IFPAC interclub competition raises €840 for Alzheimers Society of Ireland

By

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November 23, 2023

The Irish Federation of Pike Angling Clubs hosted their annual interclub event at the weekend, which saw 18 teams of four anglers compete for the club trophy. They also used the event as a fundraiser, holding a raffle to raise funds for the Alzheimers Society of Ireland, which generated €840, so hats off to all who contributed to such a charitable cause.

It’s not all about the fishing, these events are great social gatherings too

The venue was spread over eight lakes in the Shercock area, with anglers free to move between lakes during the event. Poor weather on the day meant anglers had to compete against the elements as well as each other, but a decent number of fish were caught on the day, including a fine fish of 25lb 6oz for Keith Ren.

On the club side of things, Whitewood came out on top for the third year running, with Not O’Caseys in 2nd, and Whitewood C in third.

Full report & photos are available on the IFPAC Facebook page.

Competition results below:

Club Competition

1st Whitewood A 82Ib 15oz, 28 fish.

2nd Not O’ Casey’s 60Ib 15oz, 14 fish.

3rd Whitewood C 56Ib 2oz, 22 fish.

Heaviest fish:

1st Keith Ren 25Ib 6oz

2nd Alex Kiernan 14Ib 6oz

3rd Wally Geoghan 13Ib 3oz

Qualifier

1st Adam Sheenan 27Ib 12oz, 8 fish.

2nd Fergal bell 27Ib 10oz, 6 fish.

3rd Tucker Mc Cabe 26Ib 13oz, 10 fish.

4th Mark Byrne 26Ib 10oz, 12 fish.

5th Keith Ren 25Ib 6oz, 1 fish.

6th Wally Geoghan Raffle.

Some other fish caught on the day

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Liz McMahon dominates Tralee Bay SAC comp at Ballyquinn

By

Myles Kelly

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November 23, 2023

Tralee Bay Sea Angling Club reports on their first competition of 2023 fished at the weekend…

A wet and miserably windy forecast forced a change of venue for us away from the planned Rossbeigh. This was very disappointing, but in the end, it was the right call in the interest of safety and comfort.

We still managed 15 anglers in the depths of a November Storm. So that was a huge positive. With savage gusts of up to 50mph forecast, we headed for the relative safety of Ballyquinn, better known as Brandon Beach next to the pier. This can be a prolific venue for flounder, whiting and coalies, but some wicked weed on the edge meant targeting some of these just wasn’t possible.

We fished 3pm to 7pm in order to avoid the worst of the forecast but the fish missed the start time and didn’t really show up for the first hour. Then Clodá was off the mark, followed by Barry with a fine flounder and Connie with a Whiting. Chris got going with a whiting, followed by a flounder and it looked like things were going to kick off when David hit 4 fish in about 25 minutess.

Liz McMahon beat off competition from 11 international anglers out of a field of 15 fishing to win comfortably and take the pools to boot.

Down the low numbers it seemed quiet with Alison and Chris Sanbak getting a few between them. Liz, Shane and Paddy didn’t seem to be having much luck but that changed rapidly as the tide pushed us up the steep beach. Liz burst into life racking up 10 fish in 90 minutess to stun the beach and give Shane no chance even though he managed 7 fish himself. Indeed not for the first time Liz made Shane’s head spin when she landed a brute of a flounder, 39cm and festively plump.

In the end, I think it’s fair to say we were all happy to be heading home.

Results Brandon Beach 19/11

Junior

1st Chris Sandbak 3 fish 83 points

Senior

1st Liz Mc Mahon
10 fish 236 points
2nd Shane McMahon
7 fish 153 points
3rd Chris O Sullivan
6 fish 141 points

Best flat

Liz Mc Mahon, 39cm flounder

Best round

Liz Mc Mahon, 22cm whiting

A dominant performance by Liz on a night where I counted 11 international anglers out of 15 fishing.

Tralee Bay Sea Angling Club
Web: www.traleebaysac.org

Join Tralee Bay Sea Angling Club

Tralee Bay SAC is a thriving community of enthusiastic anglers – young and old, experienced and newcomers – with new members joining all of the time. We have a busy schedule of shore and boat competitions and lots of social events planned throughout the year. Tralee Bay is a family friendly, welcoming club with a reputation for promoting angling and encouraging newcomers to the sport.

Joining could not be easier – simply get in touch with us via our Contact us page leave your address and we will send you out an application form. Please also let us have your email address – especially if you have any queries for us. We are especially eager to hear from junior anglers who want to take advantage of club membership. For more information on joining see here – Joining Tralee Bay Sea Angling Club.

Calling all pike anglers – Newbridge District Pike Anglers Open Competition

By

Shane O'Reilly

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November 23, 2023

A reminder of a post we put out a couple of weeks ago about the Newbridge Pike Anglers Open Pike Competition this weekend at Blessington:

Anyone interested in a great day out pike fishing should hold the date of 26th November free, as Newbridge District Pike Anglers are holding their annual open pike competition at Poulaphouca Lake (aka Blessington) on that date. You don’t need to be a member of the club to compete, and you don’t even need to buy a permit for the lake on the day, as your entry fee will cover all of that. There will be heaps of prizes, both for adults and for younger anglers, with a raffle and refreshments after the competition, so it promises to be a great social occasion as well as a day out fishing. Anyone interested should contact the club via their Facebook page.

Pike Fishing around Dublin

CM Lakelands Winter League – Round 1 @ Muckno

By

Paul O'Reilly

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November 23, 2023

Screenshot 2023-11-23 095726 — A bag of small silvers from Muckno

The CM Lakelands Feeder Club finally got their Lough Muckno winter feeder league up and running over the weekend. A great turnout of 27 club members hit the lake shore to kick the league off, with tricky conditions facing the competitors on the day, as water was still very high and this attracted a lot of very small roach.

Some of the silvers

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Damian Folytn had his tactics fine-tuned to continue his fine run of late and he won the match with around 100 small roach for just under 5kg on South Lodge. In second place was the ever consistent Darren Fairhurst with 61 fish, which included a small bream to weigh in with just over 4kg from the Yellow Island section.

Piotr Horbiński was 3rd and Graham Worley was 4th both with 3kg plus weights from South Lodge.

Next round will be in 4 weeks’ time.

OVERALL.

1st Damian Folytn – 4.450kg.
2nd Darren Fairhurst – 4.110kg
3rd Piotr Horbiński – 3.650kg
4th Graham Worley – 3.250kg.

SECTIONS.

Yellow Island – Irmantas Sriupsa – 2.880kg
South Lodge – Steven Whyte – 2.825kg.
South Lodge – Alan Larkin – 3.075kg
Black Island – Mariusz Killan – 2.950kg.

Lough Muckno

Irish Fly Fair 2023 – Reflections from an angling instructor

By

Shane O'Reilly

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November 23, 2023

Angling guide and instructor Dan O’Neill reflects on the Irish Fly Fair 2023:

For quite some time now anglers have been looking forward to the Irish Fly Fair. Following the lineups on social media built so much excitement and drew many enthusiasts from far and wide. I have been to the Irish Fly Fair many times and always came away feeling like I could conquer the world. Something else that I found special was that all the people who made the event were never afraid to give information and have a certain way of putting it across. Casters from all over the world demonstrating casts, fly tiers from every corner, producing art. This event is very special and the people who are there want to be there to pass on their information and what they learned at such events; what a wonderful community we have.

This year it was to Killyhevlin Hotel in Enniskillen. Arriving with Marta at 8am Saturday morning I met up with my fellow APGAI colleagues and Cadence team members. Brilliant to meet them all again and see that they have kept safe since our last meetings. When in organisations like this, the people that make them up become family. Most guide and travel in Ireland and abroad so seeing them safe and happy is always special.

Suited and booted for a day’s casting instruction

After the meeting and greeting, it was time to get the rods out and set up our locations for the free tuition slots provided by APGAI. I was lucky enough to be working with Pauline McClenaghan, Chris Bryant, Martin Barrera Ora and Ian Gamble. What a wonderful group of people, so willing to help. Listening to their stories and of course, tips really made my weekend. Just watching the way they were with people and how they got their point across when teaching was superb and a huge learning curve for me, as is most of my angling journey.

Cadence had a stand to ‘try before you buy’, which was a great opportunity to test the rods and see what suits best. I fell in love with the 9ft 9 8wt as most of you will see on my Facebook page. Working with James Robbins, Glenda Powell, Ian Gordon, and Pascal Grillot was also a learning curve for me. Seeing their attention to detail, knowledge, and passion inspired me in many ways.

The fair for me was very special as I was giving a casting demo which, like all, I was nervous about. Slight nerves are always good as it keeps me focused. Watching the casters on before me also helped me a bit as they were just doing what they loved, which is what I was there to do. As my audience approached, I went into the “zone”, and everything after that was a blur. I truly enjoyed the Irish Fly Fair and came away feeling a little sad it was over, but with many many new plans for 2024 to work on to improve myself as an angler, guide and caster.

The kid’s casting was great and the layout was fantastic, Ray McKeeman led a great team to make the kids casting fun and informative, I even saw Stevie Munn give it a whirl at one point.

My wife Marta joined me for the fair and helped Dani at the front door. It was great as Marta got to meet and see the people and things I do. I may even convince her to go for a cast with me during the coming season. The fair gave her an understanding and insight into the angling world, and I think she saw what attracts me to casting, angling and guiding.

Finally, I would like to thank Stevie Munn for the invitation to give a demonstration. Stevie’s invite helped me in many ways and showed me there are many levels to casting and angling. No matter where you think you are in your angling journey, keep moving because the levels are endless; there is no final level.

Roll on the Irish Fly Fair 2024

Piscari-Fly Newsletter 21 November 2023

By

IFI Staff

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November 22, 2023

How’s the Fishing?

So this week Mark and I headed across the Shannon to Co Leitrim. We were heading across primarily for Mark’s wedding on the Thursday but managed to pack some rods in there too. We headed off to the canals on Wednesday morning to a few spots that a local angler had pointed out for us. While the spots looked amazing with nice canals flowing in and out of small lakes the water clarity was fairly bad from the recent weather we had and it seemed that meeting a few fish was going to be difficult.

However, after a bit of mooching about we stumbled across a piece of canal where the clarity was improved and immediately we meet fish. Mark was pulling a black pike fly with a silver flash cloak on it along some weed beds coming out from the bank and it was attacked by a Jack who was using the weeds as cover. 2 casts later and Mark had the fish on his hook.

Unfortunately we found this location a bit late in the day and we were summoned back to headquarters to get the prep finished for his wedding. But we got about an hour there and I also managed to hook and land one fish while getting chases and pulls from a few other fish also. I had a red fly tied with red Sulky Hair cloaked with silver flash.

Overall, it was an enjoyable day out and about and always nice to find a few fishing spots after searching about for the day. This area of Ireland is a fisherman’s haven there is water absolutely everywhere and I am sure fish in the most of it. I was super impressed by the infrastructure surrounding the canals and some of the lakes with amazing access and really well built walkways. Def a place I will revisit this winter for another session on the pike.

For more information and details about where to fish drop me a line [email protected].

What’s New?

Protective Rod Sleeve

Mesh Protective Rod Sleeve, ideal to protect rod from bumps and scratches and breakages when out and about fishing.

Length 190cm, width 35mm, expandable to 60mm

Check it out: https://piscari-fly.com/collections/piscari-protective-rod-sleeve/

Translucent Squirmy Worms

Great New Translucent Material for tying your Squirmy Worm flies. 10 pieces in each pack. 6 colours available.

Check it out: https://piscari-fly.com/collections/piscari-translucent-squirmy-worms/

Piscari Travels

We are up with Trim Angling club giving a presentation on river fishing this Friday night, 24th November. We will be tying some flies and sharing knowledge on all things river fishing. I am an advanced qualified Fly dresser with APAGI Ireland and Fly casting instructor, I have spent most of my life tying and educating myself in all fly-tying techniques. Here at piscari fly we tie all our own flies and use our own tried and tested patterns that catch fish. We have a vast amount of experience in tying all types of flies and I am constantly learning by travelling the world and being open to new ideas.

We are really looking forward to it. It promises to be a very interesting and educational evening. Check the club out here: https://www.trimathboyanglers.net/

If you have an angling club and would like an evening with piscari-fly we would be delighted to present a flytying or flyfishing evening, please get in touch via [email protected] or 0879787040.

Join the Club to keep up to date with the lads fishing travels. This week they will be heading to the Shannon Blueway Canal in Co.Leitrim to target some pike and get some good action in. So make sure to subcribe and join the action and see how we get on.

What’s Happening?

**PISCARI-FLY CLUB** Grayling Night

Tomorrow night at 9pm Peter is sharing all his tactics and tips for grayling fishing with particular emphasis on the Welsh Dee. Peter has competed many times there in the Hanak European Grayling Festival in December.

https://club.piscari-fly.com/

Competition Time on Facebook

Massive thanks for all the continued support from our followers. We are very close to 5000 followers. So we are having a free giveaway €50 voucher for Piscari-fly & Piscari-fly. Goodies thrown in. So to have a chance of winning head over to facebook

https://www.facebook.com/Piscarifly/

Then you must do the following: 1. Like our page 2. Share the post 3. And tag two friends. Winner will be announced on next Saturday Night’s Live Show. Live on our Facebook Page or youtube channel at 8.30pm every saturday night.

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.

Thanks for the support its greatly appreciated

Peter Driver.

Piscari-Fly, Woolengrange, Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny, R95 Y860, Ireland, 0879787040

Catching on to new techniques with LureGuides on Lough Erne

By

Myles Kelly

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November 21, 2023

Steven Powell of Lure Guides reports on his weekend’s adventures…

We had some casting anglers for the day here at lureguides.com.
Husband and wife Tom and Amie arrived here in Enniskillen to brush up their lure fishing skills.

Arriving mid day due to work commitments it was going to be a make or break session on this short session.

After carefully choosing a nice spot some perch were quickly boated by Amie on the drop shot. This can be highly addictive fishing especially when the perch are really active and also a good chance of a big pike on light gear.

After a hour of not landing any pike Tom tailed walked a nice double into the net followed by another a few minutes later on bigbait rod jerkbait tactics making their short time with us well spent and already guaranteed to go home happy faced.

As the day progressed various lures and techniques were tried and tested. It was great to see another angler going home with knowledge under their belt after a guided tuition trip with Steve from lureguides.

Go Fishing…

We at lureguides offer not only guided trips but a great learning experience – Steve and Andy are both high profile tournament anglers recently taking the 2023 King of the lake title on Lough Ree. We are world lure championships anglers fishing in many different country’s across Europe, experienced and knowledgeable without bounds with the latest sonar and mapping technology available. To book your trip contact lureguides on whatsapp or the online contact us form on https://lureguides.com/ and enjoy the alumacraft experience

Fishing in Enniskillen, Lough Erne, Co. Monaghan, Lough Muckno and Co Cavan areas

Piotr Poprawski wins Lucky Anglers Club league

By

Myles Kelly

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November 21, 2023

The undisputed winner of the Lucky Anglers Club members league of 2023 is Piotr Poprawski.

The final match of the season took place on Gill’s Pond with the kind permission of Ballinakill Angling Club. The fishing was tough with only a few silverfish caught, but the enthusiasm was mighty.

Throughout the league running from February to November matches have been on venues including the East Clare Lakes of Doon, Bridget, Killgory and Graney and the accessible venues of the River Shannon around Portumna. This year it has been difficult to source suitable fishing locations due to high waters, as a result the catches have not been great but its been fun trying.

At the end of the season Piotr was first overall. Taking second position in the 2023 league is Damien Zrałek and just few points behind in third place Tomasz Brus.

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The club would like to thank their match sponsors as they look forward to the 2024 season.

Join the Club…

A member of the NCFFI the Lucky Anglers Club welcome like-minded individuals who would like to join them in their fishing pursuits, contact Tomasz at [email protected]

Jackie Mahon reports on his weekend at the Irish Fly Fair

By

Myles Kelly

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November 21, 2023

New Patterns and meeting old friends at the Irish Fly Fair

What a fantastic weekend tying at the Irish Fly Fair tying on behalf of the Fulling Mill Team. First of all I would like to thank Steve and Elaine Munn for all their hard work in organising this event. It was just a brilliant weekend from start to finish and tying with over 70 fly tyers from around the world. Secondly I would like to thank everyone at Fulling Mill for putting their trust in me to be part of the team, it’s a great honour.

I’d like to thank everyone that stopped by to say hello and watch me tying, and thank you as well to the 2 tyers that I sat beside on “Fly Tyers Row” for the two days; Fergal Collery and Anthony McCann, thanks boys the “craic” was just brilliant.

On Saturday I spent my day tying CDC Mayflies, Dabblers with micro dubbings, and Parachute Olives; all of which are a must to have in your box for Irish loughs. On Sunday my day was spent tying Dabblers and Sedge patterns from button sedges to Chocolate drops, these are a must to have in your box for later in the season. All of the flies that I tied over the weekend are from materials from the new Fulling mill range, all of which can be purchased directly from Fulling Mill or your nearest Fulling Mill stockist.

For my next outing I am heading to Italy on the 3^rd and 4^th of February with the Fulling Mill team, tying at the Pescare International Fishing fair on behalf of Fulling Mill, bringing some Irish style patterns to show over the two days.

Show patterns

Dressing for the UV Irish Golden Dabbler:
– Hook: Fulling Mill 1530 competition heavy weight
– Tail: Fulling Mill Marabou Orange
– Body Dubbing: Fulling Mill UV Golden Olive

Dressing for Jackie’s CDC Mayfly:
– Hook: Fulling Mill 1550 all purpose medium
– Tail: Fulling Mill Bucktail Tan
– Body Dubbing: Fulling Mill CDC pale yellow
– Hackle: Fulling Mill CDC olive
– Wing: Fulling Mill natural grey

Dressing for the Parachute Olive:
– Hook: Fulling Mill 1130 light weight Grub
– Body: Fulling Mill goose biot sooty olive
– Post: Fulling Mill ultra dry yarn Dark dun

Dressing for Jackie’s Hatching Button Sedge:
– Hook: Fulling Mill 1160 grub
– Body: Fulling Mill ultra dry yarn tyed as a bubble, over mixed seal X dubbings yellow and brown
– Wing: Fulling Mill CDC rusty brown

For guided fishing please use my contact page to get in touch. Now taking bookings for the 2024 season.

Tight lines,

Jackie Mahon

Go fishing…

Jackie Mahon Flies and Guiding

Address Barnadearg Grange Sligo F91HW68 Ireland Mobile Phone: +353 87 9222458 Email: [email protected] Website: jackiemahonguiding.com

More information

Find on Map |

Tying deer hair fly patterns with Peter Driver

By

Myles Kelly

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November 21, 2023

The Piscari Fly Live Fly Tying Session IS Live Every Saturday night at 8.30

Peter Driver was back once again at the weekend hosting his live fly tying session on his Facebook page and YouTube channel.

Peter had a great show where he focused on patterns like the Halfhog Peter Ross variant, G&H Sedge variant and Extended body Daddy that feature deerhair and the techniques you need to master this sometimes tricky material.

Deerhair wing
Muddler heads
Extended bodies
Deer hair dubbing brush

Peter has a great show lined up every Saturday at 8.30pm on the Piscari Fly facebook page. If you can’t watch live on his Facebook page you can always watch back on YouTube.

Catch this season’s previous episodes

As ever you can catch up on past episodes at the PiscariFly YouTube channel where all the episodes can be watched at your leisure.

Go Fishing…

Piscari Fly

Address Woolengrange Thomastown Kilkenny Ireland Mobile Phone: +353 87 9787040 Email: [email protected] Website: piscari-fly.com

More information

Find on Map |

The live fly tying sessions go out LIVE on the Piscari Fly Facebook page. Tune in at 8.30 on Saturday and don’t miss a great night of fly tying & chat

Results Brandon Beach 19/11

Junior

Senior

Best flat

Best round

Join Tralee Bay Sea Angling Club

How’s the Fishing?

What’s New?

Protective Rod Sleeve

Translucent Squirmy Worms

Piscari Travels

What’s Happening?

Competition Time on Facebook

About us

Go Fishing…

Join the Club…

Show patterns

Go fishing…

Notes

Trout Guide and Fly tying

Flies for sale

Catch this season’s previous episodes

Go Fishing…

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