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Salmon Watch Ireland Annual Conference 2021 – River Barriers

By
Paul O'Reilly
-
Newgrange Weir, River Boyne

Salmon Watch Ireland (SWIRL) is a not for profit, membership-based organisation dedicated to the restoration of wild salmon numbers in Ireland. SWIRL organises an annual conference to focus attention on an item of importance to salmon, and to raise money for their objectives. This year’s conference will take place online on Saturday, November 6th, between 09.30hrs and 13.00hrs and you can register for a ticket here. 

In 2021, the fish-passage and hydro-morphology impacts of Ardnacrusha are beginning to be properly addressed after a century, so it is timely to review the effects of river barriers in general and see what can and is being done to mitigate those effects.

Ardnacrusha

Our rivers are under threat as never before from municipal, domestic, agricultural and forestry activity. Biodiversity, insect numbers, and fish numbers are at an all-time low, and our rivers must endure chemical, morphological, and sediment-induced damage, which further decreases biodiversity and diminishes out natural heritage.

Climate change also is having an effect, not just by increasing the temperature of water, but by causing an ill-advised rush in some countries to install barriers for small scale hydro-powered generators, in the mistaken belief that these are in some way ecologically friendly and have no impact on nature.

Such activity would repeat the worst mistakes of the 19th and early 20th centuries, and it is timely to educate against such initiatives. On the positive side, the Ardnacrusha project has the potential to help restore the Shannon River to one of the great salmon rivers of the world.

SWIRL has always demanded a concerted program for the removal of all redundant river barriers and the optimization of migratory fish passage on all other major barriers.

A weir on the Boyne exposed by low summer water levels

SWIRL is committed to addressing the removal of man-made barriers to migration for Atlantic salmon and sea trout in rivers and supports designs that facilitate all fish migration. A properly functioning ecosystem is necessary to facilitate the optimum production of salmonid juveniles in freshwater.

This conference will improve understanding of the complex issues surrounding fish migration and how best to facilitate the necessary improvements.

Alan Cullagh will be presenting on behalf of Inland Fisheries Ireland and will discuss some of the practical issues involved in the removal and mitigation of river barriers. Inland Fisheries Ireland staff have carried out a significant amount of work to date under the National Barrier Programme (NBP). The NBP is funded by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH) to deliver a national inventory of barriers to fish migration on rivers for the purpose of managing their environmental impacts.

Culverted stream

Structures in rivers (including weirs, culverts, sluices and dams) have the capacity to impede fish passage, fragment and damage river habitat and impact on natural river processes. These structures may also add a significant hydromorphological pressure to river water bodies and have an interactive effect with other pressures, degrading a water body’s Water Framework Directive status.

Inland Fisheries Ireland’s National Barriers database contains 73,088 potential barrier entries, to date IFI has surveyed 32.5% of these structures, identifying 4,367 barriers to fish passage. Of these barriers to fish passage ~3,000 are culverts and ~1,000 are weirs, the rest are fords, sluices and natural waterfalls. Large weirs can significantly impact migratory fish populations, but the impact of culverts, mostly in headwater spawning streams can have just as significant an impact when considered cumulatively – i.e. a very large number of smaller scale negative impacts on a river system can have just as considerable a negative effect when taken as a whole.

Culverted stream

 

Conference Schedule

9.30-9.40 Welcome: Niall Greene, Chairman SWIRL. Intro to SWIRL & conference

9.40-10.00 The potential impact of low-head barriers on aquatic biota in Irish rivers – some insights from the Reconnect project. Mary Kelly-Quinn (UCD)

10.00 – 10.15 Monitoring sediment connectivity and channel adjustment: experiences from the EPA Reconnect barrier project. Jonathan Turner (UCD)

10.15-10.30 Some thoughts on interactions between Barriers and Atlantic Salmon. Phil McGinnity (UCC)

Discussion 10.30-10.40 Q&A

10.40-10.50 Refreshment Break

10.50 – 11.05 Thou shalt not pass: fish and fisheries management. Martin O’Farrell (Aztec Management Consultants)

11.15-11.40 Lower Shannon Fish Passage Improvement – the Ardnacrusha Barrier. Marq Redeker (CDM Smith)

Discussion 11.40 – 11.50 Q&A

11.50 – 12.00 Refreshment Break

12.00 – 12.20 Practical Issues in the Removal/Mitigation of Barriers. Alan Cullagh (IFI)

12.20– 12.40 How to Organize and Fund a Barrier Remediation Project. Bob Seward (Angling Council of Ireland)

 

Discussion 12.40 – 12.55 Q&A

Southern County rainbows beat the close season blues

By
Paul O'Reilly
-

Dan O’Neill sent us in this report from the Southern County Fishing Resort:

With the winter ahead, most anglers are looking for something to break down the dreaded off season. I have been tying nymphs and various other patterns but this weekend wanted to get away from that and bring my apprentice angler, Anthony, out to try some fly fishing for rainbows.

We drove along the avenue to the car park of Southern County Fishing Resort looking at the trout cruising just under the surface. Occasionally one would pause, flick its pectoral fins resulting in a slight backward push, then sip down a small insect,

All this pointed straight to dry fly tactics and luckily I had a few left over from the wild trout season. With the sight of these rainbows, my apprentice had a great sense of urgency about him, one that came to him naturally. I skipped leader set up training for a different day as I don’t think it would have sunk in whilst these trout were so visible!

Looking around the lake there were a few anglers about, all of whom were friendly, some offering advice which was greatly appreciated. We came to a lovely spot, just beside the bridge that travels over the lake, where quite a few nice trout were moving around. We were keen to try for larger fish as practice for an upcoming trip in Monaghan, for which hopefully we will need some of these practiced skills.

Starting out, I put on an elk haired sedge and cast to some feeding fish. It wasn’t long before Anthony was into his first trout, a lovely, lively fish of about 2lb which carried out all sorts of  acrobatics to regain its freedom. Once the fish settled it was in the net and released and we were away to look for number two.

Anthony spotted a nice trout that seemed to be cruising in a tight space sipping quite frequently. Once we had a chat and decided the best strategy for this trout, it was game on. The trout cruised passed our fly as if it wasn’t even there several times though, so it was time to look to the box for something more natural. I picked out a beautiful CDC fly on a size 16, as I felt was the way to go. I also decided to switch tippet to a thinner diameter and, after about 5 casts, our trout stopped, then flicked its pectorals resulting in a backwards move, and sipped in our fly.

Lifting into the fish, Anthony immediately felt the difference here with big head shakes and deep thumping power – this was going to be a tricky fight for the apprentice. The trout flung itself into the air and slapped back down on the water, which added more pressure on Anthony to get this one in for a picture. Letting the rod work and drag do its job, Anthony finally got his PB trout to the net – a lovely trout, very deep with beautiful markings. After this we did have one or two of a similar size and quite a few around the 2lb or 3lb mark, a nice stock of trout here, really strong fighting fish.

Anthony’s best ever trout

An absolutely wonderful day today at Southern County and we’re looking forward to getting back here soon, it’s great to have such a place to help break up the winter ahead.

Go fishing…

Angling takes place on over 10 acres of water on 3 different lakes and Southern County Fishing Resort prides itself on its Rainbow Trout.  The lakes are stocked on regular basis with high quality fish reared in an onsite hatchery. The fresh river water which feeds our lakes supports the life of a range of insects which is a source of natural feeding for the fish. Fish size range from 1.5 lb to 10 lbs.

Southern County Fishing Resort
Milltown, Garryhill, Bagenalstown, Co.Carlow.

For booking enquiries please contact Chris on 0892550585

Web: https://www.facebook.com/southerncountyresort/

 

Dan normally manages the fishing on the River Nore at Mount Juliet:

Dan O’Neill
Mount Juliet Estate.

Mount Juliet House is set on a large estate, which offers private fishing on 2.5 miles of the middle to lower reaches of the River Nore. Mount Juliet Estate offers fishing of the highest quality, just a short stroll away from the Manor House. There is a fishing room on site in the Manor House for your convenience i.e. for storage and drying of fishing equipment. Mount Juliet Estate can also provide the necessary equipment on site if needed.

https://www.mountjuliet.ie/fishing-on-the-estate.html

Contact Dan: 0857652751 or  [email protected]

Inland Fisheries Ireland seeks views on ways to improve Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Tagging Scheme

By
Sadhbh O'Neill
-

Inland Fisheries Ireland, the state agency that has responsibility for the protection and conservation of freshwater fish and habitats, has launched an important public consultation on the future management of the Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Tagging Scheme.

The state agency is encouraging anyone with an interest in the area to submit their views on how the tagging system, which started in 2001, can be improved and modernised. It is especially keen to hear from salmon and sea trout anglers, angling clubs, commercial fishermen and those businesses that distribute salmon and sea trout licences, such as fishing tackle shops.

The Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Tagging Scheme was set-up twenty years ago to record the issuing of wild salmon and sea trout licences, gill tags and logbooks to both recreational anglers and commercial fishermen and to process details of fish catches on a database for further analysis. It was part of a series of measures introduced to help with the management and conservation of Ireland’s wild salmon and sea trout populations, which have been in decline.

Figures from the 2020 Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Statistics Report show that 14,138 salmon and sea trout licences were sold to recreational anglers in the state last year, which were a mixture of virtual licences sold online and hard copy licences sold over the counter in shops. In addition, 78 public commercial licences were made available to commercial fishermen in 2020.

Inland Fisheries Ireland is now carrying out a review of the whole tagging system, to see how it can be made more user-friendly in the future and to ensure that it can provide the agency with real-time, accurate data to assist with the protection, management and conservation of wild salmon and sea trout.

Public Consultation on the future management of the Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Tagging Scheme – how the public can submit their views before the closing date of Wednesday, December 1st 2021 (at 5pm).

  • You can fill out a quick survey at this website address: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BradanConsultation
  • You can e-mail your observations to us at: [email protected]
  • Or finally, you can post your submission to us at: Wild Salmon & Sea Trout Tagging Scheme Consultation, Inland Fisheries Ireland, 3044 Lake Drive, Citywest Business Campus, Dublin 24, D24 CK66.

 

Dream piking in East Clare for USA visitors

By
Paul O'Reilly
-
Dream pike

Damien Culliney of www.anglersparadise.ie had some friends over from the USA in search of Irish pike in the past week. Kimberly and Louis had never been fishing for pike before, so Damien decided that one of the many beautiful lakes in East Clare would be the perfect venue for them to break their duck.

They started off the day by casting lures into the shallows, where they had one or two half hearted jack attacks but no solid hook ups. After lunch Damien decided to move into deeper water and that’s when they started getting some better action.

The day finished up the with a few nice fish and was topped off with a fin perfect beauty of 107 cm and 20lb, which was a new PB for Louis. Not bad considering that this was his first Irish pike – he was understandably over the moon.

Louis and Kimberly with their prize pike
Dream pike

Go Fishing

Anglers Paradise Ireland

Trout and Pike Guide

Anglers Paradise Ireland is owned and managed by Damien Culliney, a well-known angler and chef in the Clare region and a man passionate about the inland waterways and natural history of County Clare. At Angler’s Paradise, we love the thrill of Game fishing and Pike fishing in equal measure and can take our clients to some of Europe’s most unspoilt rivers and lakes in search of trophy predators and the realisation of their angling dreams.

Address: 7 Horseshoe Grove, Crusheen, Co. Clare.
Tel Mobile: +353 86 060 2718
Web: https://www.anglersparadise.ie/
Social: facebook.com/Anglersparadiseireland/
Email [email protected]

Irish Angling Update – 15 October 2021

By
Shane O'Reilly
-
The end of a great day's fishing

As is often the case, the weather divided the country over the last week. Many counties on the Atlantic seaboard endured some very wet weather, with up to twice the average rainfall. At the same time, it was much drier than average for those situated on the eastern side of the island, with very little rain falling in most places. All the trees are now sporting their autumn livery, dappled with spectacular hues of orange, gold and yellow, but we’ve yet to endure any really harsh weather, as temperatures remain above average for this time of year, inviting us all to get out and enjoy the outdoors and, hopefully, cast a line or two…

And the mild weather we’ve had this October seems to be just the ticket for the blue shark patrolling our coasts, as Dungarvan Offshore Charters declared that late-season catches were as good as would be expected during the summer months. Dave Edwards from the Silver Dawn in Courtmacsherry seems to concur as he experienced similar success with the blues last week, and they continue to provide good fishing for anglers on days when bluefin tuna have been scarce. Closer inshore in West Cork, David Norman made the most of the calm spell to target bass and pollack from his kayak and some good fish were happy to oblige. John Fleming, skipper of the Brazen Hussy II, was also crediting the recent good weather for bringing the pollack back on the feed in Galway Bay, with the skipper even getting in on the act with a nice triple shot.

Skipper John shows how it’s done, catching pollack 3 at a time!

Down in Caherciveen, it was the return of good numbers of mackerel that got the fish in feeding mode as anglers on the Fuego caught some cracking pollock and ling. Meanwhile, up in Donegal, the bluefin tuna season is still tipping away with some nice catches last week, including one for an 83-year-old angler. Last but definitely not least (on the sea angling front), we have a potential Irish Record reported this week as Cork small boat specialist Jim Clohessy boated a fantastic 13lb 6oz stone basse. With the current Irish record standing at 11.72lb, Jim’s fish well exceeds that and will hopefully be certified as a new record by the Irish Specimen Fish Committee later this year. With a fish of that stamp, Jim easily romps home with our Catch of the Week award.

Jim with his 13lb 6oz potential record stone basse

Moving inland from the sea, it’s no surprise to see that pike angling is dominating most of our reports as October is generally considered one of the prime months for these freshwater predators. Lough Derg has been throwing up a pike or two of late, and a couple of French guests of TJ’s Angling Centre in Ballina enjoyed some fine fishing with pike to 105cm. Also on L. Derg, taking a break from the competition scene, Damien Culliney from Anglersparadise.ie had some great sport last Saturday with 12 fish to the boat, including three over the 100cm mark. Further upstream on the Shannon system, a few Belgian anglers staying in Melview Lodge with Kevin Lyons finished a week of fly fishing for pike in style with some great looking fish. And as the Belgians departed the midlands, the French moved in, and, luckily, the pike kept biting, giving them an encouraging start to their holiday. Over to the competition scene, the Romanian C&R Angling Association held the inaugural Pike Master Ireland competition, which was spread over multiple venues around the country. Fishing was tough as anglers had to deal with fog and then bright sunshine but the winners on the day managed 19 pike for 488cm.

Two happy clients of TJ’s Angling Centre

To coarse angling now, and as the season is winding down, there’s still some fish to be caught as the mild weather means that the fish have not yet headed for the deeps. Up in Melview Lodge, eager anglers couldn’t wait to get at their swims and managed some good bags of roach, bream, hybrids and a bonus tench. In Cork, anglers have been testing the waters in Inniscarra ahead of the Feederfest 2021, which will be held there next week. Catches have been steady, which should lead to a hotly contested match for the 70 anglers signed up to attend.

Melview Lodge guest with his catch of bream, hybrids, roach and tench

With the salmon and trout season finally over for another year, we have a couple of retrospectives as anglers look over the season that was. Donavin Brinklow reports on an overly dry season on the Erriff, where lack of rain hampered fishing for most of the year. The dry weather certainly didn’t put Tomi Kurmann off though, as the ferox trout specialist managed 122 trout over 65cm in what was an exceptional year. And staying with trout, long-time L. Mask angler Toby Gibbons sent us a report of his final couple of days on the lough, where he managed to land himself a fish of a lifetime trout of 9lb 5oz on a Yellow Octopus.

Toby with his super 9lb+ trout

In other news, Inland Fisheries Ireland are looking for submissions from interested parties regarding the proposed introduction of a bye-law to protect one of our most threatened freshwater species: the Arctic Char. And finally, we would like to remind all salmon and sea trout anglers that their Salmon & Sea Trout angling logbooks are now due for return.

And now the weather

Outbreaks of rain will move southwards from Ulster tonight into parts of north Leinster and Connacht, but the rest of the country will stay mostly dry. It will remain dry for the most part tomorrow with good patches of sunshine, particularly in the north of the country with temperatures of 10-14 degrees and possibly even 16 degrees in Munster. Saturday will be wet and breezy, but this will clear to a mix of cloud and sunny spells on Sunday. This unsettled pattern will continue into early next week, but temperatures will remain milder than average for this time of year.

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 [email protected].

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Other News

    Calm spell makes for good kayak fishing in West Cork

    By
    Paul O'Reilly
    -

    David Norman of West Cork Bass reports that the recent calm spell delivered some fine fishing in beautiful West Cork.

    Surface lure fishing by kayak for bass was steady with plenty of mid sized fish and the kayak pollock fishing was some of the best he’d ever experienced in terms of size and numbers.

    David says that he has never seen so many large fish on his screen, with many good fish more than willing to put a maximum bend in his lure and fly rods!

    Although the bass fishing will probably start to taper off soon, he expects the kayak pollock fishing on fly and lure to be strong during the calm spells for the next couple of months and maybe longer…

    David still has some free dates available for one to one guided kayak fishing this year so give him a call…

    Bluefin season tipping along nicely in Donegal Bay

    By
    Shane O'Reilly
    -

    The bluefin tuna season is still tipping along in the Donegal Bay area with a few of the licenced boats reporting decent fishing. Ewings Sea Angling and Boat Charters had a super fish of 510lb on Tuesday this week and lost another nice fish on the same day. A couple of days earlier anglers on Tuna.ie managed 5 fish to the boat including one for an 83-year-old angler who must have had his Weetabix for breakfast that morning. Killybegs Fishing Trips has also been in amongst the tuna this week with a lively 220lb fish reported.

     

    Proposed conservation byelaw prohibiting angling for Arctic Char

    By
    Sadhbh O'Neill
    -

    Public consultation: have your say before November 16th

    Inland Fisheries Ireland has launched a public consultation on the proposed introduction of a conservation byelaw, prohibiting angling for Arctic Char.

    This public consultation opened on Thursday, October 14th 2021 and closes on Tuesday, November 16th 2021 at 5:00pm.

    Inland Fisheries Ireland is seeking submissions from interested parties in relation to the proposed introduction of a conservation byelaw prohibiting angling for, killing or retention of Arctic Char (Salvelinus alpinus) from any waters of the State.

    The proposal currently under consideration is:

    to request the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, to introduce a conservation byelaw prohibiting any person from taking, or attempting to take, an Arctic Char (Salvelinus alpinus), by means of any fishery engine or rod and line from the waters of the State and to prohibit killing, retention or possession of Arctic Char.

    All submissions must be marked ‘Public consultation – Proposed prohibition of angling for Arctic Char’ and must be received in writing by 5 pm on Tuesday 16th November 2021.

    Written submissions can either be emailed to [email protected] or can be posted to this address: Inland Fisheries Ireland, Station Road, Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal, F94 WV76

    All valid submissions will be published on the Inland Fisheries Ireland website at www.fisheriesireland.ie

    Additional Note about the Arctic Char

    The Arctic Char is a glacial relict fish species, native to Ireland, which is currently classified in the Irish Red Data Book as vulnerable due to a range of anthropogenic and environmental pressures such as water abstraction, eutrophication, climate change and introduction of non-native fish species. More information about the Arctic Char can be found on Inland Fisheries Ireland’s website here

    Good mix of species for Fuego

    By
    Paul O'Reilly
    -

    Des O’Connell of the charter boat Fuego in Caherciveen reports that he had good ling fishing at the weekend along with another fifteen or so species recorded, including pollack up to double figures.

    Des says that the mackerel have returned and there is a lot of activity on the surface close inshore as the tuna are back too. Sea conditions have been testing with big swells at times – but that just makes the fishing more interesting!!

     

    Fuego

    Ocean Tramp 37′. 370HP Cummins
    Skipper: Des O’Connell
    Licence: 562
    Base: Caherciveen Operational Area: Up to 30 miles from Caherciveen, Knightstown and Portmagee.

    Notes: Deep sea fishing around Dingle Bay, the Skelligs and Blasket Islands. All types of fishing catered for – conger, ling, pollack, garfish and many more species. Can take 10 anglers comfortably. Half day fishing trips and mackerel trips also available.

    Address: Caherciveen Marina, Co. Kerry.
    Telephone +353 87 2843283
    Email: [email protected]
    Web: kerryseaanglingcharters.com/

    Pike Master Ireland results

    By
    Paul O'Reilly
    -

    The Romanian C&R Angling Association held the inaugural Pike Master Ireland event on Sunday October 10th where some 66 anglers in 33 boats spread over 15 different venues took part.

    Anglers were spread all across the country: Lough Derg, Lough Ree, Lough Erne, Lough Sillan, Keeldra Lough, Lough Gara, Lough Gortnacorragh, Lough Ross, Whitewood Lake, Loughanilloon, Lough Sheelin, Lough Ramor and different sections of the River Shannon, including Clonmacnoise and Shannonbridge, all featured.

    The day started mild, very thick fog in places and little or no wind at all. When the fog and early morning mists lifted, the sun came out in most places and made the challenge of becoming Pike Master Ireland for 2021 even more difficult.

    Despite the weather conditions, some teams cracked the code and managed to still catch decent specimens, including a magnificent albino pike.

    The podium after a tough day’s fishing was:
    1. Team Polish Predator Hunters Ireland 488cm
    2. Team Boat Junkies 449cm
    3. Team Banner Pike Anglers 429cm
    Longest Pike:
    • Team Get The Net 105cm

    Scores were managed using the Score Fishing App

    Full results below

     

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