#ANGLING - The Irish Times' angling columnist Derek Evans revisits the Darndale fishing ponds in north Dublin which have been given a new lease of life thanks to a community-led project to rid the angling spot of an invasive weed.

As reported last November on Afloat.ie, the public fishing ponds were "crying out for help" after an infestation of the invasive curly weed (Lagarosiphon major) which spread throughout the entire expanse of water, making casting virtually impossible.

But thanks to €3,000 in funding from the Heritage Council, the weed was smothered and killed off by jute matting (sackcloth) laid across the two ponds at the facility, restarting them to their former glory.

A 15-strong group including locals, anglers and members of Dublin City Council and Inland Fisheries Ireland spent three days in foul weather pulling out the weed and laying the jute.

The ponds, constructed in 1999 under the Urban Regeneration Programme, are home to good numbers of carp and rude, several of which "splashed and rose to fly-life and appeared to be enjoying their new surroundings" during Evans' visit.

It's hoped that the project will prove to be a success and lead to further works at public angling amenities elsewhere in Dublin, such as Bushy Park.

#SALMON THREAT - Just three out of every 100 wild salmon returned to Northern Ireland's rivers last year - prompting concerns that the species has declined past the point of no return, as the Belfast Telegraph reports.

Following a recent meeting of the Stormont culture, arts and leisure committee where the issue was discussed, South Belfast MLA Michael McGimpsey shared his belief "that the public do not appreciate just how precarious the situation is.

"It is estimated that 1,000 to 1,500 salmon return to Northern Ireland each year to spawn. Of these, half are wild salmon and the other half locally hatched salmon.”

McGimpsey said it is "beyond question that there has been a serious collapse in local wild salmon numbers and this is a situation which has implications, not just for local anglers but for our tourist industry."

Claiming that NI's wild salmon stocks are now "around dodo levels", he demanded "totally drastic action in and around salmon" to ensure the species' future.

Earlier this year, as previously reported on Afloat.ie, Northern Ireland's Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL) has called for a voluntary ban on offshore salmon fishing.

The move to stop issuing licences for commercial salmon nets that may "contravene European law" off Antrim's north coast was welcomed by river angling campaigners NoSalmonNets, who have been using social media to promote their cause.

Meanwhile, DCAL insists that any court action from salmon netters who may challenge the ban "should not prove an obstacle" to extending the salmon stock preserving measures. Proposals will be put to the minister by the end of this month with a view to enacting legislation next year.

The Belfast Telegraph has more on the story HERE.

#ANGLING - The Irish Specimen Fish Committee (ISFC) will be accepting submissions of specimen claims for shad and cyprinids - such as roach, rudd and their hybrids - till 17 October.

The submission date has been brought forward due to the sophisticated genetic analysis involved in evaluating such specimens, which takes a considerable amount of time and expertise - and is necessary for their conservation, and to ensure the claims are processed in time for publication in the ISFC's 2012 specimen fish report.

All other claims should be submitted as soon as possible so that the ISFC can begin to assess all claims.

In other news from the ISFC, the next edition of its annual awards day will take place on Saturday 16 February 2013 at Bewley's Airport Hotel, coinciding with the 2013 Ireland Angling Expo at the National Show Centre.

Bewley's Airport Hotel will have a free courtesy bus running between the hotel and show. For anglers travelling to either event, the hotel also have special room rates staring at €59 per room. See the Ireland Angling Expo website for more details.

#ANGLING - A man has been convicted and fined at Limerick District Court for illegally fishing without a permit on the Mulkear River in another successful prosecution for Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI).

Last June, fisheries officers with IFI were carrying out a routine licence and permit patrol on the Mulkear River in the east of Co Limerick, in an area locally known as the 'Long Field'. One individual - a Mr Storan - was angling without a permit or State licence and was issued with an on-the-spot fine which had to be paid within 21 days.

The fine remained unpaid, and following several court proceedings and a bench warrant, the case was heard on 17 September and Mr Storan was convicted under Section 178 (Unauthorised entry on a several fishery). He was fined €250 and instructed to pay €400 in expenses to IFI.

IFI said: "This successful outcome was the part of the commitment of Inland Fisheries Ireland to focus on the protection of fish, especially during a time of resource constraints."

The Mulkear River is one of only two rivers which meet its salmon conservation limit in the Shannon River Basin District and angling is therefore permitted for wild salmon, subject to a licence and quota.

According to IFI, currently the river "holds excellent stocks of wild salmon, but incidents such as these are extremely detrimental and will threaten the integrity of the stocks in the river."

IFI's Limerick director Amanda Mooney commented: “This case could have been dealt with through our on-the-spot fine procedures but the individual chose to go to court where the fine was much greater. 

"Inland Fisheries Ireland is committed to the protection of our wild salmon stocks and follow through on all fisheries offences.”

IFI continue to run a 24/7 hotline where anyone can report illegal fishing activity at 1890 34 74 24 or for easier recall 1850 FISH 24.

#ANGLING - Sea trout were top of the agenda at a recent meeting between Welsh Deputy Fisheries Minister Alun Davies and Minister of State Fergus O’Dowd at Leinster House recently.

Both ministers were briefed about progress with the INTERREG IVa Ireland-Wales-funded Celtic Sea Trout Project, which finishes in 2013.

Sea trout are present in most coastal rivers discharging into the Irish Sea, and their status in freshwater and in the marine environment is central to the project.

By providing detailed information about the status of sea trout stocks, their genetics and their varied life histories, the project aims to enhance the fisheries for the benefit of all stakeholders.

Other important aims of the project are strengthening the contribution of sea trout to rural economies, to general quality of life and well-being and to national biodiversity - while sea trout life history variation may also contribute to understanding the effects of climate change.

For sustainable management the Celtic Sea Trout Project team is working on developing a number of management tools which will assist fisheries managers to assess fishery performance and better manage this valuable species. The requirement to manage sea trout sustainably across the Irish Sea was strongly emphasised.

Both ministers heard that engagement with anglers across the project has been important to provide sea trout scale samples, and that the project has served to increase awareness of the value of what Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) described as "this excellent angling species".

Minister Davies was also briefed about the role and broad responsibilities of IFI.

#ANGLING - The going is tough in the last weeks of this year's angling season on Lough Mask, as Mayo Today reports.

Though anglers are still out in good numbers despite the shortening days and drop in temperature, catch numbers are way down on the angling bonanza that marked the beginning of a season that also produced a record-breaking monster trout on nearby Lough Corrib.

The best fishing was seen at the Vintners Federation of Ireland contest on the lough two weeks ago, where the prize-winning catch was a total of seven trout for 4.21kg.

Meanwhile, Celebrity World Cup champ Mick Dunne won the Molloy Cup catch-and-release contest with his catch of five trout measuring 157cm in total.

Elsewhere in Mayo, the River Moy has been more productive, with 199 salmon reported in the seven days preceding 19 September, and Lough Conn and Lough Beltra anglers have also reported some good fishing.

The news makes up for the "relative quiet" on the Newport Rover, and the significant decrease in catches on the Ballisodare Fishery.

#ANGLING - The cross-border team of Phil Jackson and Cathal Hughes took the top prize at the Lakelands & Inland Waterways World Pairs Angling Championship earlier this month, as The Irish Times reports.

The pair - from Craigavon and Galway respectively - received a cheque for more than €37,000 and a set of Daiwa tackle for their efforts in snagging a total catch of 117.560kg over the five days of fishing across the lakes and waterways of Monaghan, Leitrim. Cavan and Fermanagh - described as the world's richest coarse angling competition.

Close behind in the winners' table were the team of Derek Willan and Mark Pollard, whose 112.990kg total earned them second place and a cheque for more than €12,500.

"The fishing that has taken place over the last five days will be a significant turning point in how angling in Ireland is viewed all over the world," said Fáilte Ireland's Colm Breheny at the conclusion of the contest.

The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.

#ANGLING - For the third time in four years an Irish boat has won the Rosslare Small Boats Festival, which took place from 8-15 September.

In what was an extremely tight competition, Screaming Reels from Rosies Sea Angling Club in Cork won the competition with 24 different species of fish, beating 28 other boats from the UK.

Sponsored by Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI), Fáilte Ireland and Sea Angler magazine, the event - now in its 27th year - attracted more than 85 anglers from the Isle of Wight, Southport, Liverpool, Wales and Ireland.  

This year’s event faced some challenges, most notably that prior to the competition going ahead the accommodation company Self Catering Ireland went bust in July, meaning the anglers had nowhere to stay. 

IFI and Fáilte Ireland came to the rescue by sponsoring the prizes to the tune of €3,000, with the original prize fund going to refinance accommodation for participants.

This generosity was replicated by local businesses who realised the importance and the value of this competition to Wexford, and many prizes were received. These included donations from Sea Angler magazine, Sefton Sea Anglers, Wirral Boat Angling Club in Liverpool, Kelly’s Resort Hotel and Spa, Redmond’s The Bay, Grangewood Holiday Homes, Grangecove Holiday Homes, Southside Angling, Kilmore Quay Harbour office and Widgeon’s Rest.

The weather conditions proved to be very challenging for the competition, with southwesterly winds making boat angling very difficult. 

However as the week wore on, conditions improved slightly and competitors managed to fish the normally four-day competition in three days by launching their boats once from Kilrane in Rosslare and twice from Kilmore Quay, and fishing restricted areas along the Wexford coast. 

A great variety of fish were recorded during the week with 30 different types of species including coalfish, dogfish, dab, flounder, pollack, bull huss and some unusual species such as sea scorpion, shanny and tadpole fish. 

There were also some fantastic specimen fish reeled in during the week including a triggerfish of 2.32kg caught by well known UK angler and writer Gordon Thornes from the boat Uptide Girl, which is very close to the Irish record of 2.54 kg. 

Two other specimens recorded include a fine ballan wrasse of 3.16kg caught by Neville Murphy from Cork and a smoothound of 3.78kg caught by Seirt Shults of Dundalk, both from the winning boat Screaming Reels. (All specimen fish are pending verification by the Irish Specimen Fish Committee.)

The competition was exciting from start to finish due to the close results each day, despite the changeable weather conditions. And the overall results demonstrated this, with first place going to Screaming Reels (Martyn Rayner, Seirt Shults, Neville Murphy) with 24 species for 23.12kg - followed closely in second place by Uptide Girl (Gordon Thornes, Mike Roberts and John Williams from Wallasey in the UK) with 22 species for 25.15kg. In third place was Nirvana (Richie Stead and Keith Pemberton from the Wirral Boat Angling Club in Liverpool) with 20 species for 13.78kg.

The heaviest round fish was a conger of 8.18kg caught by Leslie Trish of  Seeker V from Liverpool, who was also awarded a perpetual trophy sponsored by Inland Fisheries Ireland for the biggest fish caught. The heaviest flat fish was a plaice of 0.80kg caught by John Meaning from Joe 90 from the Isle of Wight. Fifteen-year-old Lewis Radcliffe from Wigan won best junior of the competition, fishing with his dad Simon and his grandfather on the boat Cod n Bas’ which came fifth with 19 species for a 13.04kg total.

Redmond's The Bay on Rosslare Strand hosted the prizegiving ceremony for the second year running. Prizes were presented by Suzanne Campion, director of business development at Inland Fisheries Ireland and Orla Woods, projects officer for destination development with Fáilte Ireland.

Campion commented that the festival "is very important not only to promote the great sea fishing we have on the east coast, and in particular the variety of species available, but also the investment it brings to the local businesses in the area each year."

She also thanked Phil Hallsworth, who has organised this festival for the last 12 years, for his "hard work, commitment and dedication" now that he is retiring from the event.

Next year’s Rosslare Small Boats Festival will take place on 14-21 September 2013, and IFI invites all small boat anglers to take part. Further information is available from Josie Mahon at 01 278 7022 or [email protected].

#ANGLING - The Irish Times' angling correspondent Derek Evans was on hand at the Irish Wheelchair Association's eighth annual fishing competition on the banks of the Grand Canal at Lucan recently.

More than 100 anglers from 15 different centres around the country took park in the three-hour event, supported by Inland Fisheries Ireland, Waterways Ireland and Clondalkin-based fishery manager Godfrey Donohue.

The team from Clontarf in north Dublin came out on top after a good afternoon's fishing - perch, pike and trout all showing up to take the bait.

Darren McCabe of the second-placed Navan A team was especially pleased with his performance after a barren 2011 contest, snaring a 500g 'jack' pike, while Navan B team member Brian Melville and Athlone's Pat Feeney both caught wild brown trout.

The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.

#ANGLING - The Irish Fly Fair and International Angling Show returns to the Galway Bay Hotel in Salthill this November for the third year running.

As the Galway Independent reports, the show will run over the weekend of 10-11 November from 10am to 5pm daily featuring a wide range of exhibitors and trade stands.

Sixty of the world's greatest fly tyers will be on hand to give their advice in the new fly-dressers' workshop.

And angling personalities such as Hywel Morgan, Glenda Powell, Peter O'Reilly, Stevie Munn and Paddy McDonnell will return to give their helpful angling clinics and fly-casting demonstrations.

Meanwhile, younger anglers will have another chance to give the pros a run for their money in the second youth fly tying competition run by APGAI Ireland.

More details on the weekend will be forthcoming on www.irishflyfair.com.