Public invited to information workshops around €2million funding call
Regional workshops open to members of the public interested in applying
Inland Fisheries Ireland is inviting members of the public to a series of upcoming Regional Information Workshops around its new €2million funding call. The Funding Call consists of three separate funding streams which will help ensure that Ireland’s fish stocks and angling infrastructure are protected and enhanced into the future.
National Strategy for Angling Development Fund (NSAD) €1,500,000
Inland Fisheries Ireland will hold regional information workshops for those interested in applying for funding with a view to giving participants a better understanding of the various funding streams and how they can apply via an online system. The workshops will take place in:
Date and Time
Venue
Location
Tuesday 29th August 2017
7pm
Clonmel Park Hotel
Clonmel
Co. Tipperary
Wednesday 30th August
7pm
Castle Hotel
Main St, Macroom,
Co. Cork
Thursday 31st August 2017
7pm
Maldron Hotel
Southern Ring Road, Roxboro, Limerick
Monday 04th September 2017
7pm
CityNorth Hotel
& Conference Centre
Gormanston,
Co. Meath
Tuesday 05th September 2017
7pm
Great National Hotel
N26 Dublin Rd,
Ballina,
Co. Mayo
Wednesday 06th September 2017
7pm
Menlo Park Hotel
Headford Rd,
Co. Galway
Tuesday 12th September 2017
7pm
Harvey’s Point Country Hotel
Lough Eske,
Donegal Town
Thursday 14th September 2017
7pm
Athlone Springs Hotel
Monksland, Athlone, Co. Roscommon
Members of the public who will be attending the workshops are asked to RSVP to [email protected], indicating which workshop they will be going to along with their name and contact details.
The closing date for applications to Inland Fisheries Ireland’s 2017 Funding Call is Friday, 13th of October 2017. For more information and to apply, visit www.fisheriesireland.ie/funding .
Conner with and couple of nice Bream from his catch
Angling Guide and guesthouse owner Kevin Lyons reports from Melview Lodge:
Martyn with some good Bream
Neil, Dave, Alan, Martyn and son Conner were over for their annual fishing trip to Ireland and stayed with Kevin and Jane at Melview Fishing Lodge in Longford. These guys are no strangers to Ireland as four of them have been coming over for 30+ years and son Conner is on his 2nd year and doing well.
Neil Brooks is all smiles
It was straight into the fishing after arriving and that evening the prebaiting started. The guys had some great catches of Bream, Roach and Hybrids at the two venues during their stay. This year it was all feeder fishing at around 30 yards using various hook baits but it was corn and worm that produced the best results for them.
Conner with and couple of nice Bream from his catch
For these guys it’s not all fishing as we decided on our yearly trip to a race meeting. This year was a night out at the dogs, which turned out to be a good fun night out for everyone. Great time had by all, thanks guys and see you all next year.
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.
Team France who swept the boards at the World Youth Angling Championships.
Pic: Brian Lougheed
The World Youth Angling Championships, consisting of three individual competitions, was hosted by the National Coarse Fishing Federation of Ireland who in conjunction with their members locally have developed this World Class fishery in Coachford over recent years. The event was sponsored by Inland Fisheries Ireland alongside Cork County Council, ESB, Cork Convention Bureau and Failte Ireland.
Local dignitaries, community partners and sponsors came together with Fédération Internationale de la Pêche Sportive en Eau Douce, FIPS-ed and the world’s largest authority in Sport Fishing to celebrate the opening of the event in Coachford, County Cork on Thursday 10th August.
Cllr Declan Hurley, Mayor of County Cork welcomed hundreds of enthusiastic fishing girls and boys to the county after they proudly paraded through the streets of Coachford accompanied by the Ballingeary Pipe Band and members of the Coachford Camogie and Foróige groups.
Jerry O’Sullivan, Deputy Chief Executive of the ESB Group, fishery owner and event sponsor, reviewed the history of the reservoir. In welcoming anglers from the 14 Nations he highlighted the growth of angling tourism in the local area and the economic benefit of to the local community. President of the NCFFI, Oliver McGauley reiterated the benefit angling can bring to rural communities whilst promoting fair play and good companionship in our sport. Dr Ciarán Byrne, CEO of Inland Fisheries Ireland, complimented the National Coarse Fishing Federation of Ireland on the successful bid to host the event, the second such championships on Inniscarra Lake.
From left: Dr Ciaran Byrne, CEO of Inland Fisheries Ireland; Jerry O’Sullivan, ESB Deputy Chief Executive; Declan Hurley, Mayor of the County of Cork; Oliver McGauley, President of the National Coarse Fishing Federation of Ireland and Claudio Matateoli, President of the Federation Interionale de la Peche Sportiv from Italy. Pic: Brian Lougheed
Olympic Gold medallist, Oliver Loughnane representing the High-Performance Unit of Sport Ireland came along to wish the young athletes the very best in the competition whilst Seamus Heany of Cork Convention Bureau supported the potential tourism aspect of the Greenway.
The President of FIPS-ed confirmed that our sport was still alive, as he addressed the sea of anglers under the age of 25 in front of him, before declaring the championships open. The young girls from O’Sullivan’s dancing school then enthralled the European youths with an exhibition of traditional Irish dancing to the tune of the Comhaltas musicians before it was back to base to prepare for the next day’s fishing.
Aghbullogue GAA Hall was also the venue for the daily draw and Captains meeting and was a give of activity from 6am each morning of the competition with the Managers drawing the pegs and collecting bait for the juniors. The Under 15 competition took place on the ‘Garden Centre’ stretch at Dripsey where the youngest of the anglers fished in four sections of 10. Over two kilometres of the Coachford Greenway was occupied by the Under 20 and 25 categories with 102 anglers fishing in eight sections of 13. The multi-purpose amenity was a hive of activity with supporting families & friends on the bank along with an estimated 8000 number of spectators throughout the weekend.
Hands up to the 100 anglers from across Ireland and members of the local community who volunteered to support the event working as traffic marshals, weigh-men, fish counters and general stewards throughout the weekend.
The fishing which set off with a slow start for the anglers arriving to the area early soon picked up with the swims being fed and magnificent catches were soon recorded in the training days prior to the competition. There was 2164,000 kg of fish were netted, weighed and released safely back to the water during the two days of the championships alone. It was a fish a chuck with the anglers fishing the pole for roach, skimmers and hybrids achieving a slightly better stamp of fish using the slider. France’s U25 Alexandre Caudin averaged a fish every 80seconds which gave him the Gold Medal position and individual World Champion of 2017.
It was another angling first for Inniscarra as France were triumphant winning all three events Under 15, Under 20 and Under 25; the first country ever to do so. The skills of the European juniors were exceptional and saw Poland, Germany and England take the Silver and Bronze positions. In the Individual categories the Czech Republic and Belgium also collected medals for their positions against the 14 nations.
Team France who swept the boards at the World Youth Angling Championships. Pic: Brian Lougheed
Team Ireland didn’t fare out so well finishing 9th in the U25, 8th in the U20 and 7th in the U15. County Fermanagh Under 20 James O’Doherty, Ireland’s favourite for a medal just missed the podium finishing with five points but missing out to 4th/5th position by weight ending up in sixth position. County Monaghan’s Eion Rogers also finished in 6th position overall a magnificent achievement for this 12-year-old at his first World Championships. Team Ireland presented some of the youngest anglers on the bank, many of whom were new to International angling but whose skills at such a young age were the envy of coaches and Managers on the bank; they have all enjoyed the experience, learnt a lot and have a bright future.
The competition ended with Claudio Matteioli and the FIPS-ed delegation and President of the NCFFI presenting the winners with their trophies and medals before all the teams came together in a display of colour at the Oriel House Hotel for a celebratory dinner to complete the event.
Facts & Figures
Under 25’s
Team
France
Belgium
Poland
Position
1st
2nd
3rd
Points
24
37
38
Weight
102.628
85.641
88.600
Individual
France
Belgium
Poland
Name
Alexandre Caudin
Koen Wackenier
Marcin Kurzepa
Position
1st
2nd
3rd
Points
2
2
3
Weight
34.535
27.028
20.886
Under 20’s
Team
France
Poland
Germany
Position
1st
2nd
3rd
Points
22
26
44
Weight
83.068
86.236
70.469
Individual
Poland
England
France
Position
1st
2nd
3rd
Name
Jakub Derlaga
Samuel Collett
Thomas Monsigny
Points
2
4
4
Weight
24.035
23.300
20.876
Under 15’s
Team
France
Poland
England
Position
1st
2nd
3rd
Points
19
34
34
Weight
50.833
42.505
40.838
Individual
France
Czech Republic
France
Position
1st
2nd
3rd
Name
Maxence Bonvalet
Lukas Doricak
Hugo Breillot
Points
2
3
4
Weight
14.625
11.682
14.388
The event has an brought an estimated €2million euro benefit to the local area and Inniscarra Lake and County Cork has well and truly proven itself a world class angling destination and will surely be host to more championships in the future. The NCFFI would like to thank all those involved for their support.
Ronan Cusack reports a welcome improvement in fishing on Mask over the past few days as temperatures dropped slightly. Anglers fishing the deep water across the middle last weekend had better news than previous weeks, with plenty of Daphnia-feeding trout coming to the fly.
Peter Byrne Chairman of Lough Carra Anglers organised the annual Carra/Mask water protection catch and release competition on Sunday last. A total of 46 anglers competed and 27 fish were weighed in. First place went to Mick Dunne from Tourmakeady with 5 fish measuring 180cm. In second place was Basil Shields from Galway with 3 fish measuring 101cm and in third position was Johnny Moroney from Ennis with 3 fish measuring 100cm. The longest fish for the competition was won by Junior McGahon from Castlebar with a fish measuring 52cm.
The forecast for the coming week is for more broken weather so hopefully the fishing will continue to improve.
12 Aug: So far this month we have sixteen fish landed. There were six in week 31. The week was slow to start but then we had five on the 1st. Husband and wife team of Warren and Susan Osako managed three between them. Susan had a fine fish of 8lbs 5ozs from the Turn Pool on a Willie Gunn and Warren had one from the Turn Pool of 4lbs 6ozs on a Collie Dog and one from the Stream on Finlough of 3lbs 8ozs also on a Collie Dog. William Beattie also had one from the Stream on Finlough of 3lbs 4ozs on a Galway Green. Joe Kelly had a nice fresh grilse of 4lbs1oz off the Whin Pool on a Willie Gunn. William Beattie finished off the week with one from the Whin Pool on the 2nd of 3lbs 7ozs on a Bann Special.
Delphi Lodge
So far week 32 has proved more productive with ten landed. Urs got off to a flyer, with two on the 6th. The first was from the Road Pool of 5lbs 2ozs on a Neighbours Cat nymph and the second of 4lbs 2ozs from the Meadow Pool on an Allie Shrimp. John Coulter also had one on the 6th of 1lb 6ozs (not our record, I think I hold that) on the Stream on Finlough on a Cascade. William Beattie and Urs again had one each on the 7th, of 5lbs8ozs from Gough’s Bay on a Willie Gunn and approx. 2lbs from the Holly Pool on a Silver Stoat respectively. On the 9th William Beattie managed two off Finlough, one from Wrens Bay of 4lb 8ozs on a Cascade and one from Gough’s of 4lbs 13ozs on a Willie Gunn. On the 10th Gareth Beattie got off the mark with a nice fresh fish of 4lbs 12ozs from the Grilse Pool on a Cascade. Yesterday Urs had one of approx. 4lbs from the Whin Pool on a Cascade while William Beattie finished his stay with one from Sligo Bay on Fin of 2lbs9ozs on a Cascade.
This morning the river is at 30, so conditions will be ideal for a few days and judging by the longrange forecast there’s no heat wave on the way so there’s no excuses if the fish oblige!
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.
13 August: We have had some rain again after a dry period. Since Thursday we have been catching fish, some good grilse, some of them in the river a while but also seatrout with lice.
There are plenty fish in the lakes but we have been cursed with northerly winds this Year, We need south west or south for good fishing on the system. The weather is broken for the rest of the week so the river should be at a good level.
There are approximately five miles of fly fishing along the main part of the Owenmore River in Kerry, with 33 named pools and an additional 180 acres of lake fishing in this Kerry beauty spot. The salmon, grilse and sea trout begin to run in April. The runs continue through spring and summer into early October.
Mature male Pacific pink salmon captured in spawning condition in the River Erriff, County Mayo
Alert heightened around non-native fish species in Irish river systems
Inland Fisheries Ireland appeals to public for continued help in identifying and reporting pink salmon catches
Inland Fisheries Ireland has appealed to anglers and the general public to remain vigilant and report the presence of any Pacific pink salmon in Irish river systems. To date, 30 pink salmon have been recorded in nine Irish rivers since the first catch was reported on 27th June from the Galway Weir fishery. One of the most recent captures of pink salmon was a mature male ready to spawn on the River Erriff in County Mayo.
This fish was caught on the 9th of August on the Erriff, which is Ireland’s National Salmonid Index Catchment where a wide range of scientific research and monitoring activities on resident salmonid populations is undertaken. Catches of pink salmon have also been reported on rivers including the Foxford Fishery, Co. Mayo, the Coolcronan Fishery on the River Moy, the Galway Fishery on the River Corrib, the Cong River on the River Corrib and the Drowes and Crana Rivers in Donegal. The most recent catch was on the Owengarve River in Mayo on the 10th of August.
Pink or humpback salmon are a migratory species of salmon, native to river systems in the northern Pacific Ocean and nearby regions of the Bering Sea and Arctic Ocean. The species also has established populations in rivers in northern Norway and in the far northwest of Russia, originating from stocking programmes undertaken in this part of Russia.
In Ireland, there is no licence to farm Pacific pink salmon and this country’s own native salmon species is Atlantic salmon. The appearance of the species is of concern to Inland Fisheries Ireland as it may impact Ireland’s indigenous salmon populations in the future. The potential impact of pink salmon is unclear at present but these fish may introduce parasites and pathogens not present in native salmonid fish. Interbreeding with Atlantic salmon is unlikely as pink salmon spawn in late summer whereas Atlantic salmon spawn in winter. However, competition for food and space in nursery areas between juvenile pink and Atlantic salmon is possible.
Inland Fisheries Ireland is appealing to anglers to report catches of pink salmon to Inland Fisheries Ireland’s 24 hour confidential hotline number – 0818 34 74 24 or 0818 FISH 24. As these fish die after spawning, some dead specimens could also be encountered along Irish rivers. Anyone who catches a pink salmon is asked to:
Keep the fish and do not release it back into the water (even in rivers only open for catch and release angling)
Record the date & location of capture, length and weight of fish
Tag the fish and present it to Inland Fisheries Ireland and a new tag will be issued to replace the tag used
Take a photograph of the fish
Report it to Inland Fisheries Ireland’s 24 hour confidential hotline number 0818 34 74 24 or 0818 FISH 24 without delay.
Inland Fisheries Ireland will then arrange collection of the fish for further examination. This will help establish the abundance and extent of distribution of the species in Irish waters.
Pink salmon can be distinguished by a number of unique characteristics which are different to Atlantic salmon. They are as follows:
Large black oval spots on the tail
11-19 rays on the anal fin
Very small scales– much smaller than a similarly-sized Atlantic Salmon
No dark spots on the gill cover
Upper jaw typically extending beyond the eye
Mature male Pacific pink salmon captured in spawning condition in the River Erriff, County Mayo
Inland Fisheries Ireland has developed a Pink Salmon Factsheet to help anglers identify the fish and footage of a pink salmon on the River Erriff is available here.
Declan Gibbons reports that Corrib has been quieter of late, with the World Cup on Mask taking many angler’s attention. However, reports are that the lake is fishing very well.
In the Cornamona area Roy Pearse of Grasshopper Cottage ( http://www.troutfishingireland.com 094-9548165 ) reports of a group of 4 visiting anglers from the UK to the area had good fishing in the Inchagoill & Dooras areas on wets and dries. On Saturday last the group had 8 fish and on Sunday last had 7 fish, all sportingly released with the best fish tipping the scales at 4lbs. Also in the Cornamona area Peter Walsh and friend enjoyed a days fishing midweek in the Inchagoill and Inishdooras areas on wet fly and dappin,g with the best fish being 4.5lbs.
In the Oughterard area Basil Shields of Ardnasilagh Lodge ( 091-552550 ) reports visiting English angler Liam Gaskell on Monday last had 3 fish for his day on Corrib with the best being 3.25lbs. Also staying at the Lodge were Larry Kelly, Dublin and John Jacks, Scotland who had 14 fish for 5 days angling on Corrib on a mixture of wets and dries.
Kevin Molloy of Baurisheen Bay Boat Hire Guiding & Self Catering (087-9604170) reports a quieter week gone by, but fished himself on Tuesday last and had 3 fish on wet flies with the best fish being 2lbs.
We also received word of 2 visiting anglers in the Greenfields area over the weekend enjoying what they regarded as their best ever day on the lake. Dapping crickets they accounted for almost 40 fish of all sizes to the boat, with just 2 fish kept for the pan. That’s some fishing!
Fishery manager Osgur Grieve is back from holiday and has great news from the Erriff, where the rod catch so far this year is almost 4 times the total for last season already, with almost 2 months of the season left to go. The smolt run of 2016 had a clear lice-free run to the open sea, with the local salmon farm being fallow last year, and the improvement in returns is staggering.
We have had a bumper last 11 days fishing here on the Erriff with 131 salmon landed by our anglers. The combination of wet and windy conditions coupled with a good run of fish really helped anglers’ chances. Some of their catches are as follows, Thursday 27th produced 16 grilse with Donal Chambers accounting for 7 grilse alone, of which 6 were wild and were released. Donal was using a conehead Cascade from the Falls. On Saturday 29th Jim Stafford and Arthur Muckion fished with us on Beats 4 and 9 and had 11 salmon between them, 8 of which were wild and released. These fish ranged from 3 – 9lbs and were caught using a variety of flies such as Sunray Shadow, Stoat’s Tail and Cascade. Sunday 30th produced 24 grilse; Martin Witort had 3 from Doyle’s and the Colonel’s on Beat 6 using a Curry’s Red shrimp – 3lbs, 3.3lbs and 6lbs, 2 of which were wild and released. Jim Stafford and Arthur Muckion had 5 good salmon between them from Beats 3 and 4 ranging in weight from 4lbs – 7.5lbs on Stoat’s Tail and Blue Cascade. Peter Murphy had 8 salmon on a Posh Tosh from the Falls and Garden Pools ranging between 5lbs and 7lbs – all wild and released. Gerry Merrick had 6 grilse on a Posh Tosh, 5 of which were wild and released from the Falls and Garden Pools.
Monday 31st Glen Harmon had 4 grilse from Kings Pool on Beat 4 on a Red Ally’s shrimp between 3lbs and 5lbs. Conor O’Leary released a nice 7lbs wild fish from the Broken Bridge Pool on Beat 5 using a Garry Dog tube.
On the 2nd August regular visitor Simon Hughes had a 3.5lbs ranched grilse from the Middle Garden on a Red Ally’s shrimp. Regular visitor Martin Witort released 3 more salmon from the Colonel’s and Altamont’s Dam on Beat 6 using a Cascade and Fiery Brown between 3.5lbs and 8lbs.
Regular overseas visitor Gael Kerschbaumer released 3 wild grilse on Beat 6 from the Humps and Hollows and Willow Pool, these grilse came to a Silver Stoat and General Practitioner and weighed 3lbs, 3lbs and 5lbs.
Sunday 6th August Seamus O’Neill had great fishing releasing 5 wild grilse between 2lbs and 6lbs, these fish came from Altamont’s Dam and Doyle’s Pool on Beat 6 and the Broken Bridge on Beat 5.
There was a greater variety of flies that were doing the business this time with the Bann Special, Stoat’s Tail and Posh Tosh accounting for many fish along with the usual suspects such as the Cascade and Ally’s shrimp.
It has been great to see so many happy anglers on the Erriff and we look forward to what next week has to bring.
If you wish to book fishing please call the fishery office on (095) 42382 or email us at [email protected]
Myles Abraham with a Burrishoole grilse and Eddie Mc Carty who released a wild fish
Salmon fishing on Lough Furnace has been steady over the past weeks with good numbers of grilse being caught; both ranched and wild. Myles Abraham was amongst the anglers who got ranched fish, while Eddie Mc Carty had a wild salmon which was immediately released. It was Eddies first ever salmon on the fly! Toby Gibbons also caught and released a fresh wild salmon. Most successful flies included Green Peter patterns, Bibios and small Shrimp flies.
Myles Abraham with a Burrishoole grilse and Eddie Mc Carty who released a wild fish
To book fishing on the Burrishoole Fishery contact Pat Hughes Fishery Manager at +353 (0)87 2377078.
