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Irish Fly Fair & International Angling Show 2024, Enniskillen, 16 & 17 November

By
Myles Kelly
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The 12th Irish Fly Fair & International Angling Show will take place in the Killyhevlin Lakeland Hotel at Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh on Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th of November.

Step right up, anglers and fly-fishing enthusiasts alike! The 12th annual Irish Fly Fair and International angling show is back in Fermanagh.

This prestigious event will be held at the fabulous four-star Killyhevlin Hotel and grounds overlooking majestic Lough Erne. Dates are set for 16th and the 17th of November and doors open at 10am both days.

The event as always is the highlight of the year for many international fly fishers from across the world for a weekend to remember. Featuring the biggest group of the world-renowned fly dressers ever to be assembled on these shores. At present an amazing 80 plus representing an impressive 19 different countries demonstrators hailing from across the globe including tyers from the U.S.A, Canada, Aruba, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Italy, France, Scotland, Wales, England and of course some of the best from of the home-grown talent come to exhibit their art, pass on and show techniques. Plus, for you anglers that don’t dress your own flies you can learn from the best or order your flies for the coming season or add to your collection.

We also have World champion fly-casters on hand to demonstrate casting techniques and entertain including, English trout fly fishing guru Charles Jardine, Germanys Dominik Borrmann and Micheal Rebholz. Salmon Spey casters including Irelands own Glenda Powell and the great Scottish casters Ian Gordon, Scott Mackenzie, Tom Brown. Top casting instructors from GAIA, APGAI and AAPGAI and will be there to give free workshops all day.

Bring the family, we have as always, the Veniard Fly Tying Competition and a fun casting zone. Giving the youth a chance to show the professionals what they can do.

That is not all – expert anglers will be giving talks and seminars on various fascinating topics, and a vast selection of top-quality trade stands will be selling everything you need to pursue your passion for fly fishing and fly dressing.

The Irish Fly Fair has been hailed as one of the finest shows of its kind in Europe, a great weekend to meet up with old friends and make new ones! This show is a must for all Angling enthusiasts. So, mark your calendars and make your way to the undisputed best fly-fishing show in all of Ireland. Trust us; you will not want to miss it. A true Celebration of this wonderful sport and pastime. Which brings the fly-fishing world together.

Chairman of FODC Cllr McClaughry “The event has been supported by primary sponsor Enniskillen BID & Experience Enniskillen.  Fermanagh & Omagh District Council support the event also through their sponsorship package.

Noelle McAloon, Experience Enniskillen added “Fishing is an incredibly vital to the economy of Enniskillen with many local business sectors benefiting from anglers both within the county and outside.  Last year’s event exceed all my expectations.  I spoke with businesses from USA, Canada, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Scotland, Wales and Ireland – it was incredible the international element of the event.   We think Enniskillen is the perfect location for the Irish Fly Fair and delighted to be the main sponsor.”

David Morrisson, Killyhevlin Hotel & Lakeside Lodges “We are very pleased to welcome back this international event.  In 2023 we enjoyed the range of guests who had travelled from all over the world to stay in Enniskillen.  It was a very busy weekend last year and plans are well underway for this year”

“FishPal will have a stand and Will Draper looks forward to meeting fisheries and clubs and discussing ways in which they can help generate bookings and simplify admin for you at this amazing fly fishing international gathering ”

Stevie Munn “We love the stunning setting of Enniskillen, and the hotel is superb,  you can even fish from the grounds for Wild Pike at this time of year . We were encouraged to take our show to Enniskillen by Noelle in Experience Enniskillen and the business community.  The positive welcome we have received, and the support is so appreciated. The feedback from last year made all the hard work worth it.”

See www.Irishflyfair.com

Flyfair logo

Connie Finnerty wins Maloney/Keady Cup on Lough O’Flynn

By
Myles Kelly
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Joe Fitzharris reports on a tough Maloney/Keady Cup on Lough O’Flynn…

Lough O’Flynn was the venue for the last event of the year The Maloney/Keady Cup on Sunday in difficult angling conditions. This was a heaviest fish outing and while the returns were small on the day some anglers did fine.

Top rod on the day was frequent visitor Connie Finnerty who returned a winning trout of 2lb 07.8 oz. Well done Connie.

Results as follows,

  • 1st Connie Finnerty, 2lb 07.8oz.
  • 2nd Declan Donlon, 2lb 07.4oz.
  • 3rd Jimmy Gleeson, 2lb 04.6oz (Longest Fish rule)
  • 4th Michael Ferry, 2lb 04.6 oz.
  • 5th Anto Stephens, 2lb 04.0oz.

The club would like to thank Maloney/Keady Opticians Castlerea and the Kilmore Inn for sponsoring this event.

Go fishing…

Lough O’Flynn, Co. Roscommon

Howth SAC add some species to their cards with Wicklow Boat Charters

By
Shane O'Reilly
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Kit Dunne of Wicklow Boat Charters had members of the Howth Sea Angling Club aboard on Saturday as a number of their members tried to put some extra marks on their species cards for the year. The weather had been lousy leading up to the weekend, and it was going to turn even lousier on the Sunday, but they were lucky enough to find a window of relative cam that let them get out on the water.

Both the Manannan and the Castle Maiden were busy on the day, and plenty of species, including tope, huss, spurs, scad, gurnard whiting and doggies, were boated.

Go Fishing

Angling Charters are offered on a full-day, half-day and evening trip basis and can be tailored to suit your needs. Two boats are available – Manannan Mac Lir and Castle Maiden. All levels of anglers are catered for. Anglers will benefit from your skipper’s angling experience and local knowledge with advice and 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 angling methods.

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.

Kit Dunne
Wicklow Boat Charters

Telephone: +353 (0)87 6832179 +353 (0)404 67031
Email: dunnekit@gmail.com Website: www.wicklowboatcharters.ie

94 teams compete for the 👑 King of the Lake 👑 competition at Lanesborough

By
Shane O'Reilly
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The 2024 King of the Lake event was held on Lough Ree over the weekend, and 94 boats from destinations far and wide descended on the lake for the two day event. The competition was fished on a three longest pike basis, and after some good fishing on day 1, it was tight at the top, with the first three teams separated by only 8cm, as Paddy O’Regan and Johhny Stapleton nudged ahead of the rest with a 303cm total, closely followed by Martyn Cusworth & Michael F McKeon on 301cm.

Day 2 saw the competition hampered by wind and finish earlier than expected, as a severe weather warning meant that safety took precedence over time on the water, and so all action stopped at 3pm. Some areas of the lake were also closed off as an added safety measure.

As a result, the fishing on day 2 was a little slower than on day one, as Martyn Cusworth & Michael F McKeon put up a tally of 265.4cm to finish with the high score on the day. But, critically, they managed to upgrade their 2-day combined total to 313.5cm, which was enough to see them claim the overall trophy for the event, and they were crowned 2024 King of the Lake champions.

Final results table
Kings of the Lake 2024 👑

For a full report on the competition, see the numerous posts on the Lough Ree Lanesborough Angling Hub Facebook page.

Pike fishing around Lanesboro Angling Centre

41st Daiwa Irish Pairs another great festival success

By
IFI Staff
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The 2024 Daiwa Irish Pairs match angling festival was held last week, with some great fish caught, and lots of memories made. The Daiwa Pairs is a sea angling festival held in Dingle every September, and is one of the largest sea angling festivals on the British and Irish calendar. Attracting many visitors from the UK and around Ireland, last week was the 41st running of the event. The festival is generously sponsored by Daiwa with additional support from Bassboots.

The festival consists of a number of pegged matches on venues around the peninsula, including Ventry, Cappa, Brandon and Inch. this year saw mostly settled weather, with venue changes not necessary and all matches went ahead as planned. Darren Smith reports:

Fantastic hot and settled weather for the first week on ‘Costa Del Dingle’ meant the specimen hunt and surf beaches were challenging this year but Ventry produced a record number of dogs (the venue having been left untouched for the week prior to the match) and the main event again went to the wire at on Day 3.

Specimen Fish

There were a good number of specimen fish caught during the week with a fantastic Sting Ray (81cms across the wings and estimated at around 70lb) caught by Tom Wells which earned him fish of the week. The mixed format of matches and specimen hunting gave opportunities for all until 4pm on Friday to get onto that very substantial prize table.
We remain committed to our ever-developing Fish Welfare policy and will be retaining our 2-hook-only rule for 2025 which takes a lot of bait pressure off the anglers, their pockets and protects resources.
Cracking 56cm Bass for Sam Collier at Brandon
This year, again we had over £9,000 of Daiwa tackle prizes to give to the various winners; as well as over £9,000 of cash and pool prizes; we also had on-board around £1,000 worth of Bass Boots prizes. A huge thank you to Daiwa Sports, who give us fantastic sponsorship and support; Bassboots, similarly, and SAMF who provide us insurance cover for the week’s festival.
A few thanks in addition to our main event sponsors:
Sarah, Nettie and the lovely and helpful staff at The Dingle Bay Hotel for once again providing us our match HQ.
Nick Haward for his great support in helping me in running the event in Dingle this year given my difficult personal circumstances and Nick, together with Mark Aldred for helping out with the 2024 Pairs draw. Thanks too to Dave Hutch and Amanda for transporting over the tackle prizes and again it was great to have Dalrymple’s back on peg and card collection duty.
Also and most importantly though, a massive, massive thanks to the all-important Match Committee of Jim and Ian who do give up a lot of their week to vet the week’s venues and help make those all-important venue choices (over a Guinness or two!) and to ensure the beaches are pegged and that the results are sorted and posted. It was a first-class performance from a first-class team – thanks lads (my best buddies!) for another blinding effort.
A special well done Dave Falk and Brett Cotter for winning and retaining the 2024 Daiwa Irish Pairs 👏 (the first pair to do so).
Dave Falk and Brett Cotter, the first team to retain the Daiwa Irish Pairs trophy

 

 

 

 

New member wins first Newbridge District Pike Anglers winter event

By
Shane O'Reilly
-

After a long summer where the pike rods were swapped for coarse and sea-angling rods, the Newbridge District Pike Anglers were out on the banks in force as 31 members, old and new, turned out for the first event of the winter calendar.

There was a good haul of 72 pike landed on the day, so plenty of anglers got bends in their rods. And the stamp of fish wasn’t bad either, as there were six doubles to 16lb+ and a good smattering of jacks in the 7-9lb zone.

And it was a case of ‘newcomers luck’ on the day, as Eoin Mahoney, who only joined the club on the day of the event and was on his first trip out with his new clubmates, made an immediate impression by landing the biggest fish of the day at 16.13lb. So Eoin has made his mark, and it’s up to the rest of the members to catch him!

Full results are as follows:

1st Eoin Mahoney 16.13hf 25.10bag
2nd Dave Murphy 12.08hf 42.04 bag
3rd Brendan Jervis 10.10hf 41.15bag
2nd heaviest fish Paul Douglas 15.02 / 24lb bag
3rd heaviest fish Ciaran Bolger 12.09 hf 29.06 bag

For a full report, log onto the Newbridge & District Pike Anglers Facebook page.

Big winds blast Baggers at their first Winter League outing

By
Shane O'Reilly
-

The VDE Baggers kicked off their winter league on the Newry Canal last weekend in weather more suited to windsurfing… The fierce winds made presentation quite difficult for the anglers, but at least the rain held off for them, although the canal had risen around 2ft due to rain over the previous week.

That rise in water, coupled with the difficulty handling rods n’ rigs in the stiff breeze, meant that catches were somewhat below what they hoped for. But when it’s the first outing of the winter season, it’s as much about getting out there and welcoming a few new members.

James Wellwood was the top rod on the day, as some quality roach helped him to a bag of almost 4kg, while Paul Hutchman came in second on 3.43kg, with regular contender Aaron Nabc Hutchman coming third on 2.68kg.

For a full report, log onto the VDE Baggers Facebook page.

John Bijvoet wins Open on 25.175kg ahead of Celtic Masters Feeder Festival

By
Myles Kelly
-

Pat Falvey reports on the Munster Feeder Anglers WinterFest fished at Inniscarra…

Twenty anglers attended Saturday’s open match fished over 3 sections; Walshestown (D), Pumphouse (C) and O’Neill’s (B).

We had the 3 deep water sections in to make it as fair as possible. The 3 sections produced great weights with 20+kg, in all three. Lots of better quality Hybrids and Bream starting to show which will hopefully get better as the week progresses!!

Top 10 Results were as follows:

  • 1st: John Bijvoet D7 25.175kg
  • 2nd: Neil Richards C3 22.750kg
  • 3rd: Steve Thorpe B2 21.100kg
  • 4th: Dave Mickleright B3 20.750kg
  • 5th: Dennis V D Berg C6 19.500kg
  • 6th: Chris Haigh C4 19.275kg
  • 7th: John Kooij D8 19.250kg
  • 8th: Peter Bos D4 18.300kg
  • 9th: Peter Koopman D10 16.850kg
  • 10th: Richard Mowat B7 16.150kg

Of the 17 anglers that weighed they had a total of 273.375kg giving an average of 16.080kg per angler. Great fishing for this time of year!!

The 2024 Celtic Masters Feeder Festival kicked off on Monday. There are 49 anglers taking part. We’ll have a full report for you when the final scores are in after the last session tomorrow.

Go fishing…

Should you require further information on any of Munster Feeder Anglers events, accommodation options, or general venue information please contact Pat Falvey on Messenger or on email: patfalvey@me.com

Munster Feeders Logo

New byelaw closes brown and sea trout fishing early in the lower Lee

By
Myles Kelly
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Kingsley Weir - River Lee, Cork
Kingsley Weir - River Lee, Cork

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.

This is a result of the introduction of Byelaw no. 1009 of 2024 in March of this year

Season wrap from the River Nore, by Dan O’Neill

By
Shane O'Reilly
-

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.

Until the 17th of March 2025….

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