Skipper Kit had a fine Specimen Tope while on a tagging exercise with UCC scientists.
Kit Dunne of Wicklow Boat Charters has published his yearly catch summary for 2023. Spurs were one species that kept anglers busy on Kit’s boats, with 365 boated, one for every day in the year!!! Unsurprisingly, tope also featured heavily in catches, with 366 landed during the year. And with a total of 79 specimens recorded in the 2023 ISFC Annual Report, Wicklow was once again the place to go for anglers looking to get their names in the little yellow book!
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.
Fishery manager David McEvoy was in touch from Delphi with some good news this week, with the first fish of the season and what a fish it was…
On the fishing front, basically conditions have been more or less perfect since opening, with water levels varying from highs of 65 to lows of 35 and temperature pretty normal for this time of year 5.5 to 7.5. fishing pressure has been consistent throughout with 4 rods on the river every day, all return visitors which is normally the case this time of year, all of whom we were delighted to welcome back.
In my own opinion, given the conditions and the experience of the anglers, it has been relatively slow to date, with only a few fish seen. I always try to emphasise to people that here in Delphi you rarely see fish this time of year, unless you know exactly where to look and have good eyes and the one place you want to see them is on the end of the line!
This was the case for Tomas Ryan from Cong who was only here for a morning’s fishing and managed to hook and land a beautiful fish of approx. 15lbs on a Willie Gunn tube in the Duck Run at 12 noon on the 11th when the sun was shining and there was a little kindness and nature in the day. A great fish for Delphi to get off the mark with!
Tomás Ryan with the fiest Delphi fish of 2024, a cracking springer of 85cm and ~15lbs
Conditions have been perfect since, with some excellent anglers here but they’ve had plenty joy but no fish! It my own opinion it’s hard not to enjoy fishing this time of year. Hopefully we’ll see some fish appear in the next few days.
Go fishing…
At Delphi Lodge, with many years of experience with the timing of the best runs of fish, we have in place a price system that offers both great value fishing and lets our anglers know when they have the best chance to catch a fresh run spring salmon or a summer grilse or Delphi sea trout.
Munster Coarse Anglers fished round 7 of their winder league at O’Briensbridge at the weekend. Kevin Leahy reports…
We fished our Munster Winter League Round 7 match at the Rowing Course, O’Briensbridge on Sunday.
We had a full turn out today with all 10 anglers in the league braving a damp February Sunday. As the is winner not yet a forgone conclusion it was all important points for some, and salvaging a disastrous league for others (as in my case) was the order of the day.
With everywhere flooded out it was back to our old faithful section at the rowing course and with the river up and rising a good draw was all important and having a peg that you could fish a pole or whip was definitely an advantage. No last minute hybrids or stamp fish may their present felt, so it was a case of put the head down and put as many small fish together as the swim would allow.
1 of 8
Results
1st Pawel 10lb 1oz (145 fish)
2nd Kevin 7lb 8oz (130 fish)
3rd Ray 5lb 9oz (caught mostly on the feeder)
Go fishing…
Next week we are fishing the Munster Team of 4 in Inniscarra
Munster Coarse Angling Club are affiliated to the National Coarse Fishing Federation of Ireland, NCFFI the National Governing body for coarse and predator fishing and casting. www.ncffi.ie
Getting close to the Trout season on my home river I am beginning to wind down a little from winter predator fishing. I have the same feeling as I get at the end of the trout season and end up rushing around to spots I promised myself I’d fish this winter with Anthony. In saying that there still is some time before the 17th of March. As a Cadence ambassador I got to fish with some of their coarse rods recently. When choosing I decided to get something for small silvers so I opted for the 10ft pellet waggler. I then needed something with a little bit of backbone so went with the 12ft specimen twin tip in 1 pound test curve which comes with 2 interchangeable tips (2oz,3oz) which I think will be perfect for hybrids later in the season. Of course, my fishing partner Anthony went for one of the Barbell rods for his pike adventures on the Barrow.
Today we were going to aim for pike and perch at the canal mouth. Looking around we located some baitfish that were moving about so were confident the pike / perch would not be too far away. Setting up nearby we had our perch mix that we had been carefully preparing the night before.
2 cups of layers pellets
1.5 cups of crumbled soil
Half a cup of chopped worms
1 stick of finely chopped pepperami
Discreetly putting the ground bait in we assembled the rods and made a “strat” as Anthony calls it. There was a slight flow which I prefer when fishing canals. It took about 20 minutess before our first inquiry which Anthony lifted into, and it was of course perch number one.
We wanted however to try for a slightly larger perch so went up a couple of hook sizes and increased our bait size. It was quite clear that there were a lot of small perch in the area as the float bounced, bobbed and shot off to one side quite a bit as they played around with it. Feeling that maybe the larger ones were nearer the tail end of the smaller shoal of perch or perhaps hugging nearby we began a little search. Some overhanging trees created nice shelter and a likely looking spot for a predator, a couple of casts still didn’t show up anything bigger.
We kept looking and eventually we came across a spot that seemed a bit deeper, so we plumbed the spot, it was about 7ft. Rebaiting the hooks we both cast in and awaited to see if this spot held a fish for us. After about 2 cups of tea and half a packet of chocolate digestives the float shook and then made its journey to the depths. Anthony struck into what we knew was a better fish. The fish swam around a bit and gave a couple of headshakes before coming to the net. It was larger and had a couple of battle scars. The fish measured 36cm which wasn’t huge but a little better.
As we returned to the original spot we cast in our rods as we prepped lunch. Anthony managed to hit another perch of 37cm this time. Bit of a steward’s inquiry as to who’s rod it was caught on but who cares we landed the fish and returned it safely back.
After lunch we set up the pike rods and I was really hoping to catch one to see how the rod performed. There were a couple of likely looking places along the opposite side of the canal that I wanted to place a bait in. Luckily we had two pike rods today so placed them both in places we liked the look of along the canal. It started off quiet with the odd Kelt throwing itself in the air keeping us entertained.
Watching the floats, one began to make some strange movements. Anthony of course was on the rod straight away and we watched as it slowly moved away from its position and dipped slowly under. Anthony reeled down and struck into our first pike of the day. It was a nice pike, and we were happy to have got to try the rod out. The pike was showing some battle scars but had a big belly which was full of silverfish, I’m sure. We didn’t waste time and got a quick picture and released the pike back to its home.
About 30 minutes later we had another run. This time it was a jack pike and a very welcome fish. Again, the fish had a belly full of something and showed a couple of battle scars also. As the evening went on, we had one more jack pike and a dropped run.
Delighted to get down to the Barrow today and looking forward to a trip again soon.
Go Fishing…
For any information on the Cadence course rod range or fly rod range feel free to contact me.
I am also running fly fishing workshops on the R.Nore from the 17th of March. Each workshop has a maximum of 3 spaces as this way everyone gets the most from the workshop. Contact me for available dates by call, email or messenger.
Growing up in the countryside of Gowran, Co.Kilkenny, I started my fishing journey on the River Barrow with my dad, which is where I caught my first fish, a lovely brown trout. The Gowran River was also a short walk from my homeplace, and on the days my dad couldn’t fish, I would walk through the fields and fish the Gowran River. My love for fishing grew and took me to Mount Juliet Estate, where I began guiding at 13. I went on to become fisheries manager at Mount Juliet Estate and, to this day, enjoy taking out hundreds of clients every year fishing on the River Nore. I enjoy all types of fishing and guide all over Ireland. I am an Apgai Ireland-qualified casting instructor and have Ambassador roles with Cadence and Yeti. I joined Fulling Mill as an endorsed pro guide and am part of the Patagonia pro team. My angling journey has been an exciting one and hopefully will continue to be.
I take out all levels of anglers, from beginner to experienced. I enjoy what I do and count myself very lucky to be able to meet and guide new people to what might be their first Irish fish.
In what was a bumper year for specimen anglers, 2023 saw almost 600 claims received by the Committee, far outstripping the tally for recent years. Notable amongst those are some new Irish records for Gudgeon, Shore Rockling and Corkwing Wrasse.
The weather over the last was a right mixed bag. We had some fairly dry days over the bank holiday weekend, followed by a wet and wintry spell, with sleet and snow in places yesterday. I suppose, at least we didn’t have any new storms to contend with! The days are slowly lengthening, with a noticeable ‘grand stretch’ in the evenings, and thoughts are turning to longer days and better weather ahead.
We start withsea angling, where club competitions are underway again for the new season. West Cork & District SAC held a competition at the Wall in Monkstown, a former renowned cod mark, but now producing mainly whiting. Hectic fishing saw Troy Francis pip JP Molloy to the win with 43 fish in a 4-hour match – that’s some catch rate!
Whiting were also the main quarry just the other side of the channel, where Rebel County SAC held a competition at Cobh, with over 300 fish between 19 anglers providing good practice at speed fishing, and Jim Cotter coming out on top.
The inaugural Micheal Quinn Memorial competition was held by Killala BC at Lacken, where heavy surf made for tough fishing, but former world champion Timmy O’Sullivan included a fine 36cm turbot in his winning catch to show that class is permanent.
Kit Dunne from Wicklow Boat Charters has endured a frustrating start to the year due to weather, but some better conditions at the weekend saw him get out with a crew for a short session. It proved a great decision, with 30 spurdogs landed, including 11 over specimen size. A few lucky anglers reached their 3 specimen quota for the year in jig time, so there were smiles all round when heading back to port.
Pike anglers are also enjoying great sport in some locations, and we have some fine fish to report this week. Peter Sheridan has spent a lifetime chasing, and obsessing over, an elusive river 30, and Bank Holiday Monday proved an auspicious day for him, when he finally achieved that dream with a cracking fish of 31lbs.
Peter with his dream fish
At the other end of the fishing spectrum, young Harry Walsh was a novice on his first pike trip with the Dublin Pike Anglers to the Erne. Fishing under the watchful eyes of some old club hands, Harry stunned the wise old sages by landing his very first pike – the fish of a lifetime, a superb specimen weighing in at over 30lb 13ozs!
To coarse fishing then, where we have a most unusual report this week. Jonathan Andrews was fishing Lough Allen at the wekend for roach and hybrids when he landed a very silvery, herring-like fish that turned out to be a pollan, a native Irish species left over from the last Ice Age. These fish are rare enough, and almost never caught by anglers.
The VDE Baggers finished up their winter league at the weekend, with the leaderboard very tight coming into the match, and even tighter at the finish, with a 3-way tie for the title. It came down to a countback on weight, with Aaron Hutchman pipping John Walker and Grzegorz Bojczewski with a total catch of 31.010 kg.
Aaron came second in his section with this bag
An end peg draw proved useful for Adrian Browne, who won the 7th leg of Oaklands winer league with 75.8kg.
Salmon angling is still fairly quiet, with no fresh fish reported from Lough Currane yet. High winds at times meant little fishing effort, and we must wait at least another week for white smoke here.
Daire and Tom were back talking salmon fishing this week on the Ireland On The Fly podcast. With the opening of the Blackwater on February 1st, Daire & Tom caught up with Conor Arnold, the guide and casting instructor who they spoke to previously on the show, to find out how opening day went on the river and what we can expect over the next few weeks.
Kerry anglers who fish the Roughty are invited to apply for brown tags, with the first draw for tags being held on February 27th.
Catch of the Week
We had two amazing contenders for Catch of the Week this week, both 30lb+ pike that are simply spectacular fish. In the end, we went for the fish caught by first time junior angler Harry Walsh, a fine pike of 30lbs 13oz. It’s all downhill from here, Harry!
Permits for the ESB salmon fishery at Castleconnell on the River Shannon are now available on our permit shop here . Daily, weekly, and season permits can now be purchased online. This adds to the growing list of fisheries where permits can be purchased online, from Cork to Donegal and many points in between, with more being added all the time. Check out the list of permits you can buy online here.
And now the weather
Showers, showers, more showers. Showers today will be followed by showers on Saturday, some heavy, with spot flooding possible! The best of the dry weather tomorrow will be in the north/northwest. Highest temperatures of 7 to 10 degrees in mostly light to moderate variable winds but with a fresher NW wind developing in the southwest.
Sunday sees early fog/frost clearing to leave a day of sunny spells and scattered showers, some wintry and most frequent over the west. Winds freshening with highest temps of 6-9C. Remaining unsettled for the early days of next week, with further showers, some wintry, rain and drizzle. The longer-term outlook suggests it is likely to remain unsettled, with further spells of rain at times.
The Micheál Quinn Memorial Fishing Competition was held last weekend on Lacken Beach, Killala, hosted by Killala BC. The Quinn family welcomed all the competitors who had travelled to Mayo to honour Micheál’s memory.
Some of the Quinn family with competition organiser Owen Gilvarry
Unfortunately the fishing conditions didn’t play ball, with heavy surf breaking a long way out and a massive surge up the beach. In those conditions it can be very hard to hold bottom, with traces being pulled along the beach, and tangles with neighbours’ lines frustratingly common.
1 of 4
Winter surf fishing
Even though the fish weren’t there in big numbers, there were big sizes with Timmy O’Sullivan having a 36cm turbot – a rare fish to catch. Species caught included turbot, flounder, coalies, bass, rockling and weaver.
In the end, former world champion Timmy O’Sullivan was a popular winner, proving that class is permanent. Timmy had 6 counting fish on his card.
Overall Winner: Timmy O’Sullivan
Overall 2nd: Mark Robinson
Zone A 1st: Owen Joyce
Zone A 2nd: Ian Daly
Zone B 1st: Sam Sterling
Zone B 2nd: Nathan deKleer
Largest Round: Cormick Bourke
Longest Flat: Billy Gilvarry
Juniors prizes: Sally Gilvarry, Kaitlyn deKleer, Danny Hartley, Ryan McDermott
Timmy receiving the inaugural Micheal Quinn trophy.
Many thanks to the Quinn family for their sponsorship for prizes, their generous goodie bags and their support in what will be an annual competition going forward.
A special word of thanks to Cormac Bourke, who presented a cheque of €250 for Croí on behalf of EFSA.
Many thanks to everyone who supported the raffle and for donating their prize money to Croí. The total amount raised was €1050 which will be presented to Croí in memory of Micheál.
The Acres Pub and guest house hosted the presentation and an evening of stories and lifelong friendships was had by all. Roll on next year
Catch and release, a step towards sustainable angling
Last week we let you know that bass guru and SWFF expert Jim Hendrick would be hosting a series of 10 SWFF workshops that were to be offered between May and October 2024.
Happily but unfortunately at the same time, I was advised midweek that all of the dates were filled over the long weekend. Jim has managed to accommodate one or two extra inquiries into his busy schedule but advises that the courses are now fully subscribed. Jim thanks all those who signed up and looks forward to meeting and seeing you all over the coming weeks and months.
Keep an eye out on Jims’s website and blogs for details of any possible dates for 2025. We will let you know as soon as we have any word on future events.
Jim has hands on experience as a professional guide and is an avid angling writer, blogger and photographer. He also has a BSc degree in Tourism Enterprise Management from WIT.
Fishing for bass from boyhood Jim has worked his way through the ups and downs of bass fishing both personally and professionally. I have been lucky to share many adventures with him during his guiding years roughly 10 to 12 years or so from 2003 to 2015.
On one such outing with a party of French journalists back in 2003/4 Jim delivered an astounding catch of circa fifty bass to 7lbs and 70 pollack to 8lbs for the group. All returned safely to the water. That was then !
Always operating quietly under the radar during this period, Jim put over three hundred bass angler’s form France, Belgium, Germany, Holland, the UK, Denmark and the USA through his hands, delivering angling adventures and experiences that will live in the memories of his clients for the rest of their lives. A good number of Jims guests became repeat clients with some returning annually and even biannually to him.
Jim has recorded some great fish during his saltwater fly fishing expeditions including bass and sea trout to over 10lbs in weight. For SWFF enthusiasts Jim has a wealth of information and advise on his website and blog.
Conor Arnold on the start of the 2024 salmon season on the Blackwater
With the opening of the Blackwater on February 1st, Daire & Tom caught up with Conor Arnold, the guide and casting instructor who they spoke to previously on the show, to find out how opening day went on the river and what we can expect over the next few weeks.
Conor also has some good advice on how to tempt the early season springers, plus he tells them how he fared on his recent trip to Patagonia where double figure sea trout and hundreds of brownies made up his week’s fishing down there.
Listen and Follow
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:
Peter Sheridan sent us on a report of his latest trip from Bank Holiday Monday. There weren’t a lot of fish caught. In fact, there was only one fish caught. But, oh boy, what a fish!
Peter says he has spent his life trying to catch a river 30 (a river pike over 30lbs), to no avail. In fact, he says, it became an obsession. He was fishing alone, after making a 90 minute journey from home to an undisclosed location. Fishing deadbait, he hooked and landed the monster fish on his own.
Peter with his dream fish
Luckily, there was another angler nearby who was able to make his way to Peter, while the fish recovered in a keep sling, verify the weight and take some photos. We’re sure those photos will be adorning the wall in the Sheridan household soon, and will be treasured memories of a great catch!
What a fish!
As Peter says “A day I won’t forget and might never repeat “
