The Moy Estuary at dawn (photo courtesy of Lonan O'Farrell & Michael Wilson)
Kevin O’Boyle reports from the Moy Estuary…
The good sunny weather saw 2 anglers report 6 sea trout caught in the Moy Estuary downstream of the “Castle” on sand eels. Some sea trout were also reported caught at Lackan Strand and along Ross Beach similarly on sand eels.
The season on the Moy Estuary runs from 17th April until 10th October and a State Licence is also required when targeting sea trout in the sea. Further info on the Moy Estuary is available here.
Dry weather accompanied by beautiful sunshine with temperatures rising to the high teens over the week contributed to water levels dropping considerably on last week. County wide Covid-19 restrictions still limited angling but an increase in angling is expected as the restrictions are eased. Water levels on the Ridge Pool are now approaching perfect conditions for fly angling. Angling on all Moy Fishery beats can be booked through email by contacting: moyfishery@fisheriesireland.ie or by phone at +353 (0)96 21332.
Ballina Salmon Anglers reported 1 salmon caught for the week. This was the biggest salmon of the year so far and was caught by Derek Harrison, Ballina, for 14.5 lbs. The fish was caught on a worm just above the weirs.
East Mayo Anglers reported 4 salmon for the week, of which 3 were caught by Castlebar angler Aidan Connolly. Two of the salmon weighed 9 lbs. and 11.5 lbs. and were caught on the worm along with a 10 lbs. salmon caught on the fly which was released.
Foxford Anglers reported 3 salmon caught for the week.
The River Deel, the biggest of the Moy catchment tributaries, needs water to encourage salmon to move and the next rise in water levels should see a lot more anglers out in search of a springer.
One overall winner and five runners up winners have been selected in the ‘Why I love to fish’ national video competition that was ran as part of Inland Fisheries IrelandGo Fishing Week 2021. Entries were received across Ireland under the title ‘Why I love to fish’ and the videos showed how much people love to fish and how fishing has positively benefitted their lives.
The overall winner is Michael Galvin and his son Cathal from Longford and the runners up prizes are awarded to Angela Byrne, Anthony Murnane, Christopher Eleker, Maud Finn and her twin boys and Michael Heron. A compilation of the winning videos is here.
Suzanne Campion, Head of Business Development at Inland Fisheries Ireland said: “We are delighted to announce the winners of the ‘Why I love this fish’ video competition as part of our Go Fishing Week celebrations. We would like to congratulate all of the participants in the competition and in particular our overall winner and five runners up. The videos embodied nature, a sense of wellbeing and enjoyment and displayed diverse footage of the anglers favourite fishing locations around Ireland.”
The entries will be shared across all IFI’s social media platforms and YouTube channel over the coming weeks. The overall winner will receive €100 worth of angling tackle and we are delighted that some of the runners up are opting for a buoyancy aid as part of their prize.
Go Fishing Week takes place from Sunday, 25th of April to Monday 3rd of May with a packed nine days of webinars, videos, social media content and competitions. For information on #GoFishingWeek2021 and how to get involved visit www.fisheriesireland.ie/gofishingweek.
A better trout, but not the one he was looking for
Dan O’Neill reports from the Nore…
25 April: With water temperatures getting a little higher during the day and fish are becoming more active. The Nore is always a little slower to drop I find and at the moment the Nore is at .47 and steadily decreasing.
I was on the river at 9am, not an early start by any means. Trying dry dropper along the seams of the runs and creases created by boulders and such, I had a lot of small trout on the trusty olive nymph with a little flash under the Coq de Leon tail (nymph profile can be seen in previous report ).
A better trout, but not the one he was looking for
I expected the smaller fish to be up a bit in the water so I had tied up some lead bodied 4mm tungsten peeping caddis go get down to their big brothers. There are three runs in Mount Juliet which year after year produce some of the biggest trout on the stretch. Switching to my euro nymph set up I was on my way to my first stop. Nymphing slowing up to the head of the pool little rattles came here and there of greedy little trout or most probably little smolts. As I got near the middle of the run I got an unmistakable thump , the rod turned over with the tip pointing straight to where the take occurred. There was an exciting gold flash as the trout was reluctantly taken from his lie and a nice battle saw the fish to the net. It was a trout of about 25 maybe 30cm. Not the trout I was looking for but a start. Also proof that my time at the vice last night was not a waste.
I picked up where I left off in the run and had one or two more of similar size. The flats above me showed some nice trout sipping, with the odd one jumping for joy showing off its beautiful colours.
Peeping caddis
Bumping into a fellow angler resulted in me cutting the fishing session short while we discussed old patterns etc , which I always listen to and end up trying. Being inquisitive is a trait in an angler that will only ever improve his skill and knowledge…
For information on day tickets or memberships please call me on 0857652751 or email Doneill@mountjuliet.ie
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.
We rarely receive pike angling reports from Co. Donegal. Mick Lally, however, sent in a report from Assaroe Lake where he enjoyed some entertaining pike action catching & releasing a number of nice pike.
Assaroe Lake is a 234 hectare artificial lake and is located just east of Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal. An ESB permit is required to fish Assaroe.
Further information on Assaroe and other pike angling destinations in Co. Donegal is available here.
Cormac Walsh from BassfishingIreland reports on some lively bass action down in Wexford:
I managed a few decent fish this week down in Wexford even though conditions weren’t great. The fishing tapered off fairly quickly as the week went on with tides getting smaller and the winds swinging easterly.
This fish took a white IMA Sasuke 120f with a red head about 10 yards out on a late morning high tide.
Lots of bird activity about lately which is a good sign indicating baitfish in the water. I’m really looking forward to next weeks big tides as I think it will produce big time once the weather plays ball. Full moon 🌚 from Tuesday onwards with some nice early morning tides.
The Government has announced phased easing of public health restrictions. Since 12th April 2021, anglers can travel within their county or within 20km of their home if crossing county boundaries.
From 26th April Charter Fishing boats can resume angling under guidelines which limits the number of houshold on board to 2. Outdoor underage training can resume in pods of up to 15.
At Level 5, the public health risk means that you will be asked to stay at home, except for travel for essential work, education or other essential purposes, or to take exercise within your county or up to 20km from home.
During level 5 restrictions, only essential workers can travel to work.
Inland Fisheries Ireland offers the following information to anglers as a guideline only. Government advice to stop the spread of coronavirus is BE RESPONSIBLE, BE SAFE.
Observe physical distancingby keeping at least 2 metres apart, if not possible wear a face covering.
Park legally and responsibly if driving to outdoor amenities.
Respect our emergency services and avoid activities that could potentially lead to emergency call outs.
Respect the environment, animals & wildlife and dispose of waste properly.
Travel separately, unless from the same household and visit outdoor areas at off peak times if possible.
Fish stocking
IFI has resumed stocking fish.
All Anglers
Follow up-to-date Government advice, however changes to Government advice may result in amendments to this information. To stay safe, anglers should follow public health guidelines:
People may meet with people from one other household in outdoor settings when taking exercise.
Underage anglers may train outdoors in pods of up to 15.
No competitions.
No indoor or outdoor gatherings.
Boat Anglers
Max 2 persons in small boats to comply with physical distancing (unless from same household). Remember to maintain physical distancing on board and at slipways and access points.
Charter Boat Fishing
Max 2 housholds to make up the anglers onboard
Guides & Ghillies
During level 5 restrictions, only essential workers can travel to work.
———–
BE RESPONSIBLE – BE SAFE
The power to control this pandemic is still in our hands
Inland Fisheries Ireland offers the following information to anglers as a guideline only. Government advice to stop the spread of coronavirus is BE RESPONSIBLE, BE SAFE.
IFI is requesting all salmon and sea trout anglers who have not returned last seasons (2020) angling logbook and unused gill tags to do so immediately. The logbooks and unused gill tags are necessary to provide vital data to make evidence based decisions on Ireland’s wild Atlantic Salmon and Sea Trout stocks into the future.
In accordance with the Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Tagging Scheme, anglers are required by law to return their completed logbook (setting out their fishing and catch record), and all unused tags to the issuing office of Inland Fisheries Ireland with 7 days of licence expiry and no later than 19th of October annually.
The return of logbooks and tags can be done via the ‘prepaid postage return envelope’ which was supplied at the time of license purchase. In the absence of the prepaid postage return envelope, anglers can return their completed logbook and unused tags to the Inland Fisheries Ireland office addressed on their licence/logbook. Alternatively scanned logbooks and licences may be emailed to salmonlogbookreturn@fisheriesireland.ie. Kindly note that both sides and any continuation pages should be included in the scan to ensure the licence names and number can be linked to the correct logbook. The records from this year’s angler returns are vital to support management decisions in 2022.
As part of the Scheme, an angler must attach a valid gill tag to a salmon (any size) or sea trout (over 40cm) immediately on landing, followed by an entry to their logbook of their catch and gill-tag used. If the fish is to be released, anglers must also make a catch record in their logbook.
This one is for the teachers! In this 30 minute webinar as part of #GoFishingWeek2021 Catherine Hayes, Fisheries Inspector at Inland Fisheries Ireland will give the talk “Something Fishy Programme- a lesson for teachers!”. Wednesday, 28th of April 2021 at 3.00pm. *Please note this webinar is from 3.00pm to 3.30pm. REGISTER HERE.
The webinar will be a 20 minute presentation followed by a 10 minute Q&A session where people will have the opportunity to get involved. Catherine will give an overview of the Something Fishy Educational Programme and how it is aimed at Primary school pupils aged between 10-13 years, to inform and educate students on fish, water, angling, and the environment and angling.
The ‘Something Fishy’ education programme was a concept originally developed in collaboration between the Central Fisheries Board (CFB) and Blackrock Education Centre (BEC). This team created lesson plans and activity sheets based on the theme of the ‘Life cycle of salmon’ – Bradán. It has since been developed, with web based resources and new lesson plans now available. See the ‘Something Fishy’ website here: http://www.somethingfishy.ie/
Tell us if you are joining any of our Go Fishing Week webinars by sharing #GoFishingWeek2021 on social media.
Our weather conditions have been drier than normal across most of the country for the past seven days and sunshine totals have been above normal across the east and north of the country, but below normal in the west and southwest. This pleasant weather, combined with the relaxation of restrictions on movement, has meant that many more anglers have been able to venture out on the water, in search of that elusive fish they have waited so long to fight…
This is the time of year for large salmon and reports are that they have been stirring in all corners of the country despite the lack of rain. A couple of decent fish were caught on the Boyne in County Meath and several more fell anglers on the Moy and also to boat anglers on Carrowmore lake in Mayo.
Carrowmore Lake – spring salmon fishing at its best – Catch, Photo, Release!
On Lough Melvin in Leitrim, both salmon and sonaghan have been landed by boat anglers, while some fresh fish have been met further downstream on the Drowes, even though low numbers of anglers are fishing. Anglers on the Munster Blackwater in the south have caught both little and large salmon, with some early grilse of about 3lbs and some chunky springers to 15lbs among the catches there. On Currane, there has been a steady level of effort, with between two and four boats fishing most days, but unfortunately they have little to show for those efforts. Reports are that some of the other lakes in the south west are fishing well. One such example is in Kerry, on the White Lake on the Owenmore system, with some good early sea trout and plenty of brownies for anglers fishing there.
Pete Davis about to release his salmon
Over to the trout loughs and Lough Conn has been the pick of the bunch, with 42 fish reported in the last week, mainly to wet flies. In the midlands, some of the stocked fisheries have fished well and anglers have also taken trout on the troll while fishing the larger loughs. On the rivers, the water is still a little cold for good fly hatches but nymphs and wet flies have worked, one good example being that of Dan O’Neill on the Nore.
A Happy Orla Walsh on Lough Conn with her 2.81 lbs. beauty
We haven’t gotten many coarse angling reports in weeks, but we did get one this week that was worth the wait. Like many of us, Munster Coarse Anglers’ Kevin Leahy has been trapped for months without any fishable water within 5km; his first ‘away’ trip had him catching plenty of roach to 1.5lbs and a vegetarian 2lbs perch on a piece of corn! We don’t see too many 2lbs perch so Kevin wins our Catch of the Week. Mind you, his second trip also got him in amongst some good bream, so his fishing ‘fast’ has been long forgotten already!
Kevin and his vegetarian 2lbs perch – our Catch of the Week
No reports from saltwater this week, but If you do fish in the sea, don’t forget to take our ‘Then and Now’ sea angling survey, which aims to compare catches of times past with those of today. Respondents will be in with a chance of winning a tackle voucher to the value of €200.
Hot off the press – the much anticipated Irish Specimen Fish Committee Report for 2020 has just been released, you can download a copy here. One new record was set and over 300 exceptionally large fish of different species were caught by anglers from venues throughout Ireland. Some of the main species to feature in 2020 were shark species like smooth-hound and spurdog and, in freshwater, pike and brown trout dominated. All fish were caught, weighed, measured and released.
In other news…
Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) has announced the line-up of virtual events for Go Fishing Week 2021. The week is a national celebration of fishing and this year is being held online with a programme of virtual events, competitions and social media content. The programme of events will spread awareness of a series of themes over the week including sustainability, protecting habitats and wellbeing benefits. All events are free to attend and partake in and will be accessible for all to join in online.
And now the weather…
High pressure will dominate the weather pattern through the weekend bringing dry and settled conditions. Saturday will be dry with good sunshine though a little hazy at times in Leinster. Highs of 12°C to 18°C, lows of 3°C to 6°C overnight. Mostly sunny on Sunday, becoming hazy at times. Highs of 13°C to 17°C, though easterly breezes will hold highs at 10°C to 13°C in the east and south with overnight lows of 1°C to 4°C. Good sunny spells on Monday, 11°C to 17°C.
