Water levels were fair but fell over the week on the Drowes. On Monday the gauge read 0.51m and by Sunday this had fallen to 0.42m. The fishery was fairly quiet as is usual at this late stage in the season. There were a number of salmon recorded however and a run of late fresh grilse came into the fishery. These were around 3 to 3½lb and a number of anglers and fishery residents recorded catching the same along with larger coloured fish. Harry Lloyd recorded a 3lb grilse caught on fly from the Sea Pools. Richard Evans accounted for 2 such grilse also.
At the time of writing, there has been some decent rain and we would expect the Drowes to rise somewhat over the coming days.
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River Drowes
The Drowes Fishery is one of Ireland’s premier spring salmon and grilse fisheries. The river is some 5 miles in length, with over 70 named pools, flowing from Lough Melvin at Lareen Bay and entering the sea at Tullaghan, just outside Bundoran. The Drowes has a wide variety of water suitable for all fishing methods, including several miles of good fly water and deeper slower moving pools suitable for spinning and bait fishing.
For information and bookings on the Drowes Fishery & Lough Melvin see http://www.drowessalmonfishery.com Tel: 071 9841055 (8am to 12 noon). Mob: +353 (0) 87 8050806
For info/Guides/boat hire on Lough Melvin contact Sean Maguire’s Tackle Shop, Main Street, Garrison.Tel. (048) 686 58194
Lough Melvin, Rossinver Fishery: For info/Guides/boat hire/bookings etc. contact Sean Carty. Tel: 083 1197428.
We have had 20 salmon landed over this period. The beginning of September was relatively quiet with a couple of rods fishing everyday and catches reflected this with 4 salmon landed between the 1st and 7th. Regular angler John Phelan had 2 grilse of 6lbs. and 3.9lbs from the lower and middle garden pool on the afternoon of the 4th. John was into action again on the morning of the 5th releasing a wild grilse of 3lbs. from the middle garden pool.
Sally Pool upper and sally bush
On Friday 7th visiting angler Paul Chew fished with us and released a 7lbs. wild salmon from the broken bridge pool on beat 5 using a fly called the wheat sheav. We had a nice rise in water levels over Saturday night leaving the river at 1.36m on the morning of Sunday 9th. This flood livened up the fishing and we had 5 salmon landed for the day. First into action was regular visitor Jean-Francoise Calvar who had a 3lbs. grilse from glencally on beat 5 using his ‘little black fly’ that he uses to great effect every year. Then it was regular angler Albert Caffrey’s turn who landed a 2.7lbs grilse from black banks on beat 6 using a Willie gunn. Jim Stafford and Arthur Muckian followed this up with an 8lbs. salmon each from Dog pool on beat 2 within a few minutes of each other, these fish came to a Stoat’s tail and Claret shrimp.
Monday 10th Michael Adamson released a fresh wild grilse of 3lbs. from the middle garden pool using a foxford shrimp. Later that evening Jean-Jacque Calvar landed a 5lbs. grilse from above the rapids on beat 8 using a Collie dog. Tuesday 11th the Matthews brothers Lewis and Jasper fished the morning with us and had 3 grilse between them 4lbs. 4.5lbs and 6lbs., two of these came from Mickey’s run and the other from the tail of white rock run on a Cascade and Gold shrimp. Visiting angler Mark Murphy fished beat 6 that morning and landed a 3lbs. grilse from Colonel’s run on beat 6 using a Collie dog. Jim Stafford returned and had 2 grilse also from beat 7 at the Sally bush weighing 3lbs. and 3.7lbs. both on a Cascade. Jean-pierre Leroy (part of the Calvar group) released a wild grilse of 5lbs from the tawnyard potholes on beat 3 using a yellow shrimp.
Wednesday 12th Jean-Jacque Calvar landed a 5.5lbs. grilse from the Boat pool on beat 5 using his ”little black fly”. Visiting angler Kieran Murphy released a 2.5lbs. wild grilse from the school house on beat 3 and Arthur Muckian released a 5lbs. wild grilse from the Mering pool on beat 7 on a Curry’s red shrimp. Interestingly these last 3 fish were all caught within 15 minutes of each other and from different parts of the river. If you would like a last chance of catching a salmon before the 2018 season finishes give the fishery office a call on (095) 42382 or email [email protected]
Declan Moran was the Overall winner of the 52nd Newport Sea Angling Festival receiving the Tom Moran Memorial Cup and dinner for two at Newport House from his mother Bella.
Declan Moran is the overall winner of the 52nd Annual Newport Sea Angling Festival!
The 52nd Annual Newport Sea Angling Festival Competition was fished over the August Bank Holiday weekend 2018. On the Sunday evening, following what was a very close contest, local angler Declan Moran was announced as the overall winner with a total of 34 fish and 195 points.
Declan Moran was the Overall winner of the 52nd Newport Sea Angling Festival receiving the Tom Moran Memorial Cup and dinner for two at Newport House from his mother Bella.
What made the win even more special was that he was the recipient of the ‘Tom Moran Memorial Cup’, a cup dedicated to the legacy of his late Father, Tom Moran, (a local skipper and long serving committee member of the club), who sadly passed away in 1997. He also received a dinner for two sponsored by Newport House Hotel. Declan is the current club Vice Chairman and has helped, along with the rest of the committee, to grow the club from strength to strength over the last number of years. He has helped and encouraged many of the current Junior members to develop an interest in the sport of Deep Sea Angling. Our congratulations from all at the club on what was a brilliant and well deserved win.
Shauna Moran won the Best Junior Lady category at the recent Newport SAC Festival. Regards
As always, a strong entry from the UK brought the total number of participants to over 80 anglers in this years event. Conditions were good on the day and catches varied across the boats with some faring out better than others. The prize presentation took place in Hotel Newport and the function room was once again filled to capacity for the large crowd that gathered for the presentation. The Hotel provided finger food for all in attendance (thanks to Hotel Newport management & staff for their continued support). A special presentation was made to Bella Moran, the current club treasurer, on the night to mark her long association and dedicated service to the club.
David Loftus was the Overall Junior winner of the 52nd Newport Sea Angling Festival.
The club would like to congratulate all senior and junior anglers who fished on the day and a special thank you to all the sponsors who contributed so generously to the event. A special thank you to the following sponsors:
Newport House Hotel, Allergan Pharamaceuticals, Castlecourt Hotel, Bridge House Beauty Salon, Attracta’s Laundrette, Chambers Garden Centre, Paco Castlebar, Sheridans Centra, Back Oak Inn, Hotel Newport, The Bridge Inn, Newport Post Office, Mid West Furniture, West Tackle, Newport Pharmacy, The Grainne Uaille, Nevins Bar, Alices Restaurant Achill, Peter Ryder Garage, Patricia’s Fashions, Walshes Footwear, Mulranny Park Hotel, Futura Flooring, Corcoran’s Drapery, RBM Fisheries, Keanes Butchers, Topman Construction, Nevins Tiernaur, Wyatt Hotel, Saline Drumm, Margaret O’Malley, Marys of Mulranny, Trophy sponsors: Bella Moran, Sean & Josephie Kilroy, Pat Moran, Martin & Mary O’Malley.
A selection of the prizes on display at the 52nd Newport Sea Angling Festival.
The results of the Newport SAC 52nd Sea Angling Festival were as follows:
Seniors Category: Overall Winner was Declan Moran with 34 fish and 195 points, runner up was Ian Daly with 28 fish and 195 points and 3rd place was Kevin Daly with 22 fish and 140 points. 4th place – Siobhan Melvin, 5th place Enda Moore & Pat Moran, 6th Joe Macmanamon, 7th John Munnelly, 8th Ciarán Murray, 9th Niamh Martin.
Overseas Category – Seniors: 1st Place – Sarah O’Brien with 15 fish and 130 points, 2nd Place – David McCorrey, 3rd Place – Thomas Counsel
Largest Fish Category: Largest Ray – Mary Pavey, Largest Bullhuss – Pat Moran
A group of Junior Anglers getting ready to board their boats ahead of the 52nd Newport Sea Angling Festival.
Juniors Category: 1st place was David Loftus with 27 fish and 135 points, 2nd place – Calum Kennedy, 3rd place – James Moran, 4th place – Jack Brennan, 5th place – Eabha Melvin, 6th place – Róisín Moran, 7th place – Ronan Brennan, 8th place – Matthew Moran
Overseas Junior Category: Winner – Joseph O’Brien (UK) with 21 fish and 105 points. Joint 2nd Place – Arthur & Bridget Moran (UK)
Overseas Junior Novice Category: Joint Winners – Thomas & Patrick O’Brien (UK), Runner Up – Michael O’Brien
Best Junior Lady Category: Winner – Shauna Moran, Runner-Up – Clodagh Moran
Dearbhla Cooney pictured with her 42″ Bullhuss which won the Junior largest Huss category.
Novice Category: Winner Girl – Sorcha Melvin, Winner Boy – Connor Dunleavy, Runner-Up Boy – Diarmuid Cooney
Conor Dunleavy pictured with his 19″ Ray which won the Junior largest Ray category.
Junior Largest Fish Category: Largest Ray – Connor Dunleavy, Largest Bullhuss – Dearbhla Cooney
Skipper of the Day – Niall O’Boyle – Inishoo
Shane Gilvarry (left) was the overall winner of the Newport SAC Shore Angling Competition. Ian Daly (right) was the runner up.
Shore Competition Results: 1st Place – Shane Gilvarry, 2nd Place – Ian Daly, 3rd Place – Fiacrá McKenna
The club will host its final competition of the year (sponsored by Clew Bay Bike Hire) on Sunday the 30th of September. This competition is open to all anglers and we are now taking entries, so please contact Sue on 086 3862568 to book your place.
The Owenea ran at low levels overall for the week but we received a decent flood on Sunday (0.28m). The gauge average for the week read 0.14 metres. The fishery was quiet with only 7 visiting rods in attendance and we have few records to date of fish caught.
Visiting French Journalist Franck Hiribarne from Voyage de Peche magazine however recorded his 1st ever Atlantic salmon caught on Sunday. This weighed around 10lb and was caught and released on a spinner from Beat 7.
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For info/bookings etc on the Owenea Fishery –
Tel: 074 9551141. (9am to 1pm April to May & 7am to 1pm June to Sept).
There is a definite autumnal feel in the air now, with cooler, showery conditions prevailing this week and night time temperatures taking a tumble. With the cooler weather has come some rain, which gave good water levels in some rivers, although the east coast rivers are still at a low ebb and need a lot more. Salmon angling has picked up with the change, with the Munster Blackwater producing good sport. Lough Currane showed a welcome return to form after a tough summer so far, and hopefully the last few weeks of the season will bring more good sport there. Salmon fishing in west Cork also picked up, while the Moy had a good week with over 200 fish recorded.
Trout fishing season is drawing to a close shortly also, and fishing has really improved on most trout fisheries since the weather cooled, with Corrib the pick of the big lakes performing at the moment. River fishing is also picking up, with the Suir producing some good evening on the evening hatch of olives and sedges.
Thomas Buggy, Kilkenny with his September trout
Cooler weather suits pike angling, as pike tend to sulk in the warmer summer months and are waking up now and feeding hard. Mick Flanagan reports good pike fishing on the midland lakes, and with pike anglers also waking up from their summer siestas, we expect a lot more pike angling sport, and reports, in the coming weeks.
The Shapiro family from Germany.
Coarse angling has been full speed ahead of late, with several large festivals and competitions being held around the country, and great fishing reported from many venues. The Daiwa World Pairs Championship, fished across a range of venues in Cavan and Fermanagh, provided great sport and stiff competition, eventually won by Lee Kerry and Rob Wootton with a bag of 175.96kg, including Lee’s 114.020kg catch, which won him the Daiwa Cup for best individual angler. Phil Bardell took the Arva International with a fine haul of 73.400kg, where daily weights over 20kg were common. Good fishing was also reported from Tullamore, and Portumna ahead of their upcoming festival, while a huge congratulations goes to the Garda Siochana team, who took top honours at the European Police Championships in the Netherlands.
Some good Tench for first timers Bert and Ronald.
Sea anglers have been enjoying good sport of late, with water temperatures at their best at this time of year and fish feeding hard ahead of the winter. The weather has been hampering offshore trips a bit more, but there are still plenty of blue shark being caught around the coastline. Great pollack and mixed species fishing is also reported from Cork and Galway, where skipper John Fleming had our Catch of the Week, a rare stone bass, or wreckfish.
Catch of the Week: A very happy John Fleming with his first stone bass
And now the weather…
The forecast for the week ahead is a very unsettled picture, with plenty of showers and longer spells of rain, with moderate to fresh winds at times, and a chance of very unsettled, even stormy conditions early next week. Remember to check the forecast before going fishing, and if in doubt, sit it out!
The Arva International Coarse Angling Festival took place last week with 61 anglers taking part. Sections fished included A – Hollybank, B – Gulladoo, C – Corfree, D – Kevins, E – Killykeen. Match HQ was the Breffni Arva which was central to all venues. Excellent weights were recorded during the week with some daily weights in excess of 20kg.
The following is a list of the winners:-
Phil Bardell 73.400kg
Neil Parkinson 69.775kg
Kevin Rowles 63.000kg
Simon Godfry 59.800kg
Kevin Johnson 56.920kg
Ian Bowman 56.800kg
Gowna Festiva
The Annual Gowna Festival took place during last week in August. Again excellent weights were recorded with the winning total coming in at 100.780kg R Dunne. In second place T Kersley 63.450kg and third place J Ibbotson 63.320kg. Day one saw R Dunne bagged a massive 42.150kg of fish so it was a matter of trying to catch up all week for all other anglers.
Try out fishing at the National Ploughing Championships
Inland Fisheries Ireland to attend with free fishing simulator for novice anglers
Novice anglers are invited to try their hand at fishing at the upcoming National Ploughing Championships. Inland Fisheries Ireland will attend the event, which takes place in Screggan, Tullamore from the 18th – 20th of September, with a fun fishing simulator suitable for all the family.
The simulator will be present at Inland Fisheries Ireland’s stand, which will be located within the Department of Communications, Climate Action and the Environment’s tent at the Championships. Anyone interested in fishing is invited to come along and have a go of the pursuit. There will also be aquariums with a range of coarse and game fish species on display.
Fisheries Officers will be on hand to answer questions from members of the public around best farming practice, angling and how to take it up as a novice as well to provide information and guidance around Ireland’s fish species and the aquatic environment.
Suzanne Campion, Head of Business Development at Inland Fisheries Ireland said: “The National Ploughing Championships is a flagship event in the Irish public’s calendar and we are delighted to attend once again this year with an interactive offering for all the family. Angling is a past time which is suitable for both young and old of any ability and we hope that attendees who enjoy fishing on the marquee floor may be enticed to try it out for real on the river bank.
The participation of the public in the fisheries resource is vital in ensuring it is protected and enhanced in a sustainable manner for both the recreational and economic benefits it offers to communities nationwide. We are looking forward to sharing insights into the fisheries resource, and the indigenous fish species that live within it, with both the general public and the farming community.”
Inland Fisheries Ireland will be located in the Department of Communications, Climate Action and the Environment’s tent. Follow Inland Fisheries Ireland’s activity at the event online at www.facebook.com/inlandfisheriesireland or @AnglingUpdate on Twitter. For more information about Inland Fisheries Ireland, visit www.fisheriesireland.ie and to find out more about the National Ploughing Championships, visit www.npa.ie .
Salmon angling on the Munster Blackwater has improved following the recent rains and although there are lots of resident fish in the system now some fresh fish have been caught and released.
Ballyduff Bridge, Blackwater Salmon Fisheries and Fort William are all reporting fish at the moment.
Reporting for Fort William Fishery, Paul Whelan tells us that the fishing has certainly picked up over the weekend with good reports in.
Alan Dempsey landed 3 fish on fly all released. Joe Hegerty landed 2 fish on fly also released. Sean Power landed and released a fish on spinner as did Mark Dempsey. Eddie O’Brien landed and released a fine fish of 7lbs off the Glenmore beat. Jeff Bennett from the US had a nice fish of 5lbs off the Bishops beat.
#CPRsavesfish salmon goes back
Paul Lawton landed a released this fish this morning (11 September) off the Castle beat. Fish was in a bit of a hurry to get back! Paul finished his day with 3 fish 4 to 5lbs all returned, and his friend had 1 4lb returned as well.
Well done to all!
Go Fishing…
Fortwilliam Fishery & Self-Catering Cottages
Fortwilliam Fishery offers two miles of double bank salmon and trout fishing over five beats on the river Blackwater.
Our salmon include – Springers, May Salmon, Grilse, Back End Salmon, and in Summer sea trout.
Our beats provide a wide variety of water, suitable for both beginners and the more experienced fishermen.
Fortwilliam Fishery, Glencairn, Lismore, Co. Waterford, Ireland Web: www.fortwilliamfishing.ieEmail: [email protected] Tel: (00353) 87 8292077 or 058 75299
Blackwater Salmon Fishery
Blackwater Salmon Fishery has 3 beats downstream of the weir and 2 upstream of the weir. Blackwater Salmon Fishery offers fishing on approximately 5 miles of the river Blackwater. The fishing is spread throughout the middle section of the river to offer good sport throughout the fishing season. Due to the location of the beats, fishing can still usually be offered in low or high water. Contact Glenda Powell: Lismore, Co Waterford, Email:[email protected] Mobile: +353 (0) 872351260 Telephone: +353 (0) 5853929 Web: www.blackwatersalmonfishery.com
Ballyduff Bridge Salmon Fishery
Ballyduff Bridge fisheries control a number of beats of the Munster Blackwater. The Ballyduff Bridge beat is almost a mile long offering a huge variety of water and is particularly suited to fly fishing. Upstream near the village of Ballyhooley (a few miles outside the town of Fermoy, Cork) we have two beats. The Ballincurrig Beat is one of the most beautiful locations along the river and has an excellent piece of fly water flowing into a deep pool. Just downstream on the opposite bank we have a short but productive beat, called Magners. This beat fishes also well in high water.
The English pair weighed a total of 175.960kg, which included Lee’s 114.020kg Daiwa Cup individual best.
Drawn in county section Cavan 4 on the last day, Lee posted a lake-topping 16.440kg at Brackley, and Rob backed it up with a lake second 8.220kg from Bunerky. The combined total was just enough to see off a strong fightback from Steve & Phil Ringer on county section Leitrim 5, from where they posted 29.500kg, to finish on 171.280kg.
2017 World Pairs winners Rod Scott & Michael Buchwalder held on to third place on 159.560kg.
The World Pairs is a week long match fished from Monday 3rd to Friday 7th September 2018 at venues in Canan and Fermanagh.
Stefan Martin from Killybegs Mariners SAC reports on the fishing around Donegal Bay…
38cm turbot for Johnny
12 September: A maiden voyage on club member Pete’s new raider 18 provided great sport over the banks with Pete catching and releasing his first ever Blonde Ray which was a lovely catch and Johnny had a fine Turbot of 38cm among numerous other flatties and rays.
Blonde Ray for Pete
On the way ashore they switched over to the squid hooks and quickly picked up a few squid for evening tea. A very enjoyable trip and quite a few “small boats” appearing at the marina now and maybe a few small boats species comps in the pipeline on the bay ahead.
08 September: Last of the summer league club outings took place last night in lovely conditions and with the evenings drawing in now giving more darkness and cover for the fish. Some lovely flounder to 35cm on the ebb tide and a hard fighting pollack of 48cm before the dogs came on the prowl towards the end of the comp.
Stefan Martin with a double flounder 35cm and 29cm
13 anglers fished on the night with longest fish prize of €39 going to Christopher Noctor and 2nd place points prize of €39 going to Stefan Martin and 1st place points prize of €78 also going to Chrostopher Noctor and €39 to the club for the trip away. So that’s the summer league over a huge well done to overall winner who fished great all summer John Cunningham congrats and also well done to everyone who took part along the way enjoying the fishing. and huge thanks to the club sponsors Mooney Boats in Killybegs and Land and Sea Sports in Bundoran for prizes and support.. next up will be the winter league of 12 outings starting in the next few weeks.
Winter League
The new season starts now, first winter league outing will take place this Friday evening 14th September on Narin strand far side of the island from the car park 19.30pm – 23.30pm. Everybody welcome to come along and enjoy fishing with a gang over the next few months
Mariners sea angling club Killybegs Co Donegal. The club runs a shore league and boat comps and angling trips around Ireland doing the sport we love. Get in touch at www.facebook.com/mariner.sac
