Vincent and Reuben McConnell enjoying opening day on the River Dodder
The annual opening of the river Dodder took place on 17th March. The opening celebrations were more muted than normal. However, a number of anglers still ventured out to spend some quality time outdoors. The opening provided an opportunity for anglers in the locality to reconnect with nature whilst enjoying their favourite pastime.
Great getting out
On the opening day on River Dodder, Vincent McConnell and his son Reuben enjoyed a great day together on the river. The first of many. Since the opening day has been a small but constant stream of anglers heading to the Dodder to try their luck.
Vincent and Reuben McConnell enjoying opening day on the River Dodder
Reuben enjoying his day out fishing with his Dad on the River Dodder
Dodder information
There is a high juvenile membership in the club and young anglers are very much encouraged to join. Recommended stretches are Herbert Park in Ballsbridge to Beaver Row in Donnybrook and from Milltown to Rathfarnham.
The Milltown to Rathfarnham section is very accessible with a linear park all the way along this stretch with footbridges across the river at various points. Parking is mostly off road.
Fishing on this river is controlled by the Dodder Anglers and riparian owners.
Go fishing……
For further information on fishing on the River Dodder please see the link below.
Covid 19 restrictions have eased from April 12th, allowing travel within the county or 20km when crossing county bounds from your home. IFI is implementing a phased reopening of its fisheries subject to safe operation being possible and appropriate resourcing.
Stocking from the IFI fish farm has recommenced, therefore the West Cork Managed fisheries at Shepperton Lake, Lough Bofinne and Ballinlough Community Lake will re-open on Monday 19th April.
The stocked Kerry lakes will re-open as scheduled 1st May.
Permits are available at https://permits.fishinginireland.info or from approved distributors who are permitted to operate under current Covid 19 restrictions.
The Government has announced phased easing of public health restrictions. From 12th April 2021, anglers can travel within their county or within 20km of their home if crossing county boundaries. Non-essential business is not permitted.
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 ceased stocking fish to all locations.
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.
No indoor or outdoor exercise group activities, including those involving children, should take place.
Individual training only.
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.
Guides & Ghillies
During level 5 restrictions, only essential workers can travel to work.
Charter Boat Owners
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.
Well that was another great week for the Daly brothers, who sent us in another great report from County Longford.
The lads, while fishing on a local river, caught six beautiful wild brown trout – all bars of gold – with the biggest being 9lb 4oz and the smallest 3lb 2oz. All of the fish were released to fight again another day.
Most of us will be itching to venture beyond our 5km limits this week and many trout anglers are starting to think of what might be happening out on the loughs, but as Daniel and Simon Daly can prove, sometimes the very best of fishing can be right on your doorstep – you just have to go looking for it.
Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) in collaboration with Leave No Trace Ireland has launched an outdoor recreational guide for angling based on the 7 Principles of Leave No Trace. Anglers are custodians of our natural fisheries resource and this leaflet is a short guide for anglers on how they can minimise the impact their fishing trip can have on the environment. The guide is also a useful checklist for anyone enjoying the outdoors with the Principles being key reminders of how to reduce the effects we have on the natural world. The 7 Principles of Leave No Trace are:
‘Best part for me about fishing is just being out in nature, just being out enjoying yourself outside the house especially like that with friends or with family. Just out having a good time and then catching a fish is a bonus too!’- Jess McBride talks about being an angler for the past few years and gives tips for those wanting to start fishing in the above video.
Jess recommends fisheries as a great place for new anglers to learn, meet anglers and fish in a safe space in the company of like-minded people.
‘Fisheries in general are a great place for a new angler to learn. A lot of the time you’ll meet other anglers there that are more than happy to pass on information or knowledge to get you going and to get you catching fish.’
Go Fishing Week takes place from Sunday, 25th of April to Monday, 3rd of May with a packed nine days full of virtual events and competitions for all!
Is anyone else eagerly looking forward to Monday, and the ability to travel beyond 5km in search of fishing? Thought so! Looking out the window here I can see Lough Corrib in the middle distance, with the mountains of Connemara beyond. They have remained tantalisingly out of reach these last few months, but thankfully most of us will be able to access good fishing within our own county from Monday. See here for our advice to anglers regarding the current government guidance.
Unseasonably cold
The weather has been unseasonably cold, with snow in some parts over the Easter weekend and early part of this week, with more cold forecast from tonight. As a result we don’t have a lot of angling reports to share with you this week.
The first salmon of the season was caught on the Costello & Fermoyle Fishery, a lovely 7lbs springer caught by local angler Geoffrey Fitzjohn and sportingly released.
Geoffrey Fitzjohn admires his catch, the first salmon of 2021 at Costello, before release. #CPRSavesFish
While Lough Currane produced no salmon, it did see the first sea trout of the season to local guide Dominic McGillicuddy. On salmon was reported from the Moy, another river where angling pressure has been very light, but should see a lot more rods from Monday. Salmon smolts are congregating and starting their seaward migration at the moment, which will continue for several weeks. Salmon and trout anglers are reminded to be careful when handling these delicate fish, and we have some advice here.
Duckfly hatches on Lough Conn brought some fish to the boat for local anglers, although the cold weather and travel restrictions meant very few anglers were out.
A fine 59cm trout released by Peter Roche on Lough Conn
Big river trout and pike
River anglers are starting to see trout feeding now too, and Marcin Redka had a cracking 7lb trout off the River Fergus in Co. Clare. He also landed a big pike of almost 20lbs, which is our Catch of the Week.
Elsewhere regular contributor Dan O’Neill had good sport on the Kings River with wetflies and dry dropper setups.
A fine almost 20lbs river pike for Marcin
No plaice like home
Cold and occasionally rough sea conditions have made sea angling reports scarce, and this time of year is often quiet on the sea angling scene, before it really takes off in late spring. The Killybegs Mariners club members, however, are blessed with good fishing on their doorstep, and some have been out after plaice and other species with success.
A fine Donegal plaice for Gavin
We have also received confirmation of EU bass fishing regulations up to the end of July 2021, with anglers permitted to take 2 fish per day with a minimum size limit of 42cm. We will update when we get the decision on EU regulations from August onwards.
In other news…
Inland Fisheries Ireland have launched the ‘Why I love to fish’ video competition as part of Go Fishing Week 2021. We want you to submit a short video of your fishing adventures and to tell us what fishing means to you. Entries are welcome from individuals or groups, fishing clubs, youth clubs, centres and projects are all invited to take part.
The competition is open to everyone over 18 years of age. If your video includes anyone aged under 16 years of age, only a parent/guardian may submit the content. The overall winner will receive fishing tackle to the value of €100 and there will also be prizes for runners up and special categories.
The closing date for entries to ‘Why I love to fish’ is Friday, 9th of April 2021. For more information on the competition and how to apply please visit www.fisheriesireland.ie/lovefishing.
Cold again, with showers today becoming wintry and even turning to snow in places. Remaining cold over the weekend, with frost at night and daytime temps not getting above 5-8 degrees. Showers of rain, hail, sleet and even snow will give way to a ry day for some on Sunday, mostly in the east and south, with rain in the northwest. The outlook is for slightly milder weather, but low pressure dominating leading to showery outbreaks of rain. Ah well, it wouldn’t be April without showers, right!
1/4/21 Well I can say without any fear of contradiction this April Fool’s day that the Wild Atlantic Salmon were not fooled by the 3 Brown hand me down tag boats out manipulating the Currane Waters. Wind light, variable, bright and sunny all day.
2/4/21 The Currane anglers were all quiet on all fronts this Good Friday. There were 3 boats out manipulating, their order of merit, Two Hand me down Brown tag boats and one barbless. Wind light East then veered SSW.
3/4/21 Yesterday as we all know was Good Friday, well I can tell you today it was a Bad Saturday in all departments and for good reason it was reported to me that there was no Brown Tag Boats out manipulating and the same goes for the Barbless Anglers, what has Lough Currane come to? So, on that note I will finish today’s lack of notes by saying Happy Easter to all you the Waterville Fishery anglers and none anglers alike. Wind SSE and SSW light, bright and sunny all day.
4/4/21 Just 3 Hand me Down tags out this day and sadly no Salmon Tagged. Wind was in the North and sunny all day.
5/4/21 Well this Easter Monday there were 3 Brown tag and two Barbless boats out this day and by all accounts their boats were Salmonless. Wind North light to fresh with reasonable cloud cover and cold.
Seatrout going back #CPRsavesfish
6/4/21 The King of the Barbless of Catch and release department Mr. Dominic McGillicuddy of www.fishingwithdom.com caught and released a fine 2 lbs. Sea Trout this day. Now we head for the news on the Brown Tag Anglers, it was all quiet on the Salmon and Sea Trout front. Just for the record there were four boats out, their order of merit is as follows, two Barbless boats and two hand me down Brown tag boats. Wind NNE light to fresh followed by the odd shower.
7/4/21 The Currane Anglers were all quiet on all fronts, their order of merit is as follows, two hand me down Brown tag Anglers and two Barbless anglers. Wind NW light with reasonable cloud cover this morning followed by the odd April Shower, come afternoon bright and sunny.
The rivers and lakes of Waterville drain a large catchment and are regarded by many as the foremost Salmon and Sea-Trout fishery in the country. The lake system is well developed with access to boats and guides being readily available to the tourist angler. The Sea-Trout caught here are renowned for their size and quantity. For more details see
31/3/21 Just two Brown hand me down tag boats out on this calm and foggy day. Wind was light to calm and variable. Now to all you pessimistic anglers who were complaining that in the 2020 Season there were no Salmon in the Lake? We will put the record straight, to the best of my knowledge there were 160 Salmon caught and a good few more not reported. Now let us head for the 2020 Hatchery Brood, just for the record the Salmon Brood was got with one swipe and I can tell you when the Currane system was fishing a lot better there was many occasions it was a dam site more difficult and took a lot more than one swipe. Now we head down stream into Lough Currane for 2021 Kelt Season just for the record there were 260 Kelts caught up to 22nd of March and counting and on average four boats fishing.
Some of the Killybegs Mariners SAC club have been out on local marks lately, enjoying some productive spring fishing. Some people are lucky indeed to have good fishing close to home!
One club member Gavin went in search of plaice and was rewarded with a club record size fish.
A fine Donegal plaice for Gavin
The fish was a club record length for the species.
Although it has been cold of late, the weather has been mostly dry, and beautiful sunsets accompanied the fishing.
Sunset at a beautiful shore mark in Donegal Bay
There were plenty of flounder around too for Gavin and Cormac. these fish will be feeding hard after their recent spawning migration and should provide good sport. Although the lads can boast good fishing within their 5km, I’m sure they will, like the rest of us be looking forward to Monday when they can venture further afield! We look forward to more reports throughout the season from the club…
A nice flounder, one of many
Go fishing…
Mariners sea angling club Killybegs Co Donegal. The club runs a shore league and boat competitions and angling trips around Ireland doing the sport we love. Get in touch at www.facebook.com/mariner.sac
Trout anglers on the River Bride and Munster Blackwater are getting some good fishing on a variety of methods, but particularly wetfly and nymph. Some better fish are being caught on minnow from the Bride, but most anglers are fishing the fly.
Try not to remove smolts from the water as you unhook them
Fly anglers are reporting that they are meeting quite a few smolts, good news for the future. But do take care if you catch these silvery fish. Every salmon is valuable, especially these juvenile ones heading out to sea. Smolts are undergoing rapid and significant change as they prepare to leave freshwater for a the salty sea. If you hook a smolt, try to release it without removing it from the water. They will swim off none the worse for wear and hopefully we’ll see them back in the river in a year or two as an adult fish.
After you’ve released the smolt, crush the barbs on your flies if the hooks are not already barbless. If you catch a another of smolt, again release them in the water by turning the hook out of them without touching the fish at all. At this stage, consider the likelihood that the smolts are running and rest on the bank for a while to let shoal pass through unharmed or fish a different bit of water.
