Ferox/pike guide Tomi Kurman had a delayed start to his trout season, but he finally got out this week for his first guided trip of the year. Conditions were ok but not ideal, but they persevered, and 4 fish were tempted by their lures. 3 fish were landed, 64, 68 and 75cm, two of them in absolute top condition and one needing a bit of feeding up!
1 of 3
The lake is fishing well to the troll at the moment, with conditions not really conducive to flyfishing reports are slow enough so far. Only a couple of weeks until the duckfly will be getting going though, when the lake should start seeing a lot more action on the fly. Watch this space!
Go Fishing
Tomi Guided Fishing
To book a trip with Tomi Kurman, give him a call on 085 7318541 or check out his Facebook page here: Tomi Guidedfishing
Rebels SAC headed to Ballyquinn Beach for a milestone competition for the club. Shane Olden reports…
Saturday the 24th of February 2024 was to be a big mile stone for the Rebel County sea angling club as they ventured a bit closer to the sunny south east, and that it was, to BALLYQUINN beach, for their first official competition as an affiliated and insured club with I.F.S.A.
turbot -but too small
First on the fish with a 26cm flounder was Kieran Ryan on fresh crab. Not too long after was Martin O’Hare with a beautifully speckled but under size turbot. Next to get on the fish and still in daylight was George O’Hara with a painted ray on crab. As I made my way down the line to take a few pics and a have wee chat with everybody, Leo Napier was next to mark the card with a flounder. Next on my journey for fish was John McSweeney who, as I approached, was after gathering a bit if a crowd but clearly they were walking away in disgust. John on his first cast of a double sandeel bait at good distance hooked a big ray that was guessed to be a big double, definitely over 10lb, only to loose him in the last 40/50 yards. That would have being a great catch and picture by day but unfortunately that’s fishing for you!
There were a few ray’s landed, but not that big one…
Next to get off the mark was Noah Tarhan with a welcomed painted ray to get him going. A bit further down on the last 2 pegs, Niall Forrest and Jeffrey Olden were off the mark with a painted ray each among a few missed bites. Our lady angler Edwina Anne was eager not to miss a competition and battling hard to put a fish on her card .
We also had 2 new members to announce this week, Matthew Fitzgerald and George O’Hara, welcome to the club lads. George was off the mark but Matthew was throwing everything at it and the best of bait but had no fish. He was in a bad patch but still soldiered on. Catches became more frequent as darkness drew in and Jacob Murphy and Vlad were starting to find the fish. Once I got back to my rod, I opened my account with a double shot of coalies.
As the night went on conditions were still ideal but it has to be said the venue was very patchy and should have produced a lot more fish. All in all we drove on and did our bit to see what was to be had, and who was going to take the win on The MIGHTY QUINN .
We had 20 anglers on the beach and 9 out of the 20 managed to catch fish, which is poor for the venue as we had all variables and conditions in our favour, but as I say, you can only catch what’s in front of you.
Results
1ST PLACE 315 POINTS SHANE OLDEN
2ND PLACE 250 POINTS NOAH TAHRAN
3RD PLACE 116 POINTS KIERAN RYAN
4TH PLACE 90 POINTS JEFFREY OLDEN
5TH PLACE 74 POINTS VLAD NOSOV
6TH PLACE 60 POINTS RAD
7TH PLACE 50 POINTS GEORGE O HARA
SPECIES CAUGHT ON THE DAY
Painted ray, coalfish, whiting, dogfish, turbot, flounder and rockling.
Rubbish wise, as usual BALLYQUINN was immaculate and all that could be gathered was a plastic bottle and some netting. It is great to see our beaches are being kept clean, mainly by locals and regular walkers/visitors to the area, as we could see some bags of rubbish mounted for collection on the slip way so it was good to see people making an effort.
Last but by no means the least we want to thank all our followers, supporters and sponsors who have being with us for most if not all of our journey and we look forward to the future and what it brings to us as a club.
With that , ye know the drill , CATCH YE ON THE NEXT ONE , and most important of all …..,… UP THE REBEL’S
The road to affiliation
It has being a long journey and a battle but it never interfered with our heart for the sport, the new friends made and fun we had along the way. Since 2019 we have introduced countless people into the world of shore / match fishing / species and specimen hunts. We were the first shore angling club in Ireland to have their own you tube channel (which we must get back to working on content). Most of our guys came to us with mixed experience; from holding an actual fishing rod only once or twice to new to sea fishing, match fishing or just looking to better their game, but all have come a very long way. As a club we pride ourselves on our open book approach to knowledge, info and the likes of tuition /casting lessons, or what ever our anglers’ needs may be to bring them further along the road and make them better all round anglers. Before each competition we do what we can for members and an array of top, prime fresh and frozen baits can be on offer so as to keep everybody on some bit of a level playing field. The rest is up to them as anglers and how they apply themselves! On affiliation we entered 35 senior members male and female with 32 of them being fresh new blood as such to the IFSA and a great addition of numbers to the federation. On the 35 members. I couldn’t wish for a better nicer bunch of people to share this journey with and all the memories and achievements along the way. I’d also like to thank the the backbone of the club being our committee members Jim Cotter, Kieran Ryan and Dean Murphy Gamble. Without these lads it would not have being possible, competition after competition for the last 5 years or so. It’s being a pleasure lads and ye deserve a round of applause .
We would also as a club like to thank all who supported us, spoke up and welcomed us to the IFSA as a club and we look forward to fishing with you all under the one banner – IFSA .
Go fishing…
Our next competition and last comp of the year this side of summer as we take a break for a few months, is on next weekend on Saturday on an east cork beach. Prior to that on Wednesday the 28th Feb the rebel county anglers will take part in their first affiliated event as a club entering a new great idea , run by the Munster Council shore committee and WEST CORK AND DISTRICT S.A.C . It’s a mid week competition with a twist and there will be 3 comps held over the next few months which will be a first taste of an open comp for most of our guy’s and a chance to compete against some top anglers . And they are chomping at the bit with excitement 🎣🎣
Join the club
Rebels SAC are based in Cork and are are always happy to welcome new members.
The REBEL COUNTY SEA ANGLERS will be open for membership through out the year and we can be contacted on mobile 083 0198017, what’s app, messenger, facebook and Instagram. Catch you on the next one ……… UP THE REBELS
James Raymond is back with Episode 3 of his Shannon Estuary cod hunt video series. Once again, the weather wasn’t in his favour, with driving rain at times.
Trying new marks is a big part of sea angling, and discovering new ground and what it produces is a valuable investment of time. Sometimes it pays off, sometimes it doesn’t, but even when the fishing is poor, you have learned something about your chosen venue.
James’s videos are always full of good information, including great tips for novice and experienced anglers on bait, presentation, rigs and tactics.
A nice lug/crab cocktail bait to tempt a cod
Will James crack the Shannon Estuary cod run? Watch the video below to find out, or check it out full size on Youtube here.
A number of weeks back, some thirty-seven anglers fished the seventh match of the Erne Anglers Winter League on a fast flowing but low River Erne. On that day a cold, harsh northerly wind put paid to any expectations that anglers might have had of a decent weight.
Thankfully for the competitors, match 8 was a milder affair and that was clear to see with what was weighed in at the end of the day. In the end the winner of match 8 was Jordan Hall – Ring 1 – with 7.750Kgs. Runner Up was Ed Rogers with 6.350Kgs on Ring 5 with Anthony Sparrow 5.400Kgs on Bellenaleck low peg 9.
Other Section winners were Gary Drew 4.950Kgs on Bellenaleck Marina, Dave Slater 4.725Kgs on QE Road & Police Jetty, Darius Kobrzynski on the Forum 3.325Kg, and Colin Moffitt on Derrychara 4.600kgs.
The final match of the CM Lakelands Muckno Winter League saw another brilliant display by Damian Foltyn who won the match with 4.590kg of hybrids and roach. With an incredible five section wins, Damian – who scored 5 points – takes the top honours from a field of 29 excellent anglers who participated in the winter league overall.
In second place for the final round was Darren Fairhurst with a weight of 3.460kg of roach, hybrids and the odd skimmer while Peter Horbiński was third overall with just under 3kg.
Section winners on the day were Neil Mazurick, Alan Larkin and Rimantas Kondrakas.
Recently, Killybegs Fishing Trips had a super start to their 2024 season. Last Saturday, just before the weather broke again, anglers aboard the Fiona Tee enjoyed yet another fantastic day’s fishing in Donegal Bay.
Check out the skipper’s short report below…
Got another fantastic days fishing in today. The guys done well today with a very big swell up, so meant fishing conditions were not easy…things started slowly with only 1 or 2 good pollack per drift and no great size, but after the turn of the tide, the fishing really picked up and the fish got much bigger!
Continuing his series on the design and production process of home-made, hand-made pike fishing lures, this week Norbert Renaud of L’ile Verte Pike Fishing Lodge gives us an insight into how he created the master prototype for his GlideDiator lure.
Attention to detail and a scientific approach are two characteristics of Norbert’s search for the perfect pike lure and the time he takes here to cut, carve and sand his template into the shape he wants is a lesson in itself.
Next up in part 2 will be the making of the silicone mold and resin pouring – Norbert will of course make his lures available via his online shop so don’t forget to like the videos and subscribe to the channel for more information on how to get your hands on one.
Suir Estuary Sea Angling Club held their first competition of 2024 on Sunday the 25th of February. On the day 12 senior anglers an 2 juniors competed in the event held at Woodstown. The main species caught on the day were flounder and rockling.
Results are as follows
1st Alex Murphy 169pts
2nd William Kett 159pts
3rd Barry Murphy 113pts
Longest fish went to Jimmy Kelly for a 35cm flounder.
Go Fishing…
New members are welcome.
Next competition is at Checkpoint Wall, 16th of March, 7pm -10pm
For more information and to enquire about joining see the club Facebook page at
Mike has been catching bass for over fifty years and in that time he has forgotten more about bass fishing than most of us will ever know. One thing that he didn’t forget is that bass can be more active as the light changes at dawn and dusk. With this fresh in Cormac’s mind, as well as remembering other basics like knowing that bass like to feed close to the shore and that in colder parts of the year a slow moving lure will catch more fish, he headed for the coast and put these three rules of thumb to the test. Conditions were pretty good for a February evening, it was mild and the water was fairly clear, with a temperature of 8.6°C.
And so, as the light began to fade, and as Cormac slowly worked his IMA Sasuke lure close to the shore, he had a take – the first of 2024. Not a monster, at 3lbs or so, but a first bass of the season regardless of size.
A good lesson that, with a little bit of thought and good application of the basics, fish can be caught when the odds are seemingly against it.
It can be grim enough on the beaches in February when the wind is howling, and the light is fading, but when, in addition to the above, the fish are not biting… it takes a certain sort of toughness to be able to stick that out.
Such it was for the 35 members of South Shore SAC who headed to Kilgorman for the first round of their Master Angler 2024. Most anglers can endure some rotten weather if there are fish present to keep them occupied, but unfortunately, most fish had more or less deserted the beach last Sunday, leaving anglers to scratch about for the odd whiting or flattie in order to put any sort of score on the board.
What’s rare is wonderful…a hard-got flattie from Kilgorman.
It took only 6 fish for Ruari Coleman to post a win in Zone A, with Lar Mooney finishing runner-up with 5. In Zone B it was even tougher, as Paul Tyndall topped that zone with just 5 fish, beating Paul Scanlan (4 fish) and Paul Mason (4 fish) into second and third. So, with half the anglers catching one fish or less, it’s fair to say it was a tough day all around, but with the days rapidly lengthening and spring knocking on the door, let’s hope that’s the worst they will have to face for the year.
