Irish Angling Update – Dec 17 2021

By

-

December 17, 2021

Well, after the turbulence of last week, this week’s weather has been much more of an easy ride as storm Barra paved the way for a spell of settled weather. It’s been a little bit warmer than average and a little bit drier than average, giving us a few calm and clear winter days to enjoy on the run-in to Christmas. Unfortunately, it seems like a lot of anglers have begun the wind-down to Christmas already, as once again, angling reports are scarce on the ground this week. Maybe everyone is banking their time, looking forward to trying out a new rod, reel or lure after Santa pays a visit next week…?

We have a couple of sea angling reports in this week, one each from shore and boat. To shore angling first, and West Cork & District SAC held their final match of the year, with two anglers in the running to take the title of Master Angler 2021. Fishing was slow, and any fish were hard-earned, but in the end, JP Molloy just edged Stephen O’Donovan to the title. The junior Master Angler was equally hotly contested, and Liam Davis just pipped Evan Collins on the night.

JP Molloy (right) accepts the Master Angler trophy from Stephen O’Donovan

Some charter boats are still active around the coast whenever a weather window permits taking to sea. Anglers fishing with Killybegs Fishing Trips found such a window but had to deal with a massive swell which made boating and angling conditions tricky. But with some experienced anglers onboard, they were well rewarded for their perseverance and managed to catch a nice stamp of winter pollack. We don’t often see pollock of that quality at this time of year so it wins this week’s Catch of the Week.

We also have a couple of reports in from coarse anglers, as angling clubs fished their last winter league matches of the year. Up on the Erne, the bream were in biting mood (for some anglers anyway) as 29 anglers turned out for the final throw of the year. Mick Mahoney won the day with an impressive 10.280kg of bream. Fishing on Lough Muckno was a bit slower, as Seamus Winter topped the pile with a bag of 4.520kg as CM Lakelands Feeder Club had their last match of the year.

Thomas Coyle is one of the many anglers who took up the sport for the first time during last year’s lockdown. Every cloud has a silver lining, and Thomas now knows he has a hobby for life and is earning his spurs by targeting pike in the midlands area.

On the media side of things, we have another new angling book which is nicely timed for anybody looking for an angling themed stocking filler. In ‘Haunted by Waters’, journalist Daire Whelan recounts the stories of a year spent fly fishing on numerous rivers and lakes around Ireland where he meets and converses with like-minded souls.

And staying with angling media, well-known fly angler Peter Driver continues his live Facebook show this weekend as he hosts his Christmas special. This week’s focus is on dry flies, and with a couple of expert guests sharing their tips and tricks, it will be a show full of interest and entertainment.

And now the weather…

Tonight will be dry and cloudy, with a chance of some light frost in places. Tomorrow will remain predominantly dry, with a chance of some drizzle in the southern part of the country, and the highest temperatures between 6 and 10 degrees. This dry, mostly settled weather looks set to continue until the middle of next week as a high-pressure system dominates.

Safe fishing to all and tight lines, especially here in Ireland.

Shane O’Reilly
Catch, Photo, Release

If you have an angling story to share with the Irish Angling Update please send it to reports@fisheriesireland.ie.

All the angling news

Sea Angling Reports

Coarse Angling Reports

Peter’s Piscari Fly Christmas Special this weekend

By

Myles Kelly

-

December 17, 2021

Peter Driver of Piscari Fly is back for a Christmas special this weekend. This time the focus is on dry flies, and there are some very special, special guests lined up…

The live show will be on the Piscari Fly facebook page and is at 8.30pm on Saturday night. Don’t miss this one!

We have an AMAZING show lined up for this Saturday Night @8.30pm.

Tom Doc Sullivan will be joining us from the West of Ireland to chat about Dry Fly Fishing on the Lakes. Tom is a World renowned Lough guide and angler and we are delighted he will be joining us this weekend.

Also on this week’s live show is George McGrath from The River Suir. George will be our Guest Fly Tyer. He is a renowned Dry Fly angler from this fabulous River and he will be tying one of his favourite Dry Olives for us.

Our live show is on our facebook page and is at 8.30pm….Don’t miss this one!

Tie a fly…

Peter’s fly shop is at www.piscari-fly.com for all your fly tying and fly fishing needs.

Tight Finish to West Cork Master Angler race

By

Kevin Crowley

-

December 17, 2021

Liam David WCSAC Dec 21 — Liam Davis accepts the Junior Master Angler trophy. We suspect it won't be long before he's challenging the senior anglers for the main award!

West Cork and District Sea Angling Club held their final competition of the year over the weekend, and regular contributor Pete Davis has written up another great report.

Saturday evening saw the last outing of the year for West Cork and District SAC. The match was originally scheduled for Garrylucas beach but given predicted high winds and a really strong possibility of weed from recent storms the decision was made to move the match instead to Broad Strand just outside Courtmacsherry. A smaller crew than usual on the evening but it promised to be highly competitive with both the Master Angler title and qualification for next years shore masters at stake for those in the running. The Master Angler title was going to be a straight shoot out between Stephen O’Donovan 2020 winner and JP Molloy with several in the chasing pack in the hunt for the 2 remaining slots for next years Masters.

Tough Fishing

Arriving to Broad Strand on a damp evening, it looked a lot fishier than it actually performed. The barest gentle roll of swell coming in and coloured water had all the makings of a small fish fest but that’s not how it panned out. Differing tactics were selected at lines in, and there were a few surprises as the comp moved through the first hour or two. Numbers of dogfish on the higher pegs were coming to tiny baits fished in close with standard doggie tactics yielding very little. Lee Meiklejohn, Ken Hogan and Liam Davis all getting stuck in whilst the rest of the field struggled. Sandwiched between Lee and Liam in the last 3 pegs on the beach, the comp was nearly halfway through before I managed to find the range and start picking up the high scoring dogfish, turns out they were a hell of a lot closer in than you might have imagined.

With the top half of the beach fishing reasonably well and the bottom half with some of the main protagonists in it not really fishing at all it was clear where the winner was coming from. After a great start, Ken, Lee and Liam went off the fish in the latter half of the match with only an occasional counter hitting the cards, JP Molloy scraped and scrapped his way to 7 fish with Stephen O’Donovan managing 4. Tom Collins put in a late surge with a nice thornback ray on his last cast, ending with 7 fish to move him up the rankings. I was fortunate enough, having found the fish, to stay on them, with fish every cast in the latter half of the competition, a mixed bag of 12 including dogfish, strap congers, flounder and whiting.

A very welcome double shot of a dogfish and a small conger proved just the ticket for Pete David

Lines Up

9pm rolled around quickly enough and a damp bunch of anglers gathered in the small carpark to see how things had gone.

Results on the night as follows:

1st Pete Davis, 12 fish for 437pts

2nd Tom Collins 7 fish for 284 pts

3rd Lee Meiklejohn 5 fish for 179 points

Longest flat went to Tom Collins for a ray of 53cm with the longest roundfish going to Pete Davis for a Strap conger of 55cm.

In the Junior section Liam Davis prevailed with Evan Collins in 2nd place.

Master Angler JP

In the shootout between Stephen and JP, JP prevailed on the night and this year it was JP Molloys turn to take the West Cork and District SAC Master Angler title. Hearty congratulations to JP and hard lines to Stephen, there wasn’t a whole pile in it at all over the year and it could well have been either of them at the finish. The top 4 in the club at the end of the season with automatic qualification for next years Master Angler were as follows:

1st JP Molloy 44 points

2nd Stephen O’Donovan 41 points

3rd Pete Davis 37 points

4th Jason Convery 36 points

The kids are alright!

Liam Davis took the Juvenile Master angler title and was the first recipient of our newly commissioned James O’Donohue memorial shield, a perpetual trophy in memory of a sadly, no longer with us, former member. Evan Collins finished close behind in second place. I have mentioned it before on previous reports but its worth noting once again, just how well these kids have been fishing over the course of the year. It’s been a difficult fishing year, with tides and conditions not being conducive to large catches but these 2 in particular have stuck gamely at it with consistent results over the year that have left many a senior angler trailing in their wake. I have never seen either of their heads drop at any stage even when things haven’t gone so well, they have represented themselves very well.

Liam Davis accepts the Junior Master Angler trophy. We suspect it won’t be long before he’s challenging the senior anglers for the main award!

Get Involved

All in all, whilst on occasion the fishing hadn’t been special it had been a thoroughly enjoyable series. We got off to a late start due to Covid restrictions but once we were up and running there was a lot of fun along the way. Its only my second season with West Cork and District and for anyone thinking of joining and having a go, I can only recommend it. A friendly, helpful bunch of folks with competitive fixtures fished in a pleasant atmosphere. There are some top anglers in the club with many a title to their name to learn from and help is at hand for anyone should they need it.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the lads in the background who all dig in to ensure smooth running of these things, in particular, SOD, Sully, Barry, JP and Tom who look after the bulk of the admin, pegging, FB updating, bean counting end of things. Our fixture list will be published shortly, we are out on Garrylucas on January 23rd, 5-9pm for the first of the 2022 season. If you have any inklings or interest in joining, please don’t hesitate to get in touch via our Facebook page for more info, we would be delighted to have you.

Jacks provide sport on midlands canal venue

By

Myles Kelly

-

December 16, 2021

Thomas Coyle took up fishing as a pastime at the beginning of the lockdowns but since then it has become something he knows will be a lifelong hobby…

Any chance I get, I grab the rods and head fishing. On an overcast and dry afternoon last weekend I headed to the water. It was exceptionally quiet with no other angler’s to be seen except for the herons that stalked shoals of fish on the canal banks. The fishing was slow until I moved to a different spot. And it didn’t take long until I had the first fish of the day. It was a pike weighing about 2-3 lbs.

Roughly 3 minutes after the first fish I had another pike (the one shown in the picture), again caught on a small roach deadbait fished under a float. Both pike were safely returned.

Before I left I noticed the float went under yet again. I lifted the rod up but didn’t manage to set the hook. I did manage to get a quick glance at the sizable pike that I just missed!

Nice pollack despite massive swell for Killybegs Fishing Trips

By

Markus Muller

-

December 16, 2021

Over past weeks sea angling has been badly affected by the first winter storms hitting our coasts. However, Killybegs Fishing Trips found a gap in between storms and despite a massive swell which made it difficult to get to some of the good marks experienced anglers onboard Fiona Tee managed to catch a few nice fish. Amongst them this pollack which wins Catch of the Week.

Go fishing…

Fiona Tee

33′ Interceptor. 300HP Caterpillar
Skipper: Michael McGettigan
Licence: 961
Base: Mullaghmore Operational area: Donegal Bay. Within 30 miles of land.

Authorised bluefin tuna boat

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.

Address: Moneygold, Grange, Co. Sligo.
Telephone: +353 (0)87 2540190
E-mail: info@killybegsfishingcharters.ie Web: https://www.killybegsfishingcharters.ie/

Last chuck of the year for CM Lakelands winter league

By

Shane O'Reilly

-

December 15, 2021

C/M Lakelands Feeder Club held the third round of their winter league on L. Muckno last weekend:

Very high water today, but the fishing wasn’t bad at all, with lots of anglers catching 50 plus fish. Seamus Winters topped the 28 anglers that fished today with a weight of 4.520kg from White Island. The 3 next best weights came from the deep water on South Lodge.

OVERALL TODAY

1ST Seamus Winters 4.520kg

2nd Robertas Ziltias 4.480kg

3rd Darren Fairhurst 4.080kg

4th poitier Horbinski 4.000kg

SECTIONS x 4

Alan Larkin/Irmantas Scriupa 3.640kg each

Rimantas Kondrackas 3.980kg

Damien Folytn 3.560kg

Andy Chapman 3.730kg

We are now at the halfway point of the league and there is a break of a month. The top 6 is very tight at the moment and the results will be printed up during the week. 37 anglers have entered the league.

Merry Christmas and a happy new year to all our fellow anglers.

10 kilos of Bream wins round six of Erne Anglers winter league

By

Shane O'Reilly

-

December 15, 2021

The Erne Anglers continued their winter league last weekend and this report comes from their Facebook page:

29 Anglers fished the sixth round of the Winter League on a fast-running, flooded River Erne in mild weather conditions on Sunday.

Winner of the match Mick Mahoney fishing the feeder on Derrychara catching 10.280 of Bream on peg 16. Runner up was Jack Tisdall on the QE Road peg 3 catching 62 fish on the pole for 6.750Kgs. In third place was Karl Woodhouse with a mainly pole catch of 6.050Kgs in the backchannel at the Forum.

Stocking Fillers: Haunted by Waters

By

Myles Kelly

-

December 14, 2021

There’s nothing like a well timed angling book, and Haunted by Waters hits the spot. This lively and evocative book is the perfect antidote to long winter nights spent aimlessly channel hopping or video surfing on Youtube.

Immerse yourself in Daire’s year of living a fly anglers dream on this green and many watered Island, and make plans for your own fishing adventures in 2022.

Haunted by Waters is available in all good book shops and online.

Award-winning producer and journalist Daire Whelan had reached the end of another busy week and couldn’t shake the feeling that life was passing him by too quickly. Vowing to make a change, he decided to commit to a year of fly fishing and set about planning his route through the wild and rugged landscape of Ireland.

Here, in Haunted by Waters: A Journey into the Irish Countryside we travel with Daire throughout a season of fly fishing. But as he searches for a sense of meaning, meeting kindred spirits as he explores the rivers and lakes, Daire finds himself rediscovering the majestic beauty of his native country.

From fishing on our most secluded bays and wildest loughs in Connemara and Kerry, to casting a line on the rippling waters of the Suir in Tipperary, catching salmon on the Blackwater in Waterford, and the serenity of the Dodder in Dublin on a workday afternoon, Haunted by Waters is an evocative and stunning love letter to Ireland through a sport rich in tradition and storytelling.

Irish Angling Update – 9 December 2021

By

Shane O'Reilly

-

December 9, 2021

Well, for once the weather really needs no introduction as the country is slowly waving goodbye to storm Barra, which has raged over most of the country in the past 48 hours. Leaving wind damage, flooding and widespread power cuts in its wake, it’s no surprise to find that rainfall over the past week was well above average for this time of year. The inclement weather forced anglers to stay at home for the last few days, and that is evidenced by the limited number of reports we have this week, with any angling action confined to last weekend when the weather was far more pleasant.

One angler who made his mark at the weekend was Artur ‘Pike Seeker’ who ventured out on the River Barrow to cast a new lure for some river pike. The going was slow initially, but things picked up around mid-day when a long cast into the margins produced a strong take. Using gear well matched to the task, Artur brought the pike to the bank quickly and it turned out to be a whopper! Measuring in at 11kg and 113cm, it is a great pike for a river, a well-earned PB for Artur and this week’s Catch of the Week.

In other pike angling news, the Leinster Pike Anglers held the fourth round of their winter league last weekend and the pike were plentiful on the day. The winning rod was Mark Kiernan with an impressive 53 pike. Almost as impressive was that two other Kiernans made it into the top 3 making it a clean sweep for the Kiernan family.

Midlands Angling Guide Mick Flanagan took a break from a busy shooting schedule to target some perch on Lough Ennell last week. Fishing with jelly worms, which he affectionately calls ‘wine gums’, himself and his brother had a bumper a few hours as the perch went hard on the feed.

It was pretty quiet on the coarse angling front last week and we have a single report in, from CM Lakelands Feeder club who fished Lough Garadice at the weekend. There was a hard frost and the lake was a flat calm, which seemed to put the fish off as catches were poorer than expected.

The new salmon angling season is not too far away now, and in good timing to whet your appetite, Delphi Lodge have put together a report on their angling season in 2021 which should get any salmon angler looking forward to starting afresh in 2022.

In other news, Pauric from Carafin Lodge has been in touch about a great Christmas Giveaway competition he is running at the moment. The winner will win a 7 day angling holiday in his super self-catering accommodation on the shores of Lough Oughter. Finally, in a slow news week, we thought we’d share this interesting video on Catch and Release by fisheries scientist Dr Steve Cook from Canada. As an angler himself, he takes a no-nonsense approach to investigating the ins and outs of C&R and busts a few myths along the way!

And now the weather

Outbreaks of rain will continue over the country, today, Thursday and there will be some heavier showers overnight, with the possibility of thunderstorms and hail in places. Friday will be cold with scattered showers of rain or hail, particularly in the north and west. Saturday will be slightly drier and will become noticeably milder, with temperatures reaching 13 degrees in places and this mild weather should remain for Sunday.

Safe fishing to all and tight lines, especially here in Ireland.

Shane O’Reilly
Catch, Photo, Release

If you have an angling story to share with the Irish Angling Update please send it to reports@fisheriesireland.ie.

All the angling news

Salmon Fishing Reports

Delphi Newsletter A Great Read For Salmon Anglers

Coarse Angling Reports

Pike Fishing Reports

Other News

Interesting YouTube video on Catch & Release

Interesting YouTube video on Catch & Release

By

Shane O'Reilly

-

December 9, 2021

In a slow news week, we thought we’d share this interesting video on C&R by fisheries scientist Dr Steve Cook from Canada. As an angler himself, he takes a no-nonsense approach to investigating the ins and outs of C&R and busts a few myths along the way!

And now the weather…

All the angling news

Sea Angling Reports

Coarse Angling Reports

Pike Fishing Reports

Trout Fishing Reports

Other News

Tie a fly…

Tough Fishing

Lines Up

Master Angler JP

The kids are alright!

Get Involved

Go fishing…

Fiona Tee

And now the weather

All the angling news

Salmon Fishing Reports

Coarse Angling Reports

Pike Fishing Reports

Other News

EVEN MORE NEWS

POPULAR CATEGORY