In this report; some nice Sea Trout recorded on Lough Currane – Over 600 anglers fish the “World Cup†competition on Lough Mask recording a total of 885 Trout – 473 Salmon for anglers fishing on the River Moy this week making a total catch of 5,532 Salmon for the year to date. – Very good Bass and Sea Trout fishing reported from Carlingford and Wexford areas – Superb coarse fishing catches including some wonderful Rudd reported in the Strokestown lakes area. – Good Coarse and Pike fishing reported from Shannonbridge. – Super catches recorded by anglers fishing the Belturbet Festival. – Very good deep sea fishing reported in the Cork Harbour and the Carlingford areas. – New Pike Bye Law 809 is published and explained. – World Casting Event to be held at Carton House. – Catch and Release press release issued by the Eastern Regional Fisheries Board.
GAME ANGLING : Eastern Region: Web: http://www.fishingireland.net/ E-mail: info@fishingireland.net
Dave Robinson reports from Rathbeggan Lakes complex near Dunshaughlin in Co. Meath.
http://www.clubi.ie/rathbegganlakes/
rathbegganlakes@clubi.ie
Facilities include Secure Car Parking, Tackle Hire,
Clubs and Corporate Group Outings by Arrangement
Tuition, Tea/Coffee/Soup, Wheelchair Accessible, Open Daily 9am – Dusk
“After a very wet spring and thunderous downpours, the main lake at Rathbeggan clouded up considerably and fishing was very difficult. However around the second week in June the water started to clear and things began to look up. This however, was short lived as the reason for the increasing clarity was the really excessive weed growth.
With most chemicals being ineffective at this time of year there was nothing for it but to work on physical weed removal. With the help of our recently purchased Lake Mower attached to our maintenance boat, we eventually removed over 2.5 tonnes of elodea from the lake. Hard work indeed, with the cut weed having to be removed as quickly as possible after cutting to avoid oxygen depletion. Anyway the result of this labour has been worthwhile as fishing has improved considerably.
Another change here at Rathbeggan is the opening of the main lake to bait fishing as well as fly. Although we have kept the main lake fly only for over 8 years now, we recognized the number of anglers who want to be able to fish with their families, some float fishing and some on the fly so we bit the bullet at the start of August and will continue to allow bait fishing at least until the end of September.
Despite what you might think, the bait fishing has not unduly affected the fly fishing with bigger fish being taken in the evenings on small sedges and daddies and plenty of action for both disciplines during the day.
All tickets now include two fish to keep so at €25 for an adult half day and €15 for a junior, those that want to keep their fish are getting good value. The recent cooling has improved things even more so we would strongly recommend a visit.
South Western Region: Web: http://www.swrfb.com
E Mail: swrfb@swrfb.ie
From Eureka Lodge, Caherdaniel, angling guide Vincent Appleby reports on the past week’s fishing trends on the LOUGH CURRANE system:
Email: salmonandseatrout@eircom.net
Website: http://www.salmonandseatrout.com/
31/7/06 there were a few Sea Trout caught but nothing substantial. Wind N.W. Fresh to strong with heavy showers.
1/8/06 there was some good action in the trolling department, Mr John Smallwood and Mr John Smith caught two Grilse with their Gillie Mr Frank Donnelly of www.lakelandshouse.com and a guest fishing with Mr Bob Priestly also caught two Grilse and in the past few days Renée caught 10 Sea Trout the biggest weighed in at 3.5 lbs. and for the rest of we so called Anglers no comment. Wind northwest fresh to strong and reasonable cloud cover.
2/8/06 very slack in the fly department even though I am sure there were few Sea Trout caught on the drift and in the trolling department there were two Grilse caught first in the striking zone was Mr Simon Chislette of the UK with his Gillie Mr Brod O’Sullivan of Stella Maris Guesthouse Waterville and the second was caught by Mr Michael Clifford of the UK and Waterville he was fishing with his Gillie Mr Mike O’Dwyer, plus they also caught two fine Sea Trout. Wind N.N.E. Light to fresh and bright and sunny all day.
3/8/06 all quiet on the southwest front, you try and tell that to Mr Ditto who caught two fine Sea Trout. Wind W.N.W. Light to fresh, bright and sunny all day.
4/8/06 Very little to report today but I see on www.loughcurrane.com there has been some good catches and they are as follows, Mr Kleman caught a Sea Trout of 5.75 lbs. Mr Jim Sayers and Mr John Walsh caught five Sea Trout the biggest weighed in at 5.5 lbs., a Guest fishing with Mr Dominic Mc Gillicudy caught ten Sea Trout and Mr Ditto Caught nine Juniors in which seven were returned and last but not least Mr Martin Lanigan O’Keefe caught a fine Grilse on the Fly on the Famous Butler Pool and just for the record all fish were caught in the past two days. Wind southwest light to calm and overcast and humid.
5/8/06 Very quiet for a Bank Holliday weekend, just a few Juniors caught. Wind S.W. Light and overcast all day with the odd bit of sun breaking through at times.
6/8/06 just a few small Sea Trout but nothing substantial. There was heavy rain this morning but as soon as the weather cleared up the wind veered into the northeast fresh to strong. That is all the news from your Gillie and the Waterville Fishery. No Spin No fly’s just Facts.
Eileen Carroll reports:
6th OF AUGUST 2006
LAUNE ANGLERS WATERS (Report by Ted O’ Riordan)
Laune Salmon & Trout Anglers’ Association waters:
Anglers prayers for rain remain unheard; water levels remain very low; anglers on Association waters were few and far between. This sums up the angling picture from the river Laune for the first week in August.
Four grilse averaging 3 lbs were taken on the fly by Association members, while a French angler who was fishing a worm, landed a grilse of 5 lbs. Hard luck story of the week goes to a visiting angler from England who lost a salmon and a peel on his first visit to the Laune.
NO CATCH REPORTED ON BEAT THREE.
RIVER BLACKWATER (KENMARE)
The flood on the weekend of the 30th brought in a very nice run of grilse. There were 10 salmon landed on Monday the 31st of July, best salmon 8 lbs, it was a stale fish and was returned. The same angler Mattie Collins from Cork City had another salmon of 5.5 lbs. Best catch of the week went to Kieran Conlon, Cork, with 5 salmon landed on the fly on Tuesday the 1st of August, best salmon was 8 lbs. On Wednesday the 2nd of August Pat Curtin caught his first salmon ever weighing 3.5 lbs. Water levels dropped away since and the next rain should give more good fishing.
RIVER ILEN
Salmon are appearing but are not going into the river due to the low water levels.
COOMHOLA RIVER, BANTRY
3 salmon landed for the week. Jerry Harrington from Cork had two of these salmon weighing 10 lbs and 2.5 lbs landed on worm. The third salmon was landed spinning weighing 4 lbs by a local angler.
RIVER BANDON
Very low water conditions. Poor salmon angling with only 1 salmon reported. This grilse was landed on the lower reaches caught on a shrimp. Sea trout fishing was fair.
RIVER LEE, CORK CITY
20/30 salmon landed at the Weir. Best methods shrimp and spinning. Salmon averaging 4 lbs. to 8 lbs. each.
RIVER LEE, ESB WATERS
On Sunday the 6th of Augus
t Alan Stapleton, Glanmire, Co. Cork, had one salmon of 10.5 lbs. on a purple shrimp.
Shannon Region: Web: http://www.shannon-fishery-board.ie/
E Mail: info@shannon-fishery-board.ie
Brian McManus reports:
http://www.shannon-fishery-board.ie/guides/game/fishing-reports.htm
August 9th, 2006
MID SHANNON AREA
LOUGH ENNELL
The hatches of Green Peters have finished on Ennell, but the buzzers are back and there are some Murroughs starting to hatch. If the wind changes back to the south west fishing could improve. Last week Mick Clarke, Dysart had 2 fish for 6 lbs. on the Peter. Seamus Daly, Dysart had a fish of 3 lbs. on Green Peter. Mick Devaney, Mullingar had 3 fish over a few days to Sunday last on Claret Dabblers and Bumbles, best 3 lbs. Noel Gillholey, Mullingar had a fish of 2.5 lbs on the Peter. Bill & Martin Gallagher, Daingan had two fish between them for 7.5 lbs.
For updates contact Pat Mc Donnell, Fisheries Officer Shannon Regional Fisheries Board Mullingar Office Tel: 044 9348769 mornings
LOUGH OWEL
The Peter season has commenced on Owel. While slow at times some nice fish were reported to the Green Peter. The Dan Mullany Cup was fished by 45 anglers who caught 16 fish. This was an improvement on last week’s competition. Barry Lenihan, Mullingar had 2 fish on a Hares Ear on July 27th. He had 2 fish on July 28th for 4.75 lbs. This was followed on Thursday August 3rd with 5 fish for over 8 lbs. on the Green Peter. Colm Crossdale, Athlone had a nice fish of 4 lbs. on fly. Michael Tyvoid, Dublin had 5 fish for 8 lbs. on Green Peter. Tony Tyrrell, Edenderry and Mullingar anglers Brendan Murray, Paddy Dolan, Andy Boyle and Bill Darby all had fish mainly on the Peter. Prospects look promising for next week.
For updates contact Pat Mc Donnell, Fishery Officer Shannon Regional Fisheries Board Mullingar Office Tel: 044 48769
Mick Flanagan, Angling Correspondent for the Westmeath Topic and Sunday World Newspaper Tel: 087 2797270: mick@midlandangling.com reports on Midland Lakes & Rivers.
OWEL TROUT ON THE MOVE…
The recent change in the weather last week has got a few fish on the move on Owel. Some cracking trout were caught during the Dan Mullally Shield. Our good friends Marty Smith and Dave Hinkle’s from England spent a week here in Mullingar but unfortunately the trout fishing was poor during their trip. Still the lads had some fun catching pike and perch on Lough Ennell and Lene. Marty is back again this weekend and hopefully we will get some late fishing on Owel.
DAN MULLALLY SHIELD….
Last week we had a break from the humid weather and it certainly improved the fishing. On Wednesday night last August 5th Lough Owel trout preservation Association hosted the Dan Mullally Shield, with fishing from 7pm-11pm. It was a very blustery start to the competition but as night fell the wind dropped and with this some sedges started to appear on the lake surface. I fished the competition in the company of two top class Lough Owel Anglers Mick McCormack and Lough Owel Chairman Andy Boyle. The lads rose a number of fish early in the evening, but it was not until night fall that we eventually landed a trout. As with Green Peter fishing you pick your spot and stick it out. We had decided to fish just out from the Corn Field just below Murray’s Point. A small hatch of Peters appeared for about 20 mins and sure enough a few Owel trout started to feed. As it turned out I managed to cover one feeding fish and it duly took my Dry-Fly imitation. It was a lovely Lough Owel trout weighing 0.945 kg. This secured 3rd place on the night with Mullingar Angler Barry Lenehan landing a super trout 1.075, and once again Pat Brady of Broadmeadows A.C. topped the night with a cracking fish 1.395. Pat had won the Pattie Doolan Shield the previous Wednesday night. The presentation of prizes took place at Mullally’s where Lough Owel Club Chairman thanked all anglers for supporting the two Peter Competitions, and especially all who sponsored prizes for the Peter competitions. As there was only one fish recorded at the Patti Doolan Shield, fish from the Dan Mullally event qualified for prizes. Full result from the Patti Doolan Shield. 1st Pat Brady, 2nd B. Lenehan 1.075 kg, 3rd M. Flanagan 0.945 kg, 4th B. Murray .880kg, 5th Joe Furey 0.870kg, 6th G. Heaslip 0.850 kg, 7th M. McQuaid 0.725 kg, 8th G. Long 0.675 kg, 9th J. Vickers 0.660 kg, 10th J. Plunkett 0.645 kg, 11th S. Eighan 0.610 kg, 12th T. Gorman 0.595 kg, 13th D. Caffrey 0.575 kg. A total of 34 anglers caught 17 fish on the night. Lough Owel Trout Preservation Association would like to thank their many sponsors, Marty Smith, and Dave Hinkles (England), McAuley Oil, Willie Penrose, J. Murray Boat Engines, Lakeland Anglers, Tommy Nally, Martin Mc Quaid, Eugene Fagan, Dolan’s Pub, Lough Owel T.P.A.
VISITING ANGLERS…
Visiting anglers Dave Hinkles & Marty Smith spent a few days last week fishing the Midland lakes. The lads are regular visitors to Westmeath and really enjoy their trips to Mullingar. Unfortunately the fishing could have been better with the lads struggling to interest trout be it on the troll or fly. Mind you they had some fun catching perch and pike during this trip. Lough Lene produced quite a number of small pike for the lads, with Lough Ennell producing good perch. The two lads from Macklesfield near Manchester in England were staying in the Newbury Hotel, and as usual had the height of praise for the Hotel & Staff. Marty is back this Thursday and hopefully we will catch up with a few Brown trout this weekend.
Western Region: Web: http://www.wrfb.ie/
E Mail: kcrowley@wrfb.ie
Kevin Crowley reports:
WRFB Angling Report 8 August 2006
LOUGH MASK – WORLD CUP RESULTS
The annual World Cup Trout Fly Angling Championship was held over the bank holiday weekend, with over 600 anglers competing from all over Ireland and abroad. Four days of heats were held with the top anglers qualifying for the final on Monday. Over the 5 days there was a total of 885 trout caught over 13 inches, with some fine fish landed. Fishing was very competitive, and on 2 days it required a catch of well over 3 lbs to qualify for the final. On the final day, conditions were less than ideal, and it really brought out the best in anglers, with some well-known names finding it hard to land any fish. The well-deserved title went to Philip Rooney, from Rossinver, Co. Leitrim, who outfished everyone else with a fine catch of 3 trout for 7.44 lbs. Philip takes home a 19-foot lake boat sponsored by Burke Boats of Ballinrobe, along with a Yamaha 15hp engine sponsored by O’Connor’s of Cong and the World Cup Committee, and a Hardy Swift fly rod, donated by Hardy Alnwick, England. He will also have his name on the World Cup Perpetual trophy, a great achievement for any angler in this competition which has been running since the early 1950s.
In second place was Brendan Morris from Ulster, with 4 trout for 7.14 lbs, and in third was Ballinrobe’s Gregory O’Donoghue with 4 trout for 6.32 lbs. The winning boatman was Tom ‘Doc’ O’Sullivan, who takes home the Final Silver Perpetual Challenge Cup.
The heaviest fish over the 5 days was caught by Desmond McHugh of Ulster, a fine 7.45 lbs trout, enough to win Desmond a Suzuki 15hp engine and a Hardy Sirrus reel.
Once again the competition was a huge success for the World Cup Committee, chaired by Dominick Curran, and raised money for the development of the lake and preservation of trout stocks.
GALWAY WEIR
Salmon fishing in Galway has usually gone very quiet by August, but this year the fish have kept on running, and there were 51 fish caught for the last week. Se
bastian McMichael from Northern Ireland had 3 nice grilse, and Davy Hoy had 1. Young brothers Cormac and Fiachra Wall had 2 grilse and 1 grilse respectively, and Louis van Beck Jr. from Mullingar with 1 grilse was outfished by his nephew Richard, who had 2 nice fish. Liam Gilsenan from Westmeath landed 2 fish, as did Brian McInerney and Galway man Bert Lynch. Kevin O’Toole from Galway landed 2 and former fishery officer Joe Mulry had 1. Scottish visitor John Marshall had a nice fish, and Thomas Godfrey had 2 good salmon, including a fine fish of 9 lbs. Aidan Connolly from Athlone had 2 fish, and Moycullen resident Neil Spellacy had a nice 6.5 lbs. grilse. Father and son Joe and Paul McNamee from Dublin had a good day, with 2 fish each, and Brian Casey and girlfriend Margaret Puck also had 2 good fish each. Fish of the week was landed by Swiss visitor Christian Berger, who landed a beautiful 10.5 lbs. Salmon on the fly.
Water conditions are still perfect, and there is a great head of fish in the river, giving good fishing prospects for the week ahead.
LOUGH INAGH
Fishery manager Colin Folan reports from Inagh: Significant rain on Monday 31 July brought a good flood and a run of fish into Inagh. With the end of the drift netting season and stormy weather, this ensured the safe passage of grilse into the lake. A lot of smaller grilse are around which is unusual for Inagh as our strain of grilse are usually quite large compared to other places. Sea trout runs are good too and anglers are enjoying good sport on Lough Inagh at present. Floating lines and size 12 flies fished in deeper water are top at the moment but I am sure the fish will sulk again soon unless more water comes. The sea trout are in great condition and it’s great to see them lice-free after 18 years of torture from the salmon cages. Anglers who have not fished Inagh for a number of years are returning and recalling the good old days in the hotel bar once again. 6 salmon, 47 sea trout and 40 brown trout were caught in 46 rod-days. On the 1st Colin Folan fished the Derryclare Butts for a half day and caught 3 grilse on a size 10 cascade fly. All three were in the 6 lbs. bracket and fresh. Kevin Keaney (Galway) caught a 6 lbs. grilse on the Derryclare Butts on a Stoats tail. Sean Murphy (Galway) caught a 3 lbs grilse from Lough Inagh on a size 12 octopus. Frank Rigney and Eugene McMahon fished Inagh for a day and boated 15 sea trout and 11 browns to 1.5 lbs, most fish took a wet Daddy. Brian Stanfield and Greg White (N.Ireland) fished Inagh for 2 days and recorded 12 sea trout and 11 brown trout to 1.5 lbs. Best fly again was a wet Daddy.
For information and bookings contact Colin Folan at 086 8679459, or Lough Inagh Lodge at 095 34706, E-mail: inagh@iol.ie
North Western Region: E Mail: info@nwrfb.com
Web: www.northwestfisheries.ie
Angling officer Markus Muller reports:
Angling Report – w/e 06 August, 2006
River Moy
The Moy system accounted for 473 salmon this week bringing the total for the season, so far, to 5,532. Despite the rain earlier in the week, water levels remained low in the middle and upper reaches. The Moy Fishery, at Ballina, yielded 238 salmon but salmon were taken throughout the system.
On the Weir Pool Michael Jeffreys from Wales had 3, best at 5.26 lbs, so had Paul Wymes from Dublin. Best fish for him was a fine 9.42 lbs salmon. On the Ridge Pool, Patrick and Eamon Doyle from Wicklow had 2 fish each, best at 6.9 lbs. So had Malcolm and Andrew Cooke from England with best fish at 5.88 lbs. The Cathedral Beat had another good week, producing 125 fish. Ken Tucke, Carlow had 3, George Heuston, Donegal and Niall Tonge, Meath had 2 each and visiting Belgian angler, Roland Capouillez landed 4, one of which he released. All fish were taken on fly.
On Mount Falcon, English angler Peter Holden and his son had 3 fish on worm. Peter also had a 4 lbs. salmon on Gannons Fishery. Michael Tiernan Jnr. landed a nice salmon on the Foxford Town water and on Clongee, Hugh Marshal from Northern Ireland had one at 7 lbs. on worm. A visiting French angler also had nice 7 lbs. fish on Clongee fishing bubble and fly.
Burrishoole Fishery
Lough Furnace had the best week of the season so far with a total of 15 salmon caught, 9 of which were wild and were released. Gearoid Kirwin from Ennis landed his first salmon on the fly. Mike Sweeney from Loughrea and Mr. Lewis from the UK had two salmon each.
Owenmore River
Due to the first flood since early June fishing conditions improved on the Owenmore River. Twelve grilse were reported for the week by local anglers on Bangor Angling Club stretch of the Owenmore. All fish were relatively small – not exceeding 3.5 lbs – and most were returned. Seamus Gaughan, Bangor Erris had one and Gerry Heston also Bangor and Fishery Officer John Cosgrove had 2 each.
Ballisodare River
Ballisodare had a reported catch of 111 salmon for the week with some bigger fish in the 5 to 6 lbs. range been taken. The best fish of the week was caught by local angler Seanie Maye who had a 10 lbs. salmon to a Red Ally’s Shrimp.
Lough Conn
With water levels at their lowest for a long time and the dry, calm weather continuing fishing was very quiet on Lough Conn. However, local angler Jonny Warren, Errew, had 4 trout weighing 6 lbs. with best at 1.75 lbs. Whereas Michael Dunning and David Gallagher from Athlone landed 4 trout with best at 2 lbs. Most fish were caught with wet flies and most effective patterns included Connemara Black, Bibio and Golden Olive.
As part of the Crossmolina Community Festival a Junior Angling Competition was held on Lough Conn over the Bank Holiday weekend. The first prize for the under twelves went to Sinead Timlin, with one fish and Niall Mulhern won the competition for the under 16’s with a total of 4 fish.
Lough Arrow
Again a quiet week on Lough Arrow and few fish were caught. Nevertheless, Paul Cullen from Co. Kildare had a fine trout at 3.5 lbs.
Northern Region: E-mail: info@nrfb.ie
Lynsey Clarke reports:
RIVER DROWES – Monday 31st July to Sunday 6th August 2006.
The Drowes was once again running at low levels this week. There has been little angling in the unfavourable conditions and with the water being so low, even the sea pools are closed
LOUGH MELVIN – Monday 31st July to Sunday 6th August 2006.
Lough Melvin was fairly quiet for the week with few anglers venturing forth during what is usually the quietest month of the season on this fishery. There is little to report this week.
EANYWATER FISHERY – Monday 31st July to Sunday 6th August 2006.
The Eany was low for the greater part of the week but did receive a couple of small floods on Monday (0.6 metres) and Sunday (0.5 metres). The gauge average for the week reads 0.32 metres. 29 visiting anglers were fishing for the week with all but 3 of these fishing from Monday to Thursday. There are fair numbers of grilse about the fishery now with the start of the main run of grilse. A number of salmon have been caught and I am still awaiting confirmation of details of the same.
ESKE FISHERY – Monday 31st July to Sunday 6th August 2006.
The Eske Fishery received a modest amount of rainfall for the week which raised the Lough and River gradually over the week from low conditions at the start of the week to fair conditions by the end of the week. We did not receive a good flood as was hoped for. There were some ni
ce overcast conditions with a fair breeze on a number of days which gave some good conditions on the Lough at times. 6 visiting anglers were fishing for the week, all on the Lough. The River now has good numbers of grilse and sea trout present. Local anglers are catching good numbers of sea trout to 2 lbs. late in the evenings on the fly. A Teal Blue & Silver or Peter Ross are accounting for most fish. There was also a number of salmon recorded. Local angler Liam accounted for an 11 lbs. salmon on the Lough. I caught and released a 3 lbs. grilse caught on the fly from the river on Thursday. Local angler Peter McGroary accounted for a grilse of 2½ lbs. caught on the Lough on Wednesday on a small plug. There were also fair numbers of sea trout caught on the Lough to 1½ lb.
OWENEA RIVER – Monday 31st July to Sunday 6th August 2006.
The Owenea River had fair water levels at the beginning of the week (0.28 metres) but the river gradually dropped from Monday to Thursday and then remained at 0.20 metres for the rest of the week. The gauge average for the week reads 0.23 metres. The fishery was fairly busy with 71 visiting anglers fishing, spread throughout the week.
There are good numbers of grilse in the fishery at present. Simon Lord on beat 8 recorded 3 grilse of 2½, 2½ and 7½ lbs. caught on the fly on Monday. Brian Barron had a good day on Tuesday with 5 grilse from 2 to 3½lb caught on the worm and spinner returning 3 of these. Alan McMaster accounted for a 3 lbs. grilse caught on beat 6 on the fly on Wednesday. S. McKeown and Samuel Nickel accounted for 4 salmon between them from 3½ to 6½ lbs. on Friday from beat 8.
Lough’s Agency: Web: http://www.loughs-agency.org
E Mail: declan@loughs-agency.org
Lionel Knobbs, Loughs Agency Angling Manager reports:
Foyle Catchment
River Faughan
Edward McLaughlin reports this week.
Lynches Dam Sean McLaughlin fly 4 pounds Grilse, Mark Halphaney two Grilse 3 pounds and 5 pounds on fly Gerry Campbell 6 pound Grilse plus1 4 pound Grilse on Spinner returned. E, McLaughlin one 4 pound Grilse returned plus 2 others got lynches Dam Sean McLaughlin one 9 pound Grilse on fly returned. K. Kelly one 3 pound Grilse on fly. Trevor Doherty 3 pound and 4 pound Grilse at the Muboy stretch Tommy Oglivy 6 pound Grilse on fly. John Canning 3 pound Grilse and a 1pound Sea trout. Roy McCallion 3 pound on fly lynches dam. Martin Bowen 3 pound Grilse fly Ardlough Road, Roy McCallion 5 pound Grilse fly lynches Dam, S, Stewart 3 pound Grilse on Worm from Lynches Dam. M, Halphaney 3 pound Grilse on the Tidal stretch.
Info cocamclaughlin@yahoo.co.uk
River Mourne and tributaries
Water levels are low and the Loughs Agency’s Southern District Inspector Seamus Cullinan reports fresh run Grilse are being grassed on the upper reaches of the Mourne and on the Sion Mills stretch of the system .Robert Spence from Bready grassed two Grilse averaging 3 lbs on the Fly at Sion Mills and Norman Nelson (L’Derry) also banked two small Grilse from the same section of river.
River Dennet
The Dennet is fishing well for Sea Trout at present with good catches of Sea Trout from the mid sections of the river. L. Boyd from(Donemana)four Sea Trout averaging 1.5 lbs. on Worm from the Loop pool, Ian Gamble (L’Derry) two Sea Trout on the Fly from the Railway Bridge Pool and Gary Boyd from (Donemana) 3 lbs. Grilse on Dry Fly from Paterson’s Dam.
E-mail; info@anglingadventuresireland.com
Lough Foyle
Ian Gamble reports fishing is top quality at present with Sea Trout and Bass showing regularly along the Long Field Bank area of the Lough. Ian reports he landed 6 lbs. Mullet on a Fly Rod at the weekend and stated the Mullet matched any of the Salmon he landed this year.
The Loughs Agency aided by The National Angling Guides Association will be delivering a number of free events as part of National Fishing Week and on the weekend of 19th and 20thAugust will be delivering a two day introduction to angling for juniors in Omagh, for further information and registrations contact lionel.knobbs@loughs-agency.org.
Tel: (NI) 028 7134 2100 (ROI) 048 7134 2100
Further information contact;
Lionel Knobbs
Angling Manager
Lionel.knobbs@loughs-agency.org
Mob: 07736374131
COARSE ANGLING
Shannon Region: Web: http://www.shannon-fishery-board.ie/
E Mail: info@shannon-fishery-board.ie
Brian McManus reports:
http://www.shannon-fisheryboard.ie/guides/coarse/fishing-reports.htm
August 9th, 2006
UPPER SHANNON
ShRFB Reports for the Upper Shannon Region
The Shannon is fishing well in the evening time around Carrick on Shannon.
Kevin Lyons, MELVIEW LODGE GUESTHOUSE, Drumlish Road, Clonrollagh, Co Longford Tel : 003534345061 Email: info@melviewlodge.com Web: http://www.melviewlodge.com covering fisheries in the LONGFORD AREA and the STROKESTOWN LAKES
Fishing all around has really picked up, however there is still a shortage of anglers on the ground so pre-baiting is a must to get the bait into the swims. Once you have found a good spot to fish try and pre-bait a few time’s before fishing. This will most certainly improve your chances of fish. Strokestown and some of the north Longford lakes have been producing well with catches to 97lbs with some cracking specimen fish caught.
Nigel Barns from Preston who we reported on last week finished his holiday in style. Following the expert advice of Kevin Lyons he caught well all week with the best fishing during early morning sessions. Kevin pre-baited swims each night with about 60 balls consisting of brown crumb, casters, corn, pellets and dead maggots and the hard work paid off. The reward was whopping Bream to 6 lbs, Roach to 2 lbs, Hybrids to 3 lbs and lots of small Bream and wait for it beautiful Rudd to 3 lbs. Nigel was feeder fishing at 25/30 yards using worm and maggots cocktails and remarked that he had been coming to Ireland for years but this had to be one of the best fishing holidays ever. He will definitely be returning again next year.
At the time of writing more great catches were recorded and again some specimen fish have been caught, report and pictures to follow next week.
MID SHANNON AREA
The ShRFB reports for Ray Duthie Old Forge Banagher, Bait Stockist, Tackle and ACCOMMODATION PROVIDER Tel: 057 9151504. BANAGHER area this week.
Angling is very quiet with very few anglers about.
ShRFB reports for INNY BAY B&B – fishing at Tom Foxes Angling Stretch and lower RIVER INNY
Dublin anglers had a mix of bream and hybrids, roach and lots of perch on the lower Inny at Tom Foxes in the evening time.
ShRFB reports for Mark Egan Athlone Bait Stockist, Accommodation Provider Email: info@shannonsidehouse.com Website www.shannonsidehouse.com Tel: 090 64 94773 Mob 087 8517299 – the River Shannon and Inny ATHLONE area.
Anglers collecting bait a few days ago reported superb bream fishing with lot’s of fish to 5lbs caught on the Meadows stretch of the Shannon downstream of Athlone. Fishing was confined to late evening sessions into dark.
Dermot Killeen Shannonbridge Tel 090 96 74112 Email: derry.killeen@gmail.com reports for SHANNONBRIDGE area
Shannonbridge Fishing Report…Dated 7th August 2006
The river level remains at a low level with just a few short showers last week.
Wayne Pitt from Newport, South Wales fished the harbour in Shannonbridge on August 2nd in the sun and wind and used a small spinner and he also float fished with 4
red maggots as bait. He landed a four pound pike, 4 perch to 3 lbs and 8 roach to 2 lbs. A nice quiet afternoon until the boats came in and spoiled it.
Teenager Daniel Devery from Ballinahowen fished from the jetty at Clonmacnoise using float and worm and caught 20 roach all over a pound weight.
Paul Burt from Sevenoaks, Kent fished the Hot Water stretch on a dull 4th August and using a swimfeeder and sweetcorn he caught four Tench weighing about four pounds each. Mick Burt also fished the Hot Water on the same day and used the swimfeeder and corn approach to catch 6 Tench weighing 3 to 4 lbs each. Mick also caught some small bream.
Rory McAllorum of the Dublin Pike Anglers fished on the River Suck on 5th August camped by his swim. In the dawn hours he used a feeder and maggot on a Size 8 hook and caught 50 lbs. of small bream and roach. Not bad he says. His friend David Hughes also fished the Dawn and used feeder, corn and maggot to catch 30 lbs. of small bream and roach.
On Friday a Wexford footballer / angler Rory Deane was in Shannonbridge and passed on a fisherman’s prayer which goes as follows –
The Fisherman’s Hope
God grant that I may live to fish. Until my dying day and when it comes To my last cast I then most humbly pray that in the Lords Safe landing net I am peacefully asleep and in his mercy I be judged as big enough to keep.
LOWER SHANNON AREA
TJ O’Brien, TJ’s ANGLING CENTRE KILLALOE Tel: 061 376009 Mob 087 8108225 reports for the Lower Shannon and East Clare Lakes
The East Clare lakes have livened up a bit. Lough Bridget is producing good sized bream. Lough Graney. Clondorney and Clonanagh Lakes are fishing well for mixed fish. There’s very few fishing going on the island swims on Lough Derg.
Northern Region: E-mail: info@nrfb.ie
Alice Murtagh reports:
Attached overall results from the Belturbet festival.
Fished from 31/7/06 -3/8/06 Mon -Thursday.
Sections: A Tullyguide
B Eonish Lodge
C Eonish Match Length
D Sandy Point
64 Anglers fished and catches of mainly Roach, Hybrids and Bream were excellent at most venues. Winners as follows
1st. Eddie Bridon, Darlington Newcastle 98.2 Kg.
2nd. Ian Micklethwaite, Barnsley 79.02 Kg.
3rd. George Webb, Northallerton 76.46 Kg.
4th. Willie Wheeler, Lisnaskea 75.2 Kg.
The top ten anglers were in full with daily catches outlined below.
NAMES DAY 1 DAY 2 DAY 3 DAY 4 TOTAL
1 BRYDON EDDIE 26.660 4.220 57.020 10.300 98.200
2 MICKLETHWAITE IAN 4.280 63.090 6.950 4.700 79.020
3 WEBB GEORGE 60.020 2.460 6.160 7.820 76.460
4 WHEELER WILLY 13.440 15.700 29.300 16.760 75.200
5 SMITH BARRY 5.360 44.020 13.500 10.140 73.020
6 SMITH BAZ 4.500 8.300 45.300 13.240 71.340
7 ROGERS JOHN 0.740 38.870 14.420 13.460 67.490
8 DUCKWORTH STEVE 5.350 34.570 10.570 16.310 66.800
9 HAVELOCK BRIAN 2.750 50.400 8.670 4.520 66.340
10 HUGHES CATHAL 15.550 7.550 10.350 31.470 64.920
Total weight over the four match days was 2,366.256 Kgs.
PIKE ANGLING
Southern Region: Web: http://www.srfb.ie/
Email: enquiries@srfb.ie
Angling Guide
Jim Hendrick, 8 St John’s Road, Wexford, Ireland. Telephone 00 353 (0) 53 23351 Mobile: 00 353 (0)87 9055245 Web: http://www.bassfishing.ie E-mail: sportfishing@eircom.net
Angling guide, Jim Hendrick from Wexford fished the lower RIVER BARROW with a party of French anglers fishing for Pike during the week. Fishing Lures, the party took some nice fish including Pike of 18 and 24 lbs. in very clear water conditions. All were returned safely to the water.
Shannon Region: Web: http://www.shannon-fishery-board.ie/
&nb
sp; E Mail: info@shannon-fishery-board.ie
Brian McManus reports:
http://www.shannon-fisheryboard.ie/guides/coarse/fishing-reports.htm
August 9th, 2005
UPPER SHANNON
Bodo Funke, Angling Services Ireland, Boyle, Co Roscommon http://www.anglingservicesireland.com/ reports
Very little pike fishing to report, a few small Pike from Lough Key was the only report.
MID SHANNON AREA
ShRFB reports for the RIVER SUCK VALLEY – Mid River Suck
Peter Timmis, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire,
Tel Number: 447816 358865 Email Address: peter@ptimmis.wanadoo.co.uk reports on his recent trip to the River Suck Valley at Glinsk
I stayed at Barlow’s and the outstanding SWALLOWS B&B, during my stay. I fished the River Suck exclusively for pike and I was not disappointed in any way. Most days I caught pike and the fight they put up were phenomenal. The hotspots I found were at the bottom of Barlow’s fields, what a fantastic weeks fishing which was only eclipsed by my hosts Jimmy and Marie Barlow,”
Peter Timmis, England
Further local info contact Mr John Ryan, Assistant Fisheries Inspector Mobile: 087 6560038 Tel: 094 96 40103
Dermot Killeen Shannonbridge Tel 090 96 74112 Email: derry.killeen@gmail.com reports for SHANNONBRIDGE area
Shannonbridge Fishing Report…Dated 7th August 2006
The river level remains at a low level with just a few short showers last week.
Ten year old Tara Naomi G-Jones from Germany fished the River Shannon on 3rd August on a sunny day and used an imitation pike lure to catch her first pike which measured two feet.
Rory McAllorum of the Dublin Pike Anglers fished on the River Suck on 5th August camped by his swim. He ledgered dead bait to catch two low doubles and a 4 lbs. pike.
K. Conroy and friends from the Midland Region fished what they call “The Cusack Stand†at Clonmacnoise on 5th August in very humid and breezy weather. They used Jerks to catch six pike with the best one weighing over 10 lbs.
Loughs Agency: Web: http://www.loughs-agency.org
E Mail: declan@loughs-agency.org
Lionel Knobbs, Loughs Agency Angling Manager reports:
Angling guide, Glenn Rooney of Oriel Angling reports this week.
On the coarse front, anglers have been out in force throughout the area, large Pike are being caught along the Canal with two fish to 17 lbs. reported caught, simple spoons were the downfall to these great fish, the algae boom along the canal has also seen bigger bags of Bream and Roach being caught, the favourite stretches are just before Nellie’s Bend and along the competition stretch
Camlough lake is also providing excellent hybrids and Bream to feeder tactics along the road wall, small Jack Pike are playing havoc with the roach so be warned. Recent rain hasn’t really improved the river levels so all we can hope for is a few rain clouds, tight lines.
info@orielangling.com
SEA ANGLING
Eastern Region: Web: http://www.fishingireland.net/
E-mail: info@fishingireland.net
Angling Guide
Jim Hendrick, 8 St John’s Road, Wexford, Ireland. Telephone 00 353 (0) 53 23351 Mobile: 00 353 (0)87 9055245 Web: http://www.bassfishing.ie E-mail: sportfishing@eircom.net
Angling guide, Jim Hendrick had a party of French anglers out shore fishing in the WEXFORD area in the past week at several venues. Using fly and lures as the weather and tide conditions allowed they enjoyed good catches of Bass and some nice Sea Trout up to 4 lbs. All fish were carefully returned to the water. Anyone looking to take up Bass or other shore species fishing from the shore particularly with the fly or lure should contact Jim by Phone or E-mail as above.
South Western Region:
“Castlemaidenâ€
35′ Offshore 105. 400 HP
Skippers: John & Finbarr Barry
Cuan Bawn
Aquastar 38′. Caterpillar 350 HP
Skipper: John & Finbarr Barry
Base: Glenbrook Operational area: 30 miles out of Cork Harbour. Address: Cork Harbour Boats Ltd., Lackaroe, Glenbrook, Co. Cork.
Telephone: 353 21 4841348 or 353 87 2363566 Fax: 353 21 4841348
Email: corkharbourboatsltd@eircom.net Web: http://www.corkharbourboats.com
“John Barry here from Cork Harbour boats. I would like to update you on some recent fishing trips we have had from Cobh. Both of our boats, Cuan Ban & Castle Maiden, were out of Cobh in the last week of July & the first week in August with Dutch anglers. The boats were skippered by John & Finbarr Barry. Fishing was very good, with Pollack to 10 lbs., Ling to 15 lbs., Cod to 8 lbs., and Conger to 25 lbs. On the 28th of July we successfully landed, tagged & released 8 Blue Sharks. This day was undoubtedly the highlight of the week for this particular party of Dutch anglers.â€
Lough’s Agency: Web: http://www.loughs-agency.org
E Mail: declan@loughs-agency.org
Lionel Knobbs, Loughs Agency Angling Manager reports:
Loughs Agency Angling Report
Tuesday 7th August 2006
Carlingford catchment
Angling guide, Glenn Rooney of Oriel Angling reports this week.
August has seen more and more sea trout in the area, small fish up to 0.75 lbs. are being caught; Glenn Rooney had three on Friday and managed to lose a better fish at the net. Bigger fish are showing but managing to avoid hooking themselves. Around Greenore anglers are catching plenty of Mackerel from the shore, try a fly because the Mackerel put up an excellent fight on light tackle.
Oriel angling had several parties out during the week and had some excellent catches, a party from Irwin’s Bakery raised and were followed by numerous sea trout but just couldn’t manage to set the hooks, large fish up to 5 lbs. were following the lures in the clear water but unfortunately none were hooked. A party from Cookstown had better fortune; the novice anglers had a real catching frenzy with the Mackerel and managed a few Cod as well.
There are plenty of bass about and signs indicate that the Bass festival to be held this weekend will be excellent, so come down to Carlingford and enjoy a great competition and learn a thing or two about this fantastic new development in angling. For details contact Lionel Knobbs at the Loughs agency.
info@orielangling.com
Sharon Michèlé
Aqua Star 33′. 320 HP Iveco
Skipper: Oliver Finnegan
Base: Carlingford Operational area: 30 miles out. Address: 25 Chestnut Grove, Newry, Co. Down BT34 1GT.
Telephone: 353 28 30264906 or 44 7703 606498
Email: oliver@carlingfordlough.co.uk Web: www.carlingfordlough.co.uk
Oliver Finnegan, Skipper of the Sharon Michélè reports this week that fishing is top class at the moment with good size Cod, Pollock, Mackerel and Whiting making up part of
the regular catches onboard his boat, Oliver reports Mat Lynch from (Drogheda) was one of the anglers to catch what he describes as unusual big Cod and Mackerel.
info@carlingfordlough.co.uk
Carlingford Saltwater Fly& Lure Festival 2006 sat 12h & sun 13h August
For further information contact;
The Loughs Agency
lionel.knobbs@loughs-agency.org.
Tel: (NI) 028 7134 2100 (ROI) 048 7134 2100
Rules of the Competition
1. Fishing in Carlingford Lough Only
2. This is a Catch and Release Competition
3. Fishing from 10.00am to 4.00pm
4. Catches to be witnessed
5. Catches to be reported to a Loughs Agency Official by 4.30pm
6. Fishing with lures or flies only. No Bait Fishing!
7. Sea trout are excluded from the Competition.
Prizes
1. Prizes for the best Bass caught on Fly and Lure
2. Prizes for the most Bass caught on Fly and Lure
3. Prizes for the most Mackerel caught on Fly and Lure
4. Other prizes at the Organisers discretion.
The Loughs Agency aided by The National Angling Guides Association will be delivering a number of free events as part of (National Fishing Week) and on the weekend of 26th and 27thAugust will be delivering a two day introduction to angling for juniors in Carlingford, for further information and registrations contact lionel.knobbs@loughs-agency.org.
Tel: (NI) 028 7134 2100 (ROI) 048 7134 2100
Press Releases
Central Fisheries Board: Web: http://www.cfb.ie/
E-mail: info@cfb.ie
Special Notice
The Minister of State at the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Mr. John Browne TD, signed a new Bye law no 809 on the conservation and protection of Pike in the past week. This new Bye law contains three wording changes from Bye Law 805 which is now revoked. The new Bye law clarifies several issues that were raised in the previous document by interested parties. It will be noted that the new Bye law supersedes the Pike conservation Bye-law 667 which was in force since 1990. That Bye law allowed for the killing of one specimen sized Pike i.e. 20 lbs. in a River and 30 lbs. in a Lake in any one day. This Byelaw no longer allows this practice and only one Pike under 50 cms. may now be killed in a day. All Pike taken by fair angling, longer than 50 cms. must be returned to the water in all cases. Another change in this Bye law is that 0.75 Kilos. of Pike Flesh may only be retained by an angler instead of 1.5 Kilos. The Byelaw further clarifies that a Pike angler can have in his possession, up to 12 coarse fish subject to paragraph 8 (a) and (b). Pike anglers are asked to read carefully the full meaning of these provisions on the use of coarse fish as bait. Pike anglers can have as many other fish baits to Pike fish with e.g. Herrings, Mackerel, Smelt, Joeys, etc. in their possession at any time. The following is the text of the new bye law.
New Pike Byelaw no 809
DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATIONS, MARINE AND NATURAL RESOURCES
FISHERIES ACTS 1959 TO 2006
CONSERVATION OF PIKE BYE-LAW NO. 809, 2006
I, John Browne, Minister of State at the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 9 (as amended by section 3 of the Fisheries (Amendment) Act 1962 (No. 31 of 1962)) of the Fisheries (Consolidation) Act 1959 (No. 14 of 1959), section 33 of the Fisheries (Amendment) Act 1962, the Fisheries (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 1977 (S.I. No. 30 of 1977) (as adapted by the Marine and Natural Resources (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 2002 (S.I. No. 307 of 2002)) and the Marine (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) Order 2006 (S.I. No. 82 of 2006), hereby make the following Bye-law:
1. This Bye-law may be cited as the Conservation of Pike Bye-law No. 809, 2006.
2. This Bye-law comes into operation on the day of its making.
3. Subject to Article 4, it is prohibited for any person to take or kill more than one pike on any one day.
4. It is prohibited for a person to take or kill any pike greater than 50 cm in length measured in a straight line from the tip of the snout to the fork of the tail.
5. It is prohibited for a person, other than in the circumstances referred to in Article 7, to have in his or her possession or control –
(a) more than one whole pike less than 50 cm in length measured in a straight line from the tip of the snout to the fork of the tail, or
(b) more than 0.75 kgs of pike flesh or parts whether as fillets, steaks, cutlets, sides or in any other form whatsoever.
6. Any pike taken inadvertently in contravention of this Bye-law must be handled carefully and returned without avoidable injury to the waters from which they have been taken.
7. Article 5 does not apply to a person storing pike or pike parts for another in excess of that permitted under that Article in a premises or vehicle, where –
(a) the premises or vehicle is registered with the regional board for the fisheries region in which it is situated,
(b) the premises or vehicle is owned or leased by the person, and
(c) any whole pike or pike part so stored are separated and labelled as to clearly identify the fish or fish parts belonging to the person for whom they are being stored.
8. (1) It is prohibited for a person to have in his or her possession more than 12 coarse fish for use as bait in fishing for pike.
(2) Where a person has more than 4 coarse fish in his or her possession for use as bait in fishing for pike, the person, in respect of fish in excess of that number and subject to paragraph (1), must have –
(a) obtained the fish from a fish tackle dealer or fish bait supplier registered with the regional board in whose fisheries region the dealer or supplier carries on business, and
(b) obtained and retained a receipt of their purchase.
(3) In this Article “coarse fish†means any fresh water fish other than pike, salmon, trout, eels or minnow.
9. The Conservation of Pike Bye-law No. 805 of 2006 is revoked .
GIVEN under my hand,
3 August 2006.
John Browne
John Browne
Minister of State at the Department of Communications,
Marine and Natural Resources.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This note is not part of the Bye-law and does not purport to be a legal interpretation).
This Bye-law provides for the following conservation measures:
• a bag limit of 1 Pike in any one day,
• prohibits the killing of any pike greater than 50 cm in length,
• prohibits the possession by any person of more than 1 whole pike less than 50 cm or more than 0.75 kgs of pike flesh,
this provision does not apply to a person storing pike or pike parts subject to conditions,
• prohibits the possession by any person of more than 12 coarse fish for use as bait subject to conditions.
FOOTNOTE
Section 11 of the Fisheries (Consolidation) Act, 1959 as amended by Section 27 (b) of the Fisheries (Amendment) Act, 1999 provides that any person aggrieved by this Bye-law may within 28 days after its publication in the Iris Oifigiuil, appeal against same to the High Court.
Press Release
World Casting Championships to be held at Carton House, Maynooth, Co Kildare, 2 to 8 September 2006
The big news for all casters and anglers is that Ireland is hosting its first ever World Casting Championships at Carton House, Maynooth, Co Kildare, 2 to 8 September. The profile of this event will be high – television coverage by Sky, RTE and the BBC!
It is a three part event. The ICSF World Championships (5 to 8 September) is a bi-annual event that bestows the world’s most prestigious casting titles. It comprises of 9 events testing distance, speed, accuracy and precision. The new Emerald World Masters Championships (2 to 4 September) comprises of 5 events including spey, salmon and trout distance. It is unique in several respects. It is an on water event – Carton House has a new custom built spey lake – making an authentic challenge for competitors and a compelling spectacle for the audience. It also has an unprecedented cash prize fund of €200,000!
The cream of world casting from up to 30 nations are competing – USA’s Steve Rajeff -13 times world champion and multiple record holder in distance and accuracy events; Scott McKenzie – world record holder at spey casting distance; England’s Peter Thain – world champion and multiple world record holder.
The event has broad family appeal however – it features a Country Life Weekend at Carton House on the Saturday and Sunday (2/3 September) that includes main arena action, craft fair, kiddies’ entertainment, falconry and more – as well as casting clinics, ‘have a go!’ competitions and an angling trade show/retail therapy!
Tickets are available now – discount for pre and group bookings!
Log on to: www.2006worldcastingchampionships.ie for further details.
Eastern Region: Web: http://www.fishingireland.net/
E-mail: info@fishingireland.net
Press Release 11th August 2006
ATTENTION SALMON & SEA TROUT ANGLERS
CATCH AND RELEASE MANDATORY FROM SEPTEMBER
The Eastern Regional Fisheries Board would like to remind all anglers in the districts of Dundalk, Drogheda, Dublin and Wexford that under the new salmon and sea trout regulations, catch and release is mandatory from 1st September until the end of the fishing season.
In the fishery districts, where mandatory catch and release applies, there is a ban on worms and anglers must use single barbless hooks. One tag must be retained by anglers and all fish caught and released must be recorded in anglers’ logbooks. The Board would also like to remind anglers’ to return their logbooks by 19th October 2006.
Mandatory catch and release is part of a series of new regulations aimed at conserving and protecting Irish salmon stocks. *(Please see notes to editor) Within the Eastern Region salmon stocks are at extremely low levels. On the River Liffey the rod angling catch in 1988 reached an all time high of 800 salmon which dramatically declined to 37 salmon in 2005. Similarly the River Slaney in Wexford in the early 1980’s would have had 1,583 caught by rod and line; by 2005 this figure had plummeted to 311 salmon. The Board’s catch and release figure of 6.4% in 2005 is below the national average of 12% and it is hoped these new regulations will increase this figure greatly.
Pat Doherty, Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Eastern Regional Fisheries Board was anxious to stress that it is in all our interests to further promote and practice catch and release to protect stocks in our region and nationally: ‘The most significant contribution an angler can make to a fishery is to practice the correct method of catch and release. I hope the new salmon and sea trout regulations including the catch and release efforts by anglers help to improve our salmon stocks which are at unsustainable levels in most of the Eastern Region’.
The Eastern Regional Fisheries Board would like to invite anglers to send in photos of fish they have caught and released in the Board’s region. The best photo or series of photos will be posted on our website: www.fishingireland.net and will receive a prize of a high quality fly rod and reel. Don’t forget to learn the correct steps required to return the fish appropriately and in a manner that allows for minimal harm to the fish.
There are five steps that need to be followed to ensure the survival of the fish:
1) Using the correct tackle and equipment – anglers should use single barbless hooks and note that it is prohibited to use worms. Anglers should have the correct equipment including pliers, scissors, long-nosed forceps, a large diameter knotless landing net and a tape measure
2) Playing the Fish – avoid exhausting the fish, in a river move the salmon out of the current into quieter water, bring it quickly to the bank or boat
3) Landing the Fish – keep the salmon in the water at all times even when taking photographs, use a large diameter landing net with a soft, knotless mesh, always use wet hands when handling the fish, do not use a tailor or a gaff, and do not beach a fish
4) Removing the Hook – Wet your hands and keep the fish in the water, take care not to squeeze the fish or hold it by the gills, support the fish from underneath and remove hook with hands or long-nosed forceps
5) Releasing and Reviving the Fish i.e. support the fish in the water facing the current, hold fish gently until it is capable of swimming away, Avoid weighing the fish – measure the length with a tape measure to estimate the weight.
For a free leaflet outlining the correct catch and release steps and the 2006 Salmon and Sea Trout Regulations, or for further information on fishing in the Eastern Region, please e-mail info@erfb.ie or contact the Eastern Regional Fisheries Board on 01-2787022.
……Ends…..
Media enquiries: Hazel Dobbyn, Marketing Coordinator, Eastern Regional Fisheries Board, 087 2746127
*Notes to Editor
1) Summary of new Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Regulations 2006
Please note the following regulations in relation to the taking of salmon and sea trout by rod and line for 2006.
There is an annual angling bag limit of 10 fish per angler of salmon or sea trout (over 40cm). Subject to the maximum annual bag limit of 10 fish an angler may take:
• 1 salmon (any size) or sea trout (over 40cm) per day during the period from the 1st January to 31st May
• 3 salmon (any size) or sea trout (over 40cm) per day from 1st June until the end of August
• 1 salmon (any size) or sea trout (over 40cm) per day from the 1st September until the end of the fishing season except in the districts where mandatory catch and release operates (see below)
Mandatory catch and release operates from the 1st September in 8 fishery districts – these are Dundalk, Drogh
