Angling Notes: More than 50 teenagers from all over Dublin gathered at Corkagh Park last Saturday week for a series of angling workshops and "on water" demonstrations run by some of Ireland's most experienced anglers.
Fishing techniques for carp, pike, coarse and fly-fishing were covered, together with health and safety issues.
Corkagh Park is close to Newlands Cross in the heart of Clondalkin, and is managed by South Dublin County Council. The focal point at Corkagh are the two fishing lakes, each stocked with coarse fish and rainbow trout.
Fishing stands, walkouts and a comprehensive coffee shop, together with toilet facilities, make up this new 6½-acre angling facility.
A marquee was packed with teenagers eager to learn the skills of the experts. Des Chew and Godfrey Donohue gave an insight into pike fishing. Henry Norton and Richie Keegan covered coarse fishing and various types of bait. Carp angling was discussed by Darren Whelan, and Betty Hayes gave a demonstration of fly-fishing.
Fishing on the day was particularly good, with catches of carp, perch and rainbow trout recorded. All fish were returned immediately. Fishing equipment, goodie bags and bait were provided.
Event sponsors, Recreational Angling Ireland (RAI), a 32-county organisation, is committed to bringing young people into angling. Similar training programmes have already taken place at Ballina, Co Mayo, Newry, Co Down and Millstreet, Co Cork.
Des Chew, project manager of the Dublin Angling Initiative (DAI), played a major role in the success of this youth training programme. The DAI is sponsored by the Eastern Regional Fisheries Board, with the aim of promoting, developing and improving angling in the Dublin area.
The angling facility at Corkagh Park is a magnificent addition to the local area. However, in an effort to make the resource more manageable, the council should consider fencing off the two lakes.
• As predicted, salmon angling was very much upbeat last week. On the river Moy, 530 fish were reported but it is believed that figure was much higher, as some fish went unreported and some greedy anglers exceeded the bag limit of one fish per day.
Upstream of Ballina was the place to be, with local and visiting anglers accounting for 198 salmon, mostly on spinner. On the Ridge Pool, Jim McCooey, Newry, Co Down, caught a huge salmon of 17.7lb on worm. At Mount Falcon Fishery, Phil Briscoe and seven friends from England had 40 fish over four days and released 26.
The Bunowen River saw a great run of late fish and the heavy rain gave superb fishing conditions at times. A flood early in the week accounted for 22 salmon last Monday, followed by a mix of fresh and resident fish for the rest of the week. Fly and spinning methods worked equally well, with Orange Cascade being the favoured fly pattern.
The river Easkey had a bumper week. Howard Bayliss and four friends accounted for 56 fish for the week and released 34, while Joe Cobley from England had 12 on the fly over two days and released 10.
In north-west Mayo, the Glenamoy river fished well last week, with excellent sport to the fly. Reasonable bags of sea trout were taken, some to 3lb. Colin and John White, Co Carlow, had 15 sea trout (a number released) and two grilse for a day. Good sport can be expected over the final week of the season in suitable conditions. Anglers are reminded that creel census forms should be returned to the fishery board office in Bangor-Erris.
• Galway Coarse Angling Association hosted the annual Adrian O'Sullivan Memorial Cup last Saturday week at Ballyquirke Lake. Competition was stiff, with entries from Northern Ireland and England complementing the local anglers. Conditions were far from ideal with heavy showers and some competitors having to deal with pike in their swims. Nevertheless, impressive catches were recorded.
Results: 1, P. Jackson, Lurgan (18kg); 2, D. McWeeney, Galway (15kg); 3, M. Flannery, Galway (10kg).
• The All-Ireland Master-Angler Boat Championships were held last weekend at Cahersiveen, Co Kerry. The two-day event attracted 143 competitors from 76 clubs throughout Ireland. On Day One, anglers accounted for 433 fish, while Day Two yielded 613, an average of seven fish per angler.
Results: 1, J. Black (Bushmills & Dist); 2, W. Doyle (Bray Head); 3, P. Loftus (Dublin Shore); 4, B. McLaughlin (Post Irish); 5, L. McKee (Coleraine Cheese).