Senan Stanley has a slow on Derg with just 7 pike between 2 anglers, but they weren’t bad fish…
Our top 5 pike on Sunday were in nice condition and big enough too at 105cm, 103cm, 102cm, 96cm, and 92cm! It was a sweet result but the day was very tough. The fish made us work hard for it with our lures – nothing wanted to cooperate. We had a couple other fish to the boat, but all in all another super Sunday on the water!
Our 2024 season got underway on Saturday evening, a big welcome to our new members Richie Gormley, Alan O’Dowling, Barry Connelly, Fiona Ryan, Brian Murphy, Mick O’Callaghan, Aidan O’Sullivan and David Kennedy.
Garrylucas 5pm – 9pm was the venue. The north easterly winds leading up to this match were not ideal however nobody is in control of this. The first hour of this match was dire with only 3 fish making an appearance, but things changed quickly in the second hour. Troy Francis took the early lead with a treble shot of a pair of rockling and a 36cm Coalie which would eventually win the pools. JP Molloy finally got fish on his card after his second flounder walk, Colin O’Sullivan on peg 2 had a pair of dogfish to keep the pressure on, new member Aidan O Sullivan was now finding rockling keeping him in the running.
The second and third hour of the match fished best with the lead changing numerous times. Barry O’Rourke, after a slow start, was now on the rockling and up there with the leaders but going into the last 30 minutes Derek Kenrick finished very strong with 7 fish to add to the other 12 on his card to win the match. Well done Derek.
Species on the night consisted of flounder, rockling, LSD, sand smelt, coalfish, pollock and whiting.
The club was formed on march 19th 2009, in the small picturesque harbour town of Kinsale County Cork. We’re an inclusive club, this can be seen in our membership profile; from anglers who are new to match fishing all the way up to members of the Irish World Shore Team 2010, two of which are in the club! The club holds circa 10 competitions per year, members are encouraged to practice a catch and release policy in the interests of conservation. Anybody wishing to join our club is always welcome, just use the contact us page and we will give prospective members full details. Web:http://westcorkanddistrict.webs.com/ Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/pages/West-Cork-and-District-SAC/201776589958897
Looking at the weather for the week, they were giving it as quite cold, to say the least. But the water has dropped to fishable height over the past week and so Anthony and I decided quite late Friday evening that we were going to give the River Barrow a shot. It was one of those trips where we just went with the flow so to speak. So, Friday night for me was a mix of Senan Stanley lure fishing videos and, of course, Marcin Kantor, no complaints.
Getting up Saturday morning didn’t take too much effort as we knew where we were heading, we grabbed what we thought we would need and off we went on what was a very cold, crisp morning. On the way to the river, we discussed three possible spots on the river that we would like to try and a “strat” as Anthony calls it for each spot. When we arrived, the river had a hint of mist above it with some lovely whirls and twirls; undercurrents were there but not as angry as the last time we were here.
Planning a ‘strat’ to tackle the river
Walking along the bank we shared many a story, Anthony is beginning to gather a collection of his own little angling stories now which makes for great entertainment when walking to the fishing spot. As we turned the corner to our first location, there was an angler already there, which was fine as we had two other locations and many “strats”. The second location was free, so we began setting up. As we were setting up, there were a few sprays of minnows and small dace, which always excites. Sticking on one of his favourite lures, Anthony cast towards the sprays. We may have been a little late with the cast as the predator chasing had no interest in our lure selection due to a belly full of small minnows, I’m sure.
The angler we first saw at our initial spot beckoned Anthony over and began speaking to him. Anthony began smiling and made a cast where the angler pointed. On the second cast, Anthony lifted into his first perch. There, of course, was perch number 2,3, and 4 after that one. I spoke to the angler, whose name was Adam. I thanked him for his kindness, and we spoke of how important it was that we help the younger generation as much as we can, which he had already done and agreed to. Believe it or not I have had people stand on a lough gate and cast over Anthony before, so Adam’s kindness was very much welcome and appreciated by both of us.
After quite a few perch and a cup of tea we decided to try for a pike. Grabbing the fly rod and setting it up we began looking around for likely spots. We started at an area where the canal narrowed and then opened out a bit. It was probably 45 minutes to an hour before something Anthony won’t forget for a while. As he stripped back the fly it hadn’t gone down too far, we could still see it quite clearly with our polarised glasses. A lovely jack pike of about 4 pounds came from underneath, grabbed the fly, and came clean out of the water. It happened quite quickly but was magical to watch. It was a great experience for Anthony to witness, especially when he was holding the fly rod. A quick picture and we released the latest edition to Anthonys River pike collection, a highlight to both our weeks.
The reward: a fine jack on the fly for Anthony
Another highlight for me last week was speaking to Ceri Jones on his podcast, I had been following Ceri for quite some time so was delighted to speak to him and become ep. 166.I am quite looking forward to showing Ceri some of my local water this spring.
With the season just around the corner thankfully, I will be holding a class on getting ready for the new season. If you would like more information, contact me on messenger or the details below.
The Leinster Coarse Fishing Federation are up and running for 2024 as six teams turned out for the first round of their pairs competition, held on the Grand Canal at Daingean. Fishing was pretty good, and all anglers caught fish, which is always good at this time of year when you need a bit of action to keep the chill at bay…
Full results as follows:
D. Murray & P. Gill………………………… 8.14.
L. Aungier & S. Ward…………………….. 5.88.
T. Dowd & D.McGuirk……………………. 5.82.
B.O’Donoghue & M. O’Donoghue…… 4.72.
J. Mulligan & L. Tully……………………. 3.70.
J. Langan & A. Doyle……………………. 3.40.
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The club have also released their competition schedule for 2024, which is published below for anyone interested in joining up/taking part.
Two of Ireland’s most active pike angling clubs met up on the banks for a winter outing last weekend. The Limerick County Pike Anglers Association made a trip up country to meet the Irish Out Going Pikers, for a bit of fishing and plenty of bankside camaraderie. It was an early start for the Limerick crew, with alarms set for 4.15 am and hitting the road at 4.45am.
Fishing a river venue, they found the water to be running high and fast, which is no surprise for this time of year. The fishing was a bit slow, with more jacks than monsters, but a couple of the Limerick lads put together bags in 10lb to 12lb range. The Out Going Pikers seemed to have a better run of things and one of their members topped the standings with a nice 23lb bag.
But it was a day that was more about getting out on the banks and meeting fellow anglers than it was about catching fish. And in that sense it was a great success, and plans are now afoot for a return leg, with the ‘Pikers’ travelling to meet the Limerick guys on their patch later in the year. We look forward to hearing about it!
Perfection in a pollack👍 On a self-cast head and a Chinese body.
Jim Clohessy of Topfisher.eu has been watching for a weather window to get out on the water for the first expedition of 2024 and that winter window came on Tuesday, Jan 16th. Jim reports on the day’s events below:
We were watching for window and we got a right old winter window today. I was expecting a cold start – we got -6°C first thing. Luckily there was no wind, so the cold was not really biting – although I had to take the heat gun out to thaw the hitch lock, that was a first for me!
Back on the water
We launched at Paddy’s Point and headed offshore in the best hope of some action on the lures – which we got straight away with pollack from our first drift. Conditions were fine and the sun even shone from time to time to take the sting from the cold. Most drifts we had at least a pair of fish and they were good sized 6-8lb fish for the most part.
All the action from Cork
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Perfection in a pollack👍 On a self-cast head and a Chinese body.
Another chunk for the crazy Paddletail @ 60g
The offshore deep Black Minnow head is a very interesting head for this type of fishing. I can see using it far more this year. This has a No4 body.
The sun was welcome when it made a show. There was heat!
The Crazy Paddletail…. Bass last outing pollack this outing…. It does it all
This one engulfed a Crazy Sandeel… had to get the pliers out to remove it😮
We had a good few double hookups.
Paul was hitting some great fish too.
This patch of reefy ground was very productive. The fish were tight to the bottom rather than cruising the column.
We moved from reef to reef in the hope of hitting a few bonus cod, but unfortunately there wasn’t a sniff this trip. We landed back and set about filleting a few fish. It was -2°C by the time we towed back to base.
Great day on the water. Cold for the most part, but great nonetheless!
Peter Driver might be away in Australia but he is back with his weekly update from Piscari-Fly…
How’s the Fishing?
It’s been slow with the cold snap and the lads aren’t getting out much. It’s getting busy at Laois angling centre due to its histing the national banks competition in February. For anyone that hasn’t been there recently they have completed dividing the old lake and new lake and the water has started to settle again. Peter and Mark will be fishing heavily on this over the next month as they have both qualified to fishin for Leinster in the nationla final on the 24th Feb. So keep an eye on our social media and piscari club for more information on Laois Angling Centre.
All reports are that the old lake is fishing very well and lots of fish being caught on it. With the new big lake, a little slower at the moment.
For more information and details about where to fish drop me a line [email protected].
Piscari Travels
We have travelled down the Great Ocean Road now and wow such an amazing coastline. Beautiful clear water seas. We are staying in a place called Peterborough about 3 hours out of Melbourne if you take the inland route. Travelling the great ocean road added an hour or 2 to our journey but well worth it. Although our 4 year old and 7 year old don’t agree.
Started fishing on the beaches in Peterborough yesterday and I am having a little bit more success than our previous locations. There is currently a run of small Australian salmon in the coves and bays around here. Small but great sport on a fly rod in the surf. Up at day break for the last couple of mornings fishing the bays and coves for them. Finding that white flat tails are working best for them and have had a successful time fishing them on an aqualux fast class line. Going to be hunting the next couple of mornings hoping to catch something bigger.
What’s Coming?
Believe it or not trout season is nearly upon us. On the 15th Feb several rivers across Munster will open for trout. We have noticed the fly orders increasing everyday so if you are interested in any of our fly selections or quality hand tied flies by Peter get in touch. www.piscari-fly.com[email protected] or 0879787040
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Also don’t forget for anyone who will be doing early spring time salmon fishing we have spent the winter making all our own Custom Flying C’s from the best materials that are out there. We have them in lots of different colours, weights, sizes and blades. They are going fast so get in touch now to get stocked up for the new season.
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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.
As a small business we depend on the satisfaction of our customers and there word of mouth reference, google reviews are important to our online presence and we sure would appreciate your review. Just head over to this link and give us a quick review.
After another wet and windy period, the past week has been much drier than average across the country, with less than 10mm of rain recorded in all Met Eireann stations – which for much of the country is 20% or less of the normal rainfall amounts. The outlook is for mainly dry and cold weather this coming week, with a chance of snow in some parts but with bright spells to push the evenings out that little bit more.
While our evening sunsets have been creeping later and later since the middle of December, it is only since last week that the sunrises have started to head in the opposite direction, inching earlier bit by bit. For the first time since the end of November, this weekend the length of day will officially breach the eight hour mark, giving the hardiest of winter anglers, like the pike hunters, those valuable extra minutes to try and land a monster…
In addition, permits for the Castleconnell Salmon Fishery on the River Shannon will be available shortly.
And now the weather..
Cold, calm and mostly dry Friday night with light rain along northern coasts overnight. Lows -2°C to +2°C. Dry in many areas at first on Saturday with a few bright spells, rain and drizzle moving southwards during the afternoon. Highs of 4°C to 8°C, in light breezes. Patchy light rain or drizzle will continue southwards overnight, with clear spells following in the north later. Cold and frosty with lows of -3°C to +2°C.
Brightening up through Sunday with sunny spells developing through the day and some isolated showers. Highs of 4°C to 7°C in light northerly winds becoming very cold overnight with widespread frost and wintry showers in northern areas. Lows of -3°C to +1°C. Most places will be dry and sunny on Monday but Tuesday will bring cloud and sleet or snow over the northern half of the country. Make sure to check the forecast before going afloat and if you’re going to sea, don’t forget to check the tides.
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.
We would like to wish you and yours a very happy new year and tight lines for 2024. Hopefully we will get a chance to meet on the waters as we go through the season. We have exciting plans for the coming year and look forward to sharing them with you as we develop them.
Newsletters will be back weekly at the usual time and day from now on.
If you have any questions or need advice on any aspect of your fishing or fly tying for the coming year make sure to give us a shout here….www.piscari-fly.com
How’s the Fishing?
Christmas was quite enough on the fly fishing front with the mixed bag of weather and the festive events over the few weeks. However, the lads did get down to Youghal one evening there last week and had some action on the beach caster rods. There was no cod about but they had some fun alright and planning a few trips around the coast over the coming weeks in search of some cod fishing. Make sure and check out piscari sea & game Facebook page for updates of how the coast is fishing, or drop Owen a line in piscarifly and he can point you in the right direction.
For more information and details about where to fish drop me a line [email protected]
What’s New & What’s Coming
Piscari Travels
So with the first leg of our Australian trip to Philip Island over, we moved back inland towards and around Melbourne for a few days before we set off again. Our next leg took us up into the mountains for a few days, where I went looking for some trout streams to fish.
Philip Island was a bust I managed only one small flat head fish over several sessions on some amazing beaches. talking to the local tackle shops and anglers on the beaches the low pressure that came across this region really fecked it up and the fish moved out to the deeper water. While conditions looked good the wind wasn’t helping either to settle the fish back down.
Moving on from there we headed to the Mountain regions and stayed in a place called Monbulk near the Yarra National Park, here I got to fish the Goulburn River and it was a fantastic river stuffed with plenty of obliging fish.
Following this and after a short regroup in Melbourne we flew off down to Cairns and got to see the Great Barrier Reef, this was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. I was a very proud Daddy seeing Lily snorkelling away over the reef with no fear at all. Unfortunately a cyclone passed through this region not so long ago and left devastation in its wake for a lot of people. This also meant the fishing was not that great along the coast line either.
Getting a bad run on this trip for the saltwater action. Hopefully on the next leg down the great ocean road we will hit some luck. I have a day out on the rivers with the Australian Captain Tom Jarman over the coming days and I am so looking forward to that and having a good chat with Tom. Make sure to check out Piscarifly club for all the videos.
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For all your fly tying and fly fishing needs. Stocking rods, reels, clothing water etc
Guiding
Want to improve or learn any aspects of your fly fishing? Then why not give us a shout and we will look after you. Fishing available locally on the River Nore at Thomastown and other club water by arrangement. We have also teamed up with Blackwater Trout and Salmon fishery to offer you an amazing fishing experience with over 8km of amazing river to be discovered.
Full & Half Guided days
One to one coaching
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Groups and Clubs welcome
Nymphing. Dry Fly. Wet Fly. Streamer. Dry Dropper
Instruction
Peter Driver is a qualified casting instructor with APAGI, and advanced qualified fly dresser with APAGI. He specialises in competition nymphs and fishing, Irish lake flies, streamers and lures.
As a qualified casting instructor with APAGI I Peter offers casting clinic’s and lessons, to suit your desires. Being able to cast correctly and have a good understanding of the mechanics of casting is a solid foundation in fly fishing that will pay off in your fishing, be it rivers or lakes.
IFI and the ESB are working together to make fishing more accessible to anglers in Ireland. The wide range of permits to fish in ESB waters can now be purchased online at
In addition, permits for the Castleconnell Salmon Fishery on the River Shannon will be available shortly
Boating permits
The ESB allows boating by licence on Pollaphuca, Inniscarra and Assaroe. Anglers, and other boaters, sailors and kayakers, can now purchase this licence online.
The club was formed on march 19th 2009, in the small picturesque harbour town of Kinsale County Cork. We’re an inclusive club, this can be seen in our membership profile; from anglers who are new to match fishing all the way up to members of the Irish World Shore Team 2010, two of which are in the club! The club holds circa 10 competitions per year, members are encouraged to practice a catch and release policy in the interests of conservation. Anybody wishing to join our club is always welcome, 
