Stefan Martin of Killibegs Mariners SAC reported on a couple of days species hunting off the north west coast:
Day one was on a private boat where the four anglers managed 21 species between them, which was just two shy of their record of 23.
Day two was onboard charter skipper Adrian Molloy’s boat. Adrian is best known as one of the top Bluefin Tuna skippers in Ireland but he was able to produce the goods for the smaller species too.
The lads caught fish all day long with treble hook ups of dabs, gurnards and whitings mixed in with plenty of cod, coalies, pollack, ray and some cracking turbot. There were 17 species to the boat in total with Cormac Burke getting the highest individual score of 14.
Carrowmore Lake continued to produce good numbers of grilse and sea trout. Among the successful anglers were J.Long, M.Woods, R.Burns,.J.Murray, E.Giblin, D.Dooley, V.Keogh & S.Sutton who all had fish in the 3 to 8lbs range. Most successful flies included Green Peter, Claret Dabbler and Clan Chief Muddler.
Anglers on the Owenmore River beat controlled by Bangor Erris Angling Club also enjoyed reasonable fishing.
A fine Owenmore grilse about to be released
Please note that Carrowmore Lake is a Brown Tag Fishery and that the Owenmore River is “Catch & Release”! For fishing contact Seamus Henry on +353 (0)97 83487 or visit www.bangorerrisangling.com
Fishery Manager Stuart Price reports from Mount Falcon
Moy salmon ready for release
Anglers had a brilliant week’s fishing last week landing over 100 salmon from the Mount Falcon beat on the River Moy with fish landed on all methods fly, bait and spinner.
A fresh run Mount Falcon grilse in the net before released
This is the best week we have had since 2010 and the quality of the grilse is better than we have seen for many years with lots of fish in the 5 to 7lbs. category.
Another cracking grilse from the Mount Falcon Fishery before release
The Mount Falcon beat is full of fish and there is availability from now until the end of September.
For bookings contact Stuart Price on +353 (0)87 2831776 or [email protected]
Sidney Kennedy and Amy were out again, fishing from Cork Harbour…this time for something bigger!
Sidney Kennedy reports
I am delighted to say that Amy got her first blue shark! She really worked hard to land it. She was dreaming of catching one for the past few years and was so excited to have a chance to catch one.
A proud Dad beside Amy with her first Blue Shark
The first fish she was hooked into got off after 5 minutes…she was so upset and her head dropped down after a few hours when we decided to call it a day. She said: “Well, I will have to wait until the next time”. However, as she went to reel in her rod and as she put her hand on it the reel took off!!! She did incredibly well and was so excited and determined not to lose the fish again…with a hard fight over and the huge fish on the deck, she was over the moon! A well deserved first blue shark for Amy!
Proud dad Brian Dempsey sent in this photo of his 10 year old son Sean holding his first ever pike which was caught while jigging on the Grand Canal at Tullamore. The smile says it all… Well done to Sean and let’s hope it’s the first of many more to come.
Angling team Shane and M Stephens had 6 fish for a day’s angling effort best fish 2 -1/2 lb, Gerry Madden and John Gaffey also had 6 with best fish nearly 3 lb. Youth angler Daniel Shaughnessy had 2 fish for an outing best 1 -1/2 lb, Joe Fitzharris had 7 fish over 2 outings best fish 3 lb. Some sedge now hatching in the evening and now the Daddy should come into its own soon. Angling pressure is still light for the time of year with many faces missing this year.
Tagged Bluefin Tuna Donegal Bay 2019. Copyright Adrian Molloy
While there is no sport or commercial fishery for Bluefin tuna in Ireland, authorisations are being granted for 22 charter angling vessels to participate in Tuna CHART (Catch and Release Tagging) a Bluefin Tuna Data Collection Programme. The programme will see 22 authorised skippers catch, tag, measure and release Atlantic Bluefin tuna for data collection purposes off the Irish coast.
The authorised vessels, which are located in Cork, Clare, Galway, Sligo and Donegal will support an international scientific programme to increase knowledge of the behaviour and abundance of Bluefin Tuna in Irish waters and across its distribution generally.
The Sea Fisheries Protection Authority and Inland Fisheries Ireland will undertake inspections and patrols around the coast to ensure this remains a strictly controlled programme. Anglers wishing to engage in this programme must only do so on a sea angling vessel specifically authorised to participate in the pilot programme. Any person engaging in fishing for Bluefin Tuna on any vessel which is not appropriately authorised will be in breach of the Sea-Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction (Bluefin Tuna) Regulations 2019 (S.I. No. 265 of 2019).
John Fleming, skipper of the Brazen Hussey 2, can operate out of Rosaveel, Spiddal or Galway depending on species being sought after. Fishing on the inshore reefs for pollock, cod, ling, wrasse, conger eel and mackerel can be reached in 10 minutes from departure, while our offshore reef marks are within 45 minutes of departure. Our ground fishing for tope, spurdog, ray, bullhuss, turbot, plaice and the giant common skate can all be reached within the hour which ensures the most amount of time is spent fishing. The shark season usually starts at the end of June and runs into late October, this is the ultimate angling adrenaline rush with these hard fighting blue and porbeagle sharks all being tagged and release safely.
John reports on getting back to action:
Well after a not so good start to 2020 and with Covid regulations in place we finally got going on the Brazen Hussy 2 in Rosaveel.
We had a bad start with small engine trouble which is all remedied now.
So, to the fishing we have had a few nice trips over the last few weeks with plenty of pollock and wrasse and some nice spurdog as well
We hope to start our shark season this week and we will have some availability midweek as the weeks go on.
Brenda Montgomery, IFI, reports from Lough Sheelin
‘Successful trout fishing isn’t a matter of brute force or even persistence, but something more like infiltration’
John Gierach
Lough Sheelin, July 2020
The calendar says that it is summer but for this week the weather had other ideas as most days were dominated by significant spells of heavy and continuous rainfall. As our spirits have sunk the lake levels have risen and with all this precipitation there has been a cooling down of the upper water column which is good from a trout fishing point of view. Trying to keep positive with this awful weather, trout do tend to be more active preferring to feed during low lit, cloudy conditions than in bright sunny weather. Remember those hot sunny days in the distant past, well, the down side is that the trout in that sort of weather always seemed somewhat glued to the bottom. Cloudy weather affords trout protection from aerial predators, making them more confident to feed out in the open. Conversely, it is difficult to catch trout when it is sunny because they stick to the bottom where their predators can’t find them. Also during sunny days, the water heats up too which reduces the amount of oxygen in the water and will make the fish more lethargic and less likely to follow a fly. Trout fishing as heavy rain sets in can be some of the most productive times to fish as the rain triggers trout activity. Insects on the banks get washed into the water and can be a very tempting meal for a passing trout. Generally speaking, large foam dry flies like stimulators, beetles, ants, and grasshoppers are your best bet when we are being blessed with lots of rain.
Sheelin Insects
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Lough Sheelin’s Silverhorn sedge, July 6th 2020
Sheelin’s Peter – Agrypnia varia
Glyphotaelius pellucides
‘Holding on’ a Bibio Species
Apple Green Midge
‘The weird & the wonderful’ a Nut-tree Tussock
A Garden Tiger moth
A Welshmans Button
‘Close friends’ a Peppered Moth and a Garden Tiger (July 5th)
Spreading out – A Damsel Fly
A Great Diving Beetle
Fishing Lough Sheelin now requires skill, experience, knowledge of this water, acute observation and incredible patience, all of which are difficult balls to juggle in the air all the time.
This is a challenging fishing phase on Lough Sheelin and reminds me of a piece out of a Henry Longfellow’s poem – ‘when she was good, she was very good indeed and when she was bad she was horrid’ so although you could never equate Sheelin with the word horrid, fishing is a little temperamental at the moment but when it does get good again, it will be very good indeed.
There were a respectable number of anglers out fishing most days but catches were lean in comparison to the effort and time being put in. The returns still however stretched into the double figures with a fine fat 6 pounder caught by Oliver McCormack coming in as the top weight for the week simultaneously giving hope to others that the fish are still out there to be caught.
Oliver McCormack with a lovely fish caught on an International Dabbler at Orangefield on Sunday July 12th
Anglers consistently report that there are plenty of fish on the move with lots of pitching but with little or no interest in the proffered artificial, either wet or dry. Everyone is blaming the monsoon weather for the lack of takes but the fish are still there and they don’t stop feeding just because the weather is uninviting for us humans.
A cumulonimbus of clouds
It is amazing that always around this time of year the trout make themselves known by beginning to pitch in apparent random out of the water and foolishly I fall into the trap of asking why this happens, with the standard reply being ‘well I’ve asked but they have never told me’. Anyone who spends anytime on a lake has seen fish rocketing out of the water, for no apparent reason and then crash, splash or dash back beneath the surface. There are a number of theories, the most common one being that they are trying to rid themselves of lice but regardless of the reason there are few things quite as frustrating as casting endlessly, with few if any hook ups, to show for effort, to fish you know are there because you can see them jumping all around the place.
The explanation I like best is the one from angler Dennis Dobson’s in his article on ‘Why Fish Jump’ – ‘I am convinced that Mother Nature sees to it that every organism above a certain point in the food chain is blessed with enough sense of self to enjoy being what they are. One universal expression of this joy is the exuberance of physical activity. The whole-body rush as adrenaline and endorphins flood the system. The invigorating flush of heat and motion. The stretch and play of supple muscles, the dynamic tension between skin and ligament, bone and tendon as we each discover our physical limits. The range of emotions your face undergoes as you fight a fish leads us to the same conclusion. First surprise followed in short order by confusion, concentration, determination and finally pride and joy as you bring the fish to net, all point to the same reason.
Fish jump because they can. Because it feels good. It’s that simple.’
A beautiful ‘sedge’ trout
Back to the week that was in it:
The start and the end of the week were the pick of the fishing days.
Monday, July 6th saw pleasant fishing conditions with moderate north westerly’s, dry with hazy sunshine. There were good numbers of a variety of sedges with scattered numbers throughout the evening offering some good opportunities for dry fly fishing.
Tuesday was a total turnaround with dropping temperatures and heavy and persistent rainfall with south easterly breezes. The continual rain made things uncomfortable although there were a number of trout caught using teams of wets. Stimulators, Golden Olive Bumbles and the Dabblers (particularly in Silver and in Claret) worked well. Justin Walsh from Dublin caught a nice 4lb trout on the troll at the back of Church Island using a Silver Dabbler.
Wednesday started off nice with good cloud cover and moderate winds but heavy rain moved in for the early afternoon and stubbornly remained until after dark.
The rest of the week was a mixed bag of light to moderate winds, temperatures around 17 degrees and the ever present rain in the form of light to heavy showers.
Lough Sheelin’s Peter (Agrypnia varia)
The Peter sedge has been appearing in dribs and drabs but Saturday night saw the first big hatch but unfortunately there was little or no response from our fish. With the right weather i.e. easy winds, nice warm temperatures and no rain Sheelin should produce good bloodworm fishing but so far we are getting very typical Irish summer weather which would be enough to stop this fishing. The bloodworm is a bit of an enigma at the best of times but bad weather would certainly knock it on the head. A few mayflies were seen hatching around Crover.
A 3lb 7oz caught on a sedge pattern
Sunday was a good day for the wets with the Dabblers, Humpies, Red Tailed Peters and Hoppers getting the best results.
‘Moving Off’
It’s not all about trout – Sheelin’s stone loach
Lough Sheelin shallows, July 6th
27 trout catches were recorded with a 6lb trout caught by Oliver McCormack on an International Dabbler taking the top weight for the week.
Good flies to use at the moment were – the Murrough, small dark olive patterns, dry sedge (12 -14), Booby on the point, Green Peter, a combination of a small Golden Olive on the pt., Green Peter in the middle and a Claret Bumble on the top, Cock Robin, Shipman’s, Bobs Bits, Hoppers, Claret Bumble, Silver Daddy, International Dabbler, Sedge hogs, Klinkhammers, Stimulators, Sedge pupae, Daddies, Zulu, the Grey Duster and a Red Tailed Peter. For those anglers after the daphnia feeders, head for the open water using a bright orange fly. When fishing small dry sedges along sheltered areas it is best to use a floating line with a 4 – 6 lb. leader.
With trout having an inclination to stay subsurface the top dropper is now the most important fly as this is the one which will bring the fish up so aim to have a good bushy fly in this position that will create plenty of waves to attract our spotty friends.
3lbs 11oz on the Murrough in Rusheen
The places that produced catches were down along the Western shore of the lake, Stony Island, at the back of Church Island, Merry Pt., Wilson’s pt, Inchacup, Chambers Bay and from Kilnahard down to Crover, Crane Island, Bog Bay, and Sailors Garden and into Goreport, Lynch’s Pt, Derrysheridan and Derry Pt.
Resting up in Kilnahard
This week was tinged with sadness, beginning and end, with the deaths of two legendary icons and keen trout anglers – Italian composer Ennio Morricone (July 6th) and perhaps better known former Republic of Ireland soccer manager Jack Charlton (July 11th). Italy’s health minister’s comments could be applied to both these great men – ‘adieu maestro and thank you for the emotions you gave us’.
Fishing the edges
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.
The weather has remained consistently inconsistent this past week with cool, cloudy conditions the new ‘normal’ around the country. Every now and then we had a bit or warm sunshine here and there, normally followed by some heavy showers and maybe some strong winds thrown in for good measure. The outlook is for more of the same, cloudy and cool, so get out if you can – there’s no such thing as bad weather…
The anglers fishing the Feedermasters on Lough Muckno this past Sunday knew all about the wind – it was said to be ‘like fishing in the Atlantic’ at times. For one species, the bream, the wind and rain can be beneficial and a stiff breeze in your face can be a good sign when targeting them in daylight hours.
Wild weather on Muckno
Ireland’s youth international coarse anglers were given a welcome reprieve this week when it was announced that those who would have been due to move up an age category next year shall be allowed to remain in their current age group to fish the deferred World Championships next year.
Irish international John Browne with his keepnet brimming with bream and skimmers
Some stunning pike have been landed from the midland loughs this week, the best of them 111 cm long. Deadbaits and lures have both been effective, although one of the biggest of the week (108 cm) came to a perch lure fished over deeper water. A feature of the kind of weather we have had in the last number of weeks is that water temperatures on many of our loughs are a couple of degrees lower than normal and this means that some fish, like these pike, are more active than would usually be expected at this time of the year.
This metre plus pike took a small lure intended for perch.
Lure anglers have also had some good success with big brown trout this week; Christopher Defillon of EvasionPeche.net caught a super 11.56 lbs trout on Lough Ree while Ciaran Flannery caught a cracking 7.5 lbs fish while spinning for pike on Lough Erne. Both fish were released to fight another day and Christopher wins our Catch of the Week for his fish and the video that accompanied it!
Mixed results for fly anglers on Lough Sheelin due to the changeable conditions, but anglers over on Lough Corrib fared better with sedges and late mayfly hatches on the trouts’ menu there. In the rivers of the south and east, low water levels meant that only a stealthy approach would work but with this week’s rain the trout should be easier to catch once water levels settle again.
Sticking with the salmonids and we have reports of good fishing for salmon from up and down the country. In Cork, the Bandon saw a good run of fish enter the system with a high proportion of them being multi sea winter fish while some good fsh fell to the shrimp over on the Lee. In the west, the Foxford anglers reported over 85 salmon from their waters on the Moy last week and in Connemara high water levels on Costello and Fermoyle encouraged good numbers of salmon and sea trout to run. Carrowmore lake has also started to produce the goods after a prolonged period of windy weather which made the lake unfishable.
Jason Nash releasing his beautiful Bandon salmon
The high winds caused problems for charter boats hoping to venture offshore for some wreck trips but there was still good fishing had closer inshore or in sheltered areas. Aidan O’Hallrahan had this problem fishing out of Courtmacsherry but a super skate from closer in saved the day. Good catches of a variety of species were reported by skippers around the coast.
And now the weather…
Mostly dry Friday evening with sunny spells and some scattered showers, temperatures of 14°C to 17°C. A cold night for early July with lowest temperatures of just 5°C to 9°C. Mainly dry on Saturday with sunny spells and isolated showers along the north coast. Highest temperatures of 15°C to 20°C. A dry, bright start in the east on Sunday with temperatures reaching 20°C or 21°C in any sunshine. Typically 16°C to 19°C elsewhere with patchy rain and drizzle. Fresh to strong winds on the west coast. A cloudy, wet start to Monday with rain and drizzle clearing eastwards. Sunny spells and widespread showers following. Highs of 17°C to 21°C. Cloudy on Tuesday with outbreaks of rain and drizzle in all areas.
Safe fishing to all this weekend and tight lines, especially here in Ireland.
Day one was on a private boat where the four anglers managed 21 species between them, which was just two shy of their record of 23.
The lads caught fish all day long with treble hook ups of dabs, gurnards and whitings mixed in with plenty of cod, coalies, pollack, ray and some cracking turbot. There were 17 species to the boat in total with Cormac Burke getting the highest individual score of 14.
