The Irish Pike Society had a very enjoyable fish-in on the wild western loughs this weekend past. IPS reports..
A beautiful pike
Tough conditions with strong winds and incessant rain didn’t deter the hardy bucks… Or late nights and pints! A few fish caught, no numbers but some quality. Best, and winner of the IPS “Golden balls eggcup” and a voucher from “Southside angling” was the redoubtable Al Rawlings with a nice fish of 29.04lb. Couple of other notable fish were a 25.15lb (118cm) and a 22.00lb. Fantastic hospitality from Eddie Lynch the owner of Fairhill House hotel in Clonbur, which was our base. Probably the guts of €5K pumped into a small rural economy on a wet winter weekend.
New pike regulations
The Irish Pike Society (IPS) condemn in the strongest terms new regulations that allow the killing of four specimen pike (our native Irish predator) per day, per angler, in our premier limestone loughs.
Previous to this new bye-law, specimen pike were legislatively protected by existing laws that stated that all pike over 50cm should be released unharmed, with an allowed catch of only 1 pike of this size per day. This bye-law recognised both their economic contribution to angling tourism (€102 million in 2016) but also their beneficial effect on the relevant ecosystem. It also recognised the fact that over 70% of the angling community will not even visit waters that pike are killed in (ESRI angling report 2016). This new law will mean pike of any size may be killed, including specimens previously highly regarded by our UK and European neighbours.
The Irish Pike Society will be taking a high court challenge to this new regulation.
Kevin Lyons of Melview Lodge in Longford reports on the catches of some Dutch anglers staying at Melview Lodge…
Pike
Peter and Wim from the Netherlands returned once again to Melview Fishing lodge for their annual fishing trip. This time they had to cope with a couple very windy days which restricted their fishing a little. Some days were better than others but still they managed Pike to 90 + cm along with a lot of smaller fish. It was a good holiday with a few laughs along the way.
Kevin has over 30 years experience of fishing in Ireland and is happy to offer a guided tour on your arrival, and to advise where the on-form waters in the area are. We can arrange your bait order so it’s here when you arrive. Melview offers free use of 17ft lake boats with engines to our guests (pay fuel only) and Kevin is happy to assist with any pre-baiting requests. Maps and other information regarding fishing are also available.
The 2018 Buckland Lecture, University College Dublin 20th November 2018
and also at UCC –
Room CEC 7/8, Ground Floor Enterprise Centre, Distillery Fields, Cork
23 November
This Buckland Lecture offers a unique opportunity to hear one of Europe’s top salmon managers speak on how both scientific and “direct from the river bank” knowledge has informed and misinformed (quite a bit of that!) management of our unique salmon resource over the years. Spanning the period from the early 16th century to today, Ronald’s far ranging and highly entertaining talk will cover:
The period when parr were seen as separate species of fish!
The revolution that took place once parr were discovered to be the young of salmon
Early efforts to artificially breed salmon
How the fallacy grew that fertilisation of salmon eggs in the wild was inefficient
The view that eggs, fry and parr of salmon were far better off in the cosseted and safe environment of a well run salmon hatchery
The talk will describe the last great collapse of grilse stocks in the 1850’s
The slow realisation that wild salmon ova and fry belong in the river and not in artificial hatchery tanks
About Ronald:
Ronald & Tagged Salmon on the Teed
It is no exaggeration to say that fish and fishing is in Ronald’s blood! His schooling started in highlands of Perthshire in the 1960’s. His father had the salmon fishing of the Pass of Killiecrankie and so would take Ronald and his sister an hour early to school, so he could fish while they played on the river bank – at times taking as many as five fresh salmon in that one hour!!! His first degree was in Zoology, at the University of Aberdeen. He then headed to the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand, where he completed a thesis on the effect of water abstraction on a river population of brown trout. His next research post was as a Post-doctoral Fellow in UCC. Following several other placements in Turkey and Scotland he joined the staff of the Tweed Foundation as their first fisheries biologist in 1990. Ronald advised the Commission on fisheries management policy and formulated the Fisheries Management Plans (FMP) for the Tweed & Eye Fisheries District.
The lecture is free but to be sure we can fit you in you must book your place on eventbrite.ie:
L-R Back Andrew Powell, Simon Gibson, David Dennis, Jacek Gorny Front Colin Rutherford, Tomek Kurman, Steven Powell
Team Ireland attend the Fips-ed 11th World Championships Carnivorous Artificial Bait Boat Angling
Team Ireland Predator squad recently returned from the 2018 championships held on Rutland Water in the Midlands, England.
L-R Back Andrew Powell, Simon Gibson, David Dennis, Jacek Gorny Front Colin Rutherford, Tomek Kurman, Steven Powell
The week-long trip aw the seven mad squad take advantage of some good fishing on Grafham Water whilst the Championship venue was closed. An enjoyable two days was spent in search of Zander (a new species for many of the team) and large perch and pike. The venue didn’t disappoint and produced some large bonus bream and a PB for Jacek Gorny. The team welcomed the warm hospitality from the rangers, staff and fellow anglers at this managed water.
Onto Rutland and the warm sunny weather was rapidly deteriorating as the team explored the water on Thursday and Friday with variables catches. Apprehension about anchorage were overcome with the tool box to customise the boats and attach the spot lock. The boats predominantly used by game anglers on these trout waters were all uniform in size and thus the same for everyone with 5hp engines. Fair play to the South African and the USA teams who had to purchase/hire equipment on arrival to compete.
Jacek Gorny
Day one of the championships saw the championships team, selected through a series of qualifiers earlier this year, Tomek Kurman & Jacek Gorny and brothers Steven & Andrew Powell take to the water. Squad members David Dennis, Colin Rutherford and Simon Gibson assumed shore support and volunteered as stewards with one angler stepping in each day. The Ireland team got off to a good start; against 40mph winds and tough fishing they produced 22 fish and 27,087 points for 6th position. With the two pairs together ranked 13th & 14th they headed into competition day two in high spirits. Concerns about manoeuvring around the catamaran racers were quickly overcome with persistent and very cold rain making conditions much harder than Saturday. This combined with a change in fishing area for one of the boats left the team unable to capitalise on the good position and whilst many fish including a good number of zander were caught, the total number caught of qualifying size was lower leaving the team to finish 10th.
Andrew Powell
International Predator Team Manager, Tomek Kurman, reports: –
“I am very proud to once again present Team Ireland on the world stage, a team who work well together on and off the water and for their support of the entire squad before and during the championships. Angling at International level is tough but rewarding. Each year we visit different countries fishing a variety of venues and constantly learn from these trips. Of course, we want to win but the knowledge acquired, and the camaraderie of the participating teams all contributes to a great experience. I would like to take the opportunity to thank the NCFFI who cover the entry fee and contribute to travel costs, to our friends & families who helped by taking part in our prize draw and to our invaluable sponsors who keep us kitted out on the water Duo Hook, Baltic Lifejackets, Dennetts Outdoor Ltd, Strike-Pro, Vass Waders & Rainwear and Costa Sunglasses.
Also, to FIPS-ed and the Angling Trust competition organisers who showed us two fine facilities for anglers with jetty-side rest rooms, parking, tackle sales and cafeteria. Roll on South Africa in 2018!”
Whilst the 2018 boat team has also been selected to fish the next World Championships in February 2019 at the World Games in South Africa, preparations are already underway to provide a series of qualifiers to select the 2019 Bank and 2020 Boat teams throughout 2019. Artificial bait lure angling is huge in Europe but still growing in Ireland. The NCFFI are keen to encourage more into this sport and international competition.
Kevin Lyons of Melview Lodge in Longford reports on the catches of some Dutch anglers staying at Melview Lodge…
Pike
Peter and Wim from the Netherlands returned once again to Melview Fishing lodge for their annual fishing trip. This time they had to cope with a couple very windy days which restricted their fishing a little. Some days were better than others but still they managed Pike to 90 + cm along with a lot of smaller fish. It was a good holiday with a few laughs along the way.
Kevin has over 30 years experience of fishing in Ireland and is happy to offer a guided tour on your arrival, and to advise where the on-form waters in the area are. We can arrange your bait order so it’s here when you arrive. Melview offers free use of 17ft lake boats with engines to our guests (pay fuel only) and Kevin is happy to assist with any pre-baiting requests. Maps and other information regarding fishing are also available.
The 2018 Buckland Lecture, University College Dublin 20th November 2018
and also at UCC –
Room CEC 7/8, Ground Floor Enterprise Centre, Distillery Fields, Cork
23 November
This Buckland Lecture offers a unique opportunity to hear one of Europe’s top salmon managers speak on how both scientific and “direct from the river bank” knowledge has informed and misinformed (quite a bit of that!) management of our unique salmon resource over the years. Spanning the period from the early 16th century to today, Ronald’s far ranging and highly entertaining talk will cover:
The period when parr were seen as separate species of fish!
The revolution that took place once parr were discovered to be the young of salmon
Early efforts to artificially breed salmon
How the fallacy grew that fertilisation of salmon eggs in the wild was inefficient
The view that eggs, fry and parr of salmon were far better off in the cosseted and safe environment of a well run salmon hatchery
The talk will describe the last great collapse of grilse stocks in the 1850’s
The slow realisation that wild salmon ova and fry belong in the river and not in artificial hatchery tanks
About Ronald:
Ronald & Tagged Salmon on the Teed
It is no exaggeration to say that fish and fishing is in Ronald’s blood! His schooling started in highlands of Perthshire in the 1960’s. His father had the salmon fishing of the Pass of Killiecrankie and so would take Ronald and his sister an hour early to school, so he could fish while they played on the river bank – at times taking as many as five fresh salmon in that one hour!!! His first degree was in Zoology, at the University of Aberdeen. He then headed to the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand, where he completed a thesis on the effect of water abstraction on a river population of brown trout. His next research post was as a Post-doctoral Fellow in UCC. Following several other placements in Turkey and Scotland he joined the staff of the Tweed Foundation as their first fisheries biologist in 1990. Ronald advised the Commission on fisheries management policy and formulated the Fisheries Management Plans (FMP) for the Tweed & Eye Fisheries District.
The lecture is free but to be sure we can fit you in you must book your place on eventbrite.ie:
L-R Back Andrew Powell, Simon Gibson, David Dennis, Jacek Gorny Front Colin Rutherford, Tomek Kurman, Steven Powell
Team Ireland attend the Fips-ed 11th World Championships Carnivorous Artificial Bait Boat Angling
Team Ireland Predator squad recently returned from the 2018 championships held on Rutland Water in the Midlands, England.
L-R Back Andrew Powell, Simon Gibson, David Dennis, Jacek Gorny Front Colin Rutherford, Tomek Kurman, Steven Powell
The week-long trip aw the seven mad squad take advantage of some good fishing on Grafham Water whilst the Championship venue was closed. An enjoyable two days was spent in search of Zander (a new species for many of the team) and large perch and pike. The venue didn’t disappoint and produced some large bonus bream and a PB for Jacek Gorny. The team welcomed the warm hospitality from the rangers, staff and fellow anglers at this managed water.
Onto Rutland and the warm sunny weather was rapidly deteriorating as the team explored the water on Thursday and Friday with variables catches. Apprehension about anchorage were overcome with the tool box to customise the boats and attach the spot lock. The boats predominantly used by game anglers on these trout waters were all uniform in size and thus the same for everyone with 5hp engines. Fair play to the South African and the USA teams who had to purchase/hire equipment on arrival to compete.
Jacek Gorny
Day one of the championships saw the championships team, selected through a series of qualifiers earlier this year, Tomek Kurman & Jacek Gorny and brothers Steven & Andrew Powell take to the water. Squad members David Dennis, Colin Rutherford and Simon Gibson assumed shore support and volunteered as stewards with one angler stepping in each day. The Ireland team got off to a good start; against 40mph winds and tough fishing they produced 22 fish and 27,087 points for 6th position. With the two pairs together ranked 13th & 14th they headed into competition day two in high spirits. Concerns about manoeuvring around the catamaran racers were quickly overcome with persistent and very cold rain making conditions much harder than Saturday. This combined with a change in fishing area for one of the boats left the team unable to capitalise on the good position and whilst many fish including a good number of zander were caught, the total number caught of qualifying size was lower leaving the team to finish 10th.
Andrew Powell
International Predator Team Manager, Tomek Kurman, reports: –
“I am very proud to once again present Team Ireland on the world stage, a team who work well together on and off the water and for their support of the entire squad before and during the championships. Angling at International level is tough but rewarding. Each year we visit different countries fishing a variety of venues and constantly learn from these trips. Of course, we want to win but the knowledge acquired, and the camaraderie of the participating teams all contributes to a great experience. I would like to take the opportunity to thank the NCFFI who cover the entry fee and contribute to travel costs, to our friends & families who helped by taking part in our prize draw and to our invaluable sponsors who keep us kitted out on the water Duo Hook, Baltic Lifejackets, Dennetts Outdoor Ltd, Strike-Pro, Vass Waders & Rainwear and Costa Sunglasses.
Also, to FIPS-ed and the Angling Trust competition organisers who showed us two fine facilities for anglers with jetty-side rest rooms, parking, tackle sales and cafeteria. Roll on South Africa in 2018!”
Whilst the 2018 boat team has also been selected to fish the next World Championships in February 2019 at the World Games in South Africa, preparations are already underway to provide a series of qualifiers to select the 2019 Bank and 2020 Boat teams throughout 2019. Artificial bait lure angling is huge in Europe but still growing in Ireland. The NCFFI are keen to encourage more into this sport and international competition.
A new Support Scheme for Eel Fisherpersons is now open for applications. The Eel Fisherpersons Support Scheme will provide €3million over three years to fisherpersons experiencing hardship following the Government’s decision to follow scientific advice on eel stocks from 2009 and beyond.
The Scheme offers a restitution payment to former eel fisherpersons who were licenced / permitted to engage with the commercial eel fishery in 2007.
Key Points about the Scheme:
The fund is available to all commercial eel licence holders who held a licence (or an eel fishing permit from the E.S.B.) in the 2007 season.
A tax free sum may be paid to licence or permit holders in respect of each of the five reckonable years (2003-2007) for which they were a licence or permit holder.
A further taxable payment may be made to licence or permit holders in respect of the average of their catches, based on State held records, during the five reckonable years (2003-2007).
Fyke nets, which were used to catch eels.
The scheme will be open for applications from the 22nd of October until 5pm on the 30th of November 2018.
A new Support Scheme for Eel Fisherpersons is now open for applications. The Eel Fisherpersons Support Scheme will provide €3million over three years to fisherpersons experiencing hardship following the Government’s decision to follow scientific advice on eel stocks from 2009 and beyond.
The Scheme offers a restitution payment to former eel fisherpersons who were licenced / permitted to engage with the commercial eel fishery in 2007.
Key Points about the Scheme:
The fund is available to all commercial eel licence holders who held a licence (or an eel fishing permit from the E.S.B.) in the 2007 season.
A tax free sum may be paid to licence or permit holders in respect of each of the five reckonable years (2003-2007) for which they were a licence or permit holder.
A further taxable payment may be made to licence or permit holders in respect of the average of their catches, based on State held records, during the five reckonable years (2003-2007).
Fyke nets, which were used to catch eels.
The scheme will be open for applications from the 22nd of October until 5pm on the 30th of November 2018.
Mick Flanagan reports on a great pike fishing holiday in the midlands for a group of Italian anglers…
Paulo with perch
Paolo Massignani and pal Roberto Quaglia finished of their few days pike fishing in some style. On one day the lads boated 6 pike over 1m in size, and the fish were fighting fit.
Paolo Massignani and Roberto Quaglia win Catch of the Week for this striking double hook up
Roberto told us that the lakes in the Midlands are top class for predator fishing, and cant wait to return to Mullingar in the future.
The lads caught many of the fish on slider lures, and Shads. These lures are available locally in Mullingar.
Midlands Angling provide a top class Guiding service covering many of the top coarse and game waters across the Midlands. Visiting fly anglers have landed some fine trout while out with Midland Angling Guides, pike anglers also recorded some net bursting catches including many pike over 20lbs. Top waters include Lough Ree, Ennell, Owel, Lene, Mount Dalton, and Glore Lake just to mention a few. Michael Flanagan Midland Angling
Pike and Trout angling guide.
