The Slaney River Trust reports on the opening days on the River Slaney where some great salmon have been caught and released…
April 1st was a cold enough opening day with the river running beautifully clear. There were a fair number of fish landed or lost both above and below Bunclody. Most fish were landed on well sunk flies. We are a bit short on photos of the fish landed but here are a couple of examples.
Fresh Slaney salmon about to go backAnother opening day salmon on the Slaney
Weather conditions were very tough on the Slaney on the 3rd of April but it didn’t stop Brian Hennessy landing a beautiful 38″ springer this morning on Conehead Dee Monkey.
Brian Hennessy about to release his spring salmon – Catch of the Week winner!
There were at least 4 other fish landed by early afternoon including this fine fish and another 18lber. There were also a number of short run hook ups. The fish were met on 3 different beats – this is quality spring fishing.
Another quality springer from the Slaney ready for release
AGM Notice
Our AGM will be held on Friday 5th April at 7.15 pm in Redmond’s, Bunclody. All are welcome to attend, both members and non-members alike. An agenda, together with a set of annual accounts, will be posted on our website prior to then.
For 2019 the river is open for catch and release only for salmon from 1 April to 31 August. The regulations are set out here. Above the railway bridge in Enniscorthy fishing is fly only with barbless singles or doubles. A maximum of 3 seatrout under 40cms may be kept in any 24 hour period. All seatrout over 40 cms must be returned. While we are allowed use barbless doubles singles are very effective if the fish is held tightly.
Make a booking
Anglers interested in obtaining fishing can enquire from the following:
Clohamon Fishery
Contact David Dobbs tel 0879673111
Enniscorthy Anglers
Contact Danny’s Angling and Outdoors, St Senans Rd, Enniscorthy. Tel: 087 9005991.
Solsboro Fishing Association
Contact Bernard Cash (daytime only) Tel 087 9225536 .
Tullow Salmon and Trout Anglers Association
Contact Tom Dawson 087-9940877
Moyadie, Monfin, Glass Door and upper Ballycarney beats
Contact Francis Fanning of Fanning Land & Property Services on 086 2650670 or 053 9422601.
Well it is comforting that is these days of climate change some of the folklore of times past still hold true. There was powerful magic back then and the Brindled Cow suffered mightily indeed. The Skinning Days were much in evidence at the start of April, with sleet, snow and hail stinging the ears of anglers in all across Ireland this week…
Most of our reports are salmon related this week – to the west and on March 30th Carrowmore’s first salmon of the season was boated by Brian Hope of Westport; the 7lb fish, which was quickly released, took a Green Peter variant as did the other two fish that were hooked and lost on the day.
Also giving up her first salmon of 2019 was the River Boyne in the east; a fine fish of 16lb fell to Pat O’Toole’s Park Shrimp on March 29th at Blackcastle. A number of other really good springers have been landed since then including a fish of 20lb from one of the Boyne tributaries. Needless to say, all Boyne and Kells Blackwater fish were returned to continue their journey upstream. #CPRsavesfish
Pat O’Toole with the Boyne’s first springer of 2019 – a fine 16lb fish which wins our catch of the week #CPRsavesfish
Back to the west and Delphi fishery reported a total of 21 salmon for the month of March and 34 for 2019 in total. Not as many as last year but well up on the 5 year average there. Further south and the Munster Blackwater is fishing well with both the Ballyduff Bridge fishery and the Blackwater fishery producing fish.
Remaining in the south, trout fishing on the River Bride is still good, with best catches seeming to fall to those anglers using nymphs. Trout anglers are reminded that salmon parr and smolts can hit flies hard at this time of year. If you find yourself landing smolts please be sure to pinch down your barbs so you can release them without handling, or better yet move on to new water and let the silver arrows race to sea unhindered.
Newbridge District Pike Anglers had 37 pike to 10lb 02oz between them at the weekend. Meanwhile up in Cavan, O’Casey’s Angling Club were also out and again mostly smaller fish were caught and released. It was clear to the anglers on the ground that spawning is underway and the bigger fish have their minds on other things…
Not much news on the coarse scene this week – CM Lakelands reports that 29 pairs fished the All Ireland Feeder Pairs match on Lough Muckno on Sunday last. Fishing was hard in places but everyone caught fish. The winning team was Darren Fairhurst and Brendan O’Brien.
Menapia Sea Anglers held their latest competition at Ballyhack over the weekend. In conditions that weren’t ideal all competing anglers managed to catch something and the winning anglers had good fishing. Killybegs Mariners were out again, this time fishing at Inver and some great flounder to 45cm were caught and released. In charter boat news, 3 boats were out over the weekend on Galway Bay and all report enjoyable fishing with a good range of species landed.
Ballycotton Big Fish event organisers advise that applicants from far and wide are coming in for this September’s huge catch and release sharking fishing competition in Co. Cork. Each day the angler who lands the biggest fish will win €20,000 and the angler who lands the biggest shark in the competition will win a huge €170,000. Closing date for applications to fish Europe’s richest shark fishing tournament is 15th April so be sure to get your name down sooner rather than later.
The Irish Bass Festival organisers have announced the dates for this year’s event and there is a bit of a change in the timing and format; First of all the dates have changed to later in the season and it will now run from 27-29th September more information at Irish Bass Festival moves to September for 2019
National Salmon Scale Project
Anglers who are willing to become Citizen Scientists are needed for a new National Salmon Scale Project which will help researchers understand the challenges which salmon are facing today. The National Salmon Scale Project aims to collect vital information through fish scales taken from salmon and sea trout which are harvested and caught and released in Irish rivers and lakes. Scales are a fascinating record of a fish life – one scale can reveal their age, where they have travelled in the vast Atlantic Ocean and the experiences they had along the way.
Why not mark International Year of the Salmon 2019 by playing your part in contributing to our knowledge about Ireland’s most iconic fish species? With the right information, we can help salmon navigate the environmental changes and human impacts which are contributing to their decline. Find out more about the National Salmon Scale Project
And now the weather…
OUTLOOK: An easterly airflow will persist. Drier and less cold over the weekend, but scattered outbreaks of rain will develop into the early next week.
FRIDAY NIGHT: Scattered outbreaks of rain, heaviest across the east and southeast. Rather cold, with lows of 2 to 6 degrees Celsius. Winds will be mostly moderate easterly, but fresher at times along eastern coasts.
SATURDAY: A dry and bright day for many across the country with sunny spells. Any lingering overnight rain will soon clear; however, the southwest of Munster will see a few showers. Maxima of 10 to 13 degrees Celsius, with the highest values in the west. Cold overnight with clear spells and some frost. Mist and fog patches too. Lows of 0 to 4 degrees Celsius.
SUNDAY: Another mostly dry and bright day with sunny spells, but cloudier with the risk of showers near eastern and southern coasts. Maxima of 10 to 13 degrees Celsius, with the highest values once again in the west. Generally dry on Sunday night with occasional mist and fog, but patchy rain and drizzle will affect some eastern and southern coastal counties. Lows of 3 to 6 degrees Celsius.
EARLY NEXT WEEK: Scattered outbreaks of showery rain, the focus of this across eastern counties given the easterly airflow. Long dry spells too though with variable cloud amounts and sunny spells. Highs of 10 to 13 degrees Celsius, best values away from eastern counties where it will feel cooler.
Fishery manager Dan O’Neill from the Mount Juliet Fishing club has been in contact with us to let us know that the club is recruiting new members and that salmon and trout fishing will also be available by day permit subject to availability of course. Dan tells us that this fishery is one of utmost beauty being surrounded by picturesque scenery for anglers fishing on the fast flowing runs, riffles and pools of the renowned River Nore. The river is unspoilt and a unique approach has been taken to the bank maintenance which allows maximum access for anglers to the best of the salmon pools and the salmon fishing whilst creating a beautiful backdrop for photographs.
The many named salmon pools include the Cricket Pitch, the Plantation Pool, the Rock Pool, Georges Wall, above the Bridge, the Long Pond, the Eel Weir, Pebble Beach and the Estate Boundary. Mount Juliet boasts circa 2.5 miles of double bank fishing, with some great fly water and its many salmon pools, the fishery creates challenges for the novice and experienced angler alike. According to Dan, the salmon count for the fishery for the 2018 season stood at 72 salmon with the heaviest fish weighing in at 17.5lbs. The Cricket Pitch, the Rock Pool and the Plantation Pool accounted for many of the fish caught on the fishery in 2018.
Dan says that the clear waters of the River Nore add something special and magical to fishing experience on this river. Watching your fly glide across the water waiting whilst patiently for that sudden heart stopping pull from one of the Nore’s famous Atlantic salmon is something all anglers need to experience for themselves. Fishing is available at the fishery by way of membership or day permit and both casting tuition and guiding services are available for salmon anglers of all levels at the fishery. Fishing must in accordance with the salmon and sea trout angling regulations which are reviewed annually and only the use of single barbless hooks is permitted. Fishing is mainly with the fly but spinning may also be accommodated.
In addition to the salmon fishing the fishery offers some great trout fishing for the fly angler. As the weather warms up from April and the fly hatches start, there is some very nice trout fishing to be had on this beautiful river.
For further information or to make a booking please contact
Dan O’Neill, Fishery Manager, Mount Juliet Estate, Thomastown, Co Kilkenny, Ireland
The river Nore is a beautiful river that meanders it way through counties Laois and Kilkenny before joining with its sister river the Barrow just upstream of New Ross on its way to the sea. The Nore gets a good run of Atlantic salmon and the river which is currently open for angling on a catch and release basis produced 563 salmon in 2015 and 599 salmon in 2016. Salmon fishing is available on a number of stretches including the Mount Juliet Fishery which is located just outside Thomastown, Co Kilkenny, approximately mid-way between Kilkenny City and New Ross.
Trout angling on the River Bride is good, with best catches seeming to fall to those anglers using nymphs. Trout angling competitions will start shortly in earnest and the various angling clubs along the Bride River are preparing to host the Munster championships again this year, which normally take place towards the end of April (weather/river conditions) permitting.
Despite the high water conditions over recent weeks Pauric McGearty has been out trying his luck in the Cavan area and had some good catches into double figures on a few occasions. There were as usual a few tough days but it’s always worth it when you land a beauty like the one pictured below. Pauric has a new venture with guiding and boat hire in the Cavan area and has been receiving a good number of enquiries from anglers looking for a good day out pike fishing. If you are looking for some nice pike fishing why not get in touch with Pauric for that day out that you have been promising yourself!
To make a booking
Angling guide Pauric McGearty is based on the shores of Carafin Lough which gives fishermen access to this and a host of other lakes including the beautiful Lough Oughter in Co Cavan. In addition to guiding services Pauric has a number of boats with outboard motors for hire. His boats include Redfin 5700’s which are equipped with oars, life jackets, anchor and a fish finder. Electric trolling motors are also available for hire and Pauric has a range of fishing tackle for hire that is suitable for all anglers of all levels. So all you have to do is arrive, get your gear on and get fishing. This is a fantastic pike fishing area with many big fish well over 20lb caught each year. The lakes in the area also produce some very big trout. For full details and terms and conditions of hire please contact Pauric at
Contact: Pauric Mc Gearty, Carafin Lodge, Innishmore, Butlersbridge, Co Cavan. H12W5C9
Charter boat angling on Galway Bay is well under way now with reports in from three boats this week.
Max with a pollack
Max Coque, skipper of Leaca Rua, started his season with plenty of pollack on Wednesday last week. Brilliant weather on Sunday saw Max back on the water with five species to the boat; mackerel, many pollock, coal fish, two ballan wrasse and sand eels!
John Fleming, skipper of Brazen Hussy was out on Saturday and Sunday. Sunday was the better day and after a slow start things picked up a bit and they managed a few nice pollack, coalies, pouting, poor cod and their first mackerel, cod and ling. Surprisingly they found the mackerel to be solid on the ground!
Kevin MacGabhann, skipper of Maighdean Mara, was out on Saturday too. They also got their first mackerel of 2019 and also landed 7 cod, plenty of coafish, pollack, poor cod, pouting, ballan wrasse, ling and sandeel.
Go fishing…
Galway Fishing
Deep sea fishing trip in Galway Bay from Rossaveel. Fish for species such as shark, pollack, ling, ray, mackerel and much more… Licence for up to 12 persons. Smaller groups welcomed and individuals also catered for. For day trips, boat departs Rossaveel around 9am and returns around 5.30pm.
For evening charter, boat departs at 6.30pm and returns approx at 9.30pm.
45 min drive from Galway.
A regular day is between 9am- 6pm from either Rossaveal, 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 released safely.
Package deals available
A regular Galway Bay Safari is from 9am to 6pm. The Maigdan Mara will pick up your party from the pier at Spiddal, County Galway. The boat is yours for the day, though of course skipper Kevin will advise you where the best fishing is to be found. Tackle hire is free.
Andrew Ryan was on to tell us about a free demo weekend at Clonanav next week…
INVITATION TO FREE DEMO WEEKEND 13/14 APRIL 2019
Join us for a great FREE weekend of Demos and Casting Instruction on 13/14 April. With much more demonstrators and celebrities this year, we are looking forward to a great weekend. A big update this year that many of the demos will take place on the river.
Conor Arnold will demo the latest gear from Loop on the River Suir.
Kevin Shone from Guideline will showcase the latest nymphing rods on the Suir or Nire – depending on water levels.
To view any of the demos you must first register at our shop where the full timetable will be available.
To book you place please email us [email protected]om Places are limited so booking is essential.
Fancy yourself as a good caster? Then why not come along to our open weekend on the 13/14 of April and enter in the Clonanav Cup? This is a fun distance casting competition with some amazing prizes. First prize is a Guideline LPXe 9ft # 5 Rod! For more info see – https://www.flyfishingireland.com/blogs/news/clonanav-cup-2019-casting-competition
Other casting opportunities
Double Handed Clinic with Guidelines Jim Curry – €50 per person – 2 hour clinic.
This is a great opportunity to receive tips and instruction from one of the best in the business!
Fine tune your Spey casting for this season. Improve your distance and presentation.
Come and try Guidelines excellent range of double handers and shooting heads.
Why not book on one of our excellent casting clinics at our upcoming demo weekend on the 13/14 April. These are a unique opportunity to get instruction from world famous anglers!
Stefan Martin reports for the Killybegs Mariners in Donegal…
Donegal Bass #CPRsavesfish
27 March: A great day of fishing for John yesterday evening on the beach getting the club’s first Bass of the year along with some fine flatties.
On the beach at Inver
30 March: A fantastic fishing at the penultimate league outing last night with big numbers of flounders on the coming tide from the off. The surf was lapping a sandbar about 40 yards out and landing baits on this was producing double and treble hauls of flounder for John to 38cm in length. Johnny and Sean were also on the fish at the far end of the beach with some fine fish in the 30s and one brute hitting a whopping 45cm for Sean equalling the competition records.
Flounder
A nice array of species including seatrout, flounder, 5 bearded rockling, whiting and coleys made up the catch and in the end some big scores were counted up at the van. Longest fish cash prize was won by Sean O Donnell with a lovely 45cm flounder. 2nd place with 14 flounder was won by Johnny Byrne and the 1st place with 16 flounder, 2 coleys and a whiting was won by John Cunningham.
Well done to all who took part. Only one winter league outing left to fish which will be fished after our club trip away to Belmullet coming up soon.
28/3/19 Currane anglers were calm and collective this day, so calm in fact by the end of their day they were reflecting their lack of action and by late evening they were also reflecting why they didn’t do what Cork Angler, Mr. Jack Murphy and his Gillie Mr. Dominic McGillicuddy of www.fishingwithdom.com did and for good reason, thy caught a fine 9 lbs. Salmon while trolling on the evening shift. Weather calm and bright sunshine all day. Yesterday’s weather, maximum air temperature 12.1 c.
29/3/19 Well we start on a bright note and yes you have it, there was bright sunshine all day with a light breeze from the West and I have to confess the Currane anglers tried their best and sadly the fishing conditions weren’t at there best. Yesterday’s weather maximum air temperature 11.8 c.
30/3/19 The Currane anglers were all quiet on all fronts and for good reason, Currane was on the calm side and what wind was there was from the West with reasonable could cover and that’s your ration on today’s manipulations. Yesterday’s weather, maximum air temperature 12.1 c.
31/3/19 The Currane anglers had another tough day, especially the Currane fly anglers as they had to wait for the calm wind to change from the East, it wasn’t until the afternoon when it changed from East to the West, but sadly the Currane wild Atlantic Salmon wouldn’t Rise this Mothers Day and the same goes for Currane trollers. Weather as already stated. Yesterday’s weather, maximum air temperature 11.2 c.
1/4/19 Going by my mobile phone today all the April Fools were on the Currane anglers as they tried their best to fool the Wild Atlantic Salmon but to no avail. On the weather front the wind was light NW then veered SW with reasonable cloud cover. Yesterday’s weather, maximum air temperature 13.1C.
2/4/19 Talk of contrast of weather, last weeks temperatures rocketed to the high teens and today the temperatures plummeted to 7 c. It felt like 5 with hail, sleet and snow and violent gusts from the NNE and NNW what do you expect and believe it or not the wind gusts got so violent that one boat had to head straight for cover and I can tell you it wasn’t long before all the Currane anglers headed for home and that was their ration and yours as well on this wild wintry day. Yesterday’s weather, amount of rainfall 0.7 mm. Maximum air temperature 11.1C
3/4/19 The Currane anglers had much of the same today as yesterday, but much colder and a very strong and variable NNW wind followed by heavy showers. Yesterday’s weather, amount of rainfall 8.2 mm. Maximum air temperature 8.5C.
That is your ration from your Gillie and the Waterville Fishery, no spin no fly’s just facts.
The Waterville Lakes & Rivers Trust, formed by concerned volunteers in 2016, is one of the new Rivers Trusts to be set up in Ireland and is currently aspiring to Charitable Status. Its remit is to protect the fresh and coastal waters of the Iveragh Peninsula.
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
Although still early in the season a few anglers have been braving the cool weather to try their luck on the River Boyne. Things were looking good with the recent fall in water levels and the clearing water also helped. There is a good flow on the river at the moment and the water is in very good condition which hopefully will encourage a few more salmon to move upstream.
Two anglers were rewarded recently for their efforts with two lovely spring salmon each estimated at around the 16lb mark. Well known angler Pat O’Toole had one of the fish which was taken on the park shrimp fly. The fish was released carefully back to the water after a quick photo. Hopefully this will be the first of many fish on the river.
