The Irish Federation of Sea Anglers Junior and Youth Shore Interprovincial Championships were held on a wet and windy Mullaghmore Strand in Sligo over the weekend – an event that Inland Fisheries Ireland were proud to sponsor.
Brian Reidy and the future of Irish sea angling
A total of 19 hardy anglers braved the driving wind and rain – conditions that made for difficult fishing for the young fishermen and women. IFSA organisers Brian Reidy, Joe Byrne and Joe Birney were there to ensure the smooth running of the event as were numerous coaches and helpers from each of the competing provinces. Anglers and their hangers-on were well and truly sand blasted by the close of business, but the anglers stuck at it and caught their fish despite the conditions.
Only 2 points separated the Youth Gold and Silver – all individual and team scores displayed in the slideshow below.
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Congratulations to all of the competitors – the IFSA seniors were impressed with the up and coming talent on display.
Bodo Funke of Angling Services Ireland has been back-to-back busy guiding both friends and clients over the past few weeks and he reports that the pike are bang on form. Most recently, clients Christion & Till were with him for three days this week and had some cracking fishing with four pike over the magic 100cm mark and plenty of 80s and 90s; all caught casting and trolling lures.
Last weekend saw our members back on the bank, and with us still playing catch up on our competitions, we decided to fish another 2 comps over the weekend. We had a great turnout and also had some new members join so late in the year so welcome to our new members. I would like to say a big thank you to the staff at ESB in Ardnacrusha and also to Inland Fisheries Ireland for allowing us access to Saturday’s venue, which was a river.
The river was a little high and fishing was very patchy with some sections producing no fish but that’s fishing I suppose. In the end, 39 pike were caught and released up to 8lb 2oz with reports of a couple of nice fish lost also. We had some members stay at a nearby hotel and some chose to bivy up as venues for the Sunday competition were several small lakes. We didn’t have much info on them so we just said we would fish it and see, and really only 1 lake fished well, producing a couple of doubles to 16lb. In total 19 pike were caught and released. Well done to one of our youngest adult members Mr Carl O Reilly showed us how it was done this weekend with picking up not only his 1st win in the club but also won both days back to back so huge well done Carl well deserved buddy.
Double competition winner Carl O’Reilly
Also last weekend saw the 4th quarter of our mini-league finish so well done to all our winners I will post at the bottom of the report.
Full results for both days are as follows.
Davey Ward cup 2021 winners
1st Carl O Reilly 8.02 hf 30.07 bag
2nd Dave Murphy 42.08 bag
3rd David Quinlivan 29.03 bag
Raffle winners each winner receives a 20 euro fishing voucher
Darren Dunne
Joe Beacom
Thomas Hogan
Day 2 Sunday saw us fish several small lakes
Winners are as follows
Gunner o Neill cup winners are as follows
1st Carl O Reilly 16lb hf 16lb bag
2nd Kevin Foley 21.10 bag
3rd Mark Horgan 13.12 bag
Raffle winners are as follows
Paul Morgan
Alex Foley
Joe Beacom
4th quarter of mini-league winners are
1st Ray Collopy 27.03 bag
2nd Dan O Reilly 18.11 bag
3rd Paul Morgan 17.08 bag
So well done to all our members over the 2 days of competitions it was a really good and enjoyable weekend again thanks to all our members who made the trip. Reminder to all members our open competition will be on the 28th of November and will need all members to attend to help with the stewarding of the competition.
We fished the second leg of our winter league on Sunday. A backup venue was chosen as the river venue we planned to fish was in flood. Fishing was patchy with some anglers hitting fish from the start only to hit a long quiet spell until late on and then managing to increase their bag weights. Anto Byrne had a nice river double to end the day and bag the heaviest fish.
Anto Byrne with the heaviest pike of the day (14lb 14oz)
RESULTS
1st. Shane Donoghue 7 fish 37lb 6oz
2nd Rodney Gaynor 7 fish 29lb 3oz
3rd Albert McNamara 8 fish 25lb 11oz
HEAVIEST FISH
Anto Byrne 14lb 14oz
POOLS
1st. Shane Donoghue & Rodney Gaynor
14 fish for 66lb
2nd. Anto Byrne & Luke o Ciaran
11 fish for 45lb
We would like to once again send a BIG THANK YOU to our club sponsor SOUTHSIDE ANGLING.
Rory O’Neill was the victor of the three day mini Halloween Festival on Lough Muckno over the bank holiday weekend. Rory managed to keep Johnny Woods at bay on day three by finishing up with 39kg overall; Johnny in turn did just enough (36.5kg) to fend off Alin Alphidean who finished in third with 35kg.
1st Rory O’Neill 39kgs. €500
2nd John Woods 36.5 kgs. €300
3rd Alin Alphidean 35 kgs. €200
4th Stephen Whyte. 34.5 kgs. €100
With overall daily’s and sections by default, €1,700 was paid out by the organisers and the festival was marked by good humour, plenty of craic and some really great fishing for the final days of October
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Muckno festival and competition organisers will be holding an open match for all methods and all comers in two week’s time on the same sections for anyone interested in taking part. There will be a post relating to next year’s events and activity on Lough Muckno coming in the next two weeks on their Facebook page.
Gary Costelloe of Lakeland Angling Centre in Oughterard sent us in this report from the shores of Lough Corrib. Gary was delighted to welcome German visitor Bernard Thomas, who spent some time fishing for pike on the lough with his grandchildren. It was Bernard himself who expertly caught the best of the fish. With all sorts of lures on the market, in all shapes, sizes and colours, it was traditional silver spoons that did the trick for Bernard on the day – proving that sometimes the old methods trump the new ones!
Finally, after being cancelled in 2020 due to Covid, FeederFest Ireland 2021 wrapped up on Friday October 22nd after five hard fought days on the shores of Inniscarra reservoir. It was Tony Hopkins who took the honours with over 105kg overall; Rimantas Kondrackas managed to overtake Cathal Hughes on the final day to take second with 97.5kg, Cathal finishing 2kg further back on 95.2kg.
The podium
This five-day feeder only festival attracts some of Europe’s finest feeder anglers and has become one of the most prestigious festivals on the Irish calendar. Some 60 anglers took part and nearly 3,500kg of fish were caught during the week – so an average of around 11.5kg per angler per day which takes some beating. Fishing was spread over the Greenway, Graveyard and Fountain House sections.
A great result
Once again, Eileen, Pat and the staff of FeederFest HQ (also known as O’Callaghan’s Bar, Coachford) rolled out the red carpet for the competitors and made sure they were all welcomed, fed and watered during the week.
Cathal Hughes finished in third
Organisers of Inniscarra angling events assure us that there is an exciting list of festivals and competitions planned for next year – so watch this space!
The East Mayo Anglers have sent in the below report highlighting their commitment to help salmon preservation:
East Mayo Anglers’ association, the largest and most extensive club located on the famous River Moy, are now a number of years into an annual competition aimed at encouraging more anglers to return salmon, thus conserving fish stocks. The Swinford 250 Perpetual Cup (sponsored by the Swinford 250 and More Organization) was initially presented to the winner of the largest fish caught and released during the fishing season. Following its success, the competition has now been extended to include all associate and full members who catch and release any salmon greater than 7lb. For the 2021 season, anglers releasing a salmon with satisfactory proof of the fish’s size/weight by way of witness, photograph or video are now entered into a draw for up to €1,000 worth of angling related prizes. This is all thanks to our generous sponsors, Chadwick’s Ltd, Premier Wealth Management, Tiernan’s Tackle, as well as club members David Hawley and Enda Conboy. The prizes are split equally amongst ten lucky winners drawn out of the hat at the end of the season.
The competition runs from opening day until the end of the season, and early signs are that it’s having the desired effect.In 2020 East Mayo reported 903 fish caught by all methods, of which 304 were returned, which equates to 33.65%.In 2021 the catch report details 952 fish recorded caught with 406 fish returned, equating to 42.66%. This 9% increase in one year proves the initiative is working due to the support of members and visiting anglers and thatthe club’s effort to promote C&R are going in the right direction. Of course, returning any size of fish is helpful to the long-term survival of the species, but the idea behind the competition minimum size is to encourage the return of the ‘big fellas and girls’ those fish with much greater numbers of eggs and milt, fish that were once seen as ‘trophy fish’. So, hats off to the committee, past and present, the club members and those anglers who have helped in every way to get this initiative off the ground and make this annual trophy onethat any angler would be proud to receive.
Remember that in returning a salmon, every effort should be made to do this in the least harmful way possible to the fish. To see ideas on how to return fish carefully and safely, please visit the East Mayo Anglers website, where you will find an article offering tips.
Pictured above is the winner of the Swinford 250 Cup for 2021, Paul Kelly (on the right), being presented by club Chairman Ben Baynes. Paul caught a magnificent 15lb fish on the spinner at Ryan’s pool on 12th September. Well done Paul!
Pictured above is Mixie Clarke, Winner of the Conor Walsh Memorial Cup, being presented the cup by Michael Walsh, brother of Conor, former committee member and avid fisherman. Mixie caught his fine salmon of 9.5lbs on 25th March on the spinner. Well done Mixie!! A lifelong club member and very deserving of his award for the hours and years fishing he has put in.
It was a very mild week up to Wednesday, with temperatures reaching 18 degrees in a few places. Yesterday, however, saw a big drop, with the wind swing north and bringing a chilly, and more autumnal, feel to proceedings.
The Humble Flounder
Although air temperatures have taken a plunge, sea temps are still quite warm. Indeed, I was at a Co. Galway beach yesterday where quite a number of sea swimmers turned up for a dip, and not a wetsuit between them. Many species of fish are still feeding hard, fattening up for winter in many cases. Flounder are one of those species that feed well at this time of year, and they provided a welcome boost for anglers fishing the Killybegs competition at the weekend. Many other clubs are busy holding competitions, and south coast clubs Ardmore and Borough enjoyed good fishing at their competitions, with flounder again featuring as well as bass, whiting and congers. Further west, the weather proved a bit too calm for West Cork SAC, as weaver fish plagued anglers on an unnaturally calm Long Strand, but again, a couple of flounder made the difference!
Movie Stars
Bass, pollack and wrasse are the stars of the show in a cracking video from Henry Gilbey, which tells the story of a recent co-guided trip he worked with John Quinlan in Co. Kerry.
Tip Top Tope
Boat anglers have been making the most of the break in the weather. Tope have featured heavily, with John Fleming finding them in numbers for his clients in Galway Bay. Tope were also on the menu off Co. Wicklow, with Kit Dunne boating a monster fish of 173cm – a previously caught and tagged fish too. Kit’s guests also had great wreck fishing with big pollack and pouting, followed at another venue by spurdogs and huss.
Tuna fishing has been ticking over nicely in Donegal Bay, albeit slower than in recent weeks. Down south, mixed species fishing has been excellent. Jim Clohessy followed up his potential Irish record stone bass last week with some nice cod, ling and pollack on lures.
Catch of the Week
In west Cork, Kieran Collins has been providing great fishing for clients aboard Radiance, and even a stone bass just under the Irish record doesn’t make their most memorable catch – that was a Couch’s Bream, a very unusual capture in Ireland, although one which may well be colonising our south coast as climate change accelerates. It was a toss-up with the big tope, but the rarity alone makes this our Catch of the Week.
Dream Pike
The change in weather at this time of year gets pike, (and pike anglers), on the move. A group of French anglers ended their two weeks at Melview Fishing Lodge on a high. Mixing it up by using hard lures, soft plastics and dead baits, they managed some really great fishing considering the changing weather conditions during their fortnight long stay. In east Clare, fishing guide Damien Culliney spoiled an American visitor for life by putting him over a 107cm 20lbs fish for his first ever pike. He has a lot to live up now!
Sunshine and Rainbows
While the game season is over, we had a report on the 2021 season from fishery manager Brian Curran at Costello & Fermoyle. While all the wild trout fisheries are now closed, there are plenty of stocked rainbow trout fisheries around the country providing a fix for anglers missing their flyfishing. Dan O’Neill brought his son Anthony to Southern County Fishing Resort, where they enjoyed excellent sport on dries.
Coarse angling reports are scarce this week, although over 70 anglers are fishing the big Feederfest festival at Inniscarra this week, finishing up today, and we anticipate a report from here next week.
Other News
A further reminder to salmon and sea trout anglers that logbooks must be returned now that the season is over. And Inland Fisheries Ireland has launched a public consultation seeking anglers views on how to improve the Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Tagging Scheme.
Salmon Watch Ireland have announced details of their annual conference on November 6th, with the them of the conference this year focusing on barriers to migration. This should be an interesting and informative session.
And now the weather
The relatively good weather this week comes to an end over the weekend, with boat anglers most affected. Saturday sees rain spreading from the west (doesn’t it always!) and turning persistent and heavy in places, in strong and gusty southerly winds.
Bright spells and showers on Sunday, frequent across the west and north of the country with some heavy downpours possible. Highest temperatures of 12 to 15 degrees in fresh and gusty southwest winds.
Remaining unsettled, with winds fresh to strong and gusty for most of the week. Some sunny spells and showers on Monday, but further outbreaks of rain on Tuesday and Wednesday.
As the weather cools and the nights draw in, sa anglers know that this is prime time for flounder fishing. These obliging flatfish can be found close inshore, often in the surf just a few feet out, and feed hard at this time of year to put on condition before their winter spawning migration.
The Killybegs anglers were glad of these fish in their latest competition, held on Fintra beach last Friday night, as their latest report tells.
Another great turnout of 18 anglers lined the dead calm waters of Fintra Bay watching a beautiful Autumn sunset last night and that helped make it a great night out even if it was a scratching session where flounders were all in one small section of the beach and it took all manner of tactics and distance to wangle out a fish from everywhere else.
Crabs were out in force pulling at the baits and distance casts found a few dogs and dabs along with pin whiting, small coleys and pollack.
A good fishing of flounder were to be found for the lads at one end with good sizes to 33cm.
Longest flattie prize money of €55 was won by a 33cm flounder for Noel Kennedy.
2nd overall with a great fishing of 5 flounders for €55 well done to Sean Harte.
And in 1st place for 2 wins in a row well done to Peter McGroary with 6 flounders for €110
