Here at fishingireland.info we love to see young anglers getting involved in our sport, and progressive clubs taking the coaching initiative to get young people into fishing, and improve their skills.
Mallow Trout Anglers Association are one such club with a positive attitude to youth angling. Over the last few months some of their young members have been getting tutored for their Game Angling Instructors Association (G.A I.A) Bronze casting award. On Friday the 2nd of August they all did their assessment and all passed at the first time of asking!
This was a great achievement after many hours of practice. The assessment included assembling a fly rod and various types of casts including accuracy.
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Their parents , club tutor and club members are all extremely proud of them. They now hold the bronze award and can go for their silver award next. The assessment included assembling a fly rod and various types of casts including accuracy.
The successful young anglers with their Bronze awards. Congratulations!
Dave Edwards of West Cork Charters reports that there’s plenty of good fishing to be had down in west Cork at the moment. They are finding blue shark in good numbers around the offshore banks and wrecks and there are some small porgies also showing up. Some of the ling fishing has been exceptional, with plenty of fish in the 15-20lb range and one super fish of 133cm.
Go fishing…
West Cork Charters operates the Silver Dawn, a 41′ Rodman 1250 with twin 430 HP Engines out of Courtmacsherry. The range of fishing found within close range of Courtmacsherry is superb, with trips producing anything between 6 and 15 different species as a norm and in excess of 20 is possible if anglers are prepared to change methods and use different baits and lures throughout their trip. As a rule mackerel, pollock, cod and ling are usually encountered but several species of wrasse along with whiting, pouting, coalfish, bull huss, conger and many more are often added to the catch.
If you do choose to head offshore to sample the superb shark fishing available within 10 miles of Courtmacsherry, there is a very strong chance of encountering blue sharks and an increasing chance of bringing a porbeagle shark to the boat.
The memory-making continues here in beautiful West Cork, this time with Pascal, an experienced freshwater lure and fly angler from Switzerland who’s holidaying in Ireland with his family and wants to try saltwater kayak fishing with me. As with all trips we went through the process of finding out about him and what he would need clothing wise on the pre-trip video call. We met at a sensible hour, went through the land-based coaching, took our time going afloat and slowly ramped things up bit by bit, which ultimately resulted in some nice surface & subsurface caught Bass for him in great weather. There are too many firsts to mention for this travelling angler and I was delighted to be a part of it all…
It has been a fairly dry week overall, showery at worst with some fairly calm conditions and bright sunshine at times, but plenty of overcast skies too. Temperatures have not broken any records either, and it looks like a less than memorable summer is unfolding. Some heavy rain in the west this morning may give hope to salmon anglers for weekend sport, however, and it is with salmon angling that we start.
The River Erriff suffered from low water for much of July, but rain later in the month brought a few spates, and a very creditable 86 salmon were recorded, with good grilse runs arriving over the last few weeks. Low water has meant few reports in this week, but there are credible reports of good grilse runs along the west coast in recent weeks. After a worrying spring and early summer, it is good to see good numbers of grilse arriving.
Ian Carter caught and released this nice fish in the Falls Pool
The Laune and Killarney system probably needs a bit of water, and there were just a few salmon reported here. The Munster Blackwater could also do with some rain, with a lot of fish holding in the estuary and lower river but proving rather sulky.
The World Cup Flyfishing Championships take place this week on Lough Mask, and we hope to report on this next week, with the best of luck and good wishes to the competitors. Lough Corrib saw some really good fishing at times during July, where the second hatch of mayfly arrived early and provided good sport for anglers fishing wet and dry mayfly patterns.
One of Johnny O’Brien’s better fish taken on a dry mayfly
Lough Lene has been fishing well for Mick Flanagan, where fishing into darkness on good buzzer nights is tempting fish. On this week’s Ireland On The Fly podcast, Daire and Tom chat with Oughterard native Paul Molloy about growing up on the shores of Lough Corrib, which fostered a great love for trout fishing.
To coarse angling, and Charlie Vallendar finished top of the pile after an intensefive days of fishing at the Lough Muckno July Festival last week. He managed two tidy bags of 19kg+ on Day 2 and Day 4 and more than held his own on the three other days to finish with a total of 67kg+.
Leo Lynch kept up his winning streak in the Sensas/Dennett Summer league at Oaklands, coming out on top again with 75.880 kg. Elsewhere, Athy & District Anglers held the final leg of the John Shaughnessy memorial mini summer league on Sunday in very sunny conditions, so the weights were poor enough. Ryan Olohan did enough on the day to take third and the overall league win. On foreign waters, the VDE Baggers represented Ireland at the World Club Championships in Slovenia, where they learned plenty but failed to make the podium this time.
Finally to sea angling, and we have some great reports to share from all around the coast. In west Clare, some diverse crews on the Isle of Aran caught a great diversity of species, from plentiful pouting to blue shark. Staying in Clare, anglers on the Clare Dragoon enjoyed great blue shark fishing as well as plenty of fish on the reefs.
On the east coast, Kit Dunne reports that the fishing in Wicklow has really switched on, with some fine pollack and ling falling to soft plastics, a great way to fish for them.
Our Catch of the Week goes to Adrian and crew on tuna.ie for the first bluefin of the year.
And now the weather
A wet morning here in the west has seen the rain slowly clearing eastwards, with brighter conditions following as it clears into the Irish Sea this evening. Highest temperatures of 17 to 23 degrees, warmest in the east, with moderate to fresh and gusty southerly winds.
Saturday will be a bright day with good spells of sunshine and a scattering of showers too, especially for the north and west. Highest temperatures of 16 to 19 or 20 degrees in mostly moderate southwest to west winds. A dry start on Sunday will be a false dawn, with a very humid airmass moving in and heavy and persistent rain spreading from the west through the afternoon. Be aware that local flooding is possible, and it will be a blustery day, the winds strong and gusty in coastal parts of the west and south.
A wet start in the east on Monday, but fresher weather as the rain clears eastwards, and the early part of the week looks fresher, with bright spells at times and moderate to fresh winds.
The latest episode of the prolific Ireland on the Fly podcast is available now, episode description courtesy of the Ireland on the Fly team below:
Joining Daire & Tom on this week’s Ireland on the Fly is Paul Molloy from Oughterard whose family has been steeped in Irish fly fishing for generations living and working by the shore of Lough Corrib.
And as a kid growing up, Paul tells them of the mayfly market where they would be selling mayflies by the dozen and then as he got older how he got more and more into the fly tying side of things becoming an All Ireland Youths champion.
These days Paul lives in Tipperary but the call of the loughs is strong and he explains why Corrib is still so special to him.
Rate, review and follow the show to keep up to date with all the latest Ireland on the Fly episodes on Apple or Spotify, plus you can sign up for our newsletter on www.IrelandontheFly.com and get regular updates on Instagram.com/IrelandontheFly.
Donavin Brinklow reports that July was another tough month of fishing with low water condition and high temperatures.
Conor O’Leary kicked off catches for the month on the 2nd when he landed 2 grilse to 4.5lbs the Falls Pool, and John Phelan landed a 7lbs salmon in the Garden Pool on a black and silver shrimp pattern.
Barry Fox landed a 6lbs salmon on the 5th in the Falls Pool on a Green Butt Cascade.Two days later Niall Lynch landed 4 finnock and a 5lbs salmon in the Middle Garden Pool on Beat 9. Alastair Purdy landed 3 finnock and a 2lbs salmon in the Falls Pool. Thw following day John Godfrey landed a 6lbs salmon, also in the Falls Pool.
On the 9th Eoin Cosgrove landed a 5.5lbs salmon in the Falls Pool, where Charlie Phelan also landed a 4lbs grilse. Charlie landed another 4lbs fish the following day, and John Phelan landed a 5lbs salmon on Beat 9 using a Cascade. John Ryan landed grilse of 4lbs and 3.lbs in the Falls Pool on Beat 9.
A nice fish in the net for William Maire
James O’Neill landed a 6lbs salmon and a small sea trout on the 11th from the Falls Pool and John Ryan landed a 4lbs salmon and a finnock in the Upper Garden Pool.
On the 12th, Niall Lynch landed 3 salmon around the 5lbs mark and Kevin Mitchell landed two 4.5lbs salmon and a 7lbs salmon on Beat 9. Paddy Gargan landed a 5lbs ranched salmon on Beat 9. James McGuire landed a 1lbs sea trout in the Garden Pool.
Neil Spellacy landed a fine 8.5lbs salmon on the 15th in the Sea Pool on a Sunray. The next day John Phelan landed a 5lbs salmon and two 1lbs sea trout in the Garden Pool, and Jake Delaney landed a 3lbs salmon in the Upper Garden Pool and a 4lbs salmon in the Falls Pool fishing a Stoat’s Tail.
Jake Delaney fished on the 17th and landed a 3.5lbs salmon in the Bridge Pool and a 7lbs salmon in the Falls Pool on a mini gold Cascade. John Phelan landed a 3lbs salmon in the Falls Pool and a 4lbs salmon in the Bridge Pool using a Stoat’s Tail. On the 18th Seamus O’Neill landed a 6lbs salmon on Beat 9 using a Silver Stoat. Alastair Purdy landed grilse of 3lbs,5lbs and 3.5lbs and a 1lbs sea trout on Beat 9.
Rain on the evening of the 18th and further rain on the 19th gave a welcome spate with the river rising to over 1m on the 20th. James O’Neill was back on the 19th and landed a 3.5lbs salmon in the Coronation Pool on Beat 8 using a Cascade. Niall Lynch landed a 4lbs salmon and a 1lbs sea trout on Beat 9 using a Cascade, and Kevin Mitchell landed a 4.5lbs salmon on Beat 9. James then landed a 6.5lbs and a 3.5lbs salmon from the Falls Pool, and Jim Ryan landed a 6lbs and a 3lbs salmon from the Upper Garden Pool on a Cascade.
The 20th saw good fishing again John Ryan landed a 5lbs salmon and two 0.75lbs sea trout in the Falls Pool 9, Jim Ryan landed 2 grilse to 4lbs from the Falls Pool and a 7lbs salmon in the Upper Garden Pool on a Cascade. Osgur Grieves landed two 0.75lbs sea trout on Beat 3 School House on a Cascade. Seamus O’Neill landed 7lbs and 4lbs salmon on Beat 9 using a Cascade. David Flynn landed a 3lbs salmon on Beat 4 Poleen. Peter Coyne landed 3lbs and 5lbs salmon off the Falls Pool on a Cascade.
The 21st saw regular visitor from Austria, Tobias Stern land a 4lbs salmon from the Upper Garden Pool on a Black and Silver. Michael Wade landed two 3lbs salmon, 1 in the Falls Pool on a Green Highlander and the other in the Sea Pool on a Collie Dog.
One of William Maire’s fish going back in the Bridge Pool
Eoin Cosgrove was back on the 22nd and landed a 6lbs salmon on Beat 9 on a Black and Silver. Neil Spellacy landed a 4lbs salmon in the Falls Pool on a Black and Silver and a 4lbs salmon in the Lower Garden Pool on a Munro killer, he also landed 6 sea trout in the Lower Garden Pool around 0.75lbs. Alastair Purdy landed a 6lbs salmon in the Falls Pool on an Alastair and a 5lbs and 3lbs salmon in the sea Pool on Beat 9. Niall Lynch landed 5lbs, 7lbs and 3lbs salmon in the Falls Pool and two 0.5lbs sea trout on a Sunray.
On the 23rd Alastair Purdy landed a 3lbs salmon in the Sea Pool ,and Eoin Warner also landed a 4lbs salmon in the Sea Pool. John Phelan landed a 4lbs salmon and two 0.5lbs sea trout, also in the Sea Pool.
The 24th saw Ian Carter land an 8lbs salmon on Beat 9, fishing the Falls Pool with a Francis. Peter Murphy landed 5lbs and 6lbs salmon on Beat 9 using a Posh Tosh. The next day Peter Coyne landed 6.5lbs and 4.5lbs salmon on Beat 9 on a Stoat’s Tail. James O’Neill landed a 0.75lbs sea trout in the Falls Pool on a Silver Dabbler.
Ian Carter caught and released this nice fish in the Falls Pool
Conor O’Leary landed a 6lbs salmon on Beat 9 on the 26th, and Solomon Skinner landed a 4lbs salmon on Beat 9 using a Silver Stoat.
A spate on the 27th saw some more fish caught – Peter Coyne landed a 4.5lbs salmon on Beat 9 using a Stoats Tail. William Maire landed 4.5lbs and 6 lbs salmon on Beat 5 (Bridge Pool) on a Vanbech and a polar bear fly. Jon Ridout landed his first ever salmon weighing 9lbs on Beat 9 using a Stoat’s Tail.
The next dayJake Delany landed a 7lbs salmon on Beat 9 using a Posh Tosh. On the 30th Michael Wade landed 6lbs and 4.4lbs grilse in the Falls Pool, and a 2lbs grilse in the Bridge Pool on Beat 9. Conor O’Leary landed a 3lbs salmon on Beat 9 using a black tube. David Noseworthy landed a 5.5lbs salmon on Beat 9 using a Stoat’s Tail. July finished with 3 fish on the 30th – James O’Neill landed 5.5lbs and 7lbs salmon on a Cascade and John Phelan landed a 4lbs salmon on Beat 9.
Despite the prevailing low water, July still saw 86 salmon landed, as well as 25 sea trout.
Go Fishing
The Erriff System is comprised of the Erriff River and the two small loughs of Tawnyard and Derrintin. The River Erriff is one of the premier salmon fishing rivers in Ireland. A spate river, it is characterised by lively streams and deep fish-holding pools. It has 8 miles of prime angling water, divided into 9 beats. Beats are un-crowded with only two rods on most and a maximum of 3 sometimes. Angling is rotated on a daily basis.
July has been a relatively dry month, although cool and overcast on many days, which has made for ideal fishing conditions. Larry McCarthy from Corrib View Lodge reports that the second hatch of mayfly started early, with hatches getting going in the second week of the month, and have increased as the month went on. Sedges have also been hatching off in good numbers, with both hatches producing some excellent fishing at times. The best hatches were west of Inismacatreer and the back of Inchiquin, but hatches have been pretty good in most locations.
Bill Brown (87) and Vaughan Ruckley (90) are long time visitors to Larry, and enjoyed some great fishing on their visit, landing 14 fish over 4 days with several over 3lbs, mostly on dry mayfly and sedge patterns.
Johnny O’Brien from Dublin had 5 good trout over 2 days on dry mayfly during the second week of the month. Ian McKenzie had 20 trout over 4 days including a fine fish of 4lbs 8oz and several over 2.5-3lbs. He and Larry had 12 fish to the boat on the 25th, mostly between 1-1.75lbs.
One of Johnny’s better fish taken on a dry mayfly
Fishing guide Kevin Molloy of Baurisheen Bay Boat Hire also reports the good fishing continuing into late July, with plenty of mayfly and sedges hatching in the Oughterard area, an good fishing on wet and dry mayfly, with floating and intermediate lines both working well for the wetfly fishing.
Jasper Mathews of Wild Atlantic Angling Experiences also had clients out in late July and they enjoyed some great fishing to wetfly when conditions were right.
A nice fish for Luke on wetflyWhen conditions weren’t’ they had less success, but even in bright sunshine they still managed a few fish.
Charlie Vallendar finished top of the pile after an intensefive days of fishing on Lough Muckno last week. He managed two tidy bags of 19kg+ on Day 2 and Day 4 and more than held his own on the three other days to finish with a total of 67kg+. Craig Ellis was a few kg behind on 62, while Kevin Johnson came in third on 57. Overall, the fishing was good for most anglers, although pike were a nuisance, snatching their fair share of anglers’ bags!
Killybegs Mariners were out again on Donegal Bay. Check their latest report below…
What a glorious day it was today on Donegal Bay as we enjoyed the fishing in bright sunshine and had a great mix of species to the boats with a total catch of 19 species between us all with 16 species for Pat Cunningham on the Rachel Anne and 15 for St Catherine.
Spotted ray for ChristyRed gurnard
Species were Haddock, cod, ling, spotted ray, tub gurnard, grey gurnard, red gurnard, whiting, dogfish, pollack, coley, dab, mackerel, pouting, poor cod, ballan wrasse, goldshinney wrasse, cuckoo wrasse and scad..
Fine lingTreble of scad, red gurnard and dab
Big shoals of whiting, scad some hard diving pollack made for a great days action, very enjoyable
In this week’s episode of the Lure Fishing Podcast, Cormac Walsh speaks to Irish based Bass Angler Juan Jacques Pienaar.
Juan shares with us some of the Angling knowledge he gained in his native South Africa and his guiding experiences in the Middle East. He explains how he has incorporated all those skills into his bass fishing here in Ireland. Listen here.
Go fishing…
