry dropper or micro streamers at times. The day we had it was a little overcast early, so I used micro streamers. There was a trunk of an oak tree dipped into the water mid-way up the run. The rooting system left quite a hollow and cut into the bank a bit which just screamed fish to me. I ran the streamers through a couple of times without success. I then changed the streamer to something with a little flash through it. On about the 4th cast I had a good take, I lifted and was into my first brown trout. The fish fought quite hard, and I thought it was larger than it turned out to be, the fish was 33cm which was a nice trout and certainly made me happy as now I know my patterns work on the R. Nore also. The rod today was a Cadence rod which I had not used before. I became very fond of the rod; Dan had a hard time getting me to hand it back after our trip. We also tried some dry dropper and had trout on that method too, though I much preferred micro streamers as it’s what I’m used to. I really enjoyed the Nore and what it had to offer. I have already rebooked for next season.”
Curran and a trout
Patrick Maye is a superb character and one I enjoy being around while fishing; he is ever grateful for each fish he catches. Behind Patrick’s humour and one liners, there is a very serious angler who pays a lot of attention to detail.
“The 2024 Season started very well for Daddy, Ciaran, and me. From the beginning, my journey into angling in 2023 was with a foolish attitude, concerned that I would be bored and not seeing much point in wasting time or energy getting cold and wet. I didn’t see myself carrying on the hobby my younger brother and nephew had adopted, but as we all know, that changed instantly when I hooked my first trout! From then on, it became my love and passion, second only to my family and children.
I am blessed to be part of Thomastown angling club on the beautiful River Nore and a member of Ennisnag on the Kings River, which boasts fantastic areas to fish and plenty of big healthy trout.
As you all know there are a thousand questions and doubts when casting flies and every doubt I ever had was quashed with simple guidance and methods to improve every aspect of my well spent time on the rivers.
When starting out I was introduced to the dry-dropper method, which I was very successful with once using the black Frenchie Jig Nymph and an indicator. I then had the pleasure of a casting class with Dan on the fantastic Mt Juliet Estate, which I feel turned the tide for me. I had been watching ,YouTubers, like Tom Rosenbauer, and I was trying to match them by casting as far as possible, but I ended up getting tied up in myself, losing many flies and causing insufferable tangles that meant I had to re-tie everything from scratch! This was a huge frustration, whereas Dan taught me to simplify, to get rid of the frustrations and to fish the water in-front of me. To quote him, ‘less is more’, and another piece of gold that enters my thoughts on every cast – ‘flicking the paint off the brush’!
This simplicity changed my cast and whole experience immensely. As for the standard of fish in the Nore, they are big and plentiful at present.
I switched from the dropper to dry fly, especially in the evenings, with a size 12 green Mayfly pattern in the morning and a red/green colour that has been working a treat with my latest (and best) evening being in Mt Juliet (ten beauties in two hours all on the dry).
I know it’s luck and timing, but ever satisfying and I still feel as a beginner that I am always learning and will never master what some call a hobby, now a passion that has become a part of my life.
With three children under three, the escape is sometimes very welcome, and in a very hectic work environment – as a construction manager – fly fishing brings a perfect work life balance; it’s the greatest stress reliever I have ever experienced!
I look forward to teaching my son and two daughters everything I can on angling and I see it now as something essential that I can pass on to them. We, the Mayes, are a fly fishing family, I am regularly out with my father, Johnny, my brothers, Ciaran and Brian, and my nephews, Oisin, Sean and James, and won’t be long until I have the kids in waders beside me.
I have recently started work with Flynn Furney environmental consultants, Simon Furney has been a wealth of knowledge to me on how to look after and care for our residents around the river which is of huge importance. I look forward to continuing my journey in fly fishing and conservation.”
Tight Lines, Patrick Maye.
The Maye family
Ciaran Maye has a strong passion for fishing and began his journey really looking at the technical side off fishing. I found Ciaran to always ask “why” which is leading him to quickly becoming a top fly angler. Let’s see what Ciaran had to say.
“This season went well for us in terms of numbers despite the awful start in March with the rain, for me it was all about dry-dropper. I spent most of my time focusing on the nuances of this technique and honing in on different variations. I’ve found that the dry dropper, requires you to fish either the dry fly or the nymph, but rarely both equally. Throughout the season, I found that small tweaks – whether adjusting the weight of the nymph, the length of the dropper or sizing up or down the dry fly and adjusting my focus on the “main” fly, made a huge difference in how effectively I could target different types of water. It’s a hugely versatile technique but it’s important to remember it’s not a catch all method either, it does have its downsides too, in that you’ll never fish the dry or the nymph as effectively as you would if you were solely fishing it. There’s always some compromise because you’re fishing both.
The most effective dry flies in the setup for me were size 14-16 Klinkhammers and Deer Hair/CDC Sedge’s, and the most successful nymphs were size 16-18 Silver Beaded Frenchies, though I still found some fish with pheasant tails and olive CDC collared nymphs too. For next season, I plan to focus more on dry flies and streamers.
This variability and constant problem-solving aspect of fly fishing is what keeps me hooked. It’s a puzzle where the pieces change every time you step in the river, and that’s something I truly enjoy.
On a personal level, fishing with family has always been a highlight of the season. As my father says, sometimes it’s not about catching fish at all, it’s just about getting out there.
Fly fishing also offers me a much-needed mental reset. It provides a break from the intensity of work and the everyday. Being out on the water, concentrating on the rhythm of the cast and the flow of the river, is the best form of stress relief I’ve found.”
Tight lines! Ciarán Maye
Happy memories
Anthony is gearing up for fishing now during the colder months. Rooting around the hot-press for his hat and jacket. Sorting out the lure box and bait boxes. I asked Anthony what his plans for over the winter were.
“I will miss the summer and stalking carp in the evening times. I love to tench fish in the evening time also. I love watching my float and seeing the fizzy bubbles getting closer and closer, then the float slowly moves away and disappears.
My aim this winter is to target a bigger perch and maybe try to beat my PB pike. I would like to go to the lakes again for a pike in Northern Ireland. Last time I had some nice ones and feel I’d beat my lake PB this time. My river PB is not very big, but I will be trying to beat that this winter also. I really enjoy fishing the canals on the R. Barrow. My dad fished here when he was my age and grandad tells me lots of stories about very big pike he saw around the spots we go. I have seen big pike before, so I know they are there.
Another favorite thing I have is to have some dinner on the riverbank. I help my dad make stew and we take it in our food flasks. It helps me to stay warm on the riverbank and gives me energy and I can stay fishing for longer. When the blackberries are on the bushes, we take some home and make jam from them to, it’s my favorite jam to have.”
Anthony O’Neill.
Finally, a report from Dan himself:
The last 2 weeks have been quite good with some larger trout showing. I have had some good evenings with spider patterns. A lot of my classes now are on grass or on a lake. Usually, clients trying to get rid of bad habits or make casting a little easier on themselves. I always found the winter months to be best for me to fine tune my casting as I couldn’t fish the river. This would ensure my efforts went into casting and not into trying to catch a fish. Learning the stopping points of the fly rod was probably the most beneficial to me. I would record myself stopping the rod at what I thought to be one o’clock which, to my surprise, could be 2 o’clock. Muscle memory will kick in and you will soon be more accurate in where you can stop the fly rod. Why is this important? Being able to open and tighten your loops is very useful for different angling situations. Also correct loading of the rod takes a lot of unnecessary effort away from the caster. I never thought I’d need to know most of the casts I studied but, lo and behold, I use them all quite often now. I use the thumb on top grip with a fly rod so I tend to use the thought that wherever my thumb is pointing my rod tip must be pointing that way to. So, I now have taken everything closer to me. Instead of trying to blindly guess where my rod tip is I can now visually see my thumb and know where my rod tip is pointing. Once my muscle memory kicks in, I will no longer need visual aid for stopping my rod tip. I will simply have to tell myself where I want to stop it and hey presto! It stops there (usually 😊).
Upcoming Events
The Irish fly fair is upcoming, and I have been lucky enough to have been given a demo slot with fellow APGAI instructor Ray McKeeman. APGAI and GAIA instructors will be on hand to give one-on-one tuition which can greatly help anyone on their fly-fishing journey. APGAI have teamed up with Veniard to have a fly-tying competition. I will be also at the Cadence stand doing the try before you buy with the Cadence rod range. A great opportunity to meet our team and discuss the range.
This winter I will be having some casting mornings mostly on Saturdays. These are a great way to meet other anglers and improve a certain cast or technique. We also discuss leader set ups, fly patterns and techniques for the season ahead. Contact me for more information on the classes and availability.
Beginner fly fishing for pike class
With the predator season looming I remember starting out for pike using the fly, I tended to get a bit lost so have designed a course aimed at beginners and helping them to get into fly fishing for pike. Contact me for more information on the classes and availability.
Early morning River Nore from a Mount Juliet vantage point
Growing up in the countryside of Gowran, Co.Kilkenny, I started my fishing journey on the River Barrow with my dad, which is where I caught my first fish, a lovely brown trout. The Gowran River was also a short walk from my homeplace, and on the days my dad couldn’t fish, I would walk through the fields and fish the Gowran River. My love for fishing grew and took me to Mount Juliet Estate, where I began guiding at 13. I went on to become fisheries manager at Mount Juliet Estate and, to this day, enjoy taking out hundreds of clients every year fishing on the River Nore. I enjoy all types of fishing and guide all over Ireland. I am an Apgai Ireland-qualified casting instructor and have Ambassador roles with Cadence and Yeti. I joined Fulling Mill as an endorsed pro guide and am part of the Patagonia pro team. My angling journey has been an exciting one and hopefully will continue to be.
I take out all levels of anglers, from beginner to experienced. I enjoy what I do and count myself very lucky to be able to meet and guide new people to what might be their first Irish fish.
We certainly enjoyed some fine warm weather last week, but Autumn arrived with a bang this week, much coller temperatures, windy and at times wet weather being the story of the last few days. The mornings have certainly felt a lot colder, and it’s just about time to dig out the winter jackets and for fishing, perhaps the long johns!
The trout and salmon seasons come to an end shortly, with just a few fisheries remaining open into October. One of those is Lough O’Flynn in Co. Roscommon, where Mike Faherty and Martin Noone won the Baggett Perpetual Cup competition at the weekend with a fine catch of 6 trout for over 11lbs. Peter Driver also reports on some big competitions, including gold for Ireland at the 5 Nations Championship in France, and he also has an update on some great late season fishing on the River Nore. On this week’s Ireland On The Fly podcast, Daire and Tom chat with Irish international angler Joe Quinn, a Louth man now living in Mayo, about his love of game fishing.
Salmon fishing is also coming to an end for this year, but the River Moy had a good week last week as water levels dropped into good order. Some salmon and more sea trout were reported from Lough Currane, although the Laune was fairly quiet with low water.
The Kerry Blackwater produced some fish, including a fine 16lbs fish caught on a Willie Gunn by a local angler, who sportingly released the fish to carry on its journey.
In coarse angling, the final of the hotly-anticipated Feeder King competition was held over the weekend in Cavan, with young Charlie Richards weighing in an impressive bag of 23.99kg of skimmers on the second day to sweep the field, winning with over 30kgs overall and by a clear margin.
Elsewhere, fishing was decidedly tough for the Leinster Coarse Anglers on the Grand Canal at Daingean, while on the Barrow, Naas Anglers enjoyed good fishing as they battled it out for the John Prescott Memorial Cup.
Pike angling is in full swing with autumn underway and water temperatures dropping to more seasonal, and suitable levels. Returning US visitor Christopher May really enjoyed his visit to Lough Derg, boating pike up to a fantastic 112cm.
Big Derg pike, 112cm
Young angler Cal was rewarded for his patience, when after a day of missed takes, he hooked up with a 102cm pike on Lough Ree, guided by Chris Scally. Cal gets our Catch of the Week for his sheer persistence and hard work.
Cal with his big pike
Sea angling had a real boost with the warm spell last week, and there were some great fish caught up and down the country. Small boat angler Jim Clohessy went wrasse bashing at the weekend, and had some cracking wrasse to the boat.
Lovely colourful fish for Andy. A fine chunky fish. Fiiish Black Minnow No3 25g doing the business again.
Some Dutch anglers enjoyed great fishing on Sea Otter in west Cork, back in the water after some minor maintenance and a beauty treatment.
In Clare, anglers on the Isle of Aran enjoyed some fine fishing with a good mix of species, and nearby, the Clare Dragoon had a mix of offshore fishing and targeting predators in the estuary, with plenty of tope and some lovely fish coming to the boat.
A beautiful tub gurnard on the Clare Dragoon
On the shore fishing front, Cormac Walsh reported slow bass fishing last week, but a change of tactics and retrieve speed saw him winkle out a few fish as the tide flooded in over rocky ground. Suir Estuary SAC reported good fishing at Woodstown, Co. Waterford for the Suir Estuary Open, won by Danny Byrnes
And now the weather
A mixed weekend in store, with Saturday looking the best day by far – mostly dry with scattered cloud and good sunny spells at times, and just a few light scattered showers. Light to moderate westerly winds will fall light later in the day and back southerly, with highest temperatures of 11 to 14 degrees. Rain, heavy in parts, will spread up from the southwest, over much of the country during Saturday night and Sunday, reaching the north coast Sunday afternoon, and accompanied by fresh to strong and gusty easterly winds. Some spot flooding may occur in parts too. Highest temperatures of 11 to 15 degrees.
Monday will see dry periods but with some scattered outbreaks of rain too. There will be some brighter spells with temperatures in the low to mid-teens, in a light to moderate northwest breeze. Tuesday looks set to bring good sunny spells and just a few scattered showers, especially near northern and northwestern coasts. Highs of 11 to 14 in a light to moderate north to northwest breeze.
Luke Aston says the fine weather last week made for lovely days on the water, but the easterly breeze did affect the fishing somewhat. Eventually a move to an inshore reef produced some great sport, with some fine pollack around.
The last day for the group saw really good fishing on the drift, with plenty of pollack, spurdog and coalies, with a fine tub gurnard and megrim also coming aboard.
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A beautiful tub gurnard on the Clare Dragoon
There has been a change in the weather this week, which has meant fishing in the estuary. Bait in the form of mackerel is plentiful, amd the last couple of days have seen plenty of pack tope, some bigger fish, good thornback rays and huss to double figures.
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Go fishing…
Clare Dragoon
Clare Dragoon is a LOCHIN 366 powered by 650HP engine, skippered by Luke Aston and operating out of Carrigaholt Co. Clare…
I have some offers up on my web site www.fishandstay.com and if anybody is interested in putting a trip together please do get in touch. Also I Twitter from the boat on @fishandstay and try to update my face book page www.facebook.com/CarrigaholtSeaAngling fairly often!To experience some of the best deep sea fishing available in Ireland contact Luke. Telephone: +353 65 9058209 or +353 87 6367544 Email:[email protected]Web:www.fishandstay.com
This week has seen a significant change in the weather, but the Indian summer weather of last week produced great fishing conditions on the west coast, with little swell and lovely sunshine. Skipper Sean Maguire says the easterly winds made fishing a bit tough at times, but judging by the photos it looks like his guests really enjoyed themselves, with some great fish caught.
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Go Fishing
Isle of Aran
Fishing Adventures on Séan Maguire’s Isle of Aran, a Lochin 33 charterboat which operates 15 miles from Kilbaha, Carrigaholt, and Kilrush.
Whether you want to go to the Atlantic Ocean for a large selection of species, including different types of shark, or fish the estuary for ray conger tope etc, Fishing Adventures will cater for whatever fishing you desire. Telephone: +353 (0) 877508758 or +353 (0) 894431182 Email:[email protected]Web:www.fishingadventures.ie
Kinsale based charter boat, Sea Otter, has enjoyed some good days fishing since she was briefly out of the water for a bit of TLC and a beauty treatment earlier this month.
Two brothers from Holland were amongst the first to get out on Sea Otter after she was spruced up. They had a good day in fine weather catching 12 species which included the ever popular John Dory.
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At the end of last week skipper Dennis was out at the crack of dawn and with the sun coming up he was heading to Courtmacsherry where he took a group of Dutch lads out. The lucky anglers had a good laugh and a very good days fishing.
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On Sunday Dennis was out with yet another Dutch group. They were all in great spirits and had a good time and once again enjoyed good fishing with plenty of different fish going.
Sea Otter is a safe and fast 30′ Evolution boat with a 420hp engine that can fish 8 anglers or can take 11 people out for scenic trips.
