The first week of 2023 is almost over. A new year and a new season. So far, it’s been pretty wet nearly everywhere. Blustery winds accompanied the rains at times but it has been very mild. Overall not terrible angling conditions but enough to keep most anglers at home and so we don’t have many angling reports to start the year with…
Salmon anglers are probably looking for confirmation of what rivers are open and which ones are catch and release in 2023, and what about brown tags? Well, we have all the information here: Salmon Angling Regulations
The Killybegs Mariners had a great day out at Rossnowlagh to end the year. Their charity competition raised a load of money and there were some great fish caught too.
There 6 specimen sized spurdogs in the 60 fish haul
On the the east coast of the country Kit Dunne of Wicklow Boat Charters kicked off the new year in style as anglers onboard his charter landed over 60 spurdog on his first trip of the year.
Angling clubs, groups and associations all over Ireland are being invited to apply for sponsorship funding before the January 20th deadline and in 2023, the €30,000 fund will have a particular focus on initiatives aimed at beginners and young anglers, as well as events that promote sustainable angling tourism in rural areas.
And now the weather…
The outlook is for very unsettled conditions with wet and windy weather as low pressure dominates over the weekend and into next week. Strong blustery winds with heavy rain and some hail on Saturday. On Sunday the showers will be heavy at times in the west, with hail or thunder possible at times. It will be a little bit cooler and temperatures are unlikely to rise above 10C. Winds turn west on Monday and slacken a bit, becoming warmer on Tuesday as temperatures rise to 12C. Interesting weather, not the worst for sea angling and might bring on the pike or see a salmon take…
Tom Doc Sullivan is a well-known guide on Lough Corrib in the west of Ireland. He was recently online with Peter Driver from Piscari Fly on Peter’s popular live flytying poscast/video show, where he mentioned that the previous time he was on the show, he was contacted by Chris Rownes from The Floating Fly.
The Floating Fly is “a website dedicated to promoting the fine art of Dry fly fishing with special emphasis on techniques used by master dry fly fishers from around the globe”, and Chris invited Tom to pen an article on Irish lough fishing using the dry fly. Well, Tom eventually got around to sharing it with the rest of us, and we have to say it is great reading!
You can read Toms article Fishing The Dry Fly (On The Irish Loughs) here. We recommend putting on the kettle and having a nice cup of whatever you fancy, putting the feet up and enjoying a very informative and entertaining read.
Go Fishing
Tom Doc guides on Loughs Corrib and Mask mostly, and can be contacted below for enquiries and bookings.
What a great occasion 27 December turned out to be after a week of weather charts showing capital L’s surrounded by concentric circles we landed to the beach to see salt spray curling back over the top of the wild Atlantic rollers crashing onto Rossnowlagh beach.
Fingers crossed as anglers from all over Ireland north, south, east and west with some driving through the night just to be there to fish and raise some money for great local causes in the good and new charity shop cancer bus fundraiser and the local Bundoran RNLI lifeboat on Donegal Bay.
A decision was made to start an hour later and now conditions were just perfect with a cracking surf with no weed which allowed the 66 anglers to enjoy fishing hassle free.
It sure was an impressive sight on one of Donegals longest surf beaches fully lined with busy anglers wading out to cast at the off before enjoying the day mingling and baiting up.
1st in Zone B Stefan Martin with a 31cm turbot
Some nice fish were landed on the first casts including a fine 35cm flounder for Cara Boyle and a few sea trout for Gerry McBrearty and Michael Patton having a double hook up of trout.
As the tide receded the fish also did and kept numbers low until near the end of the competition with a few more fine fish showing including flounders of 36cm for Michael Burke and turbot of 31cm for Stefan Martin and junior angler Aisling McGettigan with 2 fine flounder.
2nd zone A and best Mariners member John Cunningham with a flounder
Lines up and into darkness the anglers gathered around the Mooney boats van as scores were tallied up we had another opportunity to purchase more raffle tickets for the huge array of spot prizes donated by all the competition sponsors including hampers, rods, reels, vouchers, seat boxes, tackle etc and raise more money for the charities.
Results
Results counted and the overall win went to top local angler Michael Patton with a great fishing of trout and flounders winning 1st prize of a two night stay in the Clayton Hotel in Galway.
Overall winner Michael Patton (right) with Mariners chairman Cormac Burke)
Winning Junior was Aisling McGettigan winning a rod sponsored by Inland Fisheries Ireland.
1st zone A was Nicholas McNeill winning a Kali Kunnan slayer rod sponsored by Tuna Mick angling charter Killybegs.
1st zone B was Stefan Martin winning a Kali kunnan slayer rod sponsored by Killybegs s.a.c
Winning junior angler Aisling McGettigan with a flounder
2nd zone A and also winning best Mariners member was John Cunningham winning a
Dam reel sponsored by Swords angling centre and a rod reel combo and Mariners body warmer sponsored by Swan net gundries and Daragh McGuinness.
2nd zone B was Gary McCurry winning an akios reel sponsored by the angling hub Tralee.
3rd zone A was Frank Kane winning a Shakespeare seat box sponsored by wide wind transport services.
3rd zone B was Sean Ivory winning a Shakespeare seatbox sponsored by Mooney boats
4th zone A was Aaron Vambeck winning a hat and rain gear sposored by Emerald hygiene.
4th zone B was Michael Burke winning an led lenser headlight sponsored by Dessie O’Keeney taxi and bus hire killybegs.
5th zone A was Declan McGettigan winning a Mitchell reel sponsored by Belfast angling Centre.
5th zone B was Gerry McCabe winning a Leeda reel sponsored by Bridge guns and tackle Strabane.
Longest flattie in zone A was won by Cara Boyle with a 35cm flounder winning a Kali Kunnan seat box sponsored by Taranto
Longest flattie in zone B was won by Michael Burke with a 36cm flounder winning a kali kunnan seatbox sponsored by Taranto
After the winners got their prizes there was another half an hour with the volume of great prizes being handed out in the raffle draw from the van with stacked hampers from Supervalu and Centra killybegs, a Ryobi casting reel from Tuna.ie, a daiwa bucket full of tackle from Shannonside bait and tackle, lures from Rooneys fishing supplies, tackle from Rigcraft, jackets from Inver tool hire, €250 vouchers from Killybegs fishing trips, knife set from Irish fishing and seafood alliance, €150 local tackle shop vouchers from inland fisheries, waders reels and clothing from club members Cara, Diarmuid and Daragh, Mooney Boats Killybegs donated more seat boxes, rig winners, sand spikes, reels etc, vouchers from Bonnyglen Frosses and the Skipper newspaper giving hats to all juniors.
Amazing generosity on the day also with the crew receiving vouchers during breakfast on the way from Texaco in Donegal town and the brew box Coffee pod in Rossnowlagh in the morning and Dolores O’ Neill walking the beach with the donation bucket in the wind and rain to help out on the day.
It all worked out in the end great credit to the organisers especially Noel Kennedy doing trojan work on the laptop and keeping the event running along with Brian Smith and Cormac Burke and Kieran McGowan and Pat Byrne pegging the beach.
it showed the great heart and spirit in the community and the anglers of the island to come together and help those in desperate need
It wasn’t easy fishing and some of the top anglers in the country drew a blank but there was alot more at stake yesterday, it showed the great heart and spirit in the community and the anglers of the island to come together and help those in desperate need in the worst of sickness to get to Galway from Donegal for treatment and those braving the wild Atlantic swells to save the lives of those in danger.
Thank you to everyone that helped in any way and well done to all for making the day one to remember. Fantastic
Ireland on the Fly talks to Shane Gallagher about the Drowes
For the first Ireland on the Fly podcast of 2023, Tom and Daire are joined by Shane Gallagher of the Drowes Fishery to hear how the opening few days of the salmon season went.
Rate, review and follow the show to keep up to date with all the latest Ireland on the Fly episodes on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Shane Gallagher reports on the opening day on the Drowes Fishery…
01 January: No fresh salmon were reported at the end of the first day of the 2023 angling season. Conditions were cold but calm and dry with water levels at 0.77 metres on the gauge. The weather for tomorrow is forecast mostly dry so water levels should continue to drop slowly.
I would like to thank everyone who fished or called in today and wish our friends and anglers everywhere a very happy, healthy New Year and Tight Lines for the new season.
There will be no increase in permit prices for the 2023 season. Day permits remain at €25 and season permits at €300.
Our online availability calendar and online booking facility for our holiday cottages is now available at https://lareenestate.com/
Listen in…
For the first Ireland on the Fly podcast of 2023, Tom and Daire are joined by Shane Gallagher of the Drowes Fishery to hear how the opening few days of the salmon season went. Listen to the podcast here…
Go fishing…
River Drowes
The Drowes Fishery is one of Ireland’s premier spring salmon and grilse fisheries. The river is some 5 miles in length, with over 70 named pools, flowing from Lough Melvin at Lareen Bay and entering the sea at Tullaghan, just outside Bundoran. The Drowes has a wide variety of water suitable for all fishing methods, including several miles of good fly water and deeper slower moving pools suitable for spinning and bait fishing.
For information and bookings on the Drowes Fishery & Lough Melvin see http://www.drowessalmonfishery.com Tel: 071 9841055 (8am to 12 noon). Mob: +353 (0) 87 8050806
Kit Dunne of Wicklow Boat Charters kicked off the new year in style as anglers onboard his charter landed over 60 spurdog on his first trip of the year. It was great to see some decent fish in amongst them as they managed 6 specimen-sized fish on the day, the biggest measuring 111cm.
Go Fishing
Angling Charters are offered on a full-day, half-day and evening trip basis and can be tailored to suit your needs. Two boats are available – Lisin and Castle Maiden. All levels of anglers are catered for. Anglers will benefit from your skipper’s angling experience and local knowledge with advice and guidance on-hand at all times.
SPECIALIST ANGLING CHARTERS
Specialist Angling Charters are offered for those who wish to target specific species, specimen fish or try new angling methods.
ANGLING COACHING
Whether you’re a Club, Individual, School or Junior, you can have an angling coaching session or programme tailored to suit your needs.
Anthony from Tulla AC was in touch with info on the club’s calendar of events for 2023:
Please note that next years AGM will take place on Friday Jan 27th from 7:30 PM at Tulla court house. Note that we will be taking membership on the night. Please have last year’s keys with you.
Tulla, Co. Clare
Any motions can be submitted via Email to [email protected] or posted to Anthony Weir, Carrowbaun, Killaloe, Co Clare, V94WF8F.
Also please see Pike and Coarse schedules for 2023 below, locations and cup allocation will be finalised at the AGM.
Happy Christmas to one and all,
Best Regards,
Anthony
Pike Schedule:
Sunday, February 26, 2023 TDAC
Sunday, March 26, 2023 TDAC
Sunday, April 23, 2023 TDAC
Sunday, June 4, 2023 TDAC
Sunday, June 18, 2023 TDAC
Sunday, July 16, 2023 TDAC
Sunday, July 30, 2023 TDAC
Sunday, August 20, 2023 TDAC
Sunday, September 10, 2023 TDAC
Sunday, September 24, 2023 TDAC
Sunday, October 29, 2023 TDAC John Punch Memorial
Coarse Schedule:
March 19th
April 6th
April 29th & 30th
May 21st
June 11th
July 2nd
July 23rd
Aug 6th Oakland’s Carp Challenge (Carp Cup)
Aug 19th & 20th
Sept 3rd
Sept 17th
Oct 8th Scarriff Harbour (Fishing tackle Ireland Cup)
Christmas 2022 has been and gone, the presents opened and you’re probably counting down the days to the salmon season starting again, or getting back out onto the water before the hectic work-life schedule starts all over again.
And so, for the last Ireland on the Fly episode of the year, Daire and Tom have put together a collection of some of their guests’ most memorable fish on the fly stories.
With everything from small fish to giant fish and fishing with family and friends, they give a snapshot into just why we love to fly fish…..
Rate, review and follow the show to keep up to date with all the latest Ireland on the Fly episodes on Apple Podcasts or Spotify at:
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 2023. These will come into effect from Sunday, 1st January 2023.
Minister Ryan said: “81 rivers will be available for salmon and sea trout fishing in 2023. This facilitates careful management of this important natural resource, for which conservation and sustainability are paramount. 48 of the rivers will be fully open, with a further 33 open to ‘catch and release’ angling. The general improvements in stocks from 2022 have been maintained for 2023. 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 2023, 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:
• 48 rivers are to be open as a sustainable surplus has been identified in these rivers;
• 33 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, throughout 2022 my Department has been evaluating the effectiveness of current management policy and its implementation. I intend, as part of the broader inland fisheries policy review currently underway, 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.”
• S.I. No. 685 of 2022 Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Tagging Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 2022:
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.
• Angling Bye-law No. 996, 2022:
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. This is to avoid the use of hooks and baits which are not conducive to fish survival and to ensure that the objective of catch and release fishing is not frustrated.
• Conservation of Salmon and Sea Trout (Bag Limits) Bye-law No. 997, 2022:
This bye-law provides for an annual bag limit of 10 fish being either salmon or sea trout (over 40 cm) per angler and provides for a season bag limit of three fish in the period 1st January to 11th May, a daily bag limit of three fish from 12th May to 31st August and a daily bag limit of one fish from 1st 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.
• Conservation of Salmon and Sea Trout (Catch and Release) Bye-law No. 998, 2022:
This bye-law provides for catch and release in respect of salmon and sea trout (over 40cm) in rivers that are meeting at least 50% of their Conservation Limit 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.
• Conservation of Salmon and Sea Trout (River Suir) Bye-law No. 999, 2022:
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 17th March to 30th September.
• Conservation of Salmon and Sea Trout (River Slaney) Bye-law No. 1000, 2022:
This bye-law extends the annual close season in angling for salmon, sea trout and brown trout in the River Slaney and its tributaries from 1st September to 16th March in any year. The bye-law also provides for the use of artificial fly only using single or double barbless hooks upstream of the Railway Bridge, Enniscorthy, and provides for the use of single barbless hooks and a ban on worms as bait downstream of the Railway Bridge, when angling for salmon or sea trout (any size).
• Conservation of Sea Trout Bye-law No. 1001, 2022:
This bye-law provides for a daily bag limit of three 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 have been caught.
• Conservation of Salmon and Sea Trout (Closed Rivers) Bye-law No. C.S. 333, 2022:
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.
Just a short Christmas message this week to all of our subscribers and contributors to wish you all a peaceful festive season and to thank you all for supporting the Irish Angling Update in 2022. We send the Irish Angling Update out to over 15,000 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!
Nature’s cycle – frozen in time. Brenda Montgomery
The shortest day of the year gives us our longest, darkest night and today, December 21st, is that day when daylight hours are at their most scarce. Some anglers, especially those who are so used to spending their long spring or summer evenings on the water, can struggle through the winter’s short, dark days; from tomorrow, the shortest day will be behind us and, bit by bit, the days will lengthen towards the new season – so hang in there and dream of good things to come.
Brighter days to come
The big freeze has put the anglers off in the last week – but there are still one or two reports to check out; you can review reports from the last week, the last year, or even the last ten years on our Angling Website which, again, we wouldn’t be able to run without reports from our supporters and contributors.
Icebreaker. Brenda Montgomery.
With Christmas time in mind, if you are struggling to find a last minute present for an angler in your life, don’t forget that you can click and collect from tackle shops all around the country – and if you are not sure which tackle shop is closest to you, you can double check here on our website.
Cut adrift
A great last minute Christmas present is a day’s fishing with one of our expert guides. We have world class guides for trout, salmon, pike and bass not to mention the fleet of charter boats who target the wide variety of ground, wreck, reef and big game species around our shores and are always available to take an advance booking.
Angling guide Bodo Funke with a chunky pike of exactly 100cm
Meanwhile, as our coarse fish become less active and shoal up during the coldest months, our salmonids are very busy in our streams, ensuring that there is a next generation of trout and salmon in our rivers and lakes. Below is a selection of this week’s hard work from our midland trout, the females digging redds in the clean gravels to lay their eggs in.
Midland redds
1 of 5
Away from the water, Christmas is a great time to catch up on a bit of fish, fishing or fishery related literature and this week, the guys at the Ireland on the Fly Podcast discuss Ted Hughes and the influence of Ireland and Irish fly fishing on his poetry with Mark Wormald, a Cambridge lecturer and fly angler, who has written a superb book called The Catch: Fishing for Ted Hughes. As well as catching up on a good book, the next week or two will be a great opportunity to catch up on any Ireland on the Fly episodes you may have missed this year on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Ted Hughes talks to the Ireland on the Fly Book Club
If you want to get into the Christmas spirit with some festive fly tying, Peter Driver of Piscarifly will be hosting his Christmas Special on the 28th December at 8.30pm on his Facebook page. Peter has a great show lined up with a night of fly tying, chat and fun. There are some massive giveaways on offer and of course you can expect some great Special Guests.
So stay safe, stay warm, cherish loved ones this Christmas and fondly remember those loved ones we have lost. Have a peaceful Christmas from all of us at the Irish Angling Update, we look forward to keeping you up to speed on all the Irish angling news in 2023 and beyond.
