ANGLING NOTES: BRESSIE and his team from RTÉ’s The Voice of Ireland may have had a fun day on Lough Owel a few days earlier but it was down to business for myself and Mick Flanagan from the Sunday World as we set out for our day on the lake last week. We met fisheries officer Martin Moffatt at Tullaghan Boat Quay who pointed to CCTV cameras now installed overlooking the car park.
Irish Times, 23/04/12. Read the article ‘Great pike, by George!‘.
Lough Currane’s first specimen sea trout of the year was caught yesterday on the troll, by renowned local angler Mr. Jim Sayers. The fish weighed 3.970kg, so congratulations to Jim on a cracker of a sea trout and great to see Lough Currane keeping its reputation of the greatest sea trout fishery in Ireland.
Staying with the Sea Trout Mr. Mark Knowles of the UK, fishing with his Gillie Mr. Dominic McGillicuddy, caught a 2.5lbs on the fly which he sportingly put back. Wind NW fresh to strong with heavy Showers throughout the day.
No Spin No Fly’s just facts.
Vincent Appleby
Eureka Lodge
Caherdaniel West, Co. Kerry.
Telephone: +353 (0) 87 207 4882
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: www.salmonandseatrout.com
The recent weather has not been very pleasant, but it’s not clear if anglers were paying attention. We were inundated with angling reports this week from all branches of the sport. Though at times the cold temperatures, high winds and flood conditions did make angling difficult and even impossible for some anglers at sea and inland, there were plenty of opportunities for others to enjoy some excellent sport.
Salmon rivers have been, for the most part, crying out for water and while some have continued to produce fish despite low water conditions many have had their (anglers’) prayers answered. The recent rains have raised water levels and hopes on rivers across the country. The Munster Blackwater should fish well as the water clears following its flood. The fresh water stirred up the salmon on the Rivers Feale, Laune and Owenmore and Lough Currane in Kerry and more good fishing is expected. The Galway Weir may see a rise in water levels, but there are plenty of fish showing in the river, and prospects for the coming weeks are quite good. In Connemara the Kylemore Abbey Fishery had its first salmon of the season, while over in Delphi there were 9 more salmon caught with prospects improving for the coming days. Despite the unsettled conditions of late, Carrowmore Lake produced good sport last week with salmon to 13lb landed. Anglers had much better fishing on the River Moy, where twenty-five salmon were reported, the majority of which were taken in the mid Moy fisheries. Despite low water on the Drowes last week 12 salmon were taken by anglers and those on Melvin had some fish to show for their efforts despite the conditions. On the east coast, fishing on the Boyne was described as slow on the Navan waters and only two salmon have been reported taken last week.
The trout season is well and truly under-way now, with buzzers, olives and mayfly up on the lakes and some hawthorn fly hatching on rivers. Loughs Derg, Arrow, Derravaragh and even Corrib have all seen trout coming to mayfly patterns, though the recent cold spells will quash any hopes of spent fishing, even on Derg which has seen very early fishing in recent years. Buzzers, Duckyfly and traditional wetfly patterns should continue to be productive while passing the next week waiting for the Mayfly fishing to kickoff.
Although much of the Shannon saw the fortunes of coarse anglers suffer a reversal there were still some good sized bream and hybrids showing up and bags to 57lb were reported. At Portumna two English anglers made up a 100lb catch between them. On the Erne system some good fishing was reported from Drumalee and Bakers Bridge. The Arvagh Breffni King of Clubs will be fished from 9-14 September and it promises to be a big occasion. Irish Ferries are offering entrants to this event a special cruise ferry fare, more information here. For anglers who can’t wait until September there is theThe I.F.I. Ballybay Angling 2 Day Open Coarse Fishing Festival on 14 and 15 July. There is a first prize of €1,000, more information here.
A group of French float-tubing, fly-fishing, pike-specialising anglers reported catching over 800 pike between on a recent visit to the waters of Leitrim. Two Belgian anglers also sampling the fine pike fishing of Leitrim caught and returned 55 pike in 3 days. Another angler in the area reported landing 100lb of pike in a day with his best fish weighing 27lb. Angling guide, Bodo Funke reports that while most of the pike his anglers have encountered recently have been in the low to mid teens one angler did catch a fine 25lb hen. Anglers on Lough Derg also report a good head of fish with 15 to 20 pike per outing. For those looking to up their game Terry Jackson offers some insights in his Terry Jackson Goes Fishing blog.
Shore anglers, especially those targeting bass have enjoyed some good fishing recently. Soft plastics and lures have been quite productive. The best reports have come from Wexford and Caherciveen. Bass anglers fishing from boats also faired well with fish just under specimen size landed in Cork Harbour. Wrasse specialists reported excellent fishing in Kerry recently with 46 fish taken on soft plastics. Donal Kennedy, skipper of the ‘Leah’, reports that fishing recently was slow but steady, with some good pollack up to 8lbs caught. Galway Buccaneers club reported 11 species on their first boat competition of the year, which was fished in Galway Bay aboard the Maighdean Mara skippered by Kevin MacGabhann.
Prospects for the weekend are mostly good though wind and rain may have some adverse effects. The outlook is for cool and breezy weather over the rest of the weekend with occasional showers. It is likely to remain unsettled and changeable well into next week with some heavy rain at times. Keep an eye out for small craft warnings.
Paul Bourke
Angling Information Officer.
Catch, Photo, Release
Fishery manager Nigel Rush reports from Kylemore Abbey Fishery that the first salmon of the season was landed yesterday, a nice fresh fish of 4.75lbs. The captor was fishery guide John Irwin, who was up early and landed the fish at Tullywee Bridge at 7.20 a.m., on a Pot-Bellied Black Shrimp fly.
The average date of the first fish at Kylemore over the last 10 years has been the 18th of April, so it was one day early!
To book fishing with Kylemore Abbey, contact Nigel at 095 41178 or 087 9580702, and check the fishery website at www.kylemorefishery.ie
Kevin Crowley IFI
Jim Clohessy and Kevin Murphy teamed up again for some great fishing on Cork Harbour during the week.
Kevin and Jim had headed out for an session of early season lure fishing from one of the Bella Vista Hotel Self-Drive Boats. The duo were successful and had a few bass. The best fish, a 74cm bass, would weigh in between 9 and 9.5lb and there is a good chance that if caught again later in the year it will be over 10lbs. After taking a few pictures the bass was released unharmed.The successful lure was a “Black Minnow” from French company Fiiish.
After their bass success the lads headed for some inshore reefs to target some cod on soft plastics. Again as in previous weeks the cod were around in good numbers – great sport on light tackle!
To rent your own self drive boat on Cork Harbour contact
Kevin Murphy.
Bella Vista
Cobh, Co. Cork
http://www.bellavistahotel.ie/
Pike fishing in the region appears to be quite good for the past few weeks. Two Belgium anglers staying in the Carrigallen area caught 55 Pike over three days.
One angler who fished Calloughs Lake caught 100lb. Pike in one day, the biggest weighing in at 27lb.
There was some French and German anglers in the Redhills area last week and they report good Pike fishing.
Working the deep water was a bit slow as there is not a lot of “eatables” for the larger predators. The lack of prey species made for a real smash and grab take for Chris Logan from the Carrick Fergus specimen hunters. When we got the culprit to the boat it turned out to be a male skate.
The fish was weighed at 129lbs. Yet again a whole dogfish minus the tail did the trick.
Hamish Currie
Predator II
Red Bay Stormforce 9.1 Rib
Web: www.predatorireland.com Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 028 2177 1828 Boat: 07720440117
Five days of match fishing on some of the most popular venues from
9 – 14 September 2012
Breffni Arms Hotel, Arvagh, Co. Cavan
REGISTRATION Sunday 9th September 2012 Breffni Arms Hotel, Arvagh.
Entry fee €150 with optional pools.
Peg draw will take place daily [Mon-Fri] at 8.30am at the Breffni Arms Hotel, Arvagh.
Fishing days and time: Monday – Friday inclusive 11am to 5 pm.
Venus – Killykeen, Killeshandra, Carrigallen, Arvagh and Gowna.
Only the best performing waters will be chosen and the final choice will be made a few days before the actual event, based on results from the previous fortnight.
Pay Out – Based on total weight with 100% pay out.
Plus top weight every 5 anglers per section per day and top 2 weight overall per day.
New – Random 4 man team event entry fee €25 per man – Winning Team takes all!
Presentation – Friday 14th September at the Breffni Arms Hotel Arvagh.
To book please contact Eamonn or Philomena Gray. Booking Deposit – €50.
Phone 00353494335127
Email. [email protected]
Irish Ferries are offering entrants to this event a special cruise ferry fare of £175 return for car and two adults additional adults would be £10 each return. Fare valid for travel between 7 September and 16 September 2012 only on all cruise ferry sailings.
To avail of this exclusive and one off offer call 0151 242 1721 or email [email protected] Quote: Arvagh King of Clubs.
Full payment is due at time of booking and is non-refundable fare cannot be booked online, booking fee of £6 applies. Subject to availability and standard terms & conditions.
Cashel Trout Fishery report by Marlene McLaughlin
Despite the blustery conditions at times anglers are still trying out their dry patterns hoping to make contact with the great fighting trout at Cashel. Derry’s Paul Temple and Ian Hetherington used brown dries and white moths to bank six and ten trout respectively. Don Mc Arthur and Tony McKelvey (Limavady) spent a couple of hours and did very well to release three trout in total which fell to gold head nymphs and daddies. Danny Walker and Jim Russell (Monkstown) banked thirteen trout in total but only took five trout home which weighed a total of ten pounds. Limavady’s Nigel Rathfield hooked one which fell to a bloodworm. Well done to all. Remember, fish more than one day on any given weekend and receive discount the following day. Good luck!
Any fishery or bed and breakfast enquiries to 028777 42159 or email [email protected] Check out our new improved website www.cashellakeview.co.uk
Conor Mountaine from the Galway Buccaneers club reported on their first boat competition of the year, which was fished in Galway Bay aboard the Maighdean Mara skippered by Kevin MacGabhann.
Congrats to Danny Sweeney on winning our first Boat Master Angler competition for 2012 with an impressive display. Danny got off to a good start, building up an early lead with pollack which he maintained throughout the day. He continued to add a few different species and ended any chance of being caught with a lovely thornback ray while anchored over sand on the last drop to win by 70 points . In second place was Steve Turner, just a point ahead of Noel Griffith, with Conor himself in 4th. The heaviest pollack was landed by John Peel at 8.9lbs, almost bigger than himself! Conor Mountaine had the heaviest ray at 6.2lbs.
Many thanks to skipper Kevin MacGabhann of Galway Bay Fishing and his crew for keeping us all well refreshed with tea and coffee and ensuring we were on fish for the day, with a good variety of fishing from drifting over reefs to anchored over rough ground, mixed ground and sand. Species landed included pollack, coalfish, poor cod, pouting, haddock, cuckoo wrasse, grey gurnard, dogfish, thornback ray, launce and mackerel.
Kevin Crowley IFI
