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Irish Angling Update
07 May 2009
Editor: Paul Bourke, Angling Information Officer
email: Paul Bourke
Ph: 00 353 (0) 1 8842600
Fax: 00 353(0) 1 8360060
Salmon and Trout Angling
- Good trout fly fishing on the River Liffey and eastern lakes.
- High water spoils fishing on Nore and Blackwater but outlook is good.
- More specimen seatrout fishing on Lough Currane.
- Mayfly season hampered by strong winds on Shannon lakes.
- Angling conditions on the River Feale ideal.
- Plenty of salmon from the North West.
- Trout coming to Olives on Loughs Conn, Cullin and Arrow.
- Good salmon fishing on the Drowse, Lough Melvin still quiet.
- Salmon between floods on the Foyle River system.
Coarse Angling
- Roach and skimmers feeding well at eastern venues.
- Junior League and big roach on the River Barrow.
- Good tench fishing around Lanesborough.
- Waterways Ireland Classic fishing festival 2009.
Pike Angling
- Mostly jacks moving in Eastern lakes but 3 doubles from Rossmore.
- Some good pike around Ballinamore.
Sea Angling
- Report and outlook for the East coast.
- Shad fishing at St. Mullins.
- Shore and charter reports from Cork and Kerry.
- West Clare Area shore angling report .
- Predator II to hold a conger competition.
Game Angling Update
Eastern Region
Ashley Hayden reports:
E-mail: info@fishingireland.net
05/05/09
River Liffey, Newbridge - Athgarvan
Anglers were out in force over the bank holiday, making good use of the reasonable weather that we had and enjoying some good sport. The River Liffey upstream of Newbridge is providing consistent action to anglers fishing the dry fly. Local guide John Higgins brought all his skills to bear fishing size 22 reed smuts to tempt the finicky, super fast Trout that reside in the stretch between Athgarvan and Newbridge.
For information, permits, or to book a day of guided fishing, contact John at: +353 (0)86 813 5497, or email: jjhiggins@o2.ie.
Blessington Lake
Blessington Lake has been stocked with rainbow trout in the middle of April. There has been less anglers fishing for trout than other years. Most trout that have been caught have been taken by anglers using bait from the shore at Boylans Lane however some Anglers have been catching trout when fly fishing from boat. Cold conditions have been keeping the fly life to a minimum in the coming weeks fly fishing is expected to pick up.
Lough More, Co. Monaghan
Fly fishing has been very good following restocking and there are brown trout only at this venue. Boat hire is available from Venture Sports Co. Monaghan at €10 per day. Fly patterns that have been working well are apple green midge, blood worm immitation and buzzer pupa. Best fish last week was a lovely 3.5lb trout.
Emy Lake
Emy Lake has been fishing well for trout. It is fly fishing only at this venue, boats are also available for hire from Dick Kiernan at Venture Sports. There are wild brown trout up to 5 lb weight at this venue local anglers have reported a good hatch of duck fly at the moment and are looking forward to a good May fly hatch.
Contact details 047 81495.
Rathbeggan Lakes
Fishery Manager Dave Robinson has reported a good hatch of hawthorn fly. Fly fishing has been very good in the evening particularly if you are prepared to fish until dusk. Using a floating line, recommended fly patterns are alder, hawthorn and grey duster. Some anglers are catching six and seven fish in a session up to 5lb weight. A special evening ticket is available at €15.
Annamoe Trout Fishery
Annamoe Trout Fishery has been fishing very well and on Friday 1st May one regular angler from Dublin had 22 fish using a boobie on a floating line. A group of 22 American Anglers on holiday in the area had a wonderful days fly fishing at the venue in an event organised by Brian Nally Fishery Manager and the Dublin Angling Initiative. Good sized trout were plentiful some trout were taken on dry fly, many of the anglers fly fished for the first time. Brian tells me the “bloody butcher has been working well”.
Southern Region
John Flynn reports:
E-mail: enquiries@srfb.ie
29/04/09
Munster Blackwater
Ian Powell reports from the BLACKWATER LODGE fishery on the Munster Blackwater in Co. Cork.
Weather: Dry forecast for the early part of the week. More broken towards the weekend, but no appreciable amounts of rain.
River: The river was down to 0.64 @ 08.30 today (Tuesday).
Clarity is ~3-4' and temperature is 10°C.
Run of Fish: Large numbers seen running past Castletownroche on Friday 24th. Rather quiet over last weekend.
Catches: The first of the May fish reported from one of the private beats on Monday 4th - 8 & 10lb.
Methods: Suitable for all methods - coming.
Prospects: The river is settling & is now coming into fly order.Prospects for the week should be good with a few May fish starting to move in already.
Best Regards & Tight
Lines!
Ian & Glenda Powell
Address: Blackwater
Lodge & Salmon Fishery, Upper Ballyduff, Co.
Tel: 00 353 58
60235 From
Fax: 00 353 58
60162 From
E-mail: info@ireland-salmon-fishing.net Website: www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net
River Nore
Salmon guide and instructor Jim Brown from Kilkenny reports:
More rain fell last week the river was still a bit too high with spinning the only option. The level is now 0.9m on the gauge and the river is clearing.
Earlier in April Mike Morris from up state New York, USA fished the Nore. Mike is a very experienced fly fisher who regularly fishes on the rivers up in the Catskills. He had to dig deep to get the Nore to give up some of it's trout on a cold spring day.
Between dry fly and nymphing Mike ended up with 5 Nore trout, the fish were all small but we had a good day catching them.
Jim Brown
Salmon and trout Guide and Instructor
Rosebank Lodge, Mount Alto, Inistioge, Co. Kilkenny.
Tel: +353-56-7758419
Email: jimmbrown@eircom.net Web: www.noresalmon.com
South Western Region
Eileen Carroll reports:
E Mail: swrfb@swrfb.ie
WEEKENDED SUNDAY THE 3RD OF MAY 2009
KILLARNEY LAKES AND LOUGH LEANE
3 salmon trolling by local anglers averaging 9lbs each.
RIVER LAUNE BEATS 1 AND 2
1 salmon on Beat 2 caught by a local angler on worms weighing 9lbs.
FLESK RIVER
8 salmon caught by local anglers mainly on worms and lures averaging 7lbs each.
LAUNE ANGLERS WATERS AND BEAT 3
(REPORT OF BILLY DOWNES, CLUB SECRETARY)
Still no fish to report and I was out and met a few other anglers; no sign of fish to be seen or felt.
RIVER BLACKWATER
No catches to report
RIVER LEE
No catches to report.
RIVER BANDON
No catches to report.
05/05/09
Lough Currane
Vincent Appleby reports on the fishing on the LOUGH CURRANE system.
27/4/09 All quiet on the SW front up in till about 7pm when the maestro of the fly Mr Alister Dunbar of the UK, caught a fine salmon on the fly fishing with his reserve Gillie Mr Vincent O’Sullivan and of www.vincentsfishing.com Wind NW fresh to strong at times with heavy rain and hale showers on and off through out the day, amount of rainfall 9.0mm, max air temperature 11.6c.
28/4/09 Mr Axel Zurbugge of Germany fishing out of the Butler Arms Hotel, www.butlerarmshotel.com, caught a 7.5lb salmon on the troll fishing with his Gillie Mr Sylvester Donnelly of Lake Road, Waterville and you can contact Mr Sylvester Donnelly on +353 (0)66 947 4327. Wind NW fresh to strong at times. Max air temperature 12.2c
29/4/09 There was fine Sea trout in the 5lbs class caught on the troll by Mr Axel Zurbugge of Germany fishing out of the Butler Arms Hotel, www.butlerarmshotel.com,and staying with the sea trout, I see our Manger Mr John Murphy Esq. of www.loughcurrane.com is reporting some fine catches and they are as follows, Mr Nick Bell with a fine sea trout of just under 5lbs caught on the fly, off Church Island and last but not least that fine specimen Hunter and renowned Gillie Mr Bob Priestley caught a fantastic sea trout of 9.5lbs caught on the fly, which I might add he sportingly put back so all you anglers out there take note, it’s a pity I don’t practice what I preach. On the salmon front all quiet on the SW front. Wind E then veered WSW with light rain this evening, amount of rainfall 4.6mm, max air temperature 13.4c.
30/4/09 Bright and sunny all day and very little action reported during the day, but it was a different story on the evening shift, while we Gillies were having a anglers meeting in the lobster Bar, two of our younger members, Mr Terence Wharton and Mr Gareth Brain Esq. decided to miss the meeting and head straight for the Mouth of the Commeragh and no sooner they were there, they caught themselves two salmon on the fly, both fish were in the 9 and 10lbs class and I can tell you, one Gillie who attended the meeting had a red face this morning, and that is one thing I like about Lough Currane, if you criticize my Noble Lake it will bring you down to Earth with a bang. WNW light to fresh. Amount of rainfall 2.5mm, max air temperature 12.4c. Total amount of rainfall for April 162.5mm.
1/5/09 One salmon caught on the troll on the south side of Lough Currane in the 9lbs class by Dr Tim Gleeson fishing with his Gillie Mr Mike O’Dwyer. Wind SW light to fresh with light rain this morning but cleared up by lunch time with good sunny spells. Amount of rainfall 7.7mm, max air temperature 13.5c.
2/5/09 There was just one salmon caught on the troll by Mr Dona Mc McCarthy, of the USA and Waterville, Dona was fishing with his Gillie Mr Dominic Mc Gillicudy. Wind SW light to fresh with reasonable cloud cover. Amount of rainfall 3.4mm, max air temperature 14.0c.
3/5/09 I will start today’s notes by saying Lough Currane was electrifying with a total of six salmon caught and a fine 6.5lbs specimen sea trout, and the facts go like this, first in the striking zone was Mr Dan Sugrue of Waterville and his Gillie Mr Brod O’Sullivan of Stella Maris Guesthouse, they caught two Salmon on the troll both fish I believe were in the 10lbs class, next in the firing line was Dr Tim Gleeson who caught a fine salmon on the troll with his Gillie Mr Mike O’Dwyer, and in the fly department Mr Pat Healy caught a salmon in Copal with his Gillie Mr Michael O’Sullivan of Waterville Boats, email lobsterb@iol.ie they say self praise is no recommendation well I disagree, especially as I caught my self a 9lbs salmon on the troll and staying in the salmon department, Mr Frank Donnelly and his good Wife Ann and of www.lakelandshouse.com caught a fine 9lbs salmon on the troll, now for fish of the day, and that goes to Mr Pat Maloney of Cork who caught a fine specimen sea trout on the fly. Wind NNW light to fresh with reasonable cloud cover. Amount of rainfall 0.5mm, max air temperature 12.6c.
Well, that is your ration for this week, from your Gillie and the Waterville fishery. No spin No fly’s just Facts
Vincent
Angling Guide and Accommodation
Eureka Lodge, Caherdaniel
Email: salmonandseatrout@eircom.net Web: /www.salmonandseatrout.com/
Shannon Region
Brian McManus reports:
info@shannon-fishery-board.ie
06/05/09
UPPER SHANNON
LOUGH SHEELIN
22 trout were officially recorded from Lough Sheelin over the week. Fish averaged 3lbs in weight. Some big Sheelin fish were landed. There was good hatches of buzzer in Bog Bay, Derrysheridan and Church Island. Also some Olives were observed hatching. Local angler Paddy Brady from Lavagh had the heaviest reported fish of the week at 6lbs taken on buzzer, fish was released. Jim Brady, L.S.T.P.A. had a fish of 4lbs on buzzer. Garry Mc Kiernan L.S.T.P.A. had a fish of 3lbs and did Tommy Curran with a fish of 2.75lbs. Michael Kelly, Co Dublin reported catching 8 fish over three trips, best 3lbs, all on buzzer, all released. Sheelin is worth fishing, hopefully the weather will oblige in the coming days.
Catch up on angling news from the L.S.T.P.A. www.loughsheelinanglers.ie
Mr Sean Gurhy,
Assistant Fisheries Inspector
Lough Sheelin
Tel: 049 4336144
LOUGH O'FLYNN & UPPER RIVER SUCK
No fishing report this week.
John Ryan
Assistant Fisheries Inspector
Co Roscommon
Tel: 087 2536064.
MID SHANNON AREA
LOCH AN DOCHAIS - ANNUAL ALL IRELAND TROUT COMPETITION FOR ANGLERS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
Friends of Lough an Dochais will host the above competition for the Mary Robinson Perpetual Trophy at Loch an Dochais, Kilcormac, Co Offaly on Sunday 31st May, 2009. Angling will be from 11am to 2.45pm. All legitimate methods are allowed. Bag Limit: 4 trout per angler. Entry fee: €8.00 payable at the lake shore. Presentation of prizes will take place at St Joseph's Community Centre at 3.30pm. There are now 40 angling spaces available following major re-development of the lake. All enquiries to Mr Denis O'Driscoll, Secretary, Friends of Loch an Dochais, Kilcormac Tel: 057 9135328.
ALSO
Friends of Loch an Dochais in association with the Shannon Regional Fisheries Board will hold a Youth Trout Fishing Competition on Sunday 24th May, 2009. The fishing competition will be fished from 3pm. to 5pm at Loch an Dochais. Only anglers entered in the competition are allowed to fish during this period. Children must be accompanied by an adult. All legitimate methods allowed. Bag Limit: 4 trout per angler. Entry fee: €3.00. Enquiries as above.
LOUGH ENNELL
There were a few good fish caught on Ennell last week, heaviest over 5lbs. Peter Connolly had three fish - 5 lbs, 3lbs, and 2lbs. John Grimes had three fish - 5.25 lbs, 4lbs and 2lbs.
Shannon Regional Fisheries Board
Mullingar Office
Tel: 044 9348769 mornings
LOUGH OWEL
Thirty three anglers returned 98 fish for the week to weekending May 3rd. The heaviest fish was 3.5 lbs. On 1st May. Greg Boyle had ten fish average 1.5lbs on Olive, most released. Kieran Evans had ten fish averaging 1.25 lbs on bumble - all released. Keith Flemming had six fish averaging 1.25 lbs. On 3rd May Dave Murray had two fish of 3lbs, two fish of 2.25lbs, on Sooty olive. Jim Reynolds had four fish averaging 1.25 lbs. John Flanagan had four fish averaging 1.5 lbs.
Shannon Regional Fisheries Board
Mullingar Office
Tel: 044 9348769 mornings
LOUGH DERRAVARAGH,
The Tight Lines Competition was fished last week on Derravaragh. Thirteen anglers returned twenty fish.
Results were
- 1st place Christy Hynes .833 grams
- 2nd place Tom Newman .738 grams
- 3rd place Paddy Warde .730 grams.
Reports of good hatches of Mayfly.
Shannon Regional Fisheries Board
Mullingar Office
Tel: 044 9348769 mornings
LOUGH REE
ÀLAN LANDS LIFETIME TROUT TO WIN DONOVAN CUP:
Last Sunday saw anglers take to the lake in the competition for the Donovan Cup which is the last one before the madness of the Mayfly season. There was twenty four boats taking part with everybody looking forward to a nice day on the lake but with the wind blowing from the north west there was a biting cold which kept everybody from getting too comfortable and it also meant that fish on the day were hard to come by except for one young man who caught the trout of a lifetime.
The weigh in and presentation of prizes was held that evening in Sean’s Bar where after the smaller fish were weighed the pike scales had to be used to get an accurate reading of the Lough Ree monster which was caught by Alan Mc Evilly with some assistance from his dad Paddy Mc Evilly. It seems that while Alan was playing the fish his father told him to hurry up and land that pike so they could get back to trout fishing but Alan kept his cool and landed the trout of a lifetime. Proud mother Avril also attended the presentation and informed us that the trout was actually heavier than Alan was when he was born, not too many of us can say that. Second place went to Tony and Declan Doolan when their trout weighed in almost six and a half pounds lighter and third place went to Richard and Liam O’Sullivan for their trout which was a further one pound two ounces lighter.
Our thanks to Paul and Timmy Donovan of Sean’s Bar for their very generous sponsorship and for the excellent hospitality on the night and the concoction used to fill the cup is without doubt the best ever with everybody making sure they toasted Alan’s success at least twice.
MAYFLY MADNESS: As you can see the Mayfly season gets under way next Sunday when the competition for the Lough Ree Inn cup will take place and as with all competitions during May this will be a Dapp or Fly competition only. Along with the three Sunday competitions there will be two other competitions as follows
ATHLONE ANGLERS ASSOCIATION CUP FOR HEAVIEST TROUT ON THE DAPP: This is the competition for the cup which is presented each year at the presentation night and starts from the first day of the dapp, which is next Sunday and finishes thirty days later. All members are automatically entered for this competition and no entry fee is required and fish caught on the Sunday competitions also qualify for this.
THE MONEY COMPETITION:
This second competition runs for the same duration as the first one however the entry fee is €15 but all entry fees will be given back out in prizes in the following order. The winner will receive 50%, second place will receive 30% and third will receive 20%. Trout caught on Sundays will not be eligible for this competition regardless of whether the angler was participating in the Sunday competition or not and entry fees must be paid in advance of going fishing.
For the duration of the dapp the scales will be left in the Lough Ree Inn except on Sundays when the Captain of the Day will have them. We would encourage anglers where possible to use catch and release to help preserve trout stocks and regular texts will be sent with updates of the leading weights to help avoid needlessly brining in trout which would be out of the prizes
Eamon Cunningham
P.R.O.
Athlone Anglers Association
Tel: 087 - 2340815
PALLAS LAKE CO OFFALY
The season opens on May 1st, 2009.
Dinny Coyne
Chairperson
Pallas Lake Angling Club
Tel: 087 2974306.
LOUGH ACALLA CO GALWAY
10-12 anglers braved the weather at daybreak to open the season on Lough Acalla on Friday last May 1st. Some anglers came from as far as Athy, Co Kildare. Everyone had at least two fish caught by 8am, with some reporting several fish to 1lb. Up to 7-8 fish caught in total had over wintered, weighing 2-3lbs.
John Devaney
Assistant Fisheries Inspector
Roscommon
Tel: 087 2266735
LITTLE BROSNA RIVER
Very few fishing on the Little Brosna River at present.
CAMCOR RIVER BIRR
No fishing reported as yet - too early in the season for fishing on this fishery - waiting for the Croneen run at the end of June.
LOWER SHANNON AREA
LOUGH DERG
GARRYKENNEDY FISHING CLUB: Excellent hatches of fly were reported on Lough Derg in recent days, but squally conditions have militated against good fishing and very few fish have been seen on the surface taking fly.
Garrykennedy Fishing Club held competitions on last Saturday and Sunday. The winner of the William Donnellan Trophy on Saturday was Sean Lyons who caught a trout of 2lbs 9ozs on a Wulff in Youghal Bay. Tommy Moloney had a great day’s dapping on Sunday to win the annual competition sponsored by Pat Nolan of Premier Angling Supplies in Nenagh. Tommy’s four fish weighted in at 2lbs 3ozs, 2lbs, 1lb 10 ozs and 1lbs 8 ozs.
Several anglers came in empty handed over the weekend after two days hard fishing, but a few other club members did well. John Kennedy had two trout on a Wulff on Saturday; Padraig O’ Brien had a lovely trout of 2lbs 3ozs on Sunday and Brian Barry had a fish of 3lbs on Saturday. Jim McCormack had a total of three “keepers for Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
Strong winds in recent days have left the lake very churned up and anglers are hoping that a softening of conditions will result in improved catches.
The two Mayfly competitions organised by the Garrykennedy club for this coming weekend are the Gerry Regan Trophy on Saturday and the Matt Kennedy Trophy on Sunday.
Peter Gleeson
Angling Correspondent
Nenagh Guardian
Tel: 087-6564662
RIVER MULCAIR CO LIMERICK
Season opened on March 1st, 2009 - no reports received.
RIVER FEALE CO KERRY
Following some heavy rain in the south of the country, angling conditions on the River Feale was ideal, especially for spinning and sometimes fly all week. We received unconfirmed reports of about 12 fish in all caught, with 4 fish confirmed. Denis Leane from Castleisland who had a fish of 12lbs, Joe Divine Newcastlewest 7lbs, Tom O Donnell Limerick 8lbs, Mike Walsh Limerick 8lbs. There is still good fishing water at the moment but fish are quite scarce.
Paddy Halpin
Assistant Fisheries Inspector
Tel: 087 7729126
RIVER MAIGUE
Season opened for trout fishing on February 15th. No reports.
For angling updates on Castleroberts contact Mob: 087 9810817
Western Region
Kevin Crowley reports:
E-mail: kcrowley@wrfb.ie
No Reports
North Western Region
Markus Muller reports:
E-mail: info@nwrfb.com
Week Ending 03 May, 2009
River Moy
The Moy had its best week of the season, so far, with a reported catch of 91 salmon.
The Ballina Salmon Anglers water produced 13 salmon for the week, including a 3.6 kg (8 lbs.) fish for Jimmy Conlon. On Mount Falcon, young John Meade had a very memorable day. The twelve year old youngster caught his first ever salmon on the famous Wall Pool. The fish took a worm and weighed in at 4 kg (9 lbs.). This was the first fish of the season for the Mount Falcon Fishery and also wins John Catch of the Week.
The Foxford Fishery produced 7 salmon for the week, including a 3.6 kg (8 lbs.) fish for Seamus Darby, Westmeath, a 3.7 kg (8.25 lbs.) salmon for Dermott Lavery, Monaghan and a ten pounder for Jim Martin, Northern Ireland. All three fish were taken on worm. Patrick Finnegan, Monaghan, who fished on Gannon’s landed a fine salmon at 4.9 kg (11lbs.) also on the worm.
Further up river, the Cloongee Fishery accounted for 7 salmon for the week. Amongst the successful anglers were Andrew Reilly, Northern Ireland with a 4.0 kg (9 lbs.) salmon on worm and Jez Leech, UK, who landed two fish (4.9 kg & 2 kg) also on the worm. Also on Cloongee, Bruno Harne, Bernard Merzic and Joel Le Beuze, all from France, enjoyed great sport catching salmon weighing between 3.6 kg and 4.9 kg.
The best of the fishing, however, was on the East Mayo Anglers Association water. A total of 23 salmon were reported for the week, including a fine 4.9 kg (11 lbs.) fish for Jimmy Kilcoyne on spinner.
Twelve year old John Meade with his fist ever salmon caught on the famous Wall Pool.
Ballisodare
Ballisodare enjoyed another good week with 53 salmon caught of which 26 were released. The average weight was around 3.6 kg (8 lbs.) but a number of fish over 4.5 kg (10 lbs.) were recorded. Visiting angler, Terry McSweeney releases a 5.4 kg (12 lbs.) fish which took his “Willie Gunn” fly and local angler Josie Trotter had a fine 4.5 kg (10 lbs.) salmon on an Ally’s Shrimp.
Glencar Lough and Drumcliffe river
Glencar produced 8 salmon for the week but there were no fish reported from the outflowing Drumcliffe River.
Carrowmore Lake & Owenmore River
Despite the breezy conditions and a discolouration during the week, Carrowmore Lake produced 4 salmon for the week: Denis Summers, Dublin, caught two salmon at 3.1 kg and 3.6 kg, one of which he returned. The lake also produced salmon for Edward Reeper and Ronnie Mayock
The first salmon of the season was landed on the Bangor Angling Club stretch of the Owenmore River by local angler, Martin Rouland. The fish was caught in the Pound Pool and weighed in at 3.6 kg.
Lough Beltra
On the Glenisland Co-Op side of Lough Beltra, Ben Barnes caught and released 2 salmon at 3.6 kg and 4.0 kg. Anglers should note that Lough Beltra and the Newport River are fished on a “Catch & Release” basis until May 11.
Lough Conn & Lough Cullin
The strong cold winds and high water levels impacted on the angling for most part of the week. As a consequence, only a few anglers ventured out and braved the conditions. The Loughs saw just sporadic hatches of olives and some mayflies in sheltered bays.
Fishing from Gerry Murphy’s Boat Hire, Massbrook, Paddy Hickey, Cork, landed two trout for 1.3 kg (3 lbs.), while John Müller, Germany, had one fish for 0.45 kg (1 lbs.) on a Dabbler. Gary Crossley, Enniscoe - Crossmolina, who was fishing with his brother, had 5 trout over 3 days averaging 0.45 kg (1 lbs.); all to dry mayfly patterns. Fishing out of Cloghans, Susan and Walter Byrne, Cloghans and Offaly, boated 6 trout and Seamus Kelly landed 3 trout for an evenings fishing. Pontoon Bridge Hotel reported 4 trout for the Gerry McDonnell party, Northern Ireland, while Brian Clarke, also Northern Ireland, had one fish for 0.9 kg (2 lbs.) to a Bibio.
The Lough Conn & Cullin Anglers held two competitions over the Bank Holiday weekend. They were fishing against the Dublin Trout Anglers and results for the Dublin Bowl Competition (Saturday, 2 May) were as follows:
1st Padraig Traynor with 2 trout for 2.02 kg
2nd Michael O’Toole with 2 trout for 1.40 kg
3rd John Walsh with 2 trout for 1.34 kg
The Pratt Cup which was fished on Sunday, 3 May was won by Sean Creane with 3 trout for 1.9 kg. Karl Murrin was runner up with 2 trout for 1.47 kg and Joe Moffatt finished in 3rd place with 1 trout at 0.91 kg.
The Foxford Anglers are holding a junior day on Thursday, 14 May for the Foxford Lodge Cup on Loughs Conn and Cullin. Registration is at Brown’s Bay at 5 pm.
Ballin Lough
Ballin Lough enjoyed very good fishing for the week with 25 rods reporting a total of 79 trout, 35 of which were released.
Tommy Brennan and friend had 11 trout (6 released), best at 1.3 kg (3 lbs.) while Vincent Roche, Alan McGurdy and Harry Lloyd caught 12 trout, average .6 kg (1.25 lbs.), of which they released six. Most successful flies included Olive patterns, Cat’s Whiskers, Muddlers and Black & Peacock Spider.
Lough Arrow
Angling on Lough Arrow was rather slow this past week. However, anglers who ventured out reported good hatches of olives with the first mayflies to appear as well.
Karl Murrin enjoyed good sport with 2 trout for 1 kg (2.25 lbs.) and 1.2 kg (2.75 lbs.). Both fish came to dry Olive patterns.
Please note that the Lough Arrow Fish Preservation & District Anglers annual Mayfly competition will be held on Sunday, 17 May. Entries are taken at Brick Pier between 10am and 11am.
Lough Bo
A party of five French anglers had 12 trout, heaviest at 0.5 kg, while the Elliot family, Sligo, landed a total of 4 fish, best at 0.9 kg. John Ferris, Scotland & Boyle caught 1 fish for 0.45 kg. on wet fly and Jim Armstrong, Roscommon, landed 4 trout, best at 0.68 kg also on wet flies.
Doon Lough
Doon continued to produce good numbers of trout to the fly with most anglers catching between four and eight fish for an afternoon of fishing on this productive lake in Co. Leitrim (near Dromahair).
Northern Region
Lindsey Clarke reports:
E-mail: info@nrfb.ie
Monday 27th April to Sunday 3rd May 2009
RIVER DROWES
Water levels on the Drowes rose over the early part of the week to read 5.9 on the gauge by Thursday. The river then fell very gradually for the rest of the week and was reading 5.7 by Sunday. It was another good week on the Drowes with good catches of salmon recorded throughout the week with Sunday being the best day probably due to the larger numbers of rods fishing.
On Monday Paul Foley recorded a salmon caught from the Mill Pool on a Cascade fly.
On Tuesday, Columba Fitzpatrick recorded a 7lb salmon caught from the Black Hole on worm. Marty King accounted for a 7lb salmon caught from The Washstones on a shrimp and John Stephenson recorded a 7lb salmon caught from the Sea Pool on a fly.
On Wednesday, Richard Todd recorded an 8lb salmon caught from the Sea Pool on a prawn and a visiting French angler accounted for a 7½lb fish caught on a Foxford Shrimp fly from the Sea Pool.
I have yet to hear of any fish caught on Thursday.
On Friday, Richard Todd recorded an 8½lb salmon caught from The Meadow on a Flying ‘C’.
On Saturday, Francie Grimpy recorded a 6lb salmon caught from The Washstones on prawn. Jim Morrin accounted for a 5lb fish caught on the fly from the Island Pool. A visiting French angler recorded a 4½lb fish caught from the Mill Run on a Flying ‘C’ and there was an 8lb salmon recorded caught from The Washstones on prawn.
On Sunday, Peter McKenna recorded a 6lb fish caught from the Crooked Hole on a Flying ‘C’ and Brian McClintock accounted for a 7lb salmon caught from the Spa Well also on a Flying ‘C’. David Patterson recoded a 6lb fish caught from the Trout Pool on a Cascade fly. There was a further 3 salmon recorded caught on Sunday. These were a 7lb fish from The Washstones caught on prawn, a 7lb fish caught from Rooney’s Turn on prawn, a 6lb fish caught from the Trout Pool on a Cascade fly and an 8lb fish caught from the Island Pool on a fly.
At he time of writing (Tuesday) there is heavy rain which will continue into tomorrow so the river will surely rise. The forecast is for the rain to abate somewhat which should see the river levels falling into the weekend so prospects look good once again for the coming week.
For info/bookings etc on the Drowes Fishery & Lough Melvin see www.drowessalmonfishery.com.
LOUGH MELVIN
Lough Melvin remained fairly quiet with only a limited number of boats out fishing over the week. There were 3 salmon caught over the week trolling and Sean Maguire recorded a 6½lb salmon caught on Sunday morning. The trout fishing remained fairly quiet and the strong westerly winds at the weekend did not help matters and meant the lough was fairly quiet. A couple of boats recorded 2 decent trout to each angler on a couple of days but there little more than this to report. We are all waiting, really, for the trout angling to start in earnest!
Northern Ireland
Lionel Knobbs reports:
E-mail: lionel.knobbs@loughs-agency.org
05/05/09
Foyle River and Tributaries
Angling guide Danny Hunter reports on the fishing from the Foyle system Rivers.
05/05/09: A 12lb fish caught at the Glenmore Waters on the River Finn. The Finn is high but clean but the lower Finn is still in flood. The Mourne is also in Flood
05/05/09: More rain during the day has brought widespread floods.
04/05/09: The Derg Finn and Mourne are all in good order with a bit of fresh in them but quite clear. There were three spring salmon caught in the big water on the River Mourne at the Strabane/lifford waters yesterday , and one caught by Kevin Mc Crory the day before between the bridges.No catches to report from the Derg or Finn.
03/05/09: A fish caught behind the mill on the River Mourne and a fish caught up at the Ballybofey waters on the River Finn.
02/05/09: A bright dry morning and plenty of anglers out on the Finn this morning because that is the only place to be as the Mourne is murky .A nice day all over but we had a bit of heay rain over the darking of the day .
01/05/09:
It rained cat's and dog's this morning but the sun is out now and it looks as if its going to be a fair day. Only the Finn will fish clean today.
Danny Hunter
Fishing Guide
Foyle Fishing, 9 The Orchard, Strabane, Co Tyrone, BT82 9QH
E-mail: info@foylefishing.com Web: www.foylefishing.com
04/05/09
Moira Game Fair
The Moira game fair which is being held at the Demense Park Moira County Down on the 23rd and 24th May. A.P.G.A.I.(Ireland) are carrying out free fly dressing and fly casting work shops and tuition both days by A.P.G.A.I. Members Tom Woods, Joe Stitt, Lawrence Finney, Pat Hughes ,Patrick Trotter,Liam Duffy , sean mellody and Pat Mulholland.
There is also a fly casting and fly dressing competition both days with prizes for the winners.
Ballinlough Game Fair
The newest and biggest of the game fairs scheduled for July 18th and 19th is at Ballinlough, County Westmeath. A.P.G.A.I.(Ireland) are carrying out free fly dressing and fly casting work shops and tuition both days.
A.P.G.A.I. members Joe Stitt Lawrence Finney Sam Andrews Arthur Greenwood Tom Woods Pat Hughes who will be attending
Both angling events have been organised by Lawrence Finney A.P.G.A.I. who is the angling Director for the Irish National country sports fair.
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Coarse Angling Update
Eastern Region
Ashley Hayden reports:
E-mail: info@fishingireland.net
05/05/09
Royal Canal
An early bank holiday Saturday start for Gary Robinson in search of tench on the Royal Canal was not going as planned. The tench were not obliging; however Gary noticed that fish were taking small black flies off the surface. Always the opportunist Gary rigged up a fly rod with a small black dry fly and after a few casts started to catch a number of Rudd. Great fun on light tackle and an interesting diversion from what could have been a blank session.
There has been some excellent roach fishing at Leixlip in recent weeks some very good bags of roach reported by anglers fishing pole and waggler.
Killyboley Lake, Co. Monaghan
Only a few Anglers are reported to have been fishing at this venue. Coarse anglers who have been feeder fishing in recent days have reported to have small bags of skimmers feeder fishing with maggot as hook bait using brown crumb and size 14 hooks.
Monmurry Lake
Coarse angling has not really kicked off here yet, there are no reports of any tench yet from this venue however one local angler had 20lbs of skimmers and roach.
Rossmore Park Lakes
Coarse anglers have been catching bags of roach and perch feeder fishing. It is still early for this venue and mixed weather has kept numbers of anglers down.
Quig Lough
Some of the swims have been producing mixed bags of course fish on feeder at this scenic venue.
Ballyhoe
One Dublin angler fishing an all-night session at Ballyhoe last week had 15 tench, his best tench was 6lb 10oz all on maggot hook bait.
Southern Region
John Flynn reports:
E-mail: enquiries@srfb.ie
04/05/09
River Barrow
The Carlow Coarse Angling Club ran the first of thier Junior League matches on Sat 2nd May. The turn out was great and all participants enjoyed the evening. There was also a good turn out from senior members and full committee along with parents of the junior members, and Mr William O'Neill from Waterways Ireland who donated the refreshments and snacks for the match. The match was won by Dylan Barry, in second place was Thomas Quinlan and in third place was Emma mc Straw. There are a further four matches to be fished in the junior league.
Front left. Emma mcStraw, Danyael mcStraw, Jack Barry.
Rear Left. Jason O'Connor, Lewis Parr, Chucky Hurley, Brandon O'Reilly,
Dylan Barry, Micky Darcy, Thomas Quinlan.
Big Roach
Gerry McStraw from Carlow Coarse Angling Club sent in this photo of a huge roach he caught on Sunday. Certainly from the photograph it seems to be a roach and i would be the fish of a lifetime.
The roach was caught during a night session from the new match stretch in Carlow town.
South Western Region
Eileen Carroll reports:
E Mail: swrfb@swrfb.ie
No reports this week - [most recent report 12/03/09]
Shannon Region
Brian McManus reports:
info@shannon-fishery-board.ie
06/05/09
UPPER SHANNON
Lanesborough
Coarse angler Paul Waghorn of www.lanesboroughangling.ie reports on the recent fishing.
04/05/09: The wind was blowing up a storm and only an idiot would have tried to cross Lough Ree. Not reported until this morning, a very large Tench of 7lb 5oz was caught yesterday by Keith Morely from Lowestoft, which sets the benchmark for this year.
I was confined to the shop for most of the day and only ventured out to see if there was any action. Kevin and Peter from Halifax were rewarded later in the day with some Tench and Bream from the gusher pegs. I made the mistake of thinking I could do well again at Maladys on the Inny. It wasn't long before I realised the majority of the female Roach were missing. I caught just 5lbs of battle scarred cock fish who had obviously been spawning. I hope there is another influx of fish to spawn but I'm afraid to admit it could be all over.
Back at Lanesborough, Killian and Damien were settled in for a night session on the gusher pegs and rang me at 22.45 to say Damien had a "giant" Tench. I went out to weigh it and although it certainly was a big fish, went only 6lb 4oz.
03/05/09: Sunday was very bright and a few Tench made an appearance. Clifford Moreley from Lowestoft had four up to just under five pounds, three of which were female. Another angler from Belturbet had 2 Males and 1 Female although these were probably under 4lb apiece.
Aside from the Tench, the going was hard with just smaller fish making up the numbers. It's very sad to see the fishing here so poor but at least the season has been prolonged. I believe there are still many fish in the lake which have yet to move into the river. The navigation channel has a number of fish present but as previously mentioned, the current conditions prohibit big bags. I had an evening at Athlone where just one roach of around 1lb 4oz was caught.
The River unit of the Athlone Gardai were in attendance today, chatting to anglers and introducing themselves. They deal with all matters on the river from speeding boats, poaching and the occasional fatality. It was a pleasure meeting them and I hope we see them again.
Does anyone have any information regarding Edmund Hawksworth? Please E-mail if you know of his where abouts or any literature about the man.
There is not much time to win the prodigous "Roach trophy" It's made of solid gold plastic and will be presented to the captor of the largest Roach caught at Lanesborough during my stay. To claim you must phone me on 087 941 9988. The current leader is still Leigh Maitland with a fish of 2lb 01oz
02/05/09: A Dublin angler caught a superb male Tench of 4lb 7oz from just above the bridge.
01/05/09: The 1st of May would traditionally be the date I would start to divert my attentions to bream on the Mud Island. This year, I think we are about two weeks short due to the adverse weather. Barry Lister returned today to tell me the river temperature was holding at 52f and lots of good sized fish were showing on his fish finder on the navigation side. I'm really missing my evening sessions over there on the stick.
There were not many anglers again on the stretch and not surprisingly, returns were poor. I had about 3lbs of bits in an hour near the gusher before deciding enough was enough. I missed any potential local action for an evening on the Inny at Maladys. Dennis from Suffolk had blanked here during the day. After five run throughs I hooked a good Roach which proved to be the best of the session at 1lb 14oz, followed by another three between 1lb 9oz and 1lb 12.5oz. Smaller fish were scarce and my total was only 12lb or so.
Paul Waghorn
The Tackle Shop
Lanesboro, Co. Longford.
Tel: +353 (0)43 21491
MOHILL and CARRICK ON SHANNON
Photo: Brian Bohan with a great
Bream catch of nearly 200lbs.
Despite the bad weather over the last week and a lot of rain, water levels are high, with the Roach run starting. The river stretch at Drumsna and Jamestown is fishing reasonably well.
Tony Pouter and Carl Arnold from Telford Shropshire had a big catch of Tench on Drumbad lake. Tony and Carl were struggling on other venues as the water levels were high. I had a swim pre-baited on Drumbad for myself so I brought them there and what a wonderful catch of Tench they had.
Photo: Carl Arnold with a superb
catch of Tench
Lough Allen is fishing well for hybrids, Roach and Bream with some good nets of
fish coming out,. Guests at the cottage are currently fishing there and we will
see how they get on.
I myself had one of those days when everything went well and ended up with a
big catch of mostly Bream. Heavy feeding kept the Bream coming all day. I
fished the pole on an early morning start ending up with a total of 198lbs of
mostly Bream.
Brian Bohan
CHAFLYNNS COTTAGE & GUIDING SERVICE
Mohill
LONGFORD AREA and the STROKESTOWN LAKES
Photo: Gordon Duxbury, Russell Canner and Don Croman from Liverpool find the Bream at last.
Persistent rain and high winds have made fishing difficult on
most venues. The weather has played a big part in the fish not feeding like
they normally do at this time of year. Most lakes are now in flood and some
rivers that are normal hot spots this time of year have seen reduced catches.
The weather forecast for the coming weekend is said to improve and for the high
winds to drop. This change is sure to improve angling and weights should
improve, so we will wait and see what's ahead.
At the time of writing things were looking up for guests of Melview Lodge from Liverpool. Their hard work pre-baiting paid off and eventually the Bream started to
feed. Kevin commented that "the lads would have caught even
more if the conditions were kinder". They stayed at their task and fished
on regardless of the conditions to land some good fish. We will report next
week on how the week ended.
Kevin Lyons,
MELVIEW LODGE GUESTHOUSE,
Drumlish Road, Clonrollagh, Co Longford
Tel :
003534345061 Mob:
Email: info@melviewlodge.com
Web: http://www.melviewlodge.com
MID SHANNON
BANAGHER
Pleasure anglers fished the backwaters upstream of Banagher and
had very good catches with great fish. Then suddenly the weather changed and
the fishing went downhill with rising water levels. This coincided with the
Banagher Angling Festival which also suffered due to the poor weather.
Generally there were poor catches as fish switched off the feed. The best days
were Meelick on Thursday and Friday. The Portumna sections fished poorly. The
Meelick backwater fished well for Tench for UK angler Tom who didn't take part
in the match. He had some lovely Tench to 6.25lbs. The results of the
festival will be published here next week.
Ray Duthie
Old Forge Banagher
Bait
Stockist, Tackle and ACCOMMODATION
PROVIDER
Tel: 057 9151504.
RIVER SUCK VALLEY - Mid River Suck
The International Fishing
Festival in Roscommon:
The Suck Valley Open competition which was due to take place on Monday 18th and
Tuesday 19th May will now take place on Sunday 17th and Monday 18th May 2009.
Please contact Tina Kelly, Administrator, Cuisle Holiday Centre, Donamon, Co.
Roscommon, T: 090 6662277, E: tina.kelly@iwa.ie,
www.cuisle.com for further info.
TOM FOXES ANGLING STRETCH and lower RIVER INNY
Angling was fair on Tommy Foxes stretch. Visiting anglers did
manage to catch a few Bream and some Roach.
Tommy Foxe
Mob: 087 9960173 for enquiries and boat hire
INNY BAY B&B
MULLINGAR AREA
Ballinafid Lake - few anglers about, small bags of mixed fish - Rudd, Bream and Tench reported.
SHANNONBRIDGE
Peter Howes and a party of seven anglers visited Shannonbridge
last week and stayed at Laurel Lodge guesthouse. The river level was fine on
arrival but rose pretty smartly. They know the waters well and were not unduly
disturbed having many fine catches. It was great to hear one of the boys tell
how he had caught six Tench all over 6lbs on one day.
Dermot Killeen
Shannonbridge
Tel 090 96 74112
Email:
derry.killeen@gmail.com
LOWER SHANNON
Lough Derg and East Clare Lakes
There were a few good Roach caught on the Scariff River during early morning sessions early last week. Heavy rain meanwhile rose water levels
rapidly and killed off the fishing. No Bream reports yet from Lough Derg.
TJ O'Brien,
TJ's
ANGLING CENTRE KILLALOE
Tel: 061 376009 Mob: 087 8108225
Western Region
Kevin Crowley reports
E-mail: kcrowley@wrfb.ie
No reports this week - [most recent report 30/04/09]
North Western Region
Markus Muller reports:
E-mail: info@nwrfb.com
no report [most recent report 26/03/09]
Northern Region
Alice Murtagh reports:
E-mail:northfisheries@eircom.net
No reports this week - [most recent report 26/03/09]
Northern Ireland, Foyle and Carlingford Fisheries
Lionel Knobbs reports:
E-mail: lionel.knobbs@loughs-agency.org
01/05/09
WATERWAYS IRELAND CLASSIC FISHING FESTIVAL 2009
The 2009 Waterways Ireland Classic came to a close today with another exciting finish. Ballybay angler and first day winner, Andrew Chapman, emerged victorious with a total of 46kg 770gm. His 12kg 700gm catch on the final day clinched him the Classic title for 2009 along with a cheque for £5,000 and the coveted crystal chalice.
Close behind in second place was Peter Jones from Enniskillen with 43kg 460gm and he collected £2,000 and a crystal trophy as a reward for his efforts over the week. In third place was St Neots angler Tony Watling (Junior), whose 42kg 550gm total netted him £1,500 and a trophy. Tony’s Father, Tony (Senior) won the Classic in 1994, so to a degree history is repeating itself.
As is often the case in this competition, Monday’s results proved crucial in laying the foundations for their ultimate success. Monday’s top three anglers emerged in the top three places overall but in reverse order.
In fourth overall was Mark Silman from Stainforth with 47kg 710gm who collects £1,000 and a Belleek clock. Matthew Hall from Nottingham was fifth and Frank Smith from Audenshaw completed the leader board in sixth place.
Rain prior to the event raised the level of Lough Erne but did not adversely affect the fishing as reflected in the increased peg average, 5kg 350gm, which was a kilo higher than that in the 2008 event.
The Classic is sponsored for the seventh year by Waterways Ireland and is organised by Fermanagh District Council in conjunction with the Inland Fisheries Division of the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure.
For further information please contact Eddie McGovern, Fermanagh District Council, on 028 6632 3110, or Norma Herron, Waterways Ireland, on 028 6632 3004.
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Pike Angling Update
Eastern Region
Ashley Hayden reports:
E-mail: info@fishingireland.net
04/05/09
Killyboley Lake, Co. Monaghan
Only a few Anglers are reported to have been fishing at this venue. A number of jack pike have been caught by anglers spinning from the shore.
Monmurry Lake
Two local anglers pike fishing caught up to ten jacks all from the shore.
Quig Lough
A Dublin angler fishing at this venue last week had a 12.5 lb pike on dead bait. Local man Brian Byrne had a 29 lb pike in recent days caught on mackerel dead bait.
Rossmore Park Lakes
Pike fishing has been reasonably good in recent days over the May weekend. 3 doubles were reported all from spinning from the shore. Plugs and rubber baits seem to be working well.
Southern Region
John Flynn reports:
enquiries@srfb.ie
No reports this week - [most recent report 08/01/09]
South Western Region
Michael Hennessy reports:
E Mail: swrfb@swrfb.ie
No reports this week - [most recent report 30/04/09]
Shannon Region
Brian McManus reports:
info@shannon-fishery-board.ie
No reports this week - [most recent report 30/04/09]
Western Region
Kevin Crowley reports:
E-mail: kcrowley@wrfb.ie
No reports this week - [most recent report 05/03/09]
North Western Region
Markus Mullerreports:
E-mail: info@nwrfb.com
No reports this week - [most recent report 05/02/09]
Northern Region
Lindsey Clarke reports:
E-mail: info@nrfb.ie
06/05/09
Ballinamore
Recent reports to the office of good pike fishing on Lough Garadice and other lakes around Ballinamore.
Foyle and Carlingford Fisheries
Lionel Knobbs reports:
E-mail: lionel.knobbs@loughs-agency.org
No reports this week -[most recent report 30/04/09]
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Sea Angling Update
Eastern Region
Ashley Hayden reports:
E-mail: info@fishingireland.net
04/05/09
The Rosslare Coastline
Tope: The tope fishing season kicks into gear in the month of May and this kind of fishing can be very rewarding catching of course is not guaranteed. Increasing numbers of smoothound and dogfish start showing up along around Rosslare Point at this time of year. Fishing the incoming night tides is best. Large fish baits work well, mackerel strip and sandeel and crab for smoothound. Single hooks clipped and distance casting maybe required for this type of fishing in North Wexford. Sandy venues i.e. Ballinoulart and Morriscastle will all yield bass and flounder from May on especially after easterly winds in calm conditions. Concentrate on dogs smoothound and the occasional ray.
Best Baits: Rag, lug, crab and sandeel. Tinnabearna Beach is popular later in the month and produces big smoothounds. At Cahore, boat fishing begins in earnest for a range of species from May onwards. Species you can expect to encounter are ray, bullhuss, dogfish, smoothound, bass and dabs bring mackerel as it can be scarce in this venue.
Kilmichael
The Beaches north and south of Kilmichael will start to fish at this time flat fish, dogfish, bass, smoothhound and the odd surprise fish such as ray or bullhuss may turn up particularly at night. Kilmichael area - Anglers wishing to plug fish or spin lures have lots of interesting ground, bass fishing can be particularly good. Bass to 4.5 lbs have been reported in recent days. Courtown Harbour and Arklow Piers can produce good numbers of mullet from now on. In recent years bread has been a very successful bait fished on the surface however fly fishing for mullet is becoming increasingly more popular providing excellent sport.
Ennereilly Beach
Ennereilly Beach is a popular match venue at this time of year, dogfish are usually plentiful with the possibility of encountering many species i.e. ray, bass, smoothound main species. Best Baits are rag, crab, sandeel. A Good tip is to start fishing close in and work your way out. Grip leads are helpful at this venue and experiment with smooth lengths. Hook size 2 to 2o depending on bait and stay by your rods. In recent years rods have disappeared at this venue probably from a big female smoothound!
Vartry Estuary and Murrough Beach
Mullet fishing kicks off on the Vartry Estuary now, recent tides have seen increasing numbers turn up they can be very wiley when they arrive first. The Murrough Beach can produce dogfish and the occasional plaice. You can expect to encounter a mix of species from the piers in this area in the month of May.
Greystones to Wicklow Head
Beach fishing has been improving for dogfish, flounder, bass, occasional plaice and the occasional ray. Grip leads are required in daylight hours as anglers will need to fish at distance particularly at the start of the South run. Best baits are rag and sandeel and hook size 1 to 2o.
Bray
Small boats will start targeting preditors like early tope, dogs, huss and ray from now on at this mark. Numbers of pollack and wrasse will start to build, worth noting mackerel were caught here in May last year.
Dun Laoghaire Piers
Anglers can look forward to increasing numbers of species in May. Dogs, whiting some plaice, pollack and small wrasse can be expected. Spinning from these piers is productive but expect tackle loss. In May German spratts, tobies and Kilty lures are worth a go.
North of Dublin Coastline
Donabate, Redrock, Clairemount, Rogerstown, Malahide, Bettystown, Laytown, Corbalis are all capable of producing very big bass at this time of year. On mixed ground use crab and 2o to 4o hooks on sandy venues king rag works best. Fish can be close in and these venues tend to fish best after onshore winds. Seatrout can be caught by spinning along the North Dublin Coastline at this time of year. If you are targeting sea trout a state seatrout and salmon licence is required for the district you are fishing. Flounder are the main target species in North Dublin when seas are calm. In recent years increasing numbers of smoothhound are turning up at North Dublin venues to anglers fishing night tides.
Anglers worth mentioning. Two brothers Cian and Cathal Murray from Dunboyne Co. Meath boat fishing with their father Greg over the May weekend had great sport. Fishing a half mile offshore in South Wexford using mainly hawkeyes they managed more than 10 coalies to 3lb, four good size pollack and a red gurnard. Cian and Cathal are keen anglers who enjoy fly fishing for trout, pike fishing and all forms of sea fishing. The brothers also recently attended a casting event run by the Dublin Angling Initiative at Islandbridge on the River Liffey. Well done boys keep up the good work!
Many thanks to Brian Cooke, PRO of the Irish Federation of Sea Anglers in compiling this report.
Southern Region
John Flynn reports:
enquiries@srfb.ie
05/05/09
St Mullins, Co. Carlow
The annual pilgrimage to St Mullins, Co. Carlow, in search of the elusive Twaite Shad kicks off every May Bank Holiday weekend. Duncan Cole, a visiting angler from Northern Ireland, makes the trip every year to this magical venue.
Fishing was slow on Saturday, 2nd May, probably to do with the head of water flowing down the Barrow from the recent rains. However there were signs of fish in the river and Duncan’s patience was rewarded with a number of Shad connecting with his blue and silver Tasmanian devil.
A tip for this venue is to bring coarse and fly fishing tackle as well. Bream, Roach, Hybrids, Dace, Carp, Pike, and Trout can also be targeted from the old mill upstream towards the island.
South Western Region
Michael Hennessy reports:
E Mail: swrfb@swrfb.ie
04/04/09
Courtmacsherry
Mark Gannon of the charter boats Lady Louise and Lady Patricia reports that while skate fishing last weekend they had mixed results.
On the Sunday they hooked into 2 fish, but broke the first rod after about 20 minutes. On the second rod the line parted.
On the Monday we had better luck with French angler Christophe Lalaut landing a common skate weighing in at 50lbs. The male fish gave a good fight and the rough conditions made it even more difficult.
Mark Gannon
Lady Patricia and Lady Louise
Woodpoint Guest House, Courtmacsherry, Co. Cork.
Tel: +353 23 46427 or +353 86 8250905
Email: csal@iol.ie Web: www.courtmacsherryangling.ie
Cahersiveen
Angling guide John Quinlan of The Thatch Cottage in Cahersiveen, Co. Kerry reports:
Nick Gough arrived on Friday for a long weekend and he caught 6 bass on Friday and spent a few hours on Sunday on Namona catching brownies. For the last day of his stay Nick Gough landed 7 bass on fly.
Stephane Bodin arrived on Monday evening and during the week he caught 5 bass on fly - his first ever bass, 12 mullet on fly to 4.5lbs (also a first for him) and his first ever pollock, also on fly. He also spent a day on Namona catching several nice brown trout and unfortunately losing a good salmon on the fly.
Lynn's Dad, Terry went out for an hour one night and landed a bass. JQ himself got 5 bass to 4lbs.
John Quinlan
Salmon and Bass fishing Guide
Thatch Cottage, Kenneigh West, Cahersiveen, Co Kerry.
Tel: +353 (0)64 9474721
Email: info@thatchcottageireland.co.uk Web: www.thatchcottageireland.co.uk
Valentia Island
Siegy Grabher, skipper of the charter boat Sioux based on Valentia Island sent the following report
Last week we had 4 days out. Each day there were 4 or 5 anglers fishing. We fished on the drift and had the follwoing catches; 193 Pollack, 51 coalfish, 14 ling, 7 pouting, 1 cuckoo wrasse and 1 conger.
Siegy Grabher
Sioux
Ballyhearny West, The Mill, Valentia Island, Co. Kerry.
Tel: +353 66 9476420 or +353 87 6871267
Email: valentiafishing@eircom.net Website: www.valentiafishing.com
Shannon Region
Brian McManus reports:
info@shannon-fishery-board.ie
06/05/09
West Clare Area – Shore Angling
Poulnasherry Bay
Thornback Ray/ Dogfish/ Bass: A few small Thornback Ray and Dogfish are being caught on sandeel. Anglers spinning with Dexter Wedges are catching School Bass though green weed has made spinning difficult at Cammoge Point. Best at Brews Bridge where there is less weed and the chance of a good Bass to large plugs.
Querrin Pier
Bass: A few bass are being caught using lugworm.
Bealog, Doonaha
Bass: Bass on lugworm towards High Water.
Haugh Strand
Bass/ Dogfish/ Thornback Ray: Bass on lugworm towards High Water. Dogfish and small Thornback Ray at Low Water fishing at night with sandeel or mackerel.
Carrigaholt Strand
Dogfish: Dogfish on sandeel night fishing.
Carrigaholt Pier
Mullet/ Conger/ Pollock /Dogfish: Mullet being caught on small mackerel pieces. A few Conger to 10 lbs. on mackerel. Small Pollock on fish strips. Dogfish on sandeel.
Rinevella Bay
Flounder/Dogfish: Flounder on lugworm and dogfish on sandeel or mackerel.
Kilkee
Pollock: The usual rock marks are producing Pollock on Jellyworms when the weather allows.
White Strand, Doonbeg
Bass: Bass on lugworm at times but fishing is a bit patchy.
Doughmore
Bass: Some bass at the southern end to anglers fishing with lugworm
Baltard
Pollock/Ballan Wrasse: Some Wrasse turning up in the rock gullies to anglers fishing with crab also Pollock being caught on Jellyworm.
Mackerel
Some Mackerel are being caught from the rock marks at The Bridges of Ross and Castle Point but the numbers are small.
Bill Ryan,
Sea fishing guide
Querrin Shore, Kilkee, Co. Clare.
Tel: +353 87 4130122
Email: info@chillwithbill.com Web: www.chillwithbill.com
Western Region
Kevin Crowley reports:
E-mail: kcrowley@wrfb.ie
No report this week.
North Western Region
Markus Muller reports:
E-mail: info@nwrfb.com
No report this week.
Northern Region
Lindsey Clarke reports:
E-mail: info@nrfb.ie
No report this week.
Foyle and Carlingford Fisheries
Lionel Knobbs reports:
E-mail: lionel.knobbs@loughs-agency.org
No report this week.
Northern Ireland
Hamish Currie reports:
05 May 2009
Red Bay
Once again we saw some settled spells during April allowing us to push that wee bit farther offshore and were rewarded with a good few specimen fish.
Mackerel are becoming abundant offshore but are still reluctant to move into the bays in any numbers.
This year thanks to Joseph Bradells, Belfast we will be running a competition for a top of the range Okuma reel. The competition is for the heaviest conger this year caught aboard Predator II.
Hamish Currie
Predator II
Red Bay Stormforce 9.1 Rib
Web:http://www.predatorireland.com/
Email: info@predatorireland.com
Telephone Home: 028 2177 1828 Boat:
07720440117
