Anglers aboard MV Fiona Tee fishing out of Killybegs did very well over the few past days. Last weekend, a big bull huss measuring 115cm was landed together with big pollack, conger and a fine ling that was well into double figures.
Later in the week, the second bluefin tuna trip of the year produced a hard fighting fish of 80 inches and it was even close to being a double hook up with another tuna just missing the other line.
Go Fishing
Fiona Tee
33′ Interceptor. 300HP Caterpillar Skipper: Michael McGettigan Licence: 961 Base: Mullaghmore Operational area: Donegal Bay. Within 30 miles of land.
Notes: With over 40 years experience in Sea Angling in Donegal Bay, we bring you to the best locations and guarantee the best that angling in Donegal Bay has to offer. The MV Fiona Tee is equipped with all the latest technology ensuring all our fishing charters are monitored and offer real time tracking. We are also fully equipped with the latest in onboard safety equipment.
Anglers fishing some East Cork’s better marks have had great bass fishing recently. Some anglers are getting everything right and 20 bass to good size have been reported on a number of days.
On one incredible and unforgettable day, Warren Devlin and fishing buddy Decky Collins had 2 specimen bass on a day when they had close to 50 bass between 52cm and 78cm. All caught on surface poppers or subsurface lures. Warren’s specimen was 78cm. Decky had some skin in the game too and had a 76cm and 73cm bass to keep him happy.
1 of 8
Josh, Warren and Decky with a triple hook up.
Another fat bass for Decky
Warren with his 77cm bass
78cm bass for Warren
Decky with his 76cm bass
76cm on the mat
Josh with a 66cm bass
Decky with a 72cm bass
Tactics were simple, fish the coming tide, watch for birds, use soft plastics if the fish were deep. Throw poppers or subsurfce lures when they were up in the water. There have been a lot of schoolies about but constantly moving kept them out of the shoals for the most part so they could concentrate on bigger fish. That was until Decky’s youngest boy decided he want a crack off them on the fly. Another day was arranged and in just under a couple of hours he had around 20 bass all about a pound or so on the fly.
Kit Dunne of Wicklow Boat Charters had a couple of Dutch angling journalists onboard during the week and he showed them some of the quality fishing that’s available on Ireland’s east coast. Bram and Bert had a mix of ground fishing and a trip to the wrecks and they had a total of 14 species for the week, including Tub Gurnard, Conger, Tope, Black Bream and Pollack just shy of 10lbs. The lads were impressed with the quality of the fishing and will no doubt spread the news when they return to the Netherlands.
Bram with a Wicklow Bay topeBert with a good wreck caught pollock
It wasn’t only the Dutch that enjoyed good fishing with Kit as some Irish lads got in on the action too, including Niall Burke who landed this beaut of a specimen tope measuring 158cm.
Things are hotting up on the coarse angling festival scene with matches being held at numerous venues over the past week and plenty more planned for the coming weeks. These festivals will welcome a number of visiting anglers who will travel from abroad to partake in some quality coarse fishing and the craic and banter on the shore and in the pub. For anyone interested in joining in, there’s still room available at some of the festivals, and details can be found on the NCFFI Facebook page.
Anglers taking part in the Strokestown Angling Club festival in Roscommon had a hard time catching up with Andrew Lightbrown, as his whopping bag of 65lb on day one of the match helped him on his way to winning the festival with a total of just over 83lb.
Andy Burnett with a bag from the Strokestown festival
Anglers fishing the Coolcower House Festival on Inniscarra Lake reported good bags with 67kg winning the match for Pawel Swistun and the average bag was a very respectable 14kg. Also on Inniscarra, Cathal Hughes won the three day Coachford Centra Festival with a total of over 66kg.
Cathal Hughes comes out on top again
The final of the all Ireland Method Feeder Championships was held at Oaklands Lakes last week and for the third time in four years, Stevie Whyte came out on top with a bag of over 86kg.
Stevie Whyte with his winning bag
Up in the Ballinamore area, 30 anglers, mostly from Belgium and the Netherlands have been fishing the King’s Classic competition on Lough Garadice and other surrounding lakes. The competition is still ongoing but the fishing has been good and bags of up to 20kg have been recorded by individual anglers.
The Kings Classic is hosting a number of Dutch and Belgian anglers
Richie Ryan of Eire Bass sent a report on his recent forays with clients on Cork Harbour. Richie takes up the story…
“It’s great to see youngsters coming aboard Sea Hawk to try out saltwater fly fishing. As stated many times before, for amateurs there’s no casting involved, the wind and tide do the work. Later on casting lessons can convert an enthusiastic youth into a pure fly fishing addict. Some of you may remember a recent report by me on my grandson’s experience of fly fishing for pollack A visit to Canada last month entailed a fly fishing lesson for Seán, aged 10. Thirty minutes into my lesson he turned to me and said “Granddad, this is so therapeutic”! A few hours later his cast was near perfect. He caught 14 Mountain Whitefish that day, mainly on a fly he tied himself. He’ll never forget that days sport I reckon.
And so it was last week that 2 youngsters tried out saltwater fly fishing for the first time. Xavier Foley joined his dad Jody for a weekend trip. His dad was obviously a keen and experienced angler albeit he had not tried saltwater fly fishing before. The sport was good, even a few fine kelpy cod helped to brighten our outing.
Jody and Xavier Foley with a kelpy cod
A few days later Jim Barry organised a fly fishing trip for his son in law and his grandson. Conditions were difficult but numerous pollack fell to the fly and young Ben and his father Tony were hooked ! Ben’s enthusiasm was obvious and the excitement was palpable.
Ben with his flt caught pollack
I can still see his infectious beaming smile as he enjoyed what he deemed to be the best part of his holiday. In fact both sets of clients vowed to return again as the experience was so gratifying ! It’s nice to see things picking up after Covid and some young anglers happy to try a different type of angling.
Why not try fishing from the first licensed saltwater fly-fishing boat in Ireland in the second largest natural harbour in the world? Your guide, Commander Richie Ryan Retd. , has built up a huge knowledge of bass fishing, over the last 30 years.
Notes: With a purpose built boat he is insured to carry up to 3 anglers. Bass and pollock on the fly are the main target species.
Young and old are welcome and if you have no knowledge of fly-fishing, other methods are available. Richie has been responsible for a vast number of clients catching that elusive first ever bass.
Tjs Angling Centre is a fishing tackle store which stocks a wide range of fishing gear for fishermen. It is also a hub for information regarding fishing.
Tuna food!! Amazing catches on the shore for Gavin and Johnny and a fish that the species hunters all aspire to get, the Atlantic saury. A favourite food of the giant Bluefin tuna that are in Donegal Bay right now and a new species; also a new club record shore saury of 34cm for Gavi.
Double saury for GavinSaury
Last weekend, 14 anglers took to the beach as Mariners and Howth crew had a friendly competition and 52 fish were caught with 5 different species and John Cunningham taking the winners prize with Gavin Dorrian in 2nd and Pat Byrne 3rd. Longest fish was won by Noel Caffery of Howth.
Mariners and Howth pegged comp
Later in the week, Cormac and John managed some fine size wrasse in the great weather.
The put and take rainbow trout lakes Lough Fadda and Barfinnihy are fishing well at the moment despite the bright weather as water temperatures have dropped a bit.
Lough Fadda
Anglers on Fadda are catching on spinners, worm and fly.
Barfinnihy is only 20 minutes from Lough Fadda, not far from Molls Gap. This is a bigger lake and a lot of time can be spent here, wandering the the shore and casting to the often rising fish.
Releasing a trout on Barfinnihy with a view of the Magillacuddy Reeks in the background
Being so close together it would be no trouble to enjoy what each has to offer in a single day.
A view over Ballinaskelligs Bay, 29 august 2022 was not an ideal fishing day on Lough Currane.
Vincent Appleby reports from Waterville…
26/8/2022 The Waterville Fishery was all quiet in all departments this day. Wind NW light and variable followed by bright sunshine all day.
Butler Pool 2022-08-27
27/8/2022 Great to report a bit of action this day, In the Salmon/Grilse department there was 1 Grilse caught on the troll. Now we head for the dry fly department, one boat manipulating their dry flies caught 7 Trout and that’s no mean feat and the same goes to the Salmon/ Grilse department. Wind variable and light from the SE to the SW followed by reasonable cloud cover.
A view over Ballinaskelligs Bay back to Waterville. All calm in this corner.
28/8/2022 Just a few Trout caught this day and yes, yesterday’s catches were Sea Trout as they were today. As you can see by the photo it was fairly calm this day, wind SE light and variable and very warm this afternoon.
A view over Ballinaskelligs Bay, 29 august 2022 was not an ideal fishing day on Lough Currane.
29/8/2022 Two Trout caught on the drift and fair play to them because as you can see by the picture the conditions certainly were not ideal. Wind SE light and variable. Just for the record there was one Butler Pool angler manipulating his flies and as of yet I have no reports of any rod benders.
The Wild Atlantic viewed from Waterville on 2022-08-30
30/8/2022 The Currane Anglers were all quiet in all departments this bright and sunny calm day as you can see by the photo of Ballinskelligs Bay. Wind ESE light to calm.
Curran’s Mace in Waterville has closed
31/8/2022 The Currane Anglers were all quiet on all fronts today and in my opinion this is very appropriate especially to the Currane anglers because today Curran’s Mace Supermarket opened their doors today for the last time and sadly there’ll be no rush in the future to Curran’s Supermarket and tackle shop to get the first Salmon licence or investing in a new Rapala. So on behalf of the Currane anglers and the good people of Waterville, Dromid, Caherdaniel, Ballinskelligs, and all the surrounding areas, we wish all the Curran Family and their staff all the best for the future. I can say you will be missed.
The rivers and lakes of Waterville drain a large catchment and are regarded by many as the foremost Salmon and Sea-Trout fishery in the country. The lake system is well developed with access to boats and guides being readily available to the tourist angler. The Sea-Trout caught here are renowned for their size and quantity. For more details see:
Notes: Located at Lakelands House Bed and Breakfast and Self Catering Accommodation, on Ireland’s best sea trout lake, Lough Currane. Frank is a professional angling guide and boatman.
Sea angling can be arranged with local operators.
Boat Hire
Boats for hire. All boats and engines are moored on the farm, 300 metres from the house, with easy access from the road with car park and boat shed.
Notes: Having ghillied on Lough Currane for over 30 years Vincent is a great choice for those looking for a guided service or flyfishing instruction on the Lake. All ages are catered for and even experienced anglers will benefit from the watercraft and fly-lore unique to Lough Currane. All tackle is provided and accommodation can be organised if required.
Peter Driver of Piscari Fly stepped out of the Nore to try a bit of Lough fishing on Owel…
Nice day on Lough Owel early this week. Conditions weren’t the greatest with very little wind and high sunshine. But still managed some nice fish to the boat. Olive Dabblers and hopper patterns working best.
For all your fly tying and fly fishing needs. Stocking rods, reels, clothing water etc
Guiding
Want to improve or learn any aspects of your fly fishing? Then why not give us a shout and we will look after you. Fishing available locally on the River Nore at Thomastown and other club water by arrangement. We have also teamed up with Blackwater Trout and Salmon fishery to offer you an amazing fishing experience with over 8km of amazing river to be discovered.
Full & Half Guided days
One to one coaching
Master classes
Groups and Clubs welcome
Nymphing. Dry Fly. Wet Fly. Streamer. Dry Dropper
Instruction
Peter Driver is a qualified casting instructor with APAGI, and advanced qualified fly dresser with APAGI. He specialises in competition nymphs and fishing, Irish lake flies, streamers and lures.
As a qualified casting instructor with APAGI I Peter offers casting clinic’s and lessons, to suit your desires. Being able to cast correctly and have a good understanding of the mechanics of casting is a solid foundation in fly fishing that will pay off in your fishing, be it rivers or lakes.
Peter’s fly shop is at www.piscari-fly.com for all your fly tying and fly fishing needs.
Or why not check out the PiscariFly YouTube channel where fishing adventures and fly tying and interviews with top Irish anglers make for a great show…
Boat Hire
Salmon and Sea-Trout fishing Guide
