Dan O’Neill reports on a trip to the River Barrow in search of perch at the weekend…
Taking a look at the weather forecast I was not fully filled with hope for the coming days. Usually I would tie some flies, grease reels, practice some casting when the weather get this way, but my apprentice Anthony had different ideas. “Lets try for a perch!”, was my morning alarm call which sounded a lot better than my usual alarm tone. Full of knowledge from watching his latest you tube videos Anthony was all chat about how he was going to approach the tricky conditions on the River Barrow today.
Arriving at the location the river sure did look angry, churning and pushing quickly down by the banks. I could feel Anthony looking at me as I was lining up the rods, thinking I was going to admit defeat and head home for the fly vice or lawn for some casting. Not this time. With a healthy supply of garden worms and very colourful box of lures away we marched to the canals. As we approached the lock gates we saw a couple of young anglers trying the usual little spot so decided to move a little further on, having a few casts as we approached the area we had decided to fish. The water at this point was quite dirty so we both decided to fish worms on a float near a sunken tree.
Anthony with a perch
It wasn’t very long before the float made its way to the depths being tugged down by a our first little stripey. I find seeing a float disappear something that gives me a unique feeling which judging by Anthony’s excitement gives him the exact same feeling. As the rain got a little heavier we began to move around a bit, fishing to features that looked perchy. We had quite a few nice sized perch but nothing very big so the chase continues.
As the day came to a close we shared some riverbank stories , Anthony now beginning to have stories of his own as his angling journey evolves. I no longer get away with “the one that got away” stories. So I am on a journey to make stories with Anthony that he can share with friends and his own children in many years to come when I hopefully become the wise grandad that uses the old age fishing tackle, tackle that is currently the leading technology in angling. How times change.
Go fishing…
For a full list of classes in various different aspects of fly fishing or guiding please contact Dan on the below details
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.
Ken Whelan was in touch to let us know about the launch of the Harbour to Headwaters project, a project which focuses on creating awareness of the rich biodiversity in the Avoca-Avonmore River Catchment.
The launch will take place on Wednesday, 22 Mar 2023 from 16:30 to 18:00 at the Arklow Maritime Museum, North Quay, Y14 Y744, Arklow.
Harbour to Headwaters is a collaborative project between County Wicklow Partnership, Arklow Town Team, Wicklow County Council, the Local Authority Waters Programme, East Wicklow Rivers Trust, and Arklow Maritime Museum. The project was LEADER funded by The Department of Rural and Community Development and co-funded by SSE Renewables, LAWPRO, and Coillte.
The project aims to create awareness and enhance a knowledge of the biodiversity that currently exists in the Avoca River Catchment and encourage ecotourism throughout the catchment area, i.e. from the ‘Harbour to Headwaters’.
Inland Fisheries Ireland, the state agency responsible for the protection, conservation, development and promotion of freshwater fish, habitats and sea angling has been awarded Esri Ireland’s Community Engagement award for the work that was done as part of the IMREC (Irish Marine Recreational Angling Survey) project.
Esri Ireland, the market leader in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), held their 2022 Customer Success Awards ceremony in the Marker Hotel on 9th March last. The Community Engagement Award recognises organisations that demonstrate excellence in communicating and collaborating with citizens & external communities of interest, promoting more informed decision-making and supporting community engagement on important initiatives.
Inland Fisheries Ireland team with their award L-R (Pat Mannix, Claire Colfer, Eoin Leonard, William Roche and Diarmuid Ryan)
Inland Fisheries Ireland’s angler diary web app, developed using ArcGIS Survey123 technology from Esri, turns sea anglers into citizen scientists by enabling them to gather and upload real-time information, from any device, about their catches. This information is then automatically transferred to a shared repository, called ArcGIS Hub. This technology allows Inland Fisheries Ireland to provide a community engagement platform that organises people, data, and tools through information-driven initiatives.
Importantly, the free IMREC web app provides the angler with a unique personal electronic diary of their fishing activity which is visible only to them. The information acknowledges anglers as important fisheries stakeholders and will be used to support management and conservation decisions at national and EU level.
Last week saw snow,sleet and hail along with bitterly cold easterly winds and temperatures dropping below zero at times. So, it was no surprise that fishing was described as “hard” and “tough” throughout most angling reports we received. By the end of the week, the arctic air brought angling to a complete halt in a number of places. This was the case on Lough Sheelin, which showed a consistent representation from the angling fraternity up until Thursday but then the elements took over and trout fishing came more or less to a standstill.
A bitterly cold Lough Sheelin
On Lough Corrib, Connacht Predator Anglers also fought the elements while fishing their “Trout Masters” event. Staying in the west, the crew of Tomi Guidedfishing continued their successful hunt for big ferox including a trophy trout of almost 90cm, which wins our Catch of the Week.
Trophy ferox trout
River trout anglers might be interested in the newest episode of Ireland on the Fly podacst. This time, Daire and Tom speak to George McGrath of Gundog & Fly YouTube fame about the River Suir, one of the finest wild brown trout rivers in Europe.
Given the atrocious weather conditions, it’s no surprise that sea angling reports were also quite scarce this week. However, Killybegs Fishing Trips braved the elements in Donegal Bay catching some fine pollack and a few cod in freezing conditions. Further south, members of Cork Sea Angling Club explored a new rock mark and were rewarded with some fine painted and thornback ray together with doggies, dab and coalies.
Finally, anglers in Ireland will once again have the opportunity to catch and release bluefin tuna in 2023 through the continuation of the highly successful Tuna CHART catch, tag and release programme that has been in operation around our coast since 2019. Experienced charter skippers are being invited to apply to join the 2023 Tuna CHART programme between the 21st of March and the 4th of April 2023 by filling out an application form online at www.fisheriesireland.ie/bluefin
And now the weather…
The outlook for St. Patrick’s Day is for a mix of cloud and some sunny spells with widespread showers. The showers will be heavy and prolonged at times with a chance of thunderstorms mainly in the west. Highest temperatures of 11 to 14 degrees in moderate south to southeast winds, easing later. The weekend will see more showers spreading in from the west turning heavy at times. Winds will be moderate to strong from westerly and southwesterly directions. Current indications suggest that low pressure will continue to dominate our weather next week bringing further spells of rain and showers but with good dry periods as well. Highest temperatures generally ranging from 8 to 12 degrees.
Tomi Kurman of Tomi Guidedfishing has done well on the ferox so far this year. However, he kept going this past week with some more great fish including an absolute “monster” of 89.5cm for his clients.
During the session, the anglers hooked and landed 4 pike and managed to boat 5 trout with another few lost. Sizes were as follows: two fish of around 55 and 60cm, 68cm, 77cm and 89.5cm!
A few days later, another happy customer added a ferox of 70cm to the tally which makes it 18 ferox over 65cm for Tomi so far this season!
Go Fishing
Check out Tomi’s Facebook page here for regular updates and contact details:
Atlantic Bluefin Tuna caught tagged and released in September of 2022
Ireland’s Tuna CHART bluefin tuna 2023 sea angling survey programme has opened for charter skippers to apply.
Anglers in Ireland will once again have the opportunity to catch and release bluefin tuna in 2023 through the continuation of the highly successful Tuna CHART catch, tag and release programme that has been in operation around our coast since 2019. Over 1,500 of the largest tuna in the world have been successfully tagged and released through the programme in the last four years. Experienced charter skippers are now invited to apply to take part in this year’s Atlantic bluefin tuna scientific survey programme of Irish waters.
Building on the successes of the Tuna CHART (CatcH And Release Tagging) programmes of 2019-2022, this scientific data collection catch and release fishery for Ireland will again operate in 2023. In 2023, a maximum of 25 authorisations may be granted to qualifying angling charter vessel skippers around the Irish coast. This fishery will open on the 1st July and close on the 12th November 2023.
The Tuna CHART programme is a collaborative data collection programme between Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) and the Marine Institute (MI) in partnership with the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA), the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) and the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC).
This highly successful data collection programme also presents a viable economic opportunity for a sustainable catch and release angling fishery, currently valued at a minimum of €1 million annually, for professional skippers and for rural coastal communities.
Bluefin Tuna caught tagged and release as part of the Tuna CHART 2022 programme
Between 2019 and 2022, some 1,500 Atlantic bluefin tuna were successfully caught, tagged, measured and released off the Irish coast by authorised charter skippers. The largest tuna tagged to date in the programme was 2.75m, weighing an estimated 372kg. All tuna were carefully managed in the water alongside the charter vessel, subject to strict guidelines set by the Tuna CHART programme, and all were released alive. Data from the tagging programme have been collated by the partnership for reporting to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT).
The core aim of the Tuna CHART programme is to collect data and tag these large fish, which is underpinned by ensuring good fish welfare, leading to successful release of the bluefin tuna. Authorised skippers will be required to collect data on every bluefin trip undertaken and each bluefin tuna they catch, tag and release and their angling and data recording expertise is an important part of the overall survey programme. Authorised skippers will also be required to have high specification rods, reels and line in advance of the open season in order to ensure that each bluefin tuna is brought alongside the vessel to be measured and tagged in the water in a timely manner prior to their subsequent release.
Anglers will have an opportunity to participate in this fishery and to contribute to this important study by chartering and fishing from authorised vessels only. Unauthorised vessels are not permitted to target or catch bluefin tuna and any unauthorised person found to be targeting bluefin tuna is liable to prosecution.
Experienced charter skippers are being invited to apply to join the 2023 Tuna CHART programme between the 21st of March and the 4th of April 2023 by filling out an application form online at www.fisheriesireland.ie/bluefin
Background to Tuna CHART (CatcHAnd Release Tagging), an Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Data Collection Programme
Previously, under International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) rules, Ireland could not allow targeted angling for the purpose of data collection for Bluefin tuna. The changes secured by Ireland at the ICCAT 2018 Annual Meeting now allow limited catch, tag and release of Atlantic bluefin tuna for the purpose of collecting scientific data by trained authorised skippers only.
Since the first pilot programme in 2019, a total of 1,518 bluefin tuna fish have been caught, tagged and safely released (alive).
Data collection for scientific assessment is the primary purpose of this fishery and will continue to be a key requirement for skipper participation in this scientific catch-and-release fishery. Skippers will be required to collect data on every bluefin trip undertaken and each bluefin tuna they catch, tag and release and their angling and data recording expertise is an important part of the overall survey programme.
About Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus)
The Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) is highly migratory and travels long distances in search of food and their spawning grounds.
Atlantic bluefin tuna frequent Irish coastal waters to feed during its migration through North Atlantic waters.
This ‘giant of the sea’ averages 2m in length but can reach lengths of 4m, weigh up to 600kg and live up to 30 years.
Killybegs Fishing Trips braved the elements last week and went out fishing despite freezing temperatures and difficult conditions.
Read their report below…
Back in in very tough conditions with a force 6 and a high of 0 degrees out there, but fair play to the lads who traveled all the way from Dublin and stuck at it all day. Fishing was not great, but when the count was done, the numbers where not too bad. We had some very nice pollack and 5 small cod as well. Hopefully the weather will be better next weekend.
On Sunday 12th March Connacht Predator Anglers held theirr Trout Masters event on Lough Corrib.
Aidan Traynor reports…
Scoring was based on the overall length of each boat’s longest 3 trout over 35cm. Tough conditions with strong gusts and heavy mist didn’t deter our members with some fantastic trout being caught and of course safely released again!
Results for the day were as follows:
3rd place Colin & Callum Rickard with 107cm; 2nd place Aidan Traynor & Evaldas Gusarovas with 142cm and in 1st place Jean Philippe & Didier with 152cm. Callum Rickard also had the longest trout of the day with a beautiful fish measuring 62cm.
Daire & Tom talk to George McGrath about the River Suir…
Unlocking the secrets of the Suir with George McGrath
It’s St. Patrick’s week and for so many fly anglers this really is the start of the brown trout season in Ireland, especially on the rivers, including the River Suir, which has been called the finest brown trout river in Europe.
So for this week’s Ireland on the Fly episode, Daire and Tom wanted to find out how and where it fishes best and they speak to George McGrath of Gundog & Fly YouTube fame, who has also spent a lifetime fishing the Suir.
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