Bodo Funke of Angling Services Ireland reports great pike fishing for German anglers. Bodo has been hosting two groups of German pike enthusiasts over the past weeks.
First time clients, Sascha, Frank & Christian were over the moon with the quality of pike angling in Ireland landing a number of decent predators, while regular visitors Michael & Rupert also showed their angling skills landing some great pike up 104cm.
Go fishing
Bodo Funke, Angling Services, Ireland
Pike, Game and Coarse fishing Guide
Notes: Angling Services Ireland provides the very best in angling and angling tourism. We are based in Boyle, Co. Roscommon, in the North-West of Ireland, an area with many superb angling opportunities.
The Proprietor Bodo Funke holds the Marine and Countryside Guiding Certificate (achieved with distinction) and his expertise and local knowledge will be to your avail when you go on a guided angling trip or angling holiday with Angling Services Ireland. Pike fishing, Fly-fishing for Pike, Game fishing for wild Brown Trout, Float- tubing, Coarse fishing. Salmon fishing and Sea-angling can be organised.
It’s been a very dry week across the country, with high pressure to the north and lows to the south pulling in dry easterly winds from Europe, rather than our usual moist Atlantic air. Indeed, gorse fires have been common this week, including this one close to my home in Co. Galway. This fire hit the Lough Corrib Special Area of Conservation in an area where the increasingly rare curlew nest, and will have impacted on this year’s nesting season.
While many of these fires are started illegally, the onus is on everyone to ensure we don’t start them accidentally. Anglers lighting fires to cook food or boil water should be extremely careful to make sure all fires are completely extinguished when they finish. Remember the guiding principles of Leave No Trace when you’re fishing!
A party of anglers from Luxembourg enjoyed great fly fishing for pike in Co, Longford, among other activities, but we are short on other pike reports this week. Pesky easterly winds!
The easterly winds may not help sea fishing either, but there was great pollack fishing reported from Galway Bay, and from west Clare this week. The water is starting to warm up and sea angling should really take off over the next few weeks.
Lovely weather and a fine pollack for this angler
Other News
Surveys & IMREC Sea Angling Diary
IFI has launched a new survey that will tap into the knowledge of trout anglers in Lough Sheelin and also a sea angling diary to help understand the health of fish stocks in our coastal waters.
Spotted Success
The Sheelin survey features questions for anglers about their trout catch and about different aspects of the fishery now compared with when they started fishing on the lake. Each participant also has the opportunity to enter into a prize draw for angling tackle, with one €200 voucher and two €100 vouchers to be won. If you fish for trout on Lough Sheelin you can find out more here.
The application also creates a handy personal dashboard for your own use and each logged diary session will be updated here. This gives you the user an opportunity to view when, where and what fish you have caught along with any other notes (tides, rigs etc), that you may have submitted. A summary is also provided to give you an insight into how your season is progressing.
Irish Spring Angling Fair – This Weekend!
Final reminder about the Irish Spring Angling Fair on the 30th of April and 1st of May – tomorrow and Sunday! The organisers promise that it’s going to be a fantastic weekend for all anglers, and they are looking forward to welcoming you all to the show. With demos, instruction, workshops and more on fly casting, coarse tactics, fly tying, sea angling as well as plenty of shopping to be done there really will be something for all anglers –Sea, Salmon, Trout, Pike and Coarse.
And now the weather
After the fine spell, we are due a break in the waeeather. Turning cloudy this evening, with some light drizzle along western coasts later. Generally cloudy tonight with outbreaks of rain and drizzle developing in many western parts by morning.
Saturday will be mostly cloudy day with outbreaks of rain or drizzle. Some persistent and heavy rain over Ulster, but parts of the southwest will have good dry periods. Highest temperatures of 11 to 15 degrees, with southwest winds; fresh in the north and light or moderate in southern parts.
Sunday will see rain or drizzle, but gradually turning drier later with a chance of some late sunny spells in the north. Light variable breezes. Highest temperatures of 13 to 17 degrees.
Bank Holiday Monday will bring a good deal of cloud and some bright or sunny intervals with some scattered light showers. Highs of 13 to a rather warm 17 degrees, in light breezes. Tuesday will be a little cooler with light northerly breezes bringing in a few light showers and variable cloud cover.
Current indications suggest it will turn a bit warmer again for Wednesday and Thursday with variable cloud cover, some nice sunny spells, just a few showers and very light winds.
After a few tough days due to easterly winds, fishing on the Moy Estuary improved sharply this week. Clients of Judd Ruane enjoyed exceptional sea trout fishing all week!
Read what Judd has to say…“Mighty fishing every day and all fresh-run bars of silver. What really helps is the great condition of the water…crystal clear! I had two rods from Ann Arbor, Michigan out for a day. Mark, one of them, is big into steelhead and salmon over there. At the end of our day he told me he had his best day’s fishing ever. They landed 19 fish between 1 and 2.25 lbs.”
Notes: The angling boat Pegasus is equipped with the
latest technology, fishing tackle and safety equipment. Licenced for a
maximum of 4 rods skipper Judd Ruane specialises in catching sea trout
on the beautiful Moy Estuary. Daily charter departs Ballina Quay and booking
is essential. A salmon licence is required.
Jean-Luc, Fabian, Jean-Louis and Theo from Luxembourg enjoyed a nice week’s fly fishing for Pike at Melview Fishing Lodge. Host Kevin said it was their first stay here but not their first time in Ireland. Jean-Luc has been fishing here for the past 20 years so it was not all about the fishing for these guys as they also enjoyed a day out at a whiskey distillery and a night out with Kevin taking in the local hospitality. Very enjoyable week guys and we hope to see you back in Ireland again soon.
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.
Anglers departing Gortnorabbey harbour in the National Championships.
Kevin O’Boyle reports on a tough week’s fishing on Loughs Conn & Cullin:
Trout fishing was challenging to say the least on Loughs Conn and Cullin during the week. Very cool north and easterly light winds made for tough going through the week, with little or no fly life on the water. A few sparse hatches of Olives appeared in some shallow sheltered bays and a few early Mayfly were spotted over the weekend. Water levels are quite low on the Lakes with water temperatures remaining around 9˚celsius.
On Lough Cullin, two anglers from Belfast had a few trout each, all just around 11” mark to Dabblers and Olives, all were returned. John Molloy and Declan Heffron from Roscommon had 3 small trout along Garrison Island to Olives on intermediate lines, all returned.
Peter Roche from Cloghans releasing a trout in Bog Bay.
On Lough Conn fishing out of Murphy’s Boat hire in Massbrook, Cork Anglers John Healy and John O Sullivan both had a few trout to Dabblers too, all returned. John Burke, Foxford had a few small trout in Sand House Bay and along Massbrook shore all returned to Black Dabblers.
Peter Roche from Cloghans and Paul Colreavey from Lough Arrow, fished both North and South Conn and caught small trout up to 12.5”, all released. Best Flies were Bibios, fiery brown, Dabblers, and Olive patterns. Peter also fished with Tom Hipwell from Dublin, for 1 day and had a few small trout to Sootie Olive patterns in difficult conditions. Peter had a trout for 2 lbs later that evening to a Jungle Bunny also released.
The National Championships were held on Lough Conn on the Saturday in bright sunshine,17˚celsius with North Easterly winds. 126 anglers took part from every corner of Ireland with 27 trout weighed in. The heaviest fish was 2.25 lbs.
Lough Talt
A party of 3 Anglers, 2 French and 1 Roscommon Angler had a good few trout all up to a 1lb, and 5 perch up to 2 lbs on the bubble and fly from the Western shoreline all released again for a few hours fishing mainly little Olives and Bumbles.
Darragh Kerley with a 9 lb Salmon form the Foxford Fishery.
Kevin O’Boyle reports on the week’s fishing on the Moy system:
28 Salmon were caught throughout the Moy River this week. 4 more were caught on Lough Conn and one at the Lake River.
Water levels were generally low for the time of year with water levels recorded at Ballylahan Bridge on Monday morning were 0.833m. Heavy rain on Monday evening rose the water to 1.047 m and it levelled back to 0.44m by the weekend. Water temperatures averaged 9.4˚ Celsius.
Darragh Kerley with a 9 lb Salmon form the Foxford Fishery.
For most of the week, the water was very clear and suitable for all methods of angling. John Howley is back working as a ghillie on the Ridge Pool, and caught and released a 3 lb Seatrout on the Yellow Alley fly.
Ballina Salmon Anglers produced 6 springers from 8-12 lbs on worms and spinning. Armstrong Fishery produced 1 Salmon for 9lbs on a silver spoon by a Northern Ireland Angler. Foxford Fishery had 6 salmon for the week ranging from 8 to 12 lbs, mostly spinning. East Mayo Anglers recorded 12 salmon for the week, with 5 released.
Mark Corps from Northern Ireland had 2 salmon on the fly one for 7 lbs and the biggest of the week at 14 lbs, later released.
3 Salmon were caught at Carrigeen, Foxford Salmon Anglers water, all spinning.
25 anglers scrapped it out on the Grand Canal at Sallins last week for the chance to become the All Ireland Senior Canal Champion. Conditions conspired to make it tough going as an easterly wind combined with bright sunshine made the fish flighty, and they were constantly on the move, making them difficult to target. Unfortunately, there were even a few blanks on the cards… But Codin Jurj didn’t let any of that put him out of his stride as he made light of the tough conditions to land 12lb 3oz of large roach to take the title. Full details and photos are available on the NCFFI Facebook page.
Streamer fishing is a branch of flyfishing that is gaining in popularity in Ireland, due in no small part to the guys at Impact Fly Fishing, who are evangelical when it comes to streamers! Streamers often pick out the bigger trout, and are just as good for salmon. Check out this springwer that Keith McDonnell from Impact caught recently.
For anyone thinking about trying streamer fishing, Impact have published a brilliant introduction post on their blog, with everything you need to know to get started.
Starting with the most important element, the fly, the post is full of great information on the tackle, techniques, setup and watercraft you will need for successful streamer fishing.
An olive woolly bugger from Impact
So if you’re thinking of trying a new technique, one that will definitely get you on those bigger fish, maybe even a specimen, check out the post here.
A fresh 10lb salmon makes a bid for freedom at Navan today
The water level in the River Boyne has been on a downward trend since the 17th April and the water remains clear. Conditions on the river are still good for salmon fishing.
Rain needed
However, it is getting to the point where some rain is needed, not too much though! In saying that, I can’t remember seeing the water level being this low in April over the years. And if it has been I simply don’t remember. Angling pressure could be described as moderate to low. Occasional fish are still being recorded in and around the Navan area.
Latest catch reports
The latest fish was caught this afternoon by local Navan angler Johnny Coffey. The fish took whilst I was speaking with Johnny. The float went under Johnny struck and the fish was on.
To say the fish fought hard was an understatement. It gave Johnny as good a workout as if he had been to the gym. The salmon was finally netted and only removed from the water for a very quick photo before being released.
A fresh 10lb salmon makes a bid for freedom at Navan today
It was a beautiful fresh salmon that had only been in the river a matter of a few days. A bar of silver but there were no sea lice on the fish. Johnny also had two fish last week weighing in at 10lb and 12lb respectively.
Johnny Coffey from Navan with a nice fresh 10lb salmon caught on the River Boyne at Navan today
In addition, two fish were reportedly caught in the Slane area weighing in at 17lbs and 10lbs with no fish reported yet lower downstream on the river. A couple more fish were reported from the lower Blackwater and another few fish were reported on the main Boyne just below Navan. We will keep you posted as reports become available.
Salmon angling on the Munster Blackwater for the week ending 24 April improved steadily, especially throughout the lower beats. However, during the early part of this week higher water levels brought a flurry of activity along the upper reaches of the system from Millstreet downstream to Fermoy also, with reports of good numbers of Salmon also taken here.
John Quinlan with his fine spring fish est.8/9lbs released off the Ellis Beat on the Fort William Fishery. Conditions are very good at the moment at .40m on the gauge
River conditions during the early portion of the week would have been above normal, but they have since fined out to ideal levels.
Go Fishing
This large and broad river has a lot of fine salmon fishing spread among many private and club fisheries. They are all easily accessible and most welcome visiting anglers. Spring run improving in recent years. The best grilse fishing is towards the end of the season. For more information see:
Fortwilliam Fishery offers two miles of double bank salmon and trout fishing over five beats on the river Blackwater.
Our salmon include – Springers, May Salmon, Grilse, Back End Salmon, and in Summer sea trout.
Our beats provide a wide variety of water, suitable for both beginners and the more experienced fishermen.
Fortwilliam Fishery, Glencairn, Lismore, Co. Waterford, Ireland Web: www.fortwilliamfishing.ieEmail: fishing@fortwilliamireland.com Tel: (00353) 87 8292077 or 058 75299
Blackwater Salmon and Trout Fishery
Blackwater Salmon and Trout Fishery control a number of beats of the Munster Blackwater. The Ballyduff Bridge beat is almost a mile long offering a huge variety of water and is particularly suited to fly fishing. Upstream near the village of Ballyhooley (a few miles outside the town of Fermoy, Cork) we have two beats. The Ballincurrig Beat is one of the most beautiful locations along the river and has an excellent piece of fly water flowing into a deep pool. Just downstream on the opposite bank we have a short but productive beat, called Magners. This beat fishes also well in high water.
Blackwater Salmon Fishery has 3 beats downstream of the weir and 2 upstream of the weir. Blackwater Salmon Fishery offers fishing on approximately 5 miles of the river Blackwater. The fishing is spread throughout the middle section of the river to offer good sport throughout the fishing season. Due to the location of the beats, fishing can still usually be offered in low or high water. Contact Glenda Powell: Lismore, Co Waterford, Email:info@blackwatersalmonfishery.com Mobile: +353 (0) 872351260 Telephone: +353 (0) 5853929 Web: www.blackwatersalmonfishery.com
Careysville Fishery
Careysville Fishery offers some of the best salmon fly fishing in Ireland and includes 26 named pools. It is considered by many to be one of premier beats for salmon fishing in Ireland. Wading is excellent and among the numerous streams, pools and glides there is a great variety of fly fishing to suit both complete novice and challenge the most competent of fly casters.
At Lismore Castle & Golf Course Fishery, we offer nearly two miles of two inter-linked beats, the Castle Beat & the Golf Course Beat.
The legendary Castle Beat consistently ranks as one of the top Salmon beats on the River Blackwater, for the number of Atlantic Salmon caught per rod. The Golf Course Beat offers about 1.5 miles of fishable water through meandering majestic countryside. The Golf Course beat offers a number of bewildering pools suitable for unmatched spinning and bait fishing.
We provide Day Tickets for some prime Salmon fishing in Mallow Co. Cork. We have excellent fly water, shrimping worming and spinning also. We also have very competitive Day rates and we have very recently upgraded our fishing.
Tickets available from “The Bridge House” and “Vincent Downes Menswear” Mallow.
Located on the Munster Blackwater in the south of Ireland. Situated mid river between the towns of Fermoy and Mallow. A productive left bank beat in stunning surroundings.
For bookings contact Conor Arnold: +353 87 755 4682
For details on availability and conditions of fishing for salmon and trout on the Longueville House waters please contact them at Contact : Longueville House Hotel, William O’Callaghan Address : Mallow, Co. Cork. Telephone : 00 353 22 47156 Email:info@longuevillehouse.ie Website: www.longuevillehouse.ie
