We’ve still to have any real winter weather but the last couple of days saw a good blow and fair bit of rainfall. The worst of it was yesterday, so there was no real impact on the angling reports for the week. Still no salmon, but some very exciting pike more than make up for that…

We have a few pike reports in from the midlands, Cork and Lough Derg. Pike and perch were taken on a mix of methods on a midland lake while a Bavarian trout fly was used to good effect on some of the stripey customers the anglers had in their sights. On the River Inny another angling tourist had 7 pike , all on fly. Down in Co. Cork, Greg Latour, who guides on Lough Allua, took his first trip of the year and landed a fine 22lb pike on a deadbait. But the big news comes from Lough Derg. Pierre Monjarret, an angling guide with plenty of 1m pike to his name, beat his PB with a super fish of 126cm. This achievement wins Pierre Catch of the Week.

Still no news of the first salmon of the year from any of the rivers open in Kerry, Donegal or elsewhere. The Laune and Lough Currane opened last week, but so far only kelts are hitting the flies and lures plying the waters. Anglers are reminded that all kelts should be handled carefully, safely released and  recorded in your logbook. Next week sees a number of rivers open across parts of the north west, north east, west and south of the country. Although there are many big name fisheries in their number, there is a lot of expectation that the Munster Blackwater will produce a springer. We’ll keep you posted.

The weekend saw some great winter roach fishing at two venues along the Shannon. The Madcap Anglers at Athlone had some really good bags of roach as the top 3 in their competition on the Athlone Canal averaged over 10kg. Meanwhile at Portumna a competition there saw the podium finishers average 16lb.

Kayak angling features twice in the reports this week as the settled weather saw a fair bit of action at sea. One angler enjoyed a fish a cast from a Kerry mark, while another group on Cork Harbour had up to 7 species each and some lovely codling in amongst the catches. Staying in Cork Harbour angling guide Richie Ryan had a good day with a couple of friends, managing to catch some great coalies to 5lb – all on fly.

Last year during protection patrols IFI staff across the country seized 1,487 items of illegal fishing equipment. In addition to these 31,180 protection patrols there were an additional 22,066 environmental inspections across a variety of sites including farms, industrial premises, wastewater plants, forestry sites, wind farms as well general inspections for pollutants in the natural habitat. In total we performed 36,979 angler checks and look forward to meeting more of you on the rivers, lakes and shoreline of Ireland in the coming year. You can find out more at:

• Inland Fisheries Ireland put 188,000 person hours into Fisheries Protection in 2016
• Protection Review and Comparison 2016

Saturday will be a bright, fresh day with sunny spells and showers. After a cold night with temperatures dropping to -3C there will be a frosty start to Sunday. It will be wet in the north but the south and south west will see drier, brighter weather. The outlook is for more unsettled and changeable weather for the early days of next week. Atlantic rain systems are set to cross the country at times. This will bring some mild, wet and sometimes windy spells of weather, but interspersed with cooler, drier, brighter periods also. It might be a bit wet at times, but sure we’re well used to that here. Get out there and go fishing.

Safe fishing to all and tight lines, especially here in Ireland.

Myles Kelly

Catch, Photo, Release

If you have an angling story to share with the Irish Angling Update please send it to [email protected].

Headlines

Pike angling reports

• Lough Derg pike guide lands 126cm pike
• Greg gets pike to 22lb on first Allua trip of the year
• Bavarian trout fly tempts Mullingar perch
• Inny pike on a fly

Salmon angling reports

• All set on Munster Blackwater as anglers look to start of salmon season there
• No sign of a fresh run salmon on the Laune
• No salmon as storm brews on Lough Currane

Coarse angling reports

• Great fishing on the mighty Shannon at Portumna
• Great winter roach fishing at Athlone for Madcaps

Sea angling reports

• Great Results for the Irish Kayak Angling Club at Cork Harbour
• Coalfish to 5lb for saltwater fly anglers on Cork Harbour
• Wicklow Boat Charters – 2016 Free Competition Awards
• Robinsons little and large get an early start to fishing

Other news

• New research reveals new information about sea trout in Irish Sea set to inform conservation management
• Inland Fisheries Ireland put 188,000 person hours into Fisheries Protection in 2016

News clippings

• A (tricky) river runs through it, Irish Independent
• Promoting Lough Ree Angling Hub across French waters, Longford Leader
• Oral hearing for Bantry Bay salmon farm, The Southern Star
• Lice infestation of sea trout worst close to marine salmon farms, research finds, Irish Times
• Fisheries agency seized 14.5km of illegal net in 2016, Irish Times
• Net Losses | Over 14km of illegal fishing net seized last year, Coast Monkey
• No sign of first salmon in Donegal yet, Donegal Democrat
• EPA ‘anxious’ €200m Vartry reservoir upgrade proceeds, Irish Times
• Why I’m a sucker for perch, Irish Examiner