In this episode of the Lure Fishing Podcast, host Cormac Walsh speaks with David Lyons from Tackling Minds.
Formed in February 2020, Tackling Minds has quickly become established as a trusted provider of angling events and offers support to British people from all walks of life that are struggling with a range of issues, including mental health, social deprivation, addiction and recovery, disabilities and those with long term illnesses.
In 2022, Tackling Minds teamed up with Angling Direct and Anglia Ruskin University to research the relationship between recreational fishing and mental health in a sample of British adults. The results showed that fishing has a measurable benefit on a range of mental and physical health conditions.
David was inspired to start Tackling Minds, as he had suffered from mental health problems and fishing played a vital role in him managing his illness. He claims that if it wasn’t for fishing, he doesn’t think he’d be here to tell his story.
David now wants to pass on the knowledge gained from his own experiences to show other people how fishing can benefit them too. The work Tackling Minds has done so far is amazing, with the British National Health Service now prescribing recreational fishing as a treatment for depression as a direct result of Tackling Minds.
You can listen to the podcast at the link below, and don’t forget to check out the rest of the episodes and click the Follow button to support Cormac’s Lure Fishing Podcast series:
Paul Waghorne is back at Lanesborough after a long absence. He reports on his latest Irish angling adventure here.
I was last over in 2022 to close down Bridie’s shop but here I am on another 3 week jaunt. As you are aware, the river system and lakes are extremely flooded. Fishing at Lanesborough is almost worthless, although the water temperature has now surpassed the magic 10.6°C when the fish enter the river from the lake. This year, it hasn’t happened (yet) and I blanked yesterday evening (21 April) despite seeing a few fish topping on the navigation side. This morning, 22 April, the reading was almost 13°C so the Roach run is surely imminent?
Floods and high water…
When I arrived last Wednesday, I was hoping to fish either the Camlin or the Feorish which enter the Shannon at Tarmonbarry. Both are mainly inaccessible due to levels.
Tench
Eventually, I found a small un-named lake with just one spot where I could fish. An eight hour session produced 14 Tench to 4lb 10oz for a total weight of 50lb 3oz plus 4 Hybrids and 5 Rudd, all caught a vintage 1956 ESS fibre glass rod and 1960’s Mitchell 300. Each fish was individually weighed and returned. I rarely use a keepnet.
Best fishes, – Paul
A 1950’s TJ Harrington reel that has been repainted for use here
ave we finally seen an end to the incessant rain of the last 6 (9?) months? Is this bit of dry weather the start of some decent weather, or just a tease of what a good Spring would be like? Regardless, we’l enjoy these few dry days while they last. Water levels remain high everywhere, but a few days with no rain will start to dry the ground out somewhat, and hopefully water levels in our lakes and rivers recede soon.
Pike
The spawning season is pretty much over now, and pike anglers are starting to enjoy good sport again. Late spring can be a great time to target pike, before the water warms up too much, and some Swiss visitors had a fantastic week’s pike fishing despite more than difficult conditions due to the strong and gusty winds which prevailed throughout their trip.
Remo and guide Bodo with a great pike just under the 1m mark
The rain, wind and high water levels failed to deter the Germans too, as a party of regular visitors to Cavan enjoyed some good fishing from bank and boat.
And on Lough Derg too, the weather made fishing difficult, but guests of fishing guide Paul Bourke had a good day, landing 8 pike to 102cm despite the windy conditions.
Trout
Trout anglers on Lough Arrow are back in action after a slow start to the season dictated by the weather. They held their first competition on Sunday, which was won by Eddie Harte with 5 good trout. The club are to be commended for adopting catch-and-release for all competitions, with measuring boards provided to all boats on the day.
Fiddler Pete Clark from Scotland took a break during a recent trip teaching and playing music to fish Lough Keel with club secretary Gavin Duffy. It was hard fishing, but they finished the day with 4 trout to 2lbs, a very enjoyable outing according to Pete.
Pete with his lovely Keel trout
Olives are hatching on Lough Conn, with the odd early mayfly too. A spell of milder weather should bring on hatches a lot more.
The Leinster lake team qualifiers were held on Lough Owel on Sunday, with blustery conditions making fishing difficult (sound familiar?!). Fish were mostly caught on fry patterns like sliver dabblers, minkies and booby fry, pulling down deep on a Di 3 or Di 5 sinking line.
Also fishing on Owel was Niall Ó hEarcáin, who had a fantastic hard-fighting trout of 60cm on a self-tied Cormorant fly, which makes our Catch of the Week.
Niall’s 60cm Owel trout
Not a lot of river fishing going on with high water levels, but Dan O’Neill managed a session on the Kings River with two guests and reported good fishing on nymphs and streamers.
This week’s Ireland on the Fly podcast looks ahead to mayfly season, and talks to Shane Creamer from the Garrykennedy Angling Club about the mayfly hatch on Lough Derg, one of our earliest mayfly lakes. And if you want to learn more about mayfly fishing, check out their upcoming Mayfly Tactics Masterclass. Ireland on the Fly’s next Masterclass webinar is taking place on Thursday April 25th, when international angler, guide and renowned fly tyer, Jackie Mahon, will be giving tips, advice and insights on the tactics to use for the coming mayfly season. Tickets are €10 and to register for the Ireland on the Fly Mayfly Tactics Masterclass go to: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/3138230924312556894
Salmon
Spring is moving on, and while water levels have been very high, limiting angling effort on many rivers, there are signs that many rivers have seen fresh fish running lately. Water levels have been falling on the Blackwater, with fresh fish reported, including one angler landing 4 in one day, and a salmon for Simone from Italy on his stag weekend!
A few fish were also reported from the Moy, where water levels fluctuated a lot last week. East Mayo Anglers Fishery saw 4 salmon landed, all on spinner.
Killarney anglers also reported fresh spring salmon, with a couple of fish from Beat 1 of the Laune, and two fish from Lough Leane taken on the troll. Best fish reported was 11lbs. Elsewhere in Co. Kerry, one salmon was reported on the fly from Lough Currane.
Coarse
The VDE Baggers club held a fitting tribute to club member Slawek Siembida, who passed recently, with a competition held on Lough Muckno, with 66 anglers participating. The lake fished very well, with Aaron Hutchman taking the win with 6.940kgs, and the club raised over €1,000 for Slawek’s fiancee. The club plan to run an annual event in his memory, with future proceeds to go to a mental health charity. Fair play lads.
Portumna Coarse Angling Club fished a club match at the weekend on Rodger’s Island, ahead of the Portumna Festival which kicks off on Sunday. There were some really good weights returned from the river and Bruce Pennell took first place with 18lb 4oz.
Spring cleaning is not all about the house and garden, and Tulla Anglers had a great turnout of members at Silvergrove to scrub angling stands and walkways, which become very slippery after a long wet winter. They did manage some fishing too, and cub member Kevin took the win with 12lbs on Sunday at Clondorney
The main event last week was the O’Callaghans Feeder Festival on Inniscarra, with two open competitions bookending the 2-day festival competition itself. Better known in the sea angling world as a world champion, JP Molloy won the Feeder Open at the start of the festival with 14.800kg.
The festival itself saw intense competition and very good fishing, with Alan Larkin proving the winner after the 2 days with 46.920kg. The Bacon Open to close the festival saw Kevin Norcliffe take a good win on 16.080kg.
Aspiring young anglers attended the first rounds of the NCFFI youth sessions last weekend, fished over 2 days at Ballyshunnock and Oaklands. These are anglers on the pathway to national teams and hopefully international success, and we wish hem the best of luck in their progress.
Another young angler who has featured regularly is Anthony O’Neill, whose dad Dan thankfully loves fishing as much as Anthony does. The duo managed a session on the lake last week, with roach and carp taking a fancy to Anthony’s bait.
Sea
Conditions were not conducive to sea angling last week, with windy wet weather making boat angling impossible. We have just one report, from Donegal, where the Killybegs Mariners enjoyed some good fishing at Manor House beach near Rossnowlagh in the third last leg of their winter league.
Other news
In other news, five separate angling regulations, affecting salmon, sea trout, brown trout, and eels, were recently signed into law. We advise all anglers to read through the regulations and to familiarise themselves with them.
And now the weather…
A much better forecast for fishing this week!! Brightening up this afternoon with good spells of sunshine developing. Lingering patches of light rain and drizzle will gradually clear southwards and it will turn mostly dry. Dry on Saturday with widespread spells of sunshine. Highest temperatures of 13 to 17 degrees generally with light variable breezes. However, it will be a little cooler near coasts where sea breezes develop. Dry and mainly sunny on Sunday. Highest temperatures 15 to 18 degrees with light variable winds. Monday and Tuesday look dry, with sunny spells and top temps of 12-16C, but the outlook is for unsettled weather to return later in the week. Enjoy it while you can!
If you have an angling story to share with the Irish Angling Update please send it to [email protected] and don’t forget that all of our fishing reports are available on our dedicated Angling Ireland Facebook page.
On Friday 19 April, 2024, a draw took place to allocate 24 Brown Tags for the taking of salmon on the Roughty River. The requirement to hold a brown tag is set out in Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Tagging Scheme (Amendment) Regulations, recently signed into law by the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan, T.D.
A total of 89 valid entries were received from salmon rod licence holders. Each was assigned a number in advance of the draw.
Twenty-nine (29) numbers were randomly generated. The first 24 successful entrants will be issued a brown tag no later than Tuesday. The final 5 numbers are reserved in case an angler declines or returns the tag allocated to them.
The draw was observed by Sean Long (RBD Director), Tim Moore (Assistant Fisheries Inspector), David Whelan (Fisheries Officer), Chris Scanlan (Fisheries Officer) and Myles Kelly (Angling Advisor and Website Manager).
The numbers selected are:
3056
3075
3067
3074
3029
3042
3022
3087
3061
3034
3045
3013
3057
3072
3030
3060
3016
3011
3009
3032
3039
3044
3058
3059
The 5 reserve numbers are:
3028
3024
3026
3083
3049
The Brown Tags will be issued by post. All anglers are asked to acknowledge receipt of their Brown Tag by email including the tag number to [email protected]
Remaining Roughty Brown Tag draws 2024
Third Draw – 12 June
Third draw will open for entries 27 May to 09 June with the draw taking place on 12 June
Final Draw – 07 August
The final draw will open for entries from 22 July to 04 august with the draw taking place on 07 August
Anglers reported olives hatching on Lough Conn and even the odd early mayfly starting to appearing on the western shore.
Foxford Angling Club held the Devaney Cup competition over the weekend, 1st place went to John Sheeran, 2nd place went to Billy Magee and 3rd place went to Michael Tiernan with a trout each to measure.
Osgur Grieve reports that water levels at Ballylahan Bridge fluctuated between 0.83m and peaked on the morning of the 11th at 1.73m with another flood.
East Mayo Anglers Association reported 4 salmon landed for this period. On Tuesday the 9th Thomas Rowley had a 9lbs salmon on spinner, while on Wednesday the 10th Paul McGrath had a 7lbs salmon, also on spinner. On Friday the 12th Paul Smyth had a 6lbs salmon on spinner and on Saturday 13th Marty Roughneen released a 7lbs salmon taken on spinner.
If we get drier weather it should allow the river to drop and we would hope that angling would improve further.
It might be hard to believe, but mayfly season is starting soon and it’s expected on Lough Derg from around April 20th onwards.
This week’s Ireland on the Fly guest is Shane Creamer from the Garrykennedy Angling Club and he gives some great and honest insights into fishing Derg during mayfly and the rest of the season.
Rate, review and follow the show to keep up to date with all the latest Ireland on the Fly episodes on Apple Podcasts or Spotify at:
Ireland on the Fly’s next Masterclass webinar is taking place on Thursday April 25th, when international angler, guide and renowned fly tyer, Jackie Mahon, will be giving tips, advice and insights on the tactics to use for the coming mayfly season.
Tickets are €10 and to register for the Ireland on the Fly Mayfly Tactics Masterclass go to:
Continuing a long tradition, German angling writer Uwe Pinnau and his mates flew over to Dublin shortly after Easter to enjoy their annual irish fishing trip and hopeful of meeting some of those brave and hard fighting toothy beauties of the esox familiy, the waters on the emerald isle are famous for…
As often the weather situation on the arrival was quite nice, but the further we approached towards our final destination in Cavan, the worse it went. When we finally arrived at Carafin Lodge, our host Pauric McGearty honestly admitted that the weather forecast wasn’t really promising and besides that we would have to deal with high water levels from the heavy rain the weeks before. Not the best outlook, but as Ireland veterans we were used to the typical irish phenomenon of all seasons on one day and that being said we strongly believe in the irish saying: “it could be worse”.
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The first day saw us fighting heavy winds, so strong that we decided to give it a shot from the bank and it didn’t take long to encounter with the first green and yellowish spotted irish beauty, followed by some more soon after. These were mostly greedy jacks that obviously tried to figure out how much they could eat at once.
Day number two allowed us out in the boats, but generously provided us with water from above and we witnessed many different levels of rain over the day. Small few drops, many heavy massive ones, spray like rain, or just rain, you name it…
We failed figuring out where the big female pike might hide.
Back at Carafin Lodge we were soaking wet and praised the dry room there. The pike were still not really cooperative or easy to convince, apart from the numerous jacks one of us caught on small lures. But even on dead baits those jack pike ruled the scenery and it almost felt like spawning had not been finished yet. The high water levels seemed to have a really bad impact on our project, but every now and then the odd mid sized esox grabbed a bite and fed on the offered dead baits. We were mostly using small mackerel and sections of lamprey, which, eventually, found their way into the mouths of hungry pike more than once, but not really often.
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The following days offered stormy winds, heavy rain, or both at once. Not the best conditions for long rides to other parts of that huge amount of different sized lakes the area is known for. And when we tried it didn’t really pay off, but gave us a good share of soaking wet clothes. The best part of a stormy and rainy day on the lake is the moment when you step into your warm, dry and cozy cottage, eating some good food from the perfectly equipped kitchen and having a nice drink while enjoying the breathtaking view on the lake from the front window, taking in the pastoral landscape.
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Time was passing by and the final day was about to come sooner than it felt in the beginning, same old story. As the forecast suggested rain all day long again, we decided to make the jetty our peg of choice, to avoid carrying unwanted extra weight in our luggage the next day, mainly consisting of irish water in our soaking wet clothes. Fishing deadbaits was slow until I set the float at mid water depth and literally saw it disappear right away. Again Pollan did the trick and my best pike of the trip couldn’t refuse to grab the generously sized bite, decorated with two small and barbless trebles. I managed to catch two more pike that left me quite happy and satisfied as they considerably increased the average size of esox caught during that week, hence the jetty saw me sporting my pb of the entire trip, now finished with a happy ending.
I’m already looking forward coming back again, the sooner the better.
Pauric is based on the Upper Erne system near Lough Oughter castle and has great knowledge of the maze of local waters on his doorstep.
He offers pike fishing by boat to his clients on the river Erne and lakes of Cavan and further afield.
He also provides pre-baiting of private pegs for coarse anglers.
Accommodation, boat hire, pre-baiting and ground bait are all available at Carafin Lodge.
Located in Irelands Hidden Heartlands, and along the Border Region on the Shores of Carafin Lake on the upper reaches of the mighty River Erne. Carafin Lodge offers the perfect location for Anglers to get easy access to the many lakes and rivers by bank or boat, or for those who just want to kick back and relax with the panoramic views over Carafin Lake.
The VDE Baggers sadly lost one of their members, Slawek Siembida, recently, and in a fitting tribute to a fishing friend, 66 anglers turned out to remember him and pay their respects by holding a match on Lough Muckno last weekend. That’s as big an event as Muckno has seen in a while, and the anglers raised over €1000, which will be donated to Slawek’s fiancee. They plan to make the event a yearly one and will donate all future money raised to a mental health charity.
Aaron with his winning bag
The fishing on the day did not disappoint, and the top five all came from different sections, showing the lake is in fine fettle for holding competitive events. Aaron Nabc Hutchman was the eventual winner on the day, but it’s fair to say all 66 anglers were winners on this one. 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏
Paul Bourke of Irish Fishing Tours tells us he was out with a couple of anglers on Lough Derg at the weekend. The windy conditions on Sunday limited the amount of spots they could fish but they made the best of it all the same. In the end the lads managed to get 8 pike to the boat today with the best going 102cms.
Irish Fishing Tours provides customised fishing holidays based in the picturesque harbour village of Garrykennedy on the shores of Lough Derg. Our comprehensive fishing trips include a guiding service, tackle hire and food and accommodation.
Choose from my list of existing fishing holidays or contact me to tailor one to your specific requirements. Airport transfers can be arranged on request.
Irish Fishing Tours is owned by Paul Bourke. Paul has lived and fished here all his life. As a guide, he will show you the best fishing locations, advise you on baits and methods and then allow you the freedom to explore the lake yourself. He fully understands the needs and interests of the experienced enthusiast.
