Angling Reports and News
- Coarse fishing
- Trout fishing
- Sea fishing [01/02/10]
- Pike fishing [27/01/10]
Coarse Angling
Sea Angling
[01/02/10]
EFSA Irish Winter Shore Angling Festival
28th, 29th, 30th January 2010
Photo: EFSA Winter Festival, Match Day 2, Clones Strand, Co. Wexford
The 22nd EFSA Irish Winter Shore Angling Festival was held on the east facing beaches of County Wexford from Thursday 28th to Saturday 30th January 2010. An annual event based at Sean Og’s Hotel, Bar, and Holiday Home Complex, Kilmuckridge, Co. Wexford, the competition attracts many of the top Irish and UK match anglers due to the quality of fishing, prize money on offer, and the chance to catch up with distant friends. With €500.00 earmarked for first place overall, plus crystal, zone prizes, two and four man team prizes, optional pools, and longest round and flat fish, there was plenty on offer to keep the competitors interest up over the three scheduled match days.
Photo: Saturday zone winner Joe Byrne, fishing Courtown North Beach during the EFSA Festival
After the gales and driving rain that hampered the 2009 event, this years weather was positively balmy with high pressure generating frosty conditions, and light westerly winds creating a ground swell which coloured the sea, enticing fish to venture onto the shallow beaches to feed during daylight. Three hook flappers, slider rigs, lugworm, wraps, maddies, and snake whites were all used to great effect over the three days, with competitors needing to log 25+ fish to be anywhere in the shake up.
Photo: Dublin match angler Shay O’Neill with a brace of Clones Strand Flounder
Match day one saw the participants head for Morriscastle Strand, fishing 12 noon to five PM. Ireland dominated the proceedings laying down a marker by winning all three zones. Penn Sea League champion Dave Roe, South Dublin stalwart Ian Knight, and Waterford’s own J.P.Molloy setting the early pace. With Clones/Kilgorman Strand penned in for match day two the UK contingent had some catching up to do. A light westerly breeze and low cloud created ideal conditions that the top rods revelled in. Maddies and lug wraps were combined to great effect with UK match men Chris Clarke and Alan Yates winning two of the three zones, Clarke logging 45 fish in the process.
Photo: Top Irish match angler Dave Roe with a quality Clones Strand Flounder
Courtown Strand North was the venue for match day three and the weather Gods wove their magic. A coloured flat calm sea combined with a frosty windless morning and blue skies created ideal conditions for sea match angling. The venue produced steadily with again lug wraps and maddies the key bait. A highlight of the day was Courtown Sea Angling Centre’s Joe Byrne pipping Alan Yates on the last cast to win his zone. On the overall standings Alan’s second placing ensured first place in the competition, with Chris Clarke coming second, and Waterford’s J.P. Molloy a creditable third.
Photo: Regular visitor Dave Lovelock, Wiltshire UK, on Courtown North Beach
George McCullough, Mick Quinn, and Warren Doyle have to be congratulated for a well organised event. Sean OG’s Hotel, Kilmuckridge, Co. Wexford, www.seanogs.ie, is an ideal base central to all the beaches and to the ferry terminals at Rosslare and Dunlaoghaire. The fishing was good, the weather behaved, and all those that took part were adamant that they would return in 2011 along with one or two friends. This long running festival is set to grow.
Contact: EFSA Ireland secretary, Warren Doyle. 98 Seacrest, Bray, Co. Wicklow. Tel: 00353 (0)86 8069961. Email: warrendoyle@iol.ie.
[22/01/10]
Mick Redmond, Courtown, Co. Wexford, R.I.P
Photo: Mick Redmond in his element.
The members and staff of the Eastern Regional Fisheries Board would like to extend their deepest sympathies to the wife, family, and friends, of Mick Redmond, Courtown, Co. Wexford, on hearing of his sudden and untimely death.
Mick, in partnership with Joe Byrne, has over the last number of years worked tirelessly to develop Courtown, Co. Wexford, as a major hub for sea angling on the east coast.
The Courtown Sea Angling Centre and Charter Vessel, “Puffin”, are now respected fixtures on the Irish sea angling scene.
Mick will be sadly missed.
[19/01/10]
Kilmuckridge Welcomes 22nd EFSA Irish Winter Shore Angling Festival
22nd Irish Winter Shore Angling Festival
28th,29th & 30th January, 2010.
Venues
Beaches of East Wexford.
(Weather Permitting)
Headquarters
Seàn Òg’s Complex,
Kilmuckridge, Co. Wexford.
1st Prize €500
Independent of all Zone Prizes
Optional Pools, 100% Payout
Teams of 2 & 4 (over 3 days), Superpool, Longest Round & Longest Flat each day.
Crystal Vase for 1st, 2nd & 3rd
Entry Fee: €150 including Presentation Dinner.
No affiliation or membership necessary.
Accommodation at Seàn Òg’s Complex may only be reserved through the organisers.
*Penn League Points Apply*
Further Details/Entries to:
Warren Doyle, 98, Seacrest, Bray, Co. Wicklow.
Ph. 01-2828769, Mob. 086-8069961 (Evenings Please)
E-Mail: warrendoyle@iol.ie
Cold Snap draws in the Cod
Photo: Eastern Region Cod
Please excuse the grainy image, taken from a mobile phone. But nowadays shore Cod are such a rare catch that it had to be posted. Tempted by bunched lugworm, and landed within the last fortnight off a south eastern beach, this 10.lb+ beauty is what every winter beach angler dreams of.
Over the last couple of years late December to mid January sees at some stage a run of larger Cod hitting certain beaches from south Wicklow around to the Waterford estuary. Anglers have to be there on the night, so invariably have to put the time in. But the rewards are obviously there. The fish pictured above was the outstanding catch in a haul where individual weights ranged from 2.lbs to 5.lbs.
Trout Angling
[Last trout angling report 23/11/09]
Pike Angling
[27/01/10]
Blessington Delivers
Pike: Angling Journalist Nick Parry with a 20.lb+ Blessington Pike
A recent two day trip to Blessington Lake, Co. Wicklow proved successful for Sunday Star angling columnist, Nick Parry. Water levels were high which made finding a suitable angling base hard. Once set up Nick commenced fishing with various baits and rigs. Fishing proved to be slow and over the two days Nick had only one decent run, but it was worth it as the image above shows. The Pike weighed in at just over twenty pounds and was tempted by a pollan bait.
Blessington is looked upon as a dour Pike water. Some love it, and some hate it. Nick’s record though shows that knowledge and confidence in a venue can pay off. In twelve trips to the Co. Wicklow venue over the last three winters, Nick has landed five Pike weighing twenty pounds or over. Not bad fishing.
Double Top in County Monaghan
Photo: Gary Robinson with a 21.lb 8.oz Monaghan Beauty
County Wicklow anglers Gary Robinson and Scott Ring have been on an angling quest this last three years. Numerous specimens have come their way, with Scott topping the list last year with a 3.lb 9.oz Perch. It has been a slow start for 2010 with the long cold snap over Christmas resulting in many waters being frozen over. County Monaghan was no exception, with up to last week the thousand acre Lough Muckno looking more at home in Alaska, then in Ireland. However a quick thaw enabled Scott and Gary to venture out for the first time last Friday 22nd January.
An early start saw the two friends casting their popped up roach and ledgered joey mackerel baits 40 metres out into a thick County Monaghan mist. Thirty minutes later Gary’s drop back indicator signalled a bite as a fish picked up the mackerel bait and ran inshore. Reeling in the slack line Gary connected with a good Pike which after a spirited fight and a couple of long runs was safely netted. Long and a little lean, the Pike brought the needle on the Avon scales around to 21.lb 8.oz, not a bad fish for your second cast of 2010.
Photo: Double top, a second twenty for County Wicklow angler Gary Robinson
Calming himself down with a smoke and a cup of tea Gary recast another joey mackerel into the same spot. Thirty five minutes later an identical slack line bite to the first resulted in another hook up for Gary. This second fish was much more aggressive then the first making numerous very strong runs before being netted. At this stage, his landing net bulging with another large Pike, Gary was shaking like a leaf, and when the Avon scales banged around to 20.lb 4.oz he was stunned. Three casts into 2010, two twenty pound plus Pike in two consecutive casts, what a result, and what a memory.
Both Pike were netted, unhooked, photographed, and released in less then a minute and a half, before swimming away strongly. Gary could not believe his good fortune. To catch his first ever twenty pound plus Pike was sweet, but to land two in the manner that he did was special. As he said himself, “the thoughts of that session will keep me going out fishing again and again”. That’s angling for you.
If large Pike rock your boat then County Monaghan, Ireland is the place to be over the next couple of months. Carrickmacross or Castleblaney are good Pike angling centres central to specimen fish waters such as Lough Muckno, Lough Egish and a host of smaller but equally prolific lakes. A number of local guides can be accessed from the following link, http://www.fishingireland.net/fishing/pike/guides.htm, or contact Gary Robinson at Baumanns Fishing Tackle, 4 Old Dublin Road, Stillorgan, Co. Dublin, Ireland, http://www.baumanns.ie/index.php/cPath/293.
For angling, accommodation, or travel advice contact:
Ashley Hayden
Marketing Coordinator Angling
Eastern Regional Fisheries Board
15A Main Street, Blackrock
Co. Dublin
Ireland
Tel: +353 (0)1 278 7022 Mobile: +353 (0)87 274 6127
Email: ashley.hayden@erfb.ie