TWO brothers from Cork City have been convicted and fined for ‘stroke hauling’ a salmon on the Argideen River on August 1st 2016. Niall Fitzpatrick, 7 Corrin Close, The Glen and his brother Lawrence Fitzpatrick, 34 Ballincurrig Court, Douglas, Cork were each fined €750 as well €500 in costs at a recent sitting of Clonakilty District Court in a case taken by Inland Fisheries Ireland… The Southern Star, 19/02/17. Read the full article ‘Brothers fined for illegal fishing on Argideen River‘.
Brothers fined for illegal fishing on Argideen River
Ten years after Ireland banned driftnetting for salmon at sea, the controversial measure has proved to be a failure. The Atlantic wild salmon is in a “serious position” and various conservation measures “don’t seem to have worked”, Inland Fisheries Ireland chief executive Dr Ciaran Byrne has said. Speaking at the annual Salmon Watch Ireland conference in Galway, Dr Byrne said marine survival of the species had fallen… Irish Times, 19/02/17. Read the full article ‘Driftnet ban fails to save Atlantic wild salmon‘.
Storm Doris has been and gone. She caused widespread damage and disrupted the lives of many whether it was getting up at 4am in your longjohns to run around after a rogue wheelie bin or scrambling for matches in one of the many power cuts left in her wake. Before she hit our shores there was plenty of windy weather and some localised heavy falls of rain. Although reports were thin on the ground in the last week due to the conditions, big pike seemed to be throwing themselves at anglers…
Reports from the Irish Federation of Pike Angling Clubs are that the bigger pike are feeding hard at the moment and some great fish have been reported. Anyone doubting that these pre-spawning beauties are feeding hard should take a trip to Derravaragh where Daragh Browne had not one, but two 22lb pike back to back in the last couple of days! In any normal week this would have been a sure fire Catch of the Week. But… The Newbridge and District Anglers also reported good pike fishing at the weekend when on a club outing Paul Gosson had a pike just over 29lb and followed it with another of just over 22lb. Another club member, Dean Hatton, had a fine fish of 23lb. Paul wins the Catch of the Week for his incredible catch.
Paul Gosson’s 29lb pike took a lamprey deadbait
Corrib’s trout anglers enjoyed some of the best opening day conditions in several years last week, with the lake at a low enough level and mild weather offering anglers the chance of good sport. Some good fish to over 10lb were taken by anglers trolling the brickeen. Fly anglers did well also as Jackie Coyne started his season with a 3lb trout on a Dabbler and reports of good trout continued over the weekend. Lough Mask also opened last week and while the low levels there didn’t suit the shore anglers, boat anglers fishing the fly had some good sport in the shallows.
We’re back to the Munster Blackwater for our salmon reports where Jason Corcoran landed the Ballyduff Bridge Fishery’s first salmon of the season. After a quick photo or two the fish was safely released. Unfortunately there was no follow up to last week’s salmon on Currane, windy weather has seen only a handful of boats taking to the lake.
The Ballyforan Bends on the Suck have long been associated with big bags of fish so when the Suck Valley Angling Hub were there at the weekend the bitter winds didn’t dampen spirits. In the end the fishing was tough enough, but nonetheless Gary Doyle still put together a 10.66kg bag of roach and perch to win the day. At Portumna, a little further down the Shannon, it was the occasional bream and a good number of roach to over 1lb that helped make the weights there. Bill Cassidy of the Portumna Coarse Angling Club was the winner with 27lb 8oz, while Julian Kendrick came in 2nd with a fine bag of 20lb 8oz. River venues are all the rage in our coarse reports so its off to the Barrow now where the Naas and District Anglers fished the 4th round of their winter league at Carlow and Bagnelstown. Although the day was not as Baltic or blustery as expected the fishing still did not perform that well, even though the winning peg at Carlow produced 9.2kg.
Toward the end of last month we reported on Richie Ryan and his compatriots’ challenge to catch a pollack on fly in every month of the year. Over the weekend Richie brought the quest to a close with a couple of these crash diving specialists. Unfortunately neither of the other Three Amigos managed anything on the day, except to give Richie the killing fly. We’ll put it down to a group effort! We have more reports of bass on lure in Co. Kerry where Tomasz Eckert had 3 to start his bass hunting season of 2017. Further north in Donegal Bay the Killybegs Mariner’s Stefan Martin was on soft plastics for hard hitting wrasse. It’s great to see these bully boys of the rocky shore in form so early in the year.
Finally, thanks to all the young anglers (and not so young) who visited us at the Family Zone in the Ireland Angling Zone 2017. We gave out dozens of awards and prizes to those who excelled in the casting challenge and really enjoyed meeting with anglers of the future.
Met Eireann forecasts very changeable and unsettled weather continuing over the weekend and throughout next week also. The weekend will be cold and windy, and temperature to less than 0C will see frost in some places on Sunday night and into the early part of next week.
Paul Gosson fishing with Newbridge and District Pike Anglers was on fire at the weekend. Paul had caught himself a new pb very early on in the session and those looking on knew on landing it was a biggun. No-one really expected it to challenge the 30lb mark, so when the scales hit 29.01lb everyone was speechless. After a few photos the big hen-fish was returned healthy and fit.
Paul Gosson’s 29lb pike took a lamprey deadbait
Paul followed this with a stunning fish of 22.04lb. Brendan Jarvis had 3 to 16lb, but new member Dean Hatton did particularly well, landing his new pb; a fine fish of just over 23lb.
There was more good fishing on the mighty River Shannon at Portumna at the weekend. Portumna Coarse Angling Club had a competition where almost 30lb was needed for a win.
A nice bag of fish from Portumna
In the catches were a few bream and some very nice roach to over 1lb. The event used 2 stretches, Town and Stick Ups with Stick Ups providing the better fishing.
Portumna Coarse Angling Clubare 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
On Sunday last the Suck Valley Angling Hub held a match on the River Suck at Ballyforan Bends a section renowned for big bags of fish over the years. A bitterly strong wind didn’t dampen the spirits of the anglers that turned up. Some travelled from as far away as Cavan and Carlow.
Despite the cold wind it was possible to put together a decent bag of fish
At the end of a very cold day which saw all the anglers stick it out to the end. The big weights didn’t materialise but still everyone had a good day.
Winner on the day was Gary Doyle from Carlow with a weight of 10.660kg consisting mostly of roach and perch.
Second was Rory Dunne from Roscommon with a weight of 7.880kg mostly hybrids and perch also.
Joint third was Nigel Houldsworth from Gowna and Sean Tallon from “Castlerea” with a weight of 3.200kg.
Well done to all for turning up and hopefully our next match will have much milder weather.
Toby Gibbons, well-known Westport angler with a nice trout from Lough Mask on opening day, 15 February 2017
Ronan Cusack reports that cool south-easterly winds and low water levels were the order of the day on Wednesday last, as Mask opened its doors to anglers for the first day of the 2017 trout season.
There was plenty of activity along the shores of Tourmakeady from very early morning, as the traditional shore anglers anxiously awaited their first trout of the year. Castlebar brothers Tadgh and Wally Flynn finished a cold first day with 3 trout on the worm (best fish 1.75lbs). Unfortunately due to the low water levels, fish that would normally be in feeding on worms on flooded grass land were few and far between.
Tadgh and Wally Flynn from Castlebar pictured with their catch on opening day on Lough Mask, 15 February 2017
Local anglers Liam Conroy and Peter Gosson ventured out on the lake for a few hours and pulled wet flies in the shallows. The lads finished with a fish each (best fish 1.5lbs) and Peter lost a trout of approximately 3lbs. Peter Byrne, Castlebar and Johnny Moroney from Ennis also spent a few hours on the lake on Wednesday and they also had a fish each (best fish 1.5lbs). The well-known Toby Gibbons from Westport had a good start to the season with a lovely fish of 3lbs on wets. Kevin Bettie and fishing partner Ray Broughton from Ballinrobe had 2 fish for their first outing this year (best fish 1.5lbs).
Toby Gibbons, well-known Westport angler with a nice trout from Lough Mask on opening day, 15 February 2017
Conditions look to improve this week as temperatures creep into double figures, so the lake could be worth a visit.
Galway angler Andrew Boyd with a nice Corrib trout taken on opening day.
Declan Gibbons reports on a productive opening few days on Corrib. Opening Day on the 15th of February provided some of the best early conditions in several years, with the lake at a low enough level and mild weather offering anglers the chance of good sport.
There was much activity and enthusiasm amongst anglers from around the lake – both those living locally and those who travelled from further afield to wet a line on opening day with weather conditions favourable in the morning and early part of the afternoon, and notable activity in the towns and villages around Corrib. Most anglers were looking forward to a bit of sport after the long winter break, but truth be told the main point of opening day is to catch up with old friends, usually over lunch and a drop of something strong on one of the islands.
A great tradition – lunch on the island on Opening Day, Lough Corrib.
In the Oughterard area Kevin Molloy from Baurisheen Bay Guiding and Self Catering (087-9604170) reported Stephen Barry from Laois enjoyed an excellent start to the season, landing 3 trout with the best fish being 8.5lbs, and Richard Kirkham also landing 3 trout – best fish 2lbs (all sportingly released). Gerry Molloy (www.loughcorriboughterard.com) was on to report a great start to 2017, with Gerry himself, Kevin Molloy and Emmet McGloin landing 7 fish for their efforts on opening day, with the best fish being 2.75lbs caught trolling the “brickeen”. On Sunday last Gerry had a fish for 2lbs also on the brickeen but Gerry tells us that his fish was well out-weighed by a cracking fish caught by Joe Tierney on the brickeen, weighing 10lbs 2oz.
Joe Tierney from Oughterard with a fine 10lbs 2oz ferox trout from Corrib, taken a few days into the season. Feb 2017
In the Cornamona area on opening day Jackie Coyne along with John Somerville met 6 fish on dabbler patterns with Jackie landing 1 fish for almost 3lbs, and the Renvle man sportingly released his first capture of 2017 back into Lough Corrib.
Corrib expert Jackie Coyne with a fine opening day trout of just under 3lbs. Jackie fished with John Somerville and they met 6 trout, most coming to Silver Dabblers.
Mike Shanks fishing along with Kevin Kerrigan got his season off to a pleasant start with a fish of 2.5lbs on opening day and a fish of 3.5lbs on Saturday last.
Cornamona angler Mike Shanks with a lovely Corrib trout caught on the morning of opening day, 15 Feb 2017
Also in the Cornamona area Richard Molloy (087-2879339) of Ballard Shore Boat Hire and Self Catering reports on regulars returning to Lough Corrib and making the most of their time, with Derek Evans from the Irish Times landing a nice fish of 1.5lbs on the fly on opening day, and other visitors enjoying reasonable fishing for the time of the year on brickeen, Tasmanian devils and on the fly – dabbler patterns were most productive on intermediate lines having produced a few fish in the 1-1.5lbs range on Sunday last.
In the Cong area Cong Angling Club hosted the Kevin Glynn Memorial (Heaviest Fish) in which 12 anglers participated in and 13 trout were weighed, from 1.25 to 2.5lbs. Winner on the day went to Vincent Hughes with a fish of 2.5lbs. Vincent from The Neale is an uncle to well-known and successful coarse angler Cathal Hughes from Moycullen. The presentation took place in Lydons Lodge Cong (094-9546053) where all enjoyed refreshments and a warm fire.
Vincent Hughes (centre) being presented with the Kevin Glynn trophy for the Cong Anglers Opening Day Competition by John Lydon (left) and Stephen Lydon (right)
In the Greenfields area on opening day Ennis Angler Gerry Kenny got his season off to a good start with two fish on the fly both sportingly released. On Sunday last Frank Reilly marked his first days fishing with a trout on the fly of 1.25lbs which he duly returned to Lough Corrib.
On Saturday last Andrew Boyd Ballindiff Club Chairman got his season off to an excellent start with two trout, the larger being 4lbs and the smaller 1.5lbs.
Galway angler Andrew Boyd with a nice Corrib trout taken on opening day.
Some of the Cornamona Anglers enjoying a break from fishing on opening day, 2017.
Apart from thee odd salmon(!) there are good numbers of coarse fish
Naas and District Anglers Winter league round 4 took place in Carlow on February 12th. Eddie Long reports..
The Barrow
The match was fished on two different venues, Carlow town stretch by the graveyard and on the Bagnelstown canal. The weather was supposed to be absolutely Baltic so everyone was suitably suited and booted but it turned out not to be too bad in the end. There was a little bit of a breeze but no rain and the day although not warm, it definitely wasn’t Baltic!
The Barrow is a good bet for early season river fishing
I drew peg 3 towards the lock on Bagnelstown and I knew from previous match results that this end of the canal always fished much harder than opposite end. Must be down to folk feeding the swans and ducks up there, possibly slightly deeper too.
Anyway, I had decided not to fish the pole as it’s a hassle shipping parallel with the bank because of the road behind and I had also forgotten my 6 meter whip so I decided to fish the stick float only and give it a good bash! The water was flowing quite fast and on the all in I balled in four heavy balls of groundbait laced with caster and dead pinkies. For the first hour every trot of the float went without a bite but then I hooked into something decent. At first I thought I’d hooked a pike but then I realised it was a fresh looking but small salmon. Bloody thing gave me the run around for nearly ten minutes but eventually I got it in to the net. The Acolyte ultra did it’s job but more surprisingly the 2.6lb Drennan float fish paired with a size 16 Kamasan B611 .128mm diameter line also somehow managed to bring the salmon in safely.
Apart from thee odd salmon(!) there are good numbers of coarse fish
I kept trotting the float though the swim all day and am sure I covered almost every inch of my swim and never got another bite. Padraig was further up on peg 2 and he never had a bite. Ollie Doyle was on peg one and he tried everything, pole to 16m, feeder and trotting rod and the best he could must was a single brown trout. Alas at the all out neither myself, Padraig or Ollie weighed in but at least some of us didn’t blank, sorry Padraig . The pegs from 4 – 10 all had fish and as usual weights got better toward the end of the stretch.
By all accounts the fishing on the Carlow town stretch was also very tough apart from the first two pegs with most struggling to catch. Still I’m sure everyone was happy enough to be out on the bank doing what we do, fishing!!!
Results
BAGNELSTOWN
1st Gravidas Karalius with 4.420kg
2nd Donatas Zemaitis with 3.500kg
Carlow Town
1st Aussie Conway with 9.200kg
2nd Paul McLoughlin with 6.225kg
Weather-wise we were very lucky as it didn’t rain all day until we were packed up and driving home but by Jaysus was it bad then! Torrential rain and sleet all the way back to Naas where by all accounts it had rained all day long so we really had gotten off lightly during the match. Anyway that’s it! Till next time. See you all for round 5.
Tight lines
Eddie Long.
PRO
Naas & District Anglers
The New Naas & District Anglers Club was set up on the 31 August 2012. Our Club is a Social club. The waters around Naas are Home to brown trout ,salmon,eels, pike, perch, bream, rudd, tench. Naas and District Anglers are dedicated towards getting kids involved in the sport of angling.
Club Members are responsible for restocking and ensuring that all angling byelaws are complied with.
Membership of the club is always open and we welcome new members with open arms.
Sea Bass Hunter Tomasz Eckert had his first bass of 2017 on Monday of this week. Fishing in his usual haunts along the Kerry coast he struck into a plump bass on a green jointed plug.
Tomasz’s first bass of the year
After a lure change he add two more fat, hard fighting bass to his account. The fish hit the lures confidently with hard, aggressive takes.
