The final leg of the 2023 Leinster League was held at Kilcoole last Saturday, and it was run in conjunction with the inaugural Eddie Bermingham Memorial Trophy. Coming into the competition three anglers were in with a shout of the league title, and as luck would have it, all three were drawn in the same zone.
It became obvious from the first cast that there were plenty of hungry dabs and whiting around, and catches were thick and fast from the off. However, many lines were also reeled in with the terminal tackle missing, with spurdogs the possible culprits making off with anglers’ rigs.
The cup competition was a tight call, with Dean Costelloe just edging out Eamon Bermingham to win the match and cup on the day. Then it was time to tot up the points to see who had come out on top of the Leinster League competition. And once the figures were checked and double-checked, it was Ciaran Fogarty from Southshore SAC who just pipped Paul Tyndal into second, with brother Karl Fogarty finishing third.
Spending most of Christmas day indoors assembling different things took its toll on both me and Anthony. Taking a quick look at the weather forecast, Tuesday looked like it was going to be the best chance of a breakout for us. On Christmas Day, Anthony’s grandad told him many fishing tales and stories of enormous fish he had encountered on some of his trips to the river. Growing up just outside Gowran, the River Barrow was quite close and most of my childhood fishing was done there. With his grandads’ stories echoing in his mind (and Anthony’s imagination putting a bit of a gloss on it), guess where we were heading on St. Stephen’s Day!
As Anthony’s grandad’s sole witness to these enormous pike, and perch I was asked plenty of questions and cross examined by Anthony. When I think back to when I was Anthony’s age, my imagination did paint a different picture than “reality.” I remember seeing a salmon jump for the first time, perhaps a fish of 7 or 8 pounds, but to my young eyes, this was a beast; how would I land such a creature if I was lucky enough to hook one?
As St. Stephen’s day arrived, we were up quite early and headed to Gowran to dig some worms as we had decided to try canals for perch, roach and dace. I couldn’t help taking the fly rod with me, as I could at least get some practice in casting over water. We had some layers pellets with us, so we added some water, mashed bread, some soil to darken the mix and a couple of handfuls of chopped worms.
Arriving at the river it was high and slightly coloured; the canal was going to be our best bet today. Packing up and heading to the canal, we had a nice chat on the way, and I again underwent some strong cross-examination on grandad’s stories. Anthony would ask me about different locations that his grandad had nicknamed and, of course, there was a huge fish associated with each spot.
As we arrived at each spot, Anthony asked me to name them. We had gone what we called “Bull way” today due to a bull being in the field many years ago, original! The river showed up some likely-looking spots, and we did see some fish show ahead of us in the flat water, so we had plenty of hope. I mixed the ground bait up and threw in a few golf ball sized pieces to see what kind of reaction I got from the fish. Casting in the float we watched it carefully and were just glad to be out. Surprisingly, it didn’t take too long for the float to sink off slowly to one side, and we hit our first roach of the day. Some roach and dace followed, Anthony spotted a little area just above me that he liked the look of, so he moved there to give it a try. As he was up there, I took the fly rod and began casting about a bit – just practicing really – when I heard a shout and some heavy fast footsteps coming my way. Anthony was running towards me, cradling a small dace with some lacerations from its dorsal to its tail, ‘Dad – a massive pike came up when I was reeling in the dace and tried to grab it and take it; it must be the one grandad lost!!’
I sent Anthony to the tackle bag and told him to grab the pike flies, I set up the rod for pike, and we made our way to the scene of the attack. I had done some casting with Anthony before, so he knew how to handle and cast a sink-tip line. Anthony made a few casts across the area where the pike was, but no interest. We decided to count the fly down and fished at different depths – which paid off. Anthony drew back the fly and the water erupted with small dace and roach jumping for freedom followed by a flash, the pike was on! The fish took Anthony all over the canal and made some good runs – really giving him a feel for a pike on the fly. Watching his face as the pike leapt from the water was just fantastic. I walked slowly for the net to give Anthony some alone time fighting his prize. As the net went under the fish Anthony let a sigh of relief and I knew how he felt.
Anthony’s prize
The pike was a nice fish, with a couple of scars and fantastic colours. What really hit home was how Anthony acted after the fish was caught, it was all about the fish. He wanted a quick picture and to help the fish recover, something I had taught him to do with every fish. As the pike recovered, he said, “Thanks Mr. Pike, see you next time”. A truly great day and a day where I got to see how Anthony is progressing on his angling journey.
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.
Donegal angler James Kenny caught and released the first salmon of the season yesterday afternoon on the River Leannan.
Fishing on New Years Day shortly after 1 o’clock, James hooked his fish in Watts Pool on the Leannan River. The salmon took a barbless Flying C.
Once the salmon was hooked, it was played to the net and carefully landed. Measurements were taken along with a couple of photographs and then the salmon was safely released.
The salmon, a lovely fresh fish was measured at 69cm and estimated to weigh 8lbs.
The Leannan River is open in 2024 for for Catch and Release fishing.
The 2024 Salmon Angling Regulations were published today on the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications website. Below is a transcript of their press release and a breakdown of the fisheries that are Open, Catch & Release and Closed is available here.
Conservation and sustainability vital to addressing environmental, climate and biodiversity challenges
The Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan TD, has approved legislation that will govern the wild salmon and sea trout fisheries in 2024. These will come into effect from Monday, 1 January 2024.
Minister Ryan said:
“In all, 81 rivers will be available for salmon and sea trout fishing in 2024. This facilitates careful management of this important natural resource, for which conservation and sustainability are paramount. Of these rivers, 42 will be open, with a further 39 open to ‘catch and release’ angling. The general improvements in stocks from 2023 have been maintained for 2024. However, collective effort and persistence are required to see the state of all individual river stocks improve over time. The stocks themselves are completely dependent on everybody increasing our efforts in facing up to environmental, climate and biodiversity impacts from human interventions.”
To support the legislation for 2024, Minister Ryan received management advice from Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) in relation to over 140 genetically individual wild salmon stocks in Ireland, which was based on individual scientific assessments. The assessments are carried out every year by the Technical Expert Group on Salmon (TEGOS) – an all-island independent scientific group comprising experts from a range of bodies. IFI, supported by TEGOS, determined: which of the individual stocks were sufficiently above their specific conservation limit to be open to fishing; which rivers did not meet a sufficient level above the limit but met a sufficient percentage of the limit to be classified for ‘catch and release’ angling; and which rivers were so far below the limit as to close them to any exploitation.
The conservation limit is the number of adult spawning fish required to maintain a healthy and sustainable stock in each individual river. The key issue to support increased stocks is improvement in water quality. Many of our rivers are not at a sufficiently high-water quality level to support sustainable stocks, often caused by agricultural activities, and to a lesser extent, insufficient treatment of waste water. This year’s advice was also made available as part of a statutory public consultation process during which written submissions from stakeholders (including the recreational and commercial fishing and the environmental sectors) were sought on the draft regulations.
Management advice based on the TEGOS assessment of rivers/estuaries/harbours is that:
42 rivers are to be open as a sustainable surplus has been identified in these rivers
39 rivers are to be classified as open for ‘catch and release’ angling
66 rivers are to be closed as they have no sustainable surplus available
Minister Ryan added:
“Ireland has long been internationally recognised for embedding the conservation imperative as a vital component of our management of the precious salmon resource. While the policy has served us well for more than a decade, I intend, as part of a broader inland fisheries policy review to set out options for improvement, with an even greater focus on conservation, in our management regime and for modernising licensing requirements, to ensure access to the resource where its conservation and biodiversity needs are met.”
ENDS
Notes to the Editor
The Minister at the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications has made the following Regulation and Bye-laws:
1. S.I. No. 672 of 2023 Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Tagging Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 2023
These regulations provide for the quotas of fish that can be harvested by commercial fishing engines and rod and line from those rivers identified in Schedule 2 of the Regulations. The Regulations also provide for the use of brown tags in specified rivers which are identified in Schedule 4.
2. Angling Bye-law No. 1003, 2023
This Bye-law prohibits the use of any fishhooks, other than single or double barbless hooks, and also prohibits the use of worms as bait in angling for all species of fish in the waters specified in the Bye-law.
3. Conservation of Salmon and Sea trout (Bag Limits) Bye-law No. 1004, 2023
This Bye-law provides for an annual bag limit of 10 fish being either salmon or sea trout (over 40cm) per angler and provides for a season bag limit of 3 fish in the period 1 January to 11 May, a daily bag limit of 3 fish from 12 May to 31 August and a daily bag limit of 1 fish from 1 September to the end of the season. The Bye-law also provides for the use of single or double barbless hooks and prohibits the use of worms as bait once the specified numbers of fish have been caught in the specified periods.
4. Conservation of Salmon and Sea trout (Catch and Release) Bye-law No. 1005, 2023
This Bye-law provides for catch and release in respect of salmon and sea trout (over 40cm) in rivers as mentioned in the Bye-law. The Bye-law also provides for the use of single or double barbless hooks and prohibits the use of worms as bait in angling for salmon and sea trout over 40cm.
5. Conservation of Salmon and Sea Trout (River Suir) Bye-law No. 1006, 2023
This Bye-law provides for catch and release in angling for salmon (any size) and sea trout (over 40cm) in the River Suir (including the waters of the Rivers Clodiagh, Lingaun and Blackwater) and also prohibits the use of worms, prawn, shrimp or any other crustacean, or artificial forms thereof, as bait and any fish hooks other than single or double barbless hooks during the period 17 March to 30 September.
6. Conservation of Sea Trout Bye-law No. 1007, 2023
This Bye-law provides for a daily bag limit of 3 sea trout (less than 40cm in length) and provides for the use of single or double barbless hooks and prohibits the use of worms as bait once the specified number of sea trout has been caught.
7. Conservation of Salmon and Sea Trout (Closed Rivers) Bye-law No. C.S. 334, 2023
This Bye-law prohibits the taking or attempting to take by rod and line salmon and sea trout (over 40cm) in the rivers specified in the Bye-law.
Footnote
Section 57 (7) of the Inland Fisheries Act 2010 provides that any person aggrieved by these bye-laws may, within 28 days after publication in the Iris Oifigiúil, appeal against same to the High Court.
As we wind down to the Christmas break, it’s fair to say that Santa might have a following wind on his Christmas Eve trip from the North Pole to Ireland if current conditions prevail… The country is currently being hammered by gales from the northwest, which might make for a bumpy ride and could even knock a few presents out of his sleigh. In general, it has been much milder and drier than normal over the past week, with mean air temperatures up to 4 °C above average, and rainfall well below normal for most of the country. So, it’s been nice fishing weather, but fishing reports are a bit thin on the ground this week as many anglers swapped their rods for shopping trolleys (or digital baskets). Luckily we have padded the report out with a few ideas for stocking fillers, just in case anyone is looking for that last-minute present for the angler in their life.
Now that we have moved past the shortest day of the year, we can begin to look forward to new beginnings, and the news from our rivers around the country is that our wild brown trout are already doing just that! This is the prime spawning time for our trout population, and many have made journeys from our lakes up to the rivers and streams that feed them, in search of the gravel beds they need to deposit their eggs. Once there, they will use their tails to uncover a fresh patch of gravel, known as a redd, and an example of this can be seen in the photo below from a river in the midlands.
Wild brown trout redds on a midlands river
The winter months are also prime time for pike anglers, and some pike angling clubs will be winding down their yearly club competitions around now. One such group are the Limerick County Pike Anglers, who are regular contributors to this eZine, and they donned Xmas jumpers and hats for the final outing of 2023. The fishing wasn’t bad, and Gavin Cashin won the day with a bag of 19lbs+, but the highlight of the day was the prizegiving in the pub later, where Santa even turned up to lend a hand. Whitewood PAC held the penultimate round of their league at a venue in Cavan at the weekend, and they had a busy day, as they recorded 208 pike including a couple of good doubles. Joey McParland was the angler of the day with 32 pike for over 72lb. Staying in the Cavan area, for anyone looking for a bit of insight into targeting pike at this time of year, Norbert Renaud of L’ile Vert Fishing Lodge has posted the second part of his video on pike fishing during the colder months. Norbert likes to stick to fishing with lures at this time of year, and he shares some tips and tricks on tactics that have brought him success.
Limerick County Pike Anglers wrapped up their league last weekend
Moving to sea angling, and the ever present Killybegs Mariners held a closed competition last week, where club members competed for the Joe De Burca Cup. It was a pleasant day for angling, with flatties and turbot the mainstay of catches, and Daragh McGuinness took the trophy with his catch of 4 turbot and 3 flounder. Their next outing is an open competition charity event, and this year, they are raising money for the Donegal to Galway cancer bus service run by the Good & New charity and also for the RNLI Bundoran Lifeboat Station. At the other end of the country, the West Cork & District SAC held the final fixture of their 2023 calendar in the Youghal area last weekend. Conditions were great, with a nice bit of surf and little or no weed, and the fish were obliging, especially the painted ray that appeared in good numbers. Stephen O’Donavan was the winner on the night with 15 fish, including a couple of nice double shots, placing him at the top of the rankings. Junior angler Laim Davis also put in a fine performance with 12 fish for 557 points, which would have placed him third in the senior competition, and was more than enough to win Liam this week’s Catch of the Week.
Liam Davis, with a nice Painted Ray wins this week’s Catch of the Week
To coarse angling now, and a couple of angling clubs were on the banks of Lough Muckno last weekend fishing club matches and by the sounds of it, it was tough enough going. First up, CM Lakelands fished the second round of their feeder league and found fishing to be patchy, with Darren Fairhurst winning out with just under 4kg. Lurgan Coarse Angling Club didn’t fare any better as they fished their annual memorial match, and it took just 2.5kg for Johnny McKinley to top the rankings for that event. Fishing was equally slow at the other end of the country as Munster Coarse Anglers fished a match at O’Briensbridge, where Ian Kelsey managed a nice 7.5lb bag of skimmers & hybrids to win, but some other anglers struggled to conjure up a bite.
A mixed bag on Muckno
As we approach the new salmon fishing season, Glenda Powell of Blackwater Salmon Fishery and Glenda Powell Guiding was on to tell us about an exciting development for salmon anglers in 2024: “The Fish Live Learn with Glenda Powell, Irish Salmon Challenge” where Glenda is offering a trophy and other prizes to the angler who catches and releases the largest salmon on fly on the island of Ireland. Glenda also posted a calendar of events for the coming year with numerous dates for fishing and casting lessons and Christmas vouchers for anyone looking for a last-minute present.
In other news, we would like to remind angling clubs, groups and associations that the 2024 Sponsorship Programme is now open, and applications for funding can be submitted up until Jan 19th, 2024.
For those searching for a last-minute present for the angler in their life, we have been collating a list of fishing-related stocking fillers, with plenty of vouchers for guided fishing, tackle shops, charter boats etc. There’s sure to be something in there to put a smile on an angler’s face on Christmas Day.
Finally, we would like to wrap up by saying a big ‘Thank You’ to everyone who has contributed to the eZine in 2023. We send the Irish Angling Update out to over 16,000 email subscribers each week to share the latest news in Irish angling and we could not do it without the help of all of the guides, ghillies, clubs, federations, fisher folk and Inland Fisheries Ireland staff who send us wonderful photographs and angling reports to our dedicated [email protected] email address – so thank you all! 👏👏👏👏
And now the weather
It will remain windy today, with fresh to strong northwest winds and some outbreaks of rain and drizzle. Tomorrow will be mild, breezy and cloudy, with some rain moving in from the northwest in the afternoon. Saturday night will be wet and windy, and it will remain like that into Sunday morning, with some heavy rain possible in western counties later in the day. Christmas Day will be cloudy and wet to begin, with freshening winds bringing some heavier rain as the day progresses. No shortage of gale and small craft warnings in operation so do check the forecast if you’re thinking of fishing.
If you’re looking back on the year that was or looking ahead to the season to come, Ireland on the Fly have put together a special second volume of their Most Memorable Fish on the Fly series.
Sit back, listen and enjoy as some of their guests from the past year bring you on a journey across lakes, rivers and oceans to tell the story of the fish that means so much to them.
And join Tom & Daire again in 2024 when they’ll be bringing you more guests, more interviews, more insights and maybe even a road trip or two along the way.
Rate, review and follow the Ireland on the Fly podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts from:
Glenda Powel of Blackwater Salmon Fishery and Glenda Powell Guiding was on to tell us about an exciting development for salmon anglers in 2024…
New for 2024 – The Fish Live Learn with Glenda Powell, Irish Salmon Challenge
The Fish Live Learn with Glenda Powell, Irish Salmon Challenge will be launched soon. This is to be an annual trophy for the person who catches and releases the largest salmon on fly from the island of Ireland. As this is a catch and release competition fish weight will be estimated using measurements or photographs which clearly show the size of the fish, and the sturdy scale or weigh net where available.
In addition to the trophy the lucky angler will win the following
Cadence Fly rod of the person’s choice
Irish Fly Craft framed selection of Irish salmon flies
2 Weekend passes for the Irish Fly Fair
A Magnum of Bertha’s Revenge Sloe Gin
FishPal €150 voucher to be used on the Island of Ireland
When we get more information we will share it here, but don’t forget to keep an eye on Glenda’s website’s and social media.
Ardaire Springs tell us that they have something to suit everyone’s budget if you are looking for a new fly rod for Christmas with plenty of double handed rods, switch rods and single handed rods with reels and lines to match. As Ned says:
‘WITH CHRISTMAS COMING UP DONT FORGET YOU CAN PURCHASE GIFT VOUCHERS FOR ARDAIRE SPRINGS IN THE SHOP OR ON www.ardairesprings.com‘
Vouchers can be redeemed for fishing or tackle so your sure to give someone a smile even if they have all the gear they need already. Also check out their new special offers and combo deals on our website with new deals being added every week.
Situated in Ardera, Mooncoin, Co. Kilkenny and covering over 4 acres of lakes, stocked with Rainbow and Brown trout ranging from 2lb to 20lb, we cater for family and group fishing activities – clubs, corporate events, associations, school tours.
Our on-site tackle shop, restaurant, BBQ area with covered canopy and ample car parking together with our very experienced staff will ensure you have an enjoyable and pleasant day’s fishing.
Adaire Springs Tackle Shop
We have also just launched our new online tackle shop where you can find all your fly fishing equipment at very competitive prices. Don’t forget to have a look at our combo deals where even greater savings are possible for your customers.
The Killybegs Mariners SAC held a closed beach competition at the weekend as 17 anglers competed to lift the Joe De Burca Cup. Temperatures were balmy for the time of year, and the anglers lined up on the beach with the wind at their backs and a good surf to the fore.
Flounders and Turbot were quickly coming ashore, including a few double shots, with some of the turbot breaking the 30cm mark.
And at the final totting up, it was Daragh McGuinness who claimed the trophy with 4 turbot and 3 flounder bagging him 269 points. Cara Boyle came in second with 193 points, while John Cunningaham won the largest flattie prize with a 39cm flounder.
The Mariners also published their records list for 2023, as 27 new records were established across a range of species, moving the bar ever higher for next year’s record hunters.
Next up for the Mariners is their annual charity event to be held at Rossnowlagh Beach on the 28th December. This year they are raising money for the Donegal to Galway cancer bus service run by the Good & New charity and also for the RNLI Bundoran Lifeboat Station.
If you would like to make a donation to the fund please use the PayPal link below and use friends and family option:
Two reports from Lough Muckno this week. First up we have CM Lakelands who report on the second round of their Muckno Feeder League. Then we have
Round 2 of the CM Lakelands Muckno Feeder League was fished on Sunday.
Twenty three anglers fished the match and fishing was patchy, but there was still bites to be had.
1st today was Muckno regular Darren Fairhurst with a weight of just under 4kg of mostly roach on peg 249 South Lodge.
Following on from his win yesterday, Johnny McKinley came 2nd with a mixed bag for just under 3.5kg on peg 248 South Lodge. 3rd overall today was the ever consistent Piotr Horbiński with just over 3kg of roach and the odd hybrid from peg 201 yellow island.
RESULTS
OVERALL
1st Darren Fairhurst 3.800kg
2nd Johnny Mckinley 3.425kg
3rd piotr Horbiński 3.040kg.
1 of 3
SECTIONS
Rimantas Kondrakas,South Lodge.
Thomas Tennyson, Yellow island.
Artur dudek, Black island.
That’s all the matches wrapped up for 2023.
Thanks to everyone that helped out throughout the year and who bought tickets for our Christmas draw.
The draw will take place this Saturday at 7pm live on cm fb page.
The club would like to wish everyone a merry Christmas 🎅 🎄 and a happy new year 🎉.
On Saturday Lurgan Coarse Angling Club held their annual Memorial Match in memory of past members Gordon Clayton, Brian McShane Willy Russell and Paul Mcmullan…
The match was held on Lough Muckno on Yellow and Black Island. Fishing was tough with all the recent rain gone in and the high water levels but everyone caught a few fish none the less, the weights very tight at the top.
1 of 4
A mixed bag on Muckno
Johnny McKinley won the match with 2.535kg followed closely by Mark Alcock in 2nd place with 2.375kg and Scooby in 3rd place with 2.300kg.
Thanks to everyone that fished the match today in remembrance of our past members.
Join the Club
CM Lakelands Feeder Club
Membership open to all is €30, €15 for OAP’s/Juniors.
To join contact Brenton Sweeney on 087 2510260 or mail [email protected]
The club is one of the most successful in Ireland, having won all of the main team based match fishing competitions, in some cases several times, over the last decade. The club has also a long list of International Honours earned by its members.
Our objective is to promote coarse angling in the greater Lurgan and Craigavon area.
If you would like to make a donation to the fund please use the PayPal link below and use friends and family option:
CM Lakelands Feeder Club
The club is one of the most successful in Ireland, having won all of the main team based match fishing competitions, in some cases several times, over the last decade. The club has also a long list of International Honours earned by its members.
