Neil O’Shea, the long-standing ghillie on Lough Currane whose family have been guiding on the lake for nearly 150 years joins Daire & Tom on this week’s Ireland on the Fly and what Neil doesn’t know about Currane probably isn’t worth knowing…..
They speak to Neil about the opening few weeks on Currane, the good and the bad days for the lough, why you’ve a good chance of a springer in the coming months and how double figure sea trout can still be got – if you time it right…..
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John Fleming, skipper of the Brazen Hussy II,was in touch to let us know his plans for 2024, and that he is now taking bookings for the season.
We are hoping to start at the end of February for a shot at early spring white fish, pollock, cod, whiting, haddock etc.
We will be fishing for whitefish all the way through the season.
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We will start at spurs and huss in early April.
Tope fishing will start around mid May roughly, always good crack and good numbers usually show from then until mid October
We will be starting our sharking a little earlier this year around the second week in June for an earlier crack at porbeagles as they were certainly there earlier in 23.
So from mid June until hopefully mid August we will be having a good crack at them.
Hoping to break our numbers again this year 13 to beat.
Dates are limited for the beagles.
We will continue sharking until October mainly targeting blue shark after early to mid August.
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We will also be running squid trips from mid August. We hope to play a better part in the tuna chart program this year and will hopefully be running trips from the start of September to play with the giants.
So for anyone interested in a trip don’t hesitate in calling or messaging me.
Go fishing…
To book fishing with John aboard the Brazen Hussy II, give him a call on 087 7571320
A regular day is between 9am- 6pm from either Rossaveal, Spiddal or Galway depending on species being sought after. Fishing on the inshore reefs for pollock, cod, ling, wrasse, conger eel and mackerel can be reached in 10 minutes from departure, while our offshore reef marks are within 45 minutes of departure. Our ground fishing for tope, spurdog, ray, bullhuss, turbot, plaice and the giant common skate can all be reached within the hour which ensures the most amount of time is spent fishing.
The shark season usually starts at the end of June and runs into late October, this is the ultimate angling adrenaline rush with these hard fighting blue and porbeagle sharks all being tagged and released safely.
Package deals available
Apologies for missing last week as some of you may know Peter’s mother passed away and therefore things have been a bit up in the air and we are in the process of getting back into things and looking forward to the opening of the season and looking forward to the fishing.
Thanks to all who sent messages during the week your support is greatly appreciated. It hasn’t been the greatest of weeks.
How’s the Fishing?
Laois Angling Sunday 28th Jan
Mark was on Laois Angling Center over the weekend, getting some practice in on the lakes ahead of our National Bank Qualifiers next month on the 24th of February. Mark & Myself are both on the Leinster team to compete on the day. Mark reported some good fishing during his short 4hr session prior to work.
Bottom lake was clear and somewhat tough but still producing fish pulling olive zonkers on sinking lines. Along with some surface action with dries and subsurface nymphs. Though middle lake was still clouded and dirty from recent works that took place. With little to no fish showing on the surface. Water clarity was only 2 to 3.5feet.
Mark found top 2 feet and bottom 2 feet was fishing best. Pulling orange, pink and hot beaded lures through this lake to get fishes attention. Along with setting up the bung method to fish off the bottom. Tweaking his flies to entice a take. Which led to some great numbers and good sized fish to the net.
For more information and details about where to fish drop me a line [email protected].
What’s New?
Trabucco XPS Special Hi-Viz
This line is superb for making Euro-nymphing leaders that we use in the construction of all our leaders. Very high elasticity, strong, straight and easy to work with. Easy to apply dyes and indicator waxes to for better visibility on the water for leader construction. Extremely popular all over the world by anglers for nymphing leaders.
It wont be too long now till the months of February and March when we begin to see the return of the nymphing anglers back on the water after a long winter. But the enthusiasm of the angler can be quickly dampened as the cold waters prove it quite difficult to entice a trout to take. At this time of the year brown trout’s metabolism is low and they are still lying in their winter protective lies. So, fishing the typical runs and spring/ summer lies will often lead to disappointment and poor catch rates.
However, searching through the waters you can discover the more protective places that there could be a chance of a fish or two. These are usually along the margins, in deeper pockets, or places where the fish would remain safe from the winter high waters and cold weather. It is often the case also that you will come across pods of trout in these places, moving from pod to pod will result in a productive day during early spring for the fly angler.
So once you find the fish the next question is what you are going to throw at them to get them to open there mouths.
Here are a few nymphs that I have found to be attractive enough to hook up some early season trout.
Hare’s Ear Grub
Hook: Dohiku 644 or 622
Bead: Copper 3mm-4mm
Thread: Olive tying Thread
Rib: Flat Copper Tinsel
Body: Natural Hares Ear dubbing
Thorax: Mixed Hot Red Dubbing and UV Ice DubbingThis is a great fly for early season nymphing but will also produce fish throughout the season. I find it best on the point and you could also add some flat lead in the under body to give it that extra weight to get down to the deeper fish.
Hare’s Ear
Leggy Caddis
Hook: Dohiku 18-16 Jig
Bead: Slotted Gold or Copper 3mm-4mm
Thread: Olive Tying Thread
Tag: Glo Brite No 12
Tail: Natural Partridge Fibres
Rib: Gold or Copper Wire
Body: Natural Hares Ear Dubbing
Thorax: Hends Peacock Dubbing
Legs: Speckled Rubber legs
Great Jig nymph and aa great attractor pattern for getting fish to open there mouths. This nymph can be successful on either the point fly or on a dropper. By jigging the rod tip up and down you get those legs moving and they can be a real trigger point.
Leggy Caddia
Black and Orange
Hook: Dohiku 18-16 Jig
Bead: Slotted Gold or Copper 3mm-4mm
Thread: Black Tying Thread
Tail: Glo Brite No 9
Rib: Copper Wire
Body: Root Beer flat tinsel
Hackle: Black CDC Spun and Brushed Back
Thorax: Hends Peacock Dubbing.
Another favourite for early season, black can be a good colour if the waters are a bit mucky at this time of the year. The CDC has lovely movement in it when it’s swimming through the runs and the little orange tail peeping through is just enough to entice the fish to have a taste. This fly is one of my go to fly’s no matter where I go.
Black & Orange
About us
Based on the River Nore just outside Thomastown, Co Kilkenny, Ireland. Piscari-Fly is a growing Fly Tying and Fly-Fishing business with a vast amount of experience and knowledge. If there is ever anything I can do to make my service better for you please feel free to suggest it to me and I’ll gladly try my best to accommodate your requests. Thanks again. Peter Driver.
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The VDE Baggers fished the penultimate round of their current league in very blowy conditions last weekend. They had a decent turnout, so decided to split the match over two lakes, with Creeve hosting two sections and Carrick holding a third.
Carrick Lough was the better lake on the day, producing the top three weights of the match, with Aaron Nabc Hutchman’s catch of 3.6 kg on the pole enough to see off Micahel Schopen with 3.44 kg.
Aaron with the top catch of the day
Over on Creeve Lough, the Bojczewski brothers put in a one-two, as each topped their section with some good roach.
It’s all to play for ahead of the final round of the competition, with only a few points separating a number of anglers, so the last match promises to be an exciting shoot out.
This report from the Irish section of the European Federation of Sea Anglers on the 2024 edition of the Winter Shore Festival held in Wexford:
The 35th Irish Winter Shore Angling Festival took place from January 24th to 27th, 2024. The weeks leading up had the committee dealing with a fair amount of trepidation due to the intervention of storms Isha and Jocelyn. Competitors travelling from abroad had a rough time on their sea crossings on the few sailings that were still operating. Thankfully they made it.
The 106 competitors commenced check in on the evening of the 24th in the event headquarters in the Hotel Curracloe, in County Wexford. Numbers were well down on what had been expected given the huge numbers of expressions of interest prior to Christmas. The organisers will be looking at a system to overcome this for next year.
Check in was completed on Thursday morning 25th and competitors moved onto Curracloe beach to commence fishing at 12 noon. The anglers were divided into 4 zones each day. Weather conditions were fairly grim with Storm Jocelyn delivering persistent rain and high southerly winds throughout the session. Lines in was called at 5pm and the competitors were very glad to vacate the beach to get in from the atrocious weather conditions.
Wet and Windy on Curracloe Beach – Day 1
The conditions also affected the catch rate with only 707 fish being recorded for the session, all returned alive. Species recorded were flounder, dab, whiting, scorpion, bass, lesser spotted dogfish, rockling, and coalfish. Best round fish was a 41cm coalfish for Frank Piotter from Germany. Best flatfish was a 32cm flounder for Martin McGowan from Kerry. Super pool winners were Richard Yates, Matt White, and Ged Stevens. These were also the individual best 3 positions on day 1.
Zone winners were Richard Yates (600), Matt White (589), Ged Stevens (559) and Gary Wood (447). All from England. Best Lady was Jane Cantwell from Wexford. Best Junior was Max Roche also from Wexford. Leading the 2 person teams were Matt White and Ged Stevens. The 4 person teams were led by Matt White, Ged Stevens, Shane Russell, and Gareth Griffiths.
Zone prize winners on day 1 were:
The second session commenced at 12 noon of Friday 26th on Morriscastle Beach. The competitors were very pleased to see the sun shining and a nice westerly breeze helping to dry out wet over clothes and gear that had been soaked on day 1. Fish capture was much better from the beginning with some sizeable cards up to 35 fish being recorded. A much happier bunch of competitors pulled in last casts at 5pm in much better form than that on day 1.
Morriscastle Beach – Day 2
The total number of fish recorded and returned alive was 1118. Species recorded were similar to day 1 with the addition of a rare daylight capture of a 45cm spur dogfish for Chris O’Sullivan from Kerry. Best flat fish of 34cm flounders were captured by J.P. Molloy from Cork and Rob Collins from England.
Super pool winners were Juergen van Rijswijk from The Netherlands with the best card of the event on 916 points, Ryan Blair from Northern Ireland with 877 and Stephen O’Donovan from Kerry on 857. Zone winners were Juergen van Rijswijk, Ryan Blair, Saul Page from England, and Dave Wade also from England.
All the action from the Winter Shore Festival
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Best lady once again was Jane Cantwell and best junior was also once again Max Roche with a very creditable zone 3rd placing. The 2 person team was still led by Saul page and Richard Yates. The 4 person teams were also still led by Matt White, Ged Stevens, Shane Russell, and Gareth Griffiths. The overall lead was now held by Saul Page on 59 points for 1324 fish points followed by Dave Wade also on 59 points but with 1040 fish points, Gareth Griffiths was in third place. Everything to play for on day 3.
Zone prize winners on day 2 were:
The final session on Saturday 27th had a 10.30 start on Ballinesker Beach. Conditions were fairly good in dry weather with a brisk southerly breeze. Good numbers of fish were captured early on, but the rate became patchy as the session progressed. Some positions continued to produce and as the end of the session approached the entire beach started to see fish again. Lines in at 15.30 saw 808 fish recorded. Species recorded were similar to previous days with the addition of some small sea trout which unfortunately for the captors did not count. All fish were returned alive.
Aaron Vambeck Bass – Day 3
Best round fish was a 53cm bass for Aaron Vambeck from Donegal, best flat fish was a 32cm flounder for Lar Mooney from Dublin. Best scores on the day winning shares of the super pool were Matt White (526), Troy Francis from Kerry (507) and Saul page (499).
Zone winners were Saul page, Dave Wright, Matt White all from England and Joey Brady from Ireland.
Zone prize winners on day 3 were:
The hard working results committee had the results posted at 18.45. A full room of competitors and guests enjoyed an excellent well prepared and professionally served meal after which the presentation of awards took place. EFSA Ireland Chairman George McCullough addressed those in attendance prior to the awards ceremony. He thanked the competitors for their participation and their perseverance over the 3 days of competition in some very trying conditions. He thanked the venue pegging team organised by John Marshall for their work. He also thanked the results committee for their excellent work and also EFSA Ireland Hon. Secretary Warren Doyle for his work in the organisation of the event. He thanked the management and staff of the Hotel Curracloe for their support and professionalism throughout the event.
He then thanked the sponsors, firstly main sponsor Tronixpro for their continued support for the event, also Inland Fisheries Ireland for their continued support and finally Hotel Curracloe for hosting the event at short notice. Finally, he thanked those who had gifted prizes for the raffle and wished everyone a safe journey home and hoped to see them again in 2025.
The awards presentation then took place under the stewardship of Hon. Secretary Warren Doyle and Hon Treasurer Christy Cloak. Longest fish and Super Pool prizes were first awarded followed by daily zone prize winners. These were followed by the team prizes.
The 2 person team was won by Richard Yates and Saul Page while the 4 person team was won by Matt White, Ged Stevens, Shane Russell, and Gareth Griffiths.
L-R Matt White, Saul Page, Troy Francis with Warren Doyle
Best flatfish awards went jointly to J.P. Molloy and Rob Collins for their 34cm flounders. The best round fish award was taken by Aaron Vambeck with his 53cm bass which also took the ‘Best Fish of the Festival’ award. Best Lady was Jane Cantwell and best Junior was Max Roche. The awarding of the top 3 individual prizes then completed the ceremony.
In 3rd place and also being the only angler to break the English dominance of the top awards for the 2024 event was Troy Francis. In Runner Up spot was Matt White.
The 4th round of the CM Lakelands Lough Muckno winter league was held on Sunday, where twenty three anglers fished and the top three came from each of the three different sections.
1st overall today was Irish feeder international Johnny McKinley who had over 4kg of roach, hybrids and 1 big skimmer from Yellow Island.
2nd was Neil Kane with an impressive performance for just under 3kg of small skimmers and roach from top of Black Island.
3rd overall today was the inform Damian Foltyn with a weight of under 3kg, made up of mostly roach and the odd small hybrid from Black Island.
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The league results will be published during the week.
RESULTS
OVERALL
1st Johnny Mckinley 4.175kg
2nd Neil Kane 2.950kg
3rd Damian Foltyn 2.580kg
SECTIONS.
Mariusz Killan 2.410kg Black
Piotr Horbiński 2.340kg top Black
Rimantas Kondrakas 2.525kg Yellow
After four rounds of league action, and with two rounds of competition remaining, it is Piotr Horbinski who leads from Darren Fairhurst, with Philip Jackson in third place.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines a ‘Guru’ as an influential teacher or a mentor, so I have no doubt that ex fishing guide and salt water fly fishing expert Jim Hendrick fits very well into this category in relation to bass fishing. His depth of knowledge and experience in this area, accumulated over many years by ‘doing’ are simply extensive.
The reward, a fly caught Wexford bass.
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.
Heading out to the vast Irish coastline
The benefits to the local businesses and restaurants throughout the region cannot be underestimated or understated and are badly missed since the closure of his guiding business.
When Jim stopped guiding in 2015, he thankfully continued to share his knowledge and experiences with anglers through his Salt Water Fly Fishing workshops. Demand has always outstripped supply for these events, and the good news is that in 2024 Jim is back delivering his much-loved Salt Water Fly Fishing workshops.
The class of 2014, a great event. The new workshops will have a new format.
Jim will be hosting a series of 10 workshops that are being offered between May and October 2024. In addition to having hands on experience as a professional guide, Jim is an avid angling writer, blogger and photographer. He also has a BSc degree in Tourism Enterprise Management from WIT.
Catch and release, a step towards sustainable angling
Please see below for Jims’s introduction to what you can expect ! And you have been warned, so book early to avoid disappointment, these will sell out fast so don’t miss out!
Through his workshops, Jim invites you to “Discover a new world of how bass fishing on the fly can become a uniquely challenging and satisfying coastal adventure for you.
Jim Hendrick in action on the Irish coastline where he is totally at home.
Learn and understand fish behaviour under many different locations in different circumstances and most importantly how best to rig, cast and retrieve your fly (or not) to make the most of your opportunities.
Unravel the mysteries of fly fishing in wind and waves, drift, strip, pop, when and where……after ten years of International guiding for bass on the fly from the shore and boat the opportunity to share that accumulated knowledge is now fully available to you”
Full details of the upcoming Salt Water Fly Fishing Workshops can be found at
Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) is reminding Salmon and Sea Trout Anglers who fished during the 2023 season to please return their logbooks and any unused gill tags.
Under the Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Tagging Scheme, anglers can return these in one of three ways:
Using the postage pre-paid business return envelope that was supplied at the time of licence purchase (preferred option).
Posting the logbook and unused gill tags to the IFI office address that is displayed on their licence or logbook.
Scanning and emailing logbook and licence documents to [email protected] (please scan all sides of documents, including continuation pages, to ensure that the licence names and number can be correctly linked to the logbook).
These returns provide vital information regarding the status and management of our wild Atlantic Salmon and Sea Trout stocks into the future.
Reminder
In accordance with the Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Tagging Scheme, anglers in Ireland are required by law to return their completed logbook (setting out their fishing and catch record) and all unused tags to the issuing office of Inland Fisheries Ireland within 7 days of licence expiry and no later than the 19th of October.
As part of the Scheme, an angler must attach a valid gill tag to a salmon (any size) or sea trout (over 40cm) harvested, immediately on landing. They must enter details of their catch and/or gill-tag used into their logbook.
Any questions or queries?
Please email [email protected] and we will respond to your query as quickly as possible.
John Browne reports on Round 6 of Oakland’s winter league which was fished on Sunday…
Conditions were pleasant at Oaklands on Sunday for the 6th Round of the Ger Hennessy Winter League. The top weight came from end peg 15. The lucky angler was Marnel Popa with 20.910 kg.
Well done to Marnel and a big thanks to all the lads who travelled today.
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Marnel Popa at Oaklands
Sion Pritchard at Oaklands
Today’s Results
Section A Shop Bank
1st M Popa 20.910 kg
2nd L Lynch 15.430 kg
3rd D Biru 11.700 kg
Section B River Bank
1st S Pichard 15.990 kg
2nd R Minogue 9.210 kg
3rd G Varva 7.270 kg
Go fishing…
Next competition
Ger Hennessy Winter league Round 7 will be fished next Sunday 4th February.
Draw 8.30
Fishing 10.30 to 3.30pm
If you are interested get in touch with John on the Oaklands facebook page or using the contact details below.
Oaklands
Oaklands Lake in New Ross Co. Wexford is a fishing paradise for coarse angling. It offers a wide selection of fish. The lake can be fished by people of every level of experience from beginners to professionals.
A very popular carp fishery. Popular with competition anglers and novices alike. Alway a great chance of a bumper bag here. Friendly staff more than happy to advise beginner anglers. Caters to all sorts of clubs and groups.
Ger Power was in Belturbet once more. As ever pike were the target, but this time he had a secret weapon, his 9 year old nephew Adam.
It was a very blustery weekend at Belturbet with a definitely nip in the air, and there were very few other anglers about. But all thoughts of the weather were forgotten when young Adam’s smelt deadbait was picked up… When he struck the fish they all knew this was something special and with help from his uncle Ger, Adam landed his first “20”. A couple of photos to record the moment, and the pike was safely released to fight again another day. There were only a couple of other smallish pike caught, but that hardly mattered at all. Everyone was thrilled with Adam getting in to the 20s club.
Adam and his older brother Jamie, 11, are fishing 5 years now. The pair have have been very successful. With an uncle like Ger showing them the ropes, it’s hardly any surprise.
Adam’s 20lb pike from Belturbet
We heard Adam was up early this morning, in a rush to get to school and tell all his friends and teachers about his catch on Saturday, and sure that’s what its all about. Well done Adam, hat a super pike! And well done Ger, you’ve every reason to be a proud uncle today!
They speak to Neil about the opening few weeks on Currane, the good and the bad days for the lough, why you’ve a good chance of a springer in the coming months and how double figure sea trout can still be got – if you time it right…..
