As most pike angling clubs avoid holding competitions during the warm summer months, they are generally primed and ready for action by the time the cooler September weather rolls in. So Newbridge & District PAC made up for their lack of action over the summer by holding back-to-back competitions last weekend.
Fishing a river venue, they fished from 9.30am to 5.00pm on Saturday, and were back on the bank at 6.00am on Sunday, fishing through to 3.00pm. Many of them bivvied up on the bank for the night and enjoyed the camaraderie of being back on the water again.
Unfortunately, the pike didn’t join in in the festivities, and they remained tricky to catch throughout the weekend. A total of 62 fish were caught and released over the weekend by 17 anglers, but there were no doubles to be seen. However, better days lie ahead, and we are sure it won’t be long before they start to encounter some better fish.
South Shore SAC had an eye on the weather leading up to last Sunday’s match, and their preferred venue of Kilgorman Beach had to be switched in favour of the more sheltered Wicklow North as strong winds were forecast for the Wexford venue. As luck would have it, Saturday was a lovely autumn day, but by the time it came to match day, the fine weather had turned into a biblical-style deluge. The rain, however, didn’t dampen spirits too much, and 31 anglers ventured forth to battle it out on the day.
Torrential rain makes for a long day on Wicklow North Beach
With clearer than usual water meaning angling was going to be tricky, it was important to get off to a good start, and things were looking up as the first hour saw plenty of fish coming in, including trebles of gurnard. The fast pace slowed down considerably thereafter, as bites dried up, and by the end of the day, the overall tally of fish was less than would have been hoped. Results as follows:
Not content to be one of the leading charter boats in terms of specimen hunting, Wicklow Boat Charters are always looking to broaden their horizons and have now added bass to the list of species targeted. They have been exploring a few different marks and techniques and have had results on three out of four trips so far which is a decent return for their forays.
Wicklow coast bass
They are, of course still producing with their bread and butter species, with another specimen size tope during the week, this time for Adam Quinn.
Specimen sized tope for Adam Quin
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.
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ANGLING COACHING
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8/9/2022 I start in a 48-hour backdate and yes you are correct I failed miserably in my duties in failing to report that a Currane angler caught two Salmon, followed by two Sea Trout two days ago. Now back today’s manipulations, we start on the World-famous Butler Pool and www.watervillegolflinks.ie there were two Salmon caught by two guests fishing with their Ghillie Mr. Michael O’Sullivan of Waterville Boats and at [email protected] and in the afternoon Michael’s Clients headed upstream out on to Lough Currane, as of yet I haven’t heard of any rod benders. There were a few Nice Sea Trout caught on the drift, and there was one Salmon caught on the fly. Now we head upstream again to the Commeragh river, two anglers caught two Salmon and headed for the Inny and as of yet I have no reports on their Catch and releases. Staying with the C&R Inny, I can report that there were four Salmon caught and released. Wind N and veered NNW light with reasonable cloud cover.
9/9/2022 There were a few nice Sea Trout caught on the drift, one boat reported seven Sea Trout to their boat and another boat reported four Sea Trout to his boat, on the Salmon front there was one Salmon caught on the fly. Now we head upstream to the Commeragh, two anglers caught two Salmon for themselves, and I believe they weren’t satisfied and headed for the C&R River Inny and as of yet no report on their manipulations. Staying on the Inny, I can report that there were two Salmon caught. Wind NNW light and variable.
10/9/2022 The Currane anglers were in good form again today, so straight to the action: two anglers caught a fine Grilse and a Trout in the morning and how they did in their afternoon session I can’t say as of yet, so watch this space and just for the record they were fishing out of Waterville Boats and at [email protected] one local Currane angler caught a fine 8 lbs. Salmon on the troll and finished his day off with six Juniors caught on the drift. And staying in the drift department and for good reason, on the Southside of the Lake there were a good few Sea Trout landed and released by other Currane drifters. Wind light to fresh at times SE and variable. Staying with the weather they’re forecasting 32.9 mm of rainfall for Waterville tomorrow morning?
11/9/2022 Well, The Inny Anglers were satisfied with the flood, but we start today’s manipulations on the World famous Butler Pool, and at www.watervillegolflinks.ie one US angler caught a fine Salmon on the fly, on that note we head upstream to Lough Currane, there were a few Sea Trout caught on the drift and one hired out boat caught 3 Sea Trout and a Grilse. Now we head upstream on the Commeragh River, where there were two anglers manipulating their skills and as of yet they haven’t let their fingers do the talking, so I will take it they failed miserably in their duties in the Salmon department? Now we head across the Valley to the C&R River Inny; there were 3 Salmon caught and released. Wind ESE veered SW light and variable.
12/9/2022 Just the odd Sea Trout caught on the drift, now to catch of the day, and that goes to Currane angler Jim Comerford of Beenbane, while trolling caught a cracker of a Salmon in the 14lb class. Now we head downstream to the World-famous Butler Pool and at www.watervillegolflinks.ie where there was Salmon caught on the fly, now from the Butler Pool we go to the C&R River Inny, where there was one Salmon reported. Wind ENE light and overcast.
13/9/2022 Straight to the Sea trout and Brown trout department, all from the same boat on the drift and here are their facts of the day, 6 Sea Trout, followed by a nice few Brown trout for their efforts. For the rest of the Currane anglers, it was all quiet on all fronts? Wind NE light to fresh followed by bright sunshine all day.
14/9/2022 The Currane anglers were all quiet on all fronts this day. NE light to fresh followed bright sunshine all day.
Peter Driver on Trout River Tactics for September plus Winning the National River Championship
We’re into the last few weeks of the salmon and trout season and for this week’s Ireland on the Fly podcast, Daire and Tom are joined by Peter Driver, founder of Piscari Fly in Kilkenny, and a highly accomplished trout angler who just recently captured the National River Championship.
Peter talks about the importance of mindset and mentality in enabling him to capture the national title, plus he talks tactics for September river fishing and how the 2022 season went for him.
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.
Belturbet Angling and Conservation Club held a very successful Belturbet Angling Festival last week with thirty six anglers in competition for the top prize. Sections fished were Derryvona, Eonish, Kennedy’s, Derries and McCaffrey’s, with Derryvona and Derries producing the heaviest nets over the course of the week.
Seamie Winters took the honours after five days of fishing in pretty poor conditions – top five listed below:
Seamie Winters 81.080kg
Wayne Fuller 72,820kg
Fergal Smith 67,980kg
Mick Smith 66,560kg
Mark Theedom 64,800kg
The week’s winners
Plus, as best ranking visiting angler from overseas, Les Surtees bags himself a week’s complimentary B&B at Church View Guest House B&B Belturbet for his 49,380.
Reports are that the club have already filled a number of places for overseas anglers for next year and local accommodation providers have already taken a number of bookings – the club hope to be able to grow the event year on year so if you are interested in taking part contact them via their Facebook page.
some of the week's action
1 of 6
The club would like to thank the efforts of club members Stephen Leddy and John Heys – we have some of the ‘old Belturbet’ back, with three new sections on the River Erne. Thanks also to the local landowners for their support, Maura at Church View Guest House, Inland Fisheries Ireland and Ray at The Castle Sports & Gastro Bar Belturbet for the sponsorship and fine hospitality. Not forgetting the all important supplies from Irish Bait and Tackle Limited.
Salmon and Sea Trout Anglers who fished during the 2022 season are being reminded to kindly return their logbooks and any unused gill tags at the end of the season.
Inland Fisheries Ireland is encouraging salmon and sea trout anglers to return angling logbooks (setting out their fishing and catch record) and any unused gill tags from 2022, if they have finished fishing for this year or once the season has closed.
Under the Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Tagging Scheme, anglers can return these in one of three ways:
Using the postage pre-paid business return envelope that was supplied at the time of licence purchase (preferred option).
Posting the logbook and unused gill tags to the Inland Fisheries Ireland office address that is displayed on their licence or logbook.
Scanning and emailing logbook and licence documents to Inland Fisheries Ireland at [email protected]. Important: if you are choosing this option, please scan all sides of documents, including continuation pages, to ensure that the licence names and number can be correctly linked to the logbook.
On average, 70% of anglers in Ireland return their logbooks and these returns provide vital information regarding the status and management of our wild Atlantic Salmon and Sea Trout stocks into the future.
Reminder
In accordance with the Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Tagging Scheme, anglers in Ireland are required by law to return their completed logbook (setting out their fishing and catch record) and all unused tags to the issuing office of Inland Fisheries Ireland within 7 days of licence expiry, and no later than the 19th of October.
As part of the Scheme, an angler must attach a valid gill tag to a salmon (any size) or sea trout (over 40cm) harvested, immediately on landing. They must enter details of their catch and/or gill-tag used into their logbook.
Any questions or queries?
Please email [email protected] and we will respond to your query as quickly as possible.
After a prolonged dry spell, the past seven days have been much wetter than average across the country, with stations recording between 160% and 480% of their typical weekly accumulations for the time of year. The wettest parts of the country were the south and east, while the west stayed relatively dry in comparison. Such was the extent of the August dry spell, rivers in parts of the country that saw a large amount of rain this week are only returning to what might be considered ‘normal’ levels for the time of year.
One river that saw a slight rise in water levels was the Moy, where water levels recorded at Ballylahan Bridge were 0.195m rising slightly to 0.352m after the long awaited rain. Fishery managers along the river agree that this is not enough to flush out the river and say more rain is needed to “freshen” up the system. Only sixteen grilse and one sea trout were reported caught on the Moy fisheries during the week. In the south west, the bit of fresh water was just what anglers in Waterville needed and anglers fishing the Inny, the Commeragh river and the Butler pool all caught grilse. On Currane itself, the sea trout fishing has been ok, with anglers reporting decent numbers of juniors and fish up to a couple of pounds on the drift – as well as the odd grilse. The sea trout fishing improved on the Costello and Fermoyle fisheries with the drop of rain, and a further improvement is expected with more rainfall.
Low water everywhere
The low water made for difficult trout fishing conditions on the rivers, but the Maigue was described as ‘refreshed and with more pace’ following the fresh influx and the trout were more obliging for visiting anglers fishing an upstream dry fly. On the topic of fly fishing, this Saturday, September 10th, the third ever International Women’s Fly Fishing Day will be celebrated.
It’s planned that at 11am, in every time-zone across the world, female fly-anglers will post photos or videos of themselves to FaceBook or to Instagram to share their enjoyment of fly fishing. Also following a fly fishing theme – though the purists might disagree – the Ireland on the Fly podcast this week looks at the art of Tenkara in Ireland.
Offshore, the charter skippers and bluefin tuna boats are still doing well when the wind allows. There was plenty of action in Donegal bay with tuna to an estimated 600lbs, though no reports yet from the south coast where they usually arrive later in the season. Boats fishing out of both the Clare and Galway sides of Galway Bay have had some fine catches of mixed species – along with some great tope fishing, plenty of good sized blue shark and some lovely pollock.
Thomas Moran was the overall winner of the 56th annual Newport SAC Festival and was presented with the Tom Moran Memorial Cup by members of the Moran family, (Bella, Sorcha and Cian)
IFI recently launched the Draft Great Western Lakes Management Plan. Loughs Corrib, Mask, Carra, Conn, Cullin, Arrow and Sheelin are some of the best wild brown trout fisheries in Europe and are collectively known as the Great Western Lakes. Inland Fisheries Ireland wishes to develop a long term management plan for these lakes to address many of the factors currently impacting on the ecological wellbeing of native fish stocks in their catchments.
For more information, including the draft plan, a comprehensive list of Frequently Asked Questions, “open evenings” and how to participate in the public consultation and have your voice heard, check out the web page here: Western Lakes Plan
The final open evening will take place on Tuesday 13th September: Crover House Hotel, Mount Nugent, Co Cavan A82 P2D9
No tickets or registration is required and all open evenings are operating on a ‘drop-in’ basis from 4pm to 8pm.
And now the weather…
Brightening up this evening with some sunny spells. Highs of 18°C to 21°C degrees in light NW breezes. Mainly dry overnight with clear spells, lows of 9°C to 12°C.
Saturday looks set to be a mostly dry day with a mix of cloud and sunshine. The best in the east with a few well-scattered showers elsewhere. Warm with highs of 18°C to 22°C
Outbreaks of overnight rain will extend nationwide on Sunday, turning heavy and persistent with the possibility of localised flooding. Highs of 17°C to 20°C.
Rain will gradually ease and clear on Monday with dry and bright periods developing. Highs of 17°C to 22°C, warmest in the south. Mostly dry on Tuesday with sunny spells, highs of 17°C to 22°C.
Kevin Lyons of Melview Lodge has a few guests from abroad fishing with him this week:
Dutch anglers Ronald and Bert are over once again to stay with host Kevin at Melview Fishing Lodge. They have started their week well with mixed catches of Bream, Hybrids and Roach. And at the time of writing, it looks like the Tench have now turned up too. We will have a full report on how they finished up next week. We will also report on Andy and Pete, who are also doing well with some good catches of Bream and some nice Tench, so tune in next week for full reports on how it all finished up.
Ronald with a good mixed catch on day oneBert and Ronald with some nice bream on day two
Kevin has over 30 years experience of fishing in Ireland and is happy to offer a guided tour on your arrival, and to advise where the on-form waters in the area are. We can arrange your bait order so it’s here when you arrive. Melview offers free use of 17ft lake boats with engines to our guests (pay fuel only) and Kevin is happy to assist with any pre-baiting requests. Maps and other information regarding fishing are also available.
Skipper Luke Aston reports that after the high wind of Monday, Tuesday was a much better day and they got back out to the reefs. The drift was great and plenty of fish were caught. Some nice ling and pollack were the highlight, with bull huss and conger when they anchored up.
A lovely pollackLingPollackBull hussConger eel
The following day a long shark drift prodcuced two blue shark, as well as spurdog on the bottom. One spur even took a shark trace at 25 metres in 90 metres of water!
Blue sharkAnd the second one.Spur dog
Go fishing…
Clare Dragoon
Clare Dragoon is a LOCHIN 366 powered by 650HP engine, skippered by Luke Aston and operating out of Carrigaholt Co. Clare…
I have some offers up on my web site www.fishandstay.com and if anybody is interested in putting a trip together please do get in touch. Also I Twitter from the boat on @fishandstay and try to update my face book page www.facebook.com/CarrigaholtSeaAngling fairly often! To experience some of the best deep sea fishing available in Ireland contact Luke. Telephone: +353 65 9058209 or +353 87 6367544 Email:[email protected]Web:www.fishandstay.com
