Kit Dunne reports that finally after a number of weather caused cancellations he got back out to sea on March 18th. And what a time he and his anglers had. Heading out to one of Kit’s favourite spur grounds soon had the guys in fish. They finished the day 6 specimen spurdogs, including a 19.5lb fish for Des Chew one 3 specimens he landed on the day.
The Big one, 19.5lb, more than 4’long, 47cm girth. #CPRsavesfish Catch of the Week
Go fishing…
Angling Charters are offered on a full-day, half-day and evening trip basis and can be tailored to suit your needs. Two boats available – Lisin and Castle Maiden. All levels of anglers are catered for. Anglers will benefit from your skipper’s angling experience and local knowledge with advice and guidance on-hand at all times.
Available spurdog dates:
TUESDAY 26-03,
THURSDAY 28-03,
SUN 31-03 Mothers Day, start at Mid-day
TUE 02-04
SPECIALIST ANGLING CHARTERS
Specialist Angling Charters are offered for those who wish to target specific species, specimen fish or try new methods of angling.
ANGLING COACHING
Whether you’re a Club, Individual, School or Junior you can have an angling coaching session or programme tailored to suit your needs.
The St. Patrick’s 2 day match proved to be a difficult match with high water levels affecting the catches. Only 8 people made it to fish the match and after a chat at the draw between all the anglers we decided to try fishing a section in the low 20s and another in the high 80s. Feeder proved to be the only way to go and even at a short chuck it was still taking 50-60 to hold. Those that tried the pole had to use 50g flat floats. Wind, rain, weed, sunshine we had it all. Not forgetting the cormorants of course.
Despite all this the anglers didn’t complain and the craic was great. Tommy wasn’t in the best of form though after losing 3 whole pounds to Niall in 3 days. Well done to Gary Radcliffe who turned things around on day 2 and managed to take top honours for the match, closely followed by Ron Jordan in 2nd and making up the top 3 was the ever consistent Johnny Keith.
Results where as follows:
Day 1
Section A Derek Buckley 1.700kg
Section B Johnny Keith 4.450kg
Day 2
Section A Gary Radcliffe 4.450kg
Section B Derek Buckley 3.700kg
Overall
1st Gary Radcliffe 7.225kg
2nd Ron Jordan 6.825kg
3rd Johnny Keith 6.725kg
Well done to all the winners. Just a wee reminder to anybody interested to get booked on to our Easter weekend
17 March: Back to O’Brien’s Bridge for the final match in this year’s Winter League. The Shannon was up, coloured and flowing like a train with all of us sat almost on the tow path. But it was like old times with the fish coming to the edge of the bank to feed. So, the whip came to be the method that would win the day.
Kevin Leahy, Ian Kelsey, Rich Bedford
Today’s match was won by
1st Steve Wright 15lb 5oz
2nd Kevin Leahy 12lb 4oz
3rd Ian Kelsey 10 7oz
This years league winner: Kevin Leahy
(Personally I would like to thank all members who participated in the competition all who gave there free time in bank and peg cleaning and generally made this year league a great craic, I promise not to let this victory go to my head and I will return to my loosing ways next year)
Munster Coarse Angling Club are affiliated to the National Coarse Fishing Federation of Ireland and are members of the Angling Council the National Governing Body for coarse and predator angling. www.ncffi.ie
Inniscarra TDL report on the St Patrick’s weekend festivals and matches…
MUNSTER OPEN RESULTS
15 March:Coachford Co. Cork welcomed the anglers back today for the Munster Open and warm up for the St. Patrick’s Weekend Festival on Inniscarra. Despite high water levels the weather was moderate and the fishing good.
Congratulations to the top three anglers.
Stu Blunsom for his 22.590kg from the Garden Centre.
Martin Bob 20.890kg
Paul Hallen 15.600kg.
All the top weights came from the Garden Centre today which featured in Section A along with the Concrete. Section B on the Greenway, Turlle Bay and the Cables was tougher but all will fish better tomorrow with all the bait gone in.
St. Patrick’s Weekend Festival
16 March: That’s 36 anglers off to their pegs for the St.Patricks weekend festival here on Inniscarra. It’s a blustery morning and a hearty breakfast at O’callaghans has fuelled the lads up ready for a windy day.
Three sections are being fished over the three days to include the Greenway, Graveyard, Concrete and Garden Centre. The latter produced 22.590kg of roach in the pole for yesterday’s open winner with the feeder being the popular method on all other sections.
At the end of day one there were some fantastic weights for the first day of the St Patricks Weekend Festival. This was despite a storm that lasted most of the morning with the wind not calming until 2pm. Cathal Hughes leads the way with 33.190kg from the Garden Centre, 2nd is Stu Blunsom 20.600kg and 3rd is Paul Mansbridge with 18.240kg.
The St.Patricks Weekend Festival is sponsored by Jackie Lennox Chip Shop
17 March: A little harder fishing today but Julian Kendrick moves to the top of the leader board with the top weight of the day and 25.310kg from the Garden Centre. Second today is James O’Doherty with 14.310kg and third Rob Holt with 12.780kg.
Positions at Day Two
1. Julian Kendrick 43.040kg
2. Cathal Hughes 38.810kg
3. Paul Hallen 25.630kg
4. Stu Blunsom 24.410kg
5.James O’Doherty 22.230kg
Phil Jacko Jackson had the biggest catch on the last day of fishing…
18 March: ‘Jacko’ Philip Jackson wins the day at the Graveyard with 23.130kg on the whip, followed by Vincent Walsh with 19.550kg also on the whip, with Ronnie Goldwater 3rd today on the pole at the Garden Centre for 18.350kg.
But it’s congrats to Cathal Hughes who takes the Festival with his 17.510kg today!!
Cathal Hughes was overall winner – Catch of the Week for his top match weight of 33.190kg
A fantastic start to the 2019 festival season for Cathal Hughes with a win here on Inniscarra Lake. The 2018 Feederfest champion from Co. Galway impressed with some superb angling throughout the three days of the competition.
Cathal started with the top match weight and 33.190kg on the Garden Centre, day one followed by 5.620kg at Turtle Bay on the Greenway, to fall behind Julian Kendrick on day 2, returning on the final day with 17.510kg at Graveyard to take the match. Julian’s feeder weight of 9.740kg from the Greenway kept him in the runner-up position whilst Lurgan angler Philip Jackson’s 23.130kg on the whip at the Graveyard catapulted him from 9th position to finish in third. Behind him Irelands Float Team Manager Vincent Walsh moved from 11th to take 4th position with his last day weight of 19.550kg from Garden Centre. Consistent fishing from Stu Blunsom, winner of Friday’s open saw him finish in 5th place.
Over the weekend we battled a storm, sleet showers and high water levels yet this fine venue still produced a festival average of 21.5kg, that’s 7.17kg per angler per day proving the value of this world class angling facility.
A total prize pot of €4500, representing a full payout plus sponsorship from Jackie Lennox Chip Shop, was paid out to the top 5 overall winners, top 3 daily €200-€160-€120 and section prizes of €60 throughout.
Thanks to the anglers who supported and took part in the first of our series of festivals of 2019, we thank our sponsor Jackie Lennox Chip Shop which is really appreciated, we thank Eileen and staff at O’Callaghans Bar & Guest House who have look after all of us so well over the last few days and everyone who has helped out with the running of this festival, Peter William Turner, Trevor Lovell, Trev Platt, Pat Falvey, Duncan Lennox including the weigh-ins.
We now look forward to the next series of festivals which are #Feeder only in April.
Find out more…
For details of the venues, a downloadable copy of the calendar, 2018 festival results and a directory of angler friendly accommodation in the local area please visit www.ncffi.ie/inniscarra-angling.
13/3/19 UK and Waterville fly angler Mr. Ken Towner takes all the headlines this day as Brexit looms and the British Parliament fails to agree, the same couldn’t be said for Ken, who caught a cracker of a 11 lbs Salmon on the fly while fishing with his Gillie Mr, Dominic McGillicuddy of www.fishingwithdom.com Wind NE strong with good cloud cover and showers. Yesterdays weather, amount of rainfall 4.9 mm. Maximum air temperature 9.0 c.
14/3/19 The wind was from West and Currane anglers did their best, but I have to confess the conditions weren’t at their best due to a fresh to strong 30 kph West wind followed by heavy showers throughout the day. Yesterdays weather, amount of rainfall, 2.6 mm. Maximum air temperature 10.2c.
15/3/19 Going by the lack of photographic evidence and no texts and no calls, you can say without any fear of contradiction that the Currane anglers were all quiet on the SW front in all departments. Wind W then veered NW and veered again NE fresh to light and overcast all day with rain at times and talking of rain Kerry is on a yellow rain warning, they are predicting up to 35 mm of rainfall ? Yesterdays weather, amount of rainfall 10.2 mm. Maximum air temperature 11.9c.
16/3/19 The Currane anglers had a bad start to the St. Patrick’s weekend in all departments today, so lets hope St. Patrick comes to the rescue tomorrow as we all celebrate His day! Wind NW fresh and overcast with showers. Yesterdays weather, amount of rainfall 14.0 mm. Maximum air temperature 11.6 c.
17/3/19 St. Patrick came up trumps today with a cracking day of fishing on Lough Currane, so straight to the action. We start in the hired out boat department, Mr. Dermot Sammon of Athlone, caught a cracker of a 12 ½ lbs. Salmon while trolling in a hired out Boat from Waterville Boats and at [email protected] and just for the record that was Dermot’s first Salmon this season and may it be the first of many and the same goes for all anglers this 2019 season. Staying in the trolling department Mr. Noel Clancy of Waterville and Kildare, caught a cracker of a 12 ½ lbs. Salmon on the troll. Now we head for the fly department, Mr. Steven O’Neill of Cork, while fly-fishing with his Gillie Mr. Dominic McGillicuddy of www.fishingwithdom.com caught a fine 8 lbs. Salmon on the fly and that sums up St. Patrick’s Fishing action today. Wind NNW light with reasonable cloud cover. Yesterdays weather, amount of rainfall 13.0 mm. Maximum air temperature 11.6 c.
Steven O’Neill of Cork releases a salmon on Lough Currane
18/3/19 Mr. Steven O’Neill of Cork, takes all the Salmon headlines today and for good reason, while fly fishing with his Gillie Mr. Dominic McGillicuddy of www.fishingwithdom.com caught and released a fine 8 lbs. Salmon and not satisfied with their performance they decided to put their trolling rods out on their way back home this afternoon and a good job they did because they finished their day of in style by catching another Salmon in the 9 lbs. class. Wind WNW light with reasonable cloud cover and followed by the odd shower. Yesterdays weather, amount of rainfall 3.6 mm. Maximum air temperature 10.6 c.
19/3/19 Currane anglers had quiet and relaxing day in all departments, as the Wild Atlantic Salmon declined to rise and take their presentations of flies and lures, you could say it was failures all round !! Ah yes I do hear you saying and the same goes for today’s notes, I only have one thing to say to that and that is no comment!! Wind light W with reasonable cloud cover and misty rain at times. Yesterdays water, amount of rainfall 4.1 mm. Maximum air temperature 11.6 c.
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
Good news from Kylemore Abbey Fishery, where the first salmon of 2019 was landed over on Friday. Fishery manager Nigel Rush reports:
Geoffrey Fitzjohn has kicked off our 2019 season with our first fish of the year. At 4lb 9oz certainly not the largest first fish but neither is it the smallest in recent years, when I landed a 3.5lbs fish on 1st June 2016.
The fish fell to a Black Shrimp in Upper Eugenes pool. This is the third year in succession that the first salmon has been landed on the 15 March, and in this case, a hat trick for Geoffrey.
Seamus O’Neil also had a near landing, losing a good fish in the Lunch Pool on the Lower River on Friday, and last week, I turned a good fish in Tullywee Bridge Pool so… there are a few fish around.
Go fishing…
To book fishing at Kylemore Abbey, contact Nigel on 087 9580702, and for latest news check the website at www.kylemorefishery.ie
Hidden away between the mountains of Connemara and the Atlantic ocean, the Kylemore Abbey fishery is a wild and beautiful place. Kylemore Abbey Fishery consists of the Kylemore Middle and Castle lakes, as well as part of the Upper Lough, with the five and a half kilometres of the Dawros river which enters the sea in Ballynakill bay. Salmon and sea-trout run for a good proportion of the year to provide first class fishing on uncrowded waters.
The open panoramas of the lakes contrast with the intimacy of the river to give a variety of fishing combined with stunning scenery unrivalled anywhere in Ireland. Although offering an excellent chance of a fish for most of the season, you will find the real meaning of “a fish is a bonus” at Kylemore.
David McEvoy reports on on more good fishing at Delphi:
Week 10 finished in fine style with three fish landed. Conditions were excellent with the river running at 52 and the day itself was pleasant with intermittent sunshine. Yvonne who had yet to get off the mark did so with gusto, when she landed two fish from the Horseshoe Pool in 15 minutes. The first weighed in at 7lbs 14ozs and the second was approx. 7lbs. Both fish were taken on a Delphi Collie, fished on a floating line. Just after lunch Werner thought the Stream on Finlough looked perfect and duly landed a sea-liced fish of approx. 7.5lbs. This was also taken on a Delphi Collie. That brought our total for the week to seven.
On Sunday we welcomed three new syndicate members and they were certainly encountered stormy, cold and wet weather. Water height this week has varied from 45 to 80 but we have had gales every day from the West or North West, making fishing on Finlough nearly impossible. Having said that Ciaran Boland did manage to land a lovely fish on Monday afternoon in the Meadow Pool of 10lbs 15ozs on a Delphi Collie. There were also a few handshakes, with two fish being encountered briefly on Tuesday and another risen.
There was heavy rain again on Wednesday night and the river was at 70 on Thursday morning. Alan Molloy, on his first outing of the year managed to land a fish in the Whin Pool of approx. 7.5lbs on a Black and Yellow copper tube. Steve Jones also on his first outing of the season, landed a lovely fish of approx. 8lbs in the Waterfall on a Willie Gunn.
The river is at 65 this morning after more rain last night and Paul Wymes as usual got his season off to a great start when he landed a lovely fish of 9lbs 6ozs in the Waterfall on a Willie Gunn. We have some very experienced rods today so I would be hopeful that we should see a few more before the close of play. There are still rods available tomorrow, Sunday and Monday and conditions should be good for the coming days so if anyone is interested please contact me directly on 087 6388510.
A wild salmon being released this week at Delphi, where all wild fish are released as a rule. #CPRsavesfish
At Delphi Lodge, with many years of experience with the timing of the best runs of fish, we have in place a price system that offers both great value fishing and lets our anglers know when they have the best chance to catch a fresh run spring salmon or a summer grilse or Delphi sea trout.
Inland Fisheries Ireland is inviting expressions of interest from suitably qualified individuals to become or continue to be members of Fishery District Committees in the following Fishery Districts where commercial fisheries exist :
The individuals should be representative of one of the following groups / sectors:
Commercial salmon fishermen (draft net or snap net where appropriate)
Rated Occupiers of fisheries
Salmon Rod representatives
Any suitably qualifying individual wishing to be considered for representation on these committees should write to Inland Fisheries Ireland at the address below stating the Fishery District in which they wish to be considered for inclusion on the committee and the category to which they belong (1 – 3 above).
The primary purpose of the Fishery District Committees is to recommend the allocation of the available salmon surplus as identified by the Technical Expert Group on Salmon between the commercial and recreational sectors for those fisheries which have a surplus.
Typically there will be one meeting per year (April).
Expenses will not be paid.
Applicants will be assessed and may or may not be selected to serve on the committee. It is anticipated that this call for expressions of interest will be for the 5-year period 2019 – 2023.
Written applications (there is no official form) should be sent to the following:
Inland Fisheries Ireland, Fishery District Committees, Sunnyside House, Macroom, Co. Cork, P12 X602 or by email to: [email protected].
Closing date for applications is 5pm on Friday 12th April 2019.
For more information on qualifying criteria or relevant ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ please see the ‘About Us’ section of the Inland Fisheries Ireland website : www.fisheriesireland.ie.
RTÉ Radio Junior broadcast fishy show for anglers and budding ecologists
RTÉ’s Radio Junior will broadcast it’s Hidden Worlds Programme this coming Tuesday 19th of March at 7pm.
This week’s episode focuses on Ireland’s lakes and rivers with the children learning about the fish and wildlife which live within our waters. They will also be introduced to fishing by Inland Fisheries Ireland’s Dublin Angling Initiative Co-Ordinator Rory Keatinge.
It’s definitely one for any budding anglers or ecologists out there!
Tune in live at: https://rtejr.rte.ie/rtejr-listen/
Storm Gareth limited fishing effort and success for much of the last week
Rainfall amounts were at least twice the average in nearly all parts of the country during the past 7 days. West Ulster and parts of northwest Munster had over 250% of normal amounts for this time of year, with much of west Ulster receiving over 60mm of rainfall. The rain made for flooded venues and the cold and unpleasant conditions put many anglers off heading out in any event.
Apart from the rain (and there was a fair bit of hail and snow at times too) it was a very windy week. Storm Gareth brought gusts of wind to over 130kmph and so it is no surprise that the sea conditions were not suited to fishing from shore or boat.
Stephen Prendiville releases his salmon
We have only a bare handful of angling reports in which is not surprising at all. Catch of the week goes to Stephen Prendiville on the River Feale for his salmon caught and released at the weekend. Fishing on the Feale has not been easy as the levels have not settled yet as showers keep the floods topped up. Staying with salmon angling, the Delphi fishery reports a great start to March with 4 fish caught, but high water has limited catches since then. Surprisingly there were a few fish from Waterville too as salmon were landed from the river and lake during a couple of brief opportunities on Friday and Saturday.
Eamonn Bracken with a Barrow navigation canal perch
Eamon Bracken fished through atrocious conditions on Sunday to catch 10.10 kg of roach, dace and perch from the Barrow Canal. Also in his catch (but of course not counted) was a recovering salmon kelt that took a bit of landing on the pole. Andrew Seaburnett fished in Leitrim but the conditions were similar. He did well to catch 55 fish for 7lb 9oz, enough for a win in his competition which was the final of the Lanesborough Anglers winter league. The win gave him the points he needed to win the league overall for a great end to a rotten day.
RTÉ Radio Junior broadcast fishy show for anglers and budding ecologists
RTÉ’s Radio Junior will broadcast it’s Hidden Worlds Programme this coming Tuesday 19th of March at 7pm.
This week’s episode focuses on Ireland’s lakes and rivers with the children learning about the fish and wildlife which live within our waters. They will also be introduced to fishing by Inland Fisheries Ireland’s Dublin Angling Initiative Co-Ordinator Rory Keatinge.
It’s definitely one for any budding anglers or ecologists out there!
Cold and unsettled weather is forecast for the weekend, with a risk of wintry rain, hail and sleet, especially in the north and northwest and also some frost. After a cold and miserable Saturday, Sunday will be a cold, breezy day, with sunny spells and scattered showers. Maximum temperatures 7 to 10 Celsius, in moderate to fresh northwesterly winds. There is not expected to be much change to the weather pattern for the next week as it remains unsettled, with most areas again likely to see over twice the average rainfall amounts, and three times the average possible in parts of the east.
As we go to press there are 2 weather warnings in place:
Status Yellow – Snow-ice warning for Donegal
A spell of snow on Friday night and early Saturday morning will lead to poor driving conditions and accumulations of up to 3 cm. On high ground accumulations are likely to be greater.
Status Yellow – Gale Warning Westerly gales will develop again tonight on all Irish coastal waters and on the Irish Sea.
Here’s to all the anglers who mark St Patrick’s Day by taking to the river. Once you’ve got all the rain gear on, try a fly with a bit of green in it for the day that’s in it!
