Only nine days to go before the end of the season. An improved week with more anglers around which was reflected on the catch report. FSA had 18 fish reported for the week. A drop in temperature is coming which may improve the fishing although more rain is forecast. Hope you can get to have that last throw before the 30th. For the last time this year
Eddie Butler sent us in this report from a fishing in the south west on board Shock-waves:
With the good weather a trip west was planned for Shock-waves, first stop was Fenit for the elusive Stingray, we launched early for the rising tide and within five minutes Paul Twomey had the first Stingray on Shock-waves, shortly after one for myself, we had three Stingray to the boat but no sign of Thornback or Undulate rays.
The first stingray
Day two was a trip for Bluemouth out of Caherciveen, some of the first reefs were fairly barren with only a couple of Bluemouth to the boat, we moved to another reef and bang straight into Bluemouth with over a hundred to the boat, a cracking couple of days in great weather. We stayed at https://www.facebook.com/sanantoine where our host Alan could not be more helpful, bait storage, wash down for the boat, a fantastic breakfast, excellent rooms, a must for the visiting angler, all in all a great trip!
Many thanks to all of those who participated in IFI’s national behaviour and attitudes survey of sea anglers in Ireland. The survey, which ran from 6th June to 6th August, is now closed. The response was unprecedented with over 1200 sea anglers completing the online form. The survey information will allow all stakeholders to gain a better understanding of angler activity and behaviours around the country. It will feed into the larger Irish Marine Recreational Angling survey (IMREC) project https://www.fisheriesireland.ie/Projects/imrec.html where it will be used to make evidence-based management decisions about how best to monitor catch rates and ultimately conserve and protect inshore fish stocks around the country.
The lucky winners of the vouchers for a fishing tackle shop of your choice are:
1st Prize (€200 voucher), Martin O’Connor
2nd Prize (€150 voucher), Kevin Rooney
3rd Prize (€100 voucher) Finn Gavin
We will be in contact with the winners shortly.
It is really encouraging that so many sea anglers care enough about sea angling to take the time to share their experience and knowledge. We are currently working through the responses and plan to release a summary report soon which we hope will be of interest to all sea anglers. A more detailed report will follow later.
Well known specimen angler Nicky Ward took advantage of the recent settled weather and decided to go after a few Tope off the Wicklow coast with his sons Conor and Sean. After just a few drops, they had enough bait for a days fishing and headed off to their marks. First up with a fish was Conor age 15 who landed a specimen sized Tope 170 cm in length.
Conor Ward’s 170cm specimen sized Tope
Not willing to let his older brother capture all the glory, Sean aged 11 managed his own specimen Tope of (159 cm).
Sean Ward’s 159cm Tope
Unfortunately, unlucky dad Nicky was unable to match the quality of his son’s Tope and only managed a few small ones..😥. Better luck next time Nicky.
A very happy Darragh Twomey with his first ever bass
Neil Spellacy sent in a report on some family fishing in Kerry over the weekend. The extended Spellacy clan, including their Twomey cousins, spent the weekend in Ballyheigue, North Kerry. On Saturday, the younger members of the clan, aged from 6-15, dug their own lugworm bait and fished an evening session into darkness, in hopeful anticipation of first ever bass.
Sunset on Ballyheigue beach
It was young Darragh Twomey (age 9) who was first off the mark, landing his first ever bass. Darragh has been practising his fishing all summer back home in Clare, fishing with his grandad and catching his first pike, perch and mackerel. But as the young man himself said, “the bass topped them all!”
A very happy Darragh Twomey with his first ever bass
Tomas Spellacy (aged 12) was next to score, also landing his first bass. If he’s anything like his dad, we’re sure we’ll be hearing plenty more about his angling exploits in years to come.
Tomas Spellacy with his first bass
After sunset, the youngsters fished on, landing a further 3 school bass and 2 good flounder, including a nice fish of 35cm. The Spellacy clan are certainly proof that the tackle box beats the X-box hands down for entertainment, and I’m sure the memories made on Saturday will last a lifetime!
Lough Sheelin Angling Report September 14th – September 20th 2020
“Many of us probably would be better fishermen if we did not spend so much time watching and waiting for the world to become perfect.”
Norman Maclean
Lough Sheelin is dogged by an unenviable past and a worrying present (and perhaps future) and over the past seven days this lake’s eutrophication problems were brought into sharp focus as a dense green algal bloom spread from the middle of the lake and down along the western shore. Algae (microscopic plants) can and do appear naturally in lakes and water bodies but an explosion of this size is usually the result of high concentrations of nutrients (particularly phosphorous and nitrogen) escaping into the water. The western shore and into Chambers’ Bay and Kilnahard was particularly discoloured due to persistent south westerly winds pushing the floating algae into these areas. The water on the other side of the lake, where the wind wasn’t driving into, was clear. The day time heat exacerbated the situation but with the promise of rain, wind and dropping temperatures this lake’s clarity will improve as the new week progresses and already, today Sunday 20th the water clarity has improved considerably.
Tied in knots
Back to the fishing – high temperatures and bright sunshine was the weather pattern on most days. Years ago, before we adopted the term Indian Summer from the native American Indians, our ancestors referred to a stretch of mild warm autumnal weather like this as our ‘second summer’ and so Lough Sheelin over the past seven days has basked in its second summer with temperatures soaring to 24°C. Hot weather is not conducive to trout fishing but nonetheless when cloud cover prevailed and there was a good wave, some great fish were caught. The wind directions were apt to change frequently but usually came from the south or east.
Falling for you – winged ants on the southern section of Sheelin
Anglers often refer to a ‘hatch’ of insects but this week we had a ‘fall’ rather than a hatch of winged ants and the trout loved them. As we progress further into autumn, ants that hatched in their underground colonies sprout wings. All at once, over a period of a few days, these insects fly off to mate and cross-pollinate with ants from other colonies. For some unknown reason, the dying ants are attracted to water and other shiny surfaces, much like mayfly spinners. There is no predicting this opportunity, but usually it happens on warm, still September afternoons and this is exactly what happened last Monday.
Taking a moment – Lough Sheelin’s winged ant
Anglers reported some good Daddy fishing, mainly using wet Daddies. If conditions are right, with the wind blowing onto the water’s surface, the daddy long legs, crane flies or leather jackets are easy pickings for the trout. Once airborne they are very cumbersome fliers, with their gangling legs at the mercy of the wind. It can be a little like mayfly season, with fallen daddies getting stuck in the meniscus or being drowned and becoming a ready meal for a passing trout.
This is terrestrial time and fishing terrestrial patterns like beetles, ants, grasshoppers, daddies and attractor dry flies can generate some pretty exciting dry fly moments.
Terrestrial time on Sheelin
1 of 10
The Overseer - yellow dung fly
Taking a moment - Lough Sheelin's winged ant
Lough Sheelin's winged ant
It's hopper time - Lough Sheelin's grasshopper
Dresses of dew - A male Black Darter dragon fly
Clever camouflage - the Green Shield bug resting on an ash leaf
Cobweb chair - the Common Marbled Carpet moth
Kieran Sherlock's Gorgeous George
Dry Daddys
In a ball - A Drinker Moth caterpillar
All in a hoop - Sheelin's very lovely Yellow Underwing caterpillar
Wet fly fishing – teams of three and the use of lures dominated the fishing this week, with catches of an odd trout being caught on a dry sedge or daddy.
As it comes to the back end of the season, trout will be starting to feed up before the colder temperatures start rolling in. During this feeding up process, trout will be honed in on anything that provides a large meal with as little energy expenditure as possible so it is the pin fry imitations, attractor patterns with silver included, daddy long legs and bushy patterns that create disturbance which are the ones to go for. Traditional Flies with comfortable familiar names that stood out for this week were the Dunkeld, the Silver Invicta and the Kate McLaren. The golden-orange Dunkeld is not an imitative pattern but it is a very effective attractor, ‘bright day –bright fly’ but this one also works on dark days and when the water is less clear, for it shines like a beacon. The Silver Invicta is a classic fly probably representing small fry and sticklebacks, tie it bigger for dark and windy days. The Kate McLaren along with the Dabblers (Silver, Pearly and Claret) won top prize for this week. The McLaren pulled in the weight of the week at a cool 6lbs by Dublin angler Anthony Smith.
September's lake flies and fake flies
1 of 12
The three degrees
The September fly patch
The persistent peter - Lough Sheelin's Peter sedge (Agrynpnia varia), September 14th
The infamous Claret Dabbler
The Dark Mackeral
Stenophylax caddisfly
Neureclipsis bimaculata
Limnephilus species
Halesus radiatus
An Apple green Buzzer
A Sheelin Olive
A lake Olive spinner
Interestingly, compared to the previous week’s notable absence of piscatorial aerial displays, this week saw large numbers of trout pitching and slashing through the air, mainly on the Southern and Northern side of the lake.
Going through the week:
Monday was hot with light southerly breezes. Temperatures hit 20°C and although the lake was relatively busy, mostly it was just sunburn that was reported, along with the algal bloom. Anglers reported good falls of terrestrials – winged ants on the southern section of the lake. There were poor rises in Bog Bay and just 3 catches reported, heaviest at 3lbs using Daddies and Dabblers. On Tuesday daytime temperatures hit 24°C degrees with light southerly winds. There were Daddies and winged ants on the lake along with a smattering of olives. The heat was searing and conditions were difficult, fish were caught using wet Daddies and a few sedge patterns around Bog Bay and Goreport. Wind direction changed to easterly on Wednesday but temperatures were persistently high, peaking at 20°C, there was a good wave and a number of fish were caught on the wets – Kate McLaren, Bumbles, Red Tailed Peter, Daddies and Dabblers. The easterly winds persisted into Thursday and through the weekend; trout of up to 5lbs were caught on lures and wets.
25 trout were recorded for the week. Trout were caught from early morning to early evening.
This week's fish
1 of 11
Over a pound
Piscatorial perfection
The deadly Dabblers
54cm of perfection
1lb 6ozs
The weight of the week was a 6 pounder caught by Dublin angler, Anthony Smith using a McLaren as a top dropper.
The most popular flies were the Red Tailed Peters, Golden Olives Bumbles, Pearly Invictas, Silver Invicta, the Dabblers (Silver, Sooty and Peter Ross), the Grey Flags, the Stimulators (Grey, Claret and Bling), the Black Pennells, small dry sedges and the Black & Peacock Spiders. Some lures were used on sinking lines – di3 and 5.
Drifting along
The Green George, Claret George and Detached Daddy were good; these are great teaser flies and were excellent as top droppers. The Muddlers worked well on the lake, these flies push through the water creating a bubble which attracts the feeding trout. Other ‘pusher flies’ used to create a disturbance and used again on the top dropper were the Bibios, Zulus and Sedgehogs. Something sleeker and more imitative on the middle like the Claret & Mallard, Silver Invicta and Wickham’s Fancy and then a flashy attractor on the point like a Dunkeld, Peter Ross or Alexandra. The Bibio is a very versatile fly as it can work both as a top dropper attractor and a tweaked dry, when greased. Gaudy patterns were good for those targeting the Daphnia feeders out in the open water. Lures that were successful were Black & Silver Minkies and a black Humungus.
The best areas for fishing on the lake this week were the Southern, Northern and Eastern parts of the lake – Holywell, Stony Island, Inchacup, Rusheen, Derrysheridan, Corru, Goreport and Lynch’s pt.
A catch & release policy is actively encouraged on the lake at all times
Catch & release
Please remember anglers to abide by BYE-LAW 949 which strictly prohibits from June 14th 2017 onwards:
The taking of any brown trout of less than 36 centimeters.
For a person to fish with more than 2 rods at any one time.
To fish with more than 4 rods at any one time when there is more than one person on board the boat concerned.
For a person to take more than 2 trout per day.
All trolling on the lake from March 1st to June 16th (inclusive).
To fish or to attempt to take or to fish for, fish of any kind other than during the period from March 1st to October 12th in any year.
Inland Fisheries Ireland seeks submissions for A Novice Angling Strategy
Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI), the state agency responsible for Ireland’s inland fisheries, invites submissions for a new Novice Angling Strategy- “Let’s Fish”. During 2019 IFI began a series of consultations through Otium Leisure Consultancy with angling representative bodies, angling clubs and individuals who were both anglers and non-anglers. The input from these consultations has informed the strategy which is aimed at increasing participation in angling. The draft strategy- “Let’s fish” is undergoing various environmental assessments and IFI are also seeking to get input from its stakeholders. The strategy documents the main barriers that have been identified and sets out four key objectives on how its vision- “All fishing together” can be achieved over the next five years.
Let’s Fish Artwork
Suzanne Campion, Head of Business Development at Inland Fisheries Ireland said: “The social and economic value of angling in Ireland is significant, over 270,000 people identify themselves as anglers. The “Let’s Fish” strategy will work to connect people to angling and the environment and make it accessible to everyone. Angling generates €800 million into the economy on an annual basis. In IFI’s Corporate Plan for 2015-2020 a need to get more young people angling was identified. We are asking interested members of the public to submit their input into our Novice Angling Strategy.”
For any further information and details on how to make a submission please visit our website at www.fisheriesireland.ie/nas.
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.
Sporting events are permitted in Level 1 and Level 2 with restrictions. Organisers are advised to ensure that their events comply with Government guidelines specific to the level in operation and location of their events, and the advice of their governing body and Sport Ireland on running competitions safely.
General Guidance for everyone
Follow Government protocols and public health guidelines.
Observe physical distancing by 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.
All Anglers
Follow up-to-date Government advice, however changes to Government advice may result in amendments to this information. Clubs should consult with their governing body and Sport Ireland guidelines on running competitions safely. To stay safe, anglers should follow public health guidelines:
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.
So begins John Keats’ ode to Autumn, and he could have easily written it this week, as the wet and often stormy weather of late gave way, and an Indian summer with morning mists and calmer air enticed people out of doors to enjoy the autumnal sun. Apples and blackberries are ripening, the swallows are leaving, and soon the days of summer (such as they were!) will be but memories. All too soon the winds of winter and long dark nights will return, but in the meantime, there are fish to be caught!
Moonlight & Magic, Lough Sheelin September 7th
Sea temperatures are at their warmest by now, and early autumn is a great time of year for sea angling. Fish are feeding hard to fatten up before winter. The king of the sea, the bluefin tuna, is becoming a more common sight off our shores lately, and tuna were caught and tagged this week all along the west coast, from Cork to Donegal. Good mixed species fishing was reported from around the coast, particularly from Killala Bay and the Wicklow area. Kit Dunne also had good shark fishing aboard his charter boat on a trip to the Celtic Deeps off the SE coast. Not many shore reports but this is the weather and time of year to be getting out there, with a great mix of species available and all feeding hard.
Bluefin Tuna
Back to freshwater now, and trout fishing has been very up and down on the big loughs, with both Corrib and Sheelin providing good sport at times, and proving decidedly temperamental at others! Some anglers have had great fish too, with some fine fish especially on Sheelin. It is great to see so many anglers practising catch-and-release too.
‘Spotted magic’ A beautiful ‘autumn’ 5lb trout caught by Co. Antrim angler Cathal McNaughton
There were few salmon reports this week, with the season winding down, but West Cork bucked the trend, with good fishing reported from several rivers, including the Ilen. there were reports of good sea trout fishing on Lough Currane. There was also a fantastic report from Kylemore, where Eric Logan caught and released a magnificent trout of 8lbs 4oz – either a long-back sea trout or a ferox, but either way a truly magnificent fish. But our Catch of the Week comes from the Blackwater, where Ryan O’Hagan caught (and released) a beautiful autumn salmon estimated at 23-25lbs!
25lb salmon from Ballyhooley Castle fishery on the Munster Blackwater
Covid-19 and travel restrictions have really impacted on the coarse angling festival scene this year. Normally we would have several reports of competitions, but we have just one this week, where Michael Cormican won the Lower Bann competition with a mix of feeder and whip tactics. Young Aaron Reilly wasn’t too worried about Covid when he landed his first bream from the River Rinn. Aaron had 3 other species on the day too.
Aaron and his first bream
September sees an uptick in pike angling, and from now on pike anglers will be getting into the swing as water temperatures cool down and pike become more active. While reports were few this week, we know you’re out there fishing, so feel free to send us your stories and photos! Kieran Lee struck it lucky this week, with two fine double figure pike on spinners and soft plastics from Lough Gowna.
Pike on a soft plastic
Other news
The government issued a new strategy this week for living with Covid-19. While angling should remain unaffected for the most part, with travel and sporting events allowed at Levels 1 and 2, anglers are reminded to check the current status and bear in mind any restrictions that may apply if the alert level increases nationally or locally. Above all, stay safe and follow advice on hand hygiene, cough etiquette and social distancing.
And now the weather…
The Indian Summer is set to last through the weekend, with good spells of sunshine and temperatures in the high teens, so this weekend would be a good opportunity to get out and enjoy some fishing. Rain is set to arrive in the west (it’s always the west!) ushering in a cold front and introducing much cooler conditions and bringing a change to more unsettled weather into the middle days of next week. Our advice – make the most of the weekend!
Safe fishing to all this weekend and tight lines, especially here in Ireland.
The water temperature is dropping well and the bigger fish are starting to show a lot more regular.
Not willing to let his older brother capture all the glory, Sean aged 11 managed his own specimen Tope of (159 cm).
