Mick Dennehy on the Silver Dawn was heaping praise on Henry Kelly after he successfully played and landed what might be only the third recorded angler caught mako shark in Ireland and UK waters since the seventies. While it was an incredible achievement to catch such a rarely encountered shark the thrill was in the spectacle of seeing a shark go airborne. Daniel O’Kelly reports…
Mako! #CPRsavesfish
I’d like to say a massive well done to Henry Kelly for catching his Mako on Saturday. As a rule I normally never get into someone else’s photos, but when Henry asked me to jump in, I was happy to. Fantastic atmosphere on the Silver Dawn. Everyone on the boat was very nervous during the fight. But I’ll never forget the roar that went up when we finally got him on the deck. I’ll also never forget seeing him come clean out of the water and about 12 feet in the air. That is a fishing memory that will stay with me forever and I’m delighted to have been part of a bit of Irish Sharking history. Big shout out to Mick Dennehy and Pedro of Kinsalecharters for putting us on this fish and another 12 blues. To have the Irish record Mako on the Silver dawn must be the ultimate reward for the effort you guys put in and the boundaries you have pushed.
Henry Kelly with this Mako – Catch of the Week #CPRsavesfishMeasured, and at alltimes minded – fresh sea water pumped over the sharks gill to ensure a safe release – #CPRsavesfish
Silver Dawn is based at Trident Hotel in beautiful and historic town of Kinsale, Cork, Ireland. Our coastal area benefits from a range of mixed grounds with mud, shingle, rock and sand banks all with in reach to offer some excellent and varied fishing.
Rays proved valuable in the race for a podium finish
Tralee Bay Sea Angling Club reports on their competition in Spa on Sunday…
The club had a great day’s fishing on the Spa yesterday against all prior ideas the dropping tide produced handsomely for us, well at least some of us. Leads hit the water at 12 noon and at 10 past the first ray was on the shore. Chris O’Sullivan was smiling. Shane Mc had a flounder on the bank and things looked like they would be hectic all day. Eugene had his rod almost ripped from the tripod by a mystery fish…. What was on the hunt? David O’Sullivan had a massive run that threatened to spool the reel and Nikki Foley too. Tope? Stingrays? Monkfish? The beauty of sea fishing is it could of been anything.
Rays proved valuable in the race for a podium finish
Troy and Mick were on the rays down on the low pegs while Finn up on peg 23 had a battle on his hands landing a personal best, a Thornback Ray estimated at 9lb. Craig Corbett got in on the action with a thorny along with visiting Irish international Andrew Mc Callion. Alison O Sullivan got in on the act and nailed a Thornie another Personal best. Sandeel seemed to be the top bait but crab and mackerel were pitching in too. The biggest surprise came in the form of the lack of flounder. Previously it has required 15 to 20 flounder to shake the podium places. Nikki Foley managed 4 almost the same as the rest of the beach put together!
Time began to pass all too quickly for the chasing pack and Eugene had his rod almost pulled from the stand again even with the drag loose a rarely seen sprint by Eugene rescued the rod but no fish????? Did he have hooks on?? Was it a mass hallucination? We will never know.
Phil decided to get in on the act with a ray while Mick and troy added another ray each as Phil landed a bass. Eugene Susan Farrelly finally broke the duck after some coaching by Connie. A ray for Chris, one for Phil and 2 quick fire ray by a reborn Eugene meant a blast up the leader board and the chasing pack were tight behind. Unfortunately or fortunately the time for the last cast had come. Shane Mc got another ray and Phil ord almost stole the show with a Stinger.
Results
Troy Francis
Phil Ord
Mick Francis
Finn Healy
John Osborne
Back to the Oyster Tavern to cool off with a well earned shandy and some very warm and hungry anglers were welcomed brilliantly. As usual we well well taken care of and well fed on a very busy Sunday afternoon for the Oyster. The food was as usual fantastic. A huge thank you from the club to the owners and staff at the Oyster for having us.
Tralee Bay SAC is a thriving community of enthusiastic anglers – young and old, experienced and newcomers – with new members joining all of the time. We have a busy schedule of shore and boat competitions and lots of social events planned throughout the year. Tralee Bay is a family friendly, welcoming club with a reputation for promoting angling and encouraging newcomers to the sport.
Joining could not be easier – simply get in touch with us via our Contact us page leave your address and we will send you out an application form. Please also let us have your email address – especially if you have any queries for us. We are especially eager to hear from junior anglers who want to take advantage of club membership. For more information on joining see here – Joining Tralee Bay Sea Angling Club.
Not a sixgill, but a big skate is a battler all the same - a quick photo and back she goes...
#CPRsavesfish
No shortage of good fishing for charter boat anglers off the Clare coast…
Koen with a good hake
12 July: It was one of those perfect days on the sea for the Clare Dragoon so they tried out some new marks for skate and turbot a long way off. But despite seeing lots of common dolphins and a minkie whale they had no luck. Koen did get a good sized Hake though.
Sean Maguire had a family group aboard this fishing boat the Lady Gwen II. The anglers had a great day catching mackerel and other edibles for a family bar-be-que later in the day.
14 July: The Clare Dragoon was fishing in the estuary today as it was quite breezy. No Tope but Bullhuss and Rays along with a plague of doggies gave plenty action.
No sixgills but a first ever ling for Bob
16 July: Two anglers took the Clare Dragoon out to try for the SixGills. They had 2 good runs and one on for about 10 mins but none to the boat. Still Bob who has had big fish all over the world had his first ever Ling!
Bob’s bullhuss #CPRsavesfish
17 July: A full day on the SixGill mark and not even a snifter! But amongst the bits and pieces picked up while waiting, Bob had a nice Bullhuss.
Not a sixgill, but a big skate is a battler all the same – a quick photo and back she goes… #CPRsavesfish
18 July: Not the target species but still a fine 170lb female skate for Dean today.
Go fishing…
Clare Dragoon
Clare Dragoon is a LOCHIN 366 powered by 650HP engine, skippered by Luke Aston and operating out of Carrigaholt Co. Clare…
I have some offers up on my web site www.fishandstay.com and if anybody is interested in putting a trip together please do get in touch. Also I Twitter from the boat on @fishandstay and try to update my face book page www.facebook.com/CarrigaholtSeaAngling fairly often!To experience some of the best deep sea fishing available in Ireland contact Luke. Telephone: +353 65 9058209 or +353 87 6367544 Email:[email protected]Web:www.fishandstay.com
Lady Gwen II
Fishing Adventures on Séan Maguire’s Lady Gwen II, a Lochin 33 M265Ti Perkins charterboat which operates 15 miles from Kilbaha, Carrigaholt, and Kilrush.
Whether you want to go to the Atlantic Ocean for a large selection of species, including different types of shark, or fish the estuary for ray conger tope etc, Fishing Adventures will cater for whatever fishing you desire. Telephone: +353 (0) 877508758 or +353 (0) 894431182 Email:[email protected]Web:www.fishingadventures.ie
Stefan Martin from Killybegs Mariners SAC with more fishing adventures from Donegal Bay…
this makes the early start worthwhile
18 July: Alarms going off at 2am in the lashing rain heading out on spring low tides to dig razor makes one question his sanity but it all makes sense when your sitting watching a crimson Donegal sunset on an empty beach awaiting Bass bites as the darkness curtain draws.
Bass – Catch and Release #CPRsavesfish
Venturing west some stunning beaches under the sharp peak of Mount Errigal and some nice flatties and a Bass for Johnny which fell of the hook as it reached the sand so he took a quick photo and released it in tip top shape. Well done great to see another Donegal Bass on the shores of home.
Mullet
15 July: A soft drizzle sprayed the mists of the Atlantic coming in from Glen Bay on the picturesque beach for the league outing last night. A rolling surf was trying to claw it’s way up the steep beach and a lovely Mullet of 54cm was landed by Pat early doors set the benchmark. Some nice flounders fell to gulp imitation ragworm lures and weever fish and dogfish making a nice variety of species. Most points cash prize was won by Pat Cunningham with a nice mix of flounders and mullet and the longest fish cash prize was also won by Pat with the 54cm Mullet. The 2nd place points went to Brian Smith. Well done to all great to get out with the gang.
Beware the weever – a nasty sting in its spiny fin for unsuspecting feet, hands and fingers…
Go fishing…
Join the club
Killybegs Mariners sea angling club, Co Donegal runs a shore league, boat competitions and angling trips around Ireland doing the sport we love.
Very sunny weather on the Wild Atlantic Way - Waterville / Lough Currane
Vincent Appleby reports from Lough Currane…
13/7/17 All quiet on the SW front in all departments. Yesterday’s weather, maximum air temperature 19.5c. Wind WNW light to fresh with good cloud cover.
14/7/17 My Noble anglers failed N. E. S. and W in all departments, be it the magnificent fly manipulators or the magnificent lure artists, all I can say is these magnificent anglers skills have a lot to be desired in all departments. I can just see the Lough Currane Specimen Sea Trout and the wild Atlantic Salmon looking up to the skies as they meet at the Ledge Bar and saying it’s all the ones that got away today and they call themselves anglers! As I finish today’s manipulations I have to eat humble pie because I have just received news of a Salmon caught on the fly this evening by UK angler Mr. Mike Fish. Mike also caught a few Nice C&R Tout and as the Parson said to the Vicar, that’s one. Wind SW fresh with good cloud cover. Yesterdays weather, amount of rainfall 0.2mm. Maximum air temperature 16.8c.
15/7/17 All the Salmon fly headlines come from the North side and Vincent’s harbour, Northern Ireland angler, Mr. Gavin Wishart, caught 2 Salmon Grilse, their weights ranging from 4 lbs. up to 6lbs and sportingly returned 1, while fishing with his Gillie Mr. Dominic McGillicuddy and at www.fishingwithdom.com In the Sea Trout fly department, UK angler Mr. Mike Fish caught and released a fine 2 lbs. Sea Trout. And for the rest of the angling community their lines were slack, their reels were redundant and at the end of their day they couldn’t let their fingers do the talking. Wind WSW light to fresh at times and overcast. Yesterdays weather amount of rainfall 6.2mm. Maximum air temperature 16.9c.
16/7/17 Lough Currane anglers today spent more time putting suntan lotion on their faces than changing their fly lines from floating to intermediate or visa versa and the same could be said in their fly selection and you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know why my Noble anglers had a good excuse for not performing up to their usual standard but at least one angler did feel his fly line taut and hear his fly reel sing and that was UK angler, Mr. Keith Francis, while fishing with his Gillie Mr. Tom O’Shea of www.flyfishingatloughcurrane.com caught and released a fine Sea Trout. Now for some breaking news to all you anglers who like a liquid libation after your day’s manipulations on the Waterville Fishery, there is good news for you, because Curran’s Supermarket have just opened their new off license in the past few days so come on down and weigh your specimen Sea Trout and have a can, as you can see by the photo these three sad anglers discussing the pros and cons of their days manipulations and the only thing they could agree on was they were well contented with their time in the off license but the same couldn’t be said for their fishing, cheers! Wind N light with brigt sunshine all day. Yesterdays weather, amount of rainfall 2.0mm. Maximum air temperature 18.4c.
Very sunny weather on the Wild Atlantic Way – Waterville / Lough Currane
17/7/17 Blazing sunshine was the order of the day and most of my Noble anglers caught a suntan at no extra charge except for suntan lotion. In the C&R fly Department, Mr. merigh Persons and Mr. Graham Elswood caught three fine Trout, while fishing with their gillie Mr Neil O’Shea of www.oshealoughcurrane.com Wind light to fresh and variable at times S SSW and went NW this evening. Yesterdays weather, amount of rainfall 0.4mm. Maximum air temperature 17.8c
18/7/17 Far from ideal but Monaghan angler caught two Trout on the drift , while fly fishing with his Gillie Mr Neil O’Shea of www.oshealoughcurrane.com. Wind light SE and very sunny and very warm and humid. Yesterdays weather, maximum air temperature 18.7c.
That is your ration from the last week on Lough Currane, from your Gillie and the Waterville Fishery, no spin no fly’s just facts. Vincent Appleby
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
Patrick Carroll about to release his salmon
#CPRsavesfish
Some more good days reported on the Munster Blackwater in the last week…
15 July: Great sport on the Fortwilliam Fisherytoday with 12 fish landed. All beats produced very well as a large run of grilse went through.
Patrick Carroll about to release his salmon #CPRsavesfish
17 July: Patrick and Wilawan Carroll with 2 grilse today at the Bridge on Ballyduff Bridge Salmon Fishery releasing one in tough conditions. Meanwhile over at the Fortwilliam Fishery Jessica Iser who never picked up a fishing rod in her life landed her first ever salmon on fly. Guided by the fishery’s ghillie Chris Coady Jessica learned to fly fish and then struck silver. Well done to all. Pat O’Shea from Limerick landed another grilse on fly off the Glenmore Beat and Davie McCracken had a beauty off the Ellis on fly of 14.5lbs
Jessica Iser with her salmon
18 July: Another 2 fish caught today at the Ballyduff Bridge Salmon Fishery one by Connie and one by Ivor Pengelly both returned and both fish estimated around the 6lb mark.
19 July: There were 5 fish landed today on the the Fortwilliam Fisheryand all on fly. Bernard Halfpenny and his party had four fish which is fantastic considering its their first time to Fortwilliam. Alan Nolan had a nice grilse of 6lbs.
Paul Whealan reports that the river now is starting to rise which is great so prospects are now looking very good.
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.
Low water predominated once again all week although we did receive a small flood (0.22m) on Saturday which was very dirty and slow to clear. This left fair water (0.20m) and nice on Sunday. The gauge average for the week was low reading only 0.14 metres. The fishery was not particularly busy given the time of the season with only 18 visiting rods fishing for the week. There were a number of grilse caught however and we await details of more.
On Monday, Alan Mooney recorded 3 grilse caught. These weighed 5, 6 & 6lb with 2 of these released again and were caught on fly from beat 9. On Saturday, Billy Blair reported a 4lb grilse caught on a fly from beat 8. Michael McLoughlin logged a 4lb grilse caught on a fly from beat 7 and Fergal Mallon accounted for 2 grilse weighing 3 & 6lb caught on a fly from beat 8.
Make a booking
For info/bookings etc on the Owenea Fishery –
Tel: 074 9551141. (9am to 1pm April to May & 7am to 1pm June to Sept).
Very low and very bright! That best sums up conditions on the Drowes for the week ended 16 July. There was some rain near the weekend but not enough to significantly raise water levels. Despite the very unfavourable conditions, the river produced a fair amount of salmon, mainly grilse with anglers recording some fish caught in bright sun in the middle of the day!
On Monday, Micky McEvoy recorded 2 grilse weighing 2 & 3lb caught & released on prawn from the Meadow.
On Tuesday, John Ford reported a 5lb grilse caught on prawn from the Sea Pools.
Luca Kettles with his first ever salmon
On Wednesday, Oscar Robles logged 2 grilse weighing 2 & 3lb caught on prawn from the Blackwater. Virgilio Alonso registered a 3lb grilse caught on prawn from the Blackwater and young Luca Kettles recorded his 1st ever salmon caught, a 4½lb grilse caught on a Yellow Flying ‘C’ lure from Red Roof.
On Thursday, Pierre Rumeau reported a 4lb grilse caught and released on a fly from Clancy’s Pool and also unusually for the Drowes, sea trout of 1 & 1½lb which were released again.
Trevor Lovell with his fish
On Saturday, Gerry McMahon recorded a 4lb grilse caught on prawn from the Sea Pools. Andrew McDonal reported a 4lb grilse caught on a fly from Cascades. Pierre Rumeau logged a 3lb grilse caught on a fly from Stoppage and Trevor Lovell accounted for a 4lb grilse caught on fly from the Sea Pools.
Make a booking
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: 0044 7871443304
For bookings/guides etc on the Rossinver Fishery contact Bill McNeary, Tel: 071 9854930 or Jim Hoye, Tel: 0831197428
For info see http://www.rossinverfishery.com/
Salmon fishing has been much quieter over the last two weeks, as the main run of grilse slowed somewhat after 6 weeks of excellent fishing. There are still a lot of fish in the river, although the high temperatures and bright sunshine earlier in the week has meant very few fish caught.
For the 6th to 12th July, there were 64 fish landed, including 4 for long-time visitor from the UK Laurence Flood to 4.5lbs on fly and shrimp. Loughrea man Willie Cullinane landed 3 to 5lbs on fly, while Athenry angler Declan Tuffy had 2 fish to 4lbs on fly, and son Adam made a welcome return to the weir, landing a nice grilse of 4.5lbs on fly. Phil O’Donoghue had a 5.5lbs fish on fly, and Galway man James Dunne landed 2 fish to 7lbs on shrimp. Moycullen angler John Anderson caught and released 3 grilse to 5.5lbs on fly.
The following week up to today has seen 35 fish landed. Noel Power landed 2 grilse on fly, as did UK angler David Christie, and Cork angler Tom Beecher. Wicklow man Killian Garvey landed 3 fish to 4lbs on fly and shrimp, and UK visitor Michael Righton had a nice grilse on fly. Eamon Power landed 2 to 5.25lbs, releasing one, while Tipperary angler Denise Curran had 2 grilse on fly also. Kevin Mitchell landed a nice 7lbs fish on fly, and the best fish of the week, a nice 8.75lbs salmon was taken by Henry Cosgrove on fly.
The coming days will see cooler, fresher conditions with rain at times, which should improve conditions for angling. With a great head of fish in the river, the weir is still well worth a visit.
An impressive looking porbeagle shark of approx. 80lbs caught aboard the Brazen Hussy by angler Mikey Heaney
Skipper John Fleming was in touch following a fantastic weekend shark fishing “probably all in all the best weekends sharking we have have ever had, not the highest number of sharks but, 4 porbeagles in 3 days…. this hasn’t been done in Galway in a long long time and to top it off 6 blues”.
An impressive looking porbeagle shark of approx. 80lbs caught aboard the Brazen Hussy by angler Mikey Heaney
We had 2 baby beagles which was great to see (around 40-50lb), and 2 around the 100lbs mark – what a powerful fish they are with long deep powerful runs and long fights. We also landed 6 blues ranging between 70-100lbs. Not a bad start to the shark season!
All the sharks were tagged and released. CPR – Catch Photo Release saves Lives!
A fine 80lbs blue shark for angler Kuba Stan aboard the Brazen Hussy II, with skipper John Fleming
There is still some availability at the weekends and plenty of midweek days to do battle with these fantastic predators. To book fishing with John give him a call on 087 7571320 or check out Blue Shark Angling Galway on Facebook.
A fine 90lbs blue shark for Mac aboard Brazen Hussy II
