#Angling - Ireland's first salmon of the year was caught last week in Co Kerry, as The Irish Times reports.

And it was a first for Lough Currane as angling guide Neil O'Shea landed 2016's maiden salmon catch nationally, a 10-pounder taken near 'The Bridge'.

However, it marks the third time O'Shea has been the first of the year to catch a salmon on the lough, previously claiming that title in 2009 and 1986.

The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.

#Angling - Come April, paper-based angling permits in Northern Ireland will be replaced by electronic records, as the Belfast Telegraph reports.

All rod licences, permits and day tickets will now be available to purchase online via NI Direct or authorised local distributors, with e-records providing all the relevant data for fisheries officers.

This eliminates both the need for anglers to carry paper documentation when they go fishing –– as well as the requirement for anglers with disabilities to travel to Portadown to avail of concessionary permits.

The Belfast Telegraph has more on the story HERE.

#Angling - Feeder anglers should save Saturday 30 January in their calendars.

That's the date for trials for the Irish feeder team headed to Serbia this summer.

All feeder anglers are invited to Annaherrin Lake in Shercock, Co Cavan from 9am for a day's fishing to select the National Coarse Fishing Federation of Ireland's squad.

For details contact 087 251 0260 or email [email protected]

#Angling - Anglers in Northern Ireland have been reminded to report their catches from 2015 to the Loughs Agency by this Thursday 21 January at the latest.

As the Belfast Telegraph reports, anyone who holds a Foyle and Carlingford rod license for salmon and sea trout angling is legally obliged to inform the Loughs Agency of how many times they went fishing and whether they caught any fish.

This data is necessary for the agency to gauge the health of fish stocks as well as the popularity of angling in any particular area under its remit.

"A lot of anglers are not aware that they must make a return within 21 days of the end of the season, even if they never actually went fishing or didn't catch anything and have a nil return to make," said the Lough's Agency's Art Niven.

The Belfast Telegraph has more on the story HERE.

#Angling - The Irish Specimen Fish Committee has just ratified two new Irish record fish.

Dublin angler Tom Lynch has broken the Irish twaite shad record with a 1.64kg specimen from the River Barrow at St Mullins, caught on 15 May last, while the new smooth hound record was broken by Gareth Murphy with an 8.62kg whopper from Wicklow Bay on 24 May.

Full details are in the Irish Specimen Fish Committee report for 2015 which just been released and is available on the ISFC website or from the Inland Fisheries Ireland website.

As well as the new record fish, detailed information on almost 450 specimen fish (ie large fish) taken by anglers from venues throughout Ireland in 2015 are presented.

Hard copies of the report will be available from 18 January from Inland Fisheries Ireland offices nationally.

The new report has details of 45 different species of specimen fish taken by anglers in 2015.

Thirty-two different species (including blue shark, pollock, several species of ray, gilthead bream, etc) were taken by sea anglers while freshwater anglers accounted for the remaining species.

Particularly large numbers of specimen thick lipped mullet (16% of total ratified) and smooth hound (14%) were caught, weighed and released, and in freshwater, carp (10%) dominated specimen returns. Large numbers of the exotic mullet species, golden greys and thin-lipped, were also ratified.

The ISFC Awards Day, when anglers will be presented with their awards and certificates, will be held on Saturday 20 February in Dublin in conjunction with the Irish Angling Show weekend.

Meanwhile, anglers both at home and abroad will be reading the report carefully to plan their angling trips to catch the big fish in Ireland in 2016.

Download a PDF copy of the Irish Specimen Fish 2015 report HERE.

#Pollution - The effects of diesel laundering over decades in South Armagh are being felt even greater today, say Dundalk anglers, as the New Year starts with the River Fane closed to all but catch-and-release fishing.

As Independent.ie reports, a 10-fold decrease in stocks of salmon as well as brown trout and sea trout in the river, which flows into Dundalk Bay from the Monaghan-Armagh border, is the direct result of diesel laundering operations by the IRA since at least the 1980s.

Waste from the process of converting subsidised agricultural 'green' diesel to 'white' diesel for general road use has reportedly been dumped openly into a tributary of Lough Ross, which feeds into the Fane – a river that supplies drinking water to Dundalk and much of North Louth.

A recent study found that these pollutants include polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons or PAHs, the same chemicals that continue to affect spawning grounds in areas impacted by the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska 26 years ago.

Independent.ie has much more on the story HERE.

#Angling - Minister of State Joe McHugh has approved a suite of regulations and bye-laws that will govern the wild salmon and sea trout fisheries in the New Year, coming into effect from Friday 1 January.

Minister McHugh said 50 rivers will be fully open and this will provide opportunities for all to share this important natural resource on a sustainable basis. A further 32 will be open for angling on a catch and release basis.

In all, 82 rivers will open for angling activity in 2016 - one fewer than in 2015.

Minister McHugh received management advice in relation to 146 genetically individual wild salmon stocks in Ireland from Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) before making a final decision.

This advice was also made available publicly as part of a public consultation process and was based on the scientific assessment of the current status of all stocks carried out by the independent Standing Scientific Committee on Salmon.

The committee comprises scientists from IFI, Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), the Marine Institute, the Loughs Agency, the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI- Northern Ireland) other State bodies and third level institutions.

Thirteen submissions were considered as part of the public consultation process which closed on 10 December.

In all, the Independent Standing Scientific Committee for Salmon (SSCE) assessed 146 rivers/estuaries/harbours and has advised that:

• 50 rivers are open as a surplus of fish has been identified in these rivers.
• 32 rivers are classified as open for “catch and release” angling.
• 64 rivers are closed as they have no surplus of fish available for harvest.

The Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Tagging Scheme Regulations for 2016 are in essence unchanged from the Regulations which were introduced for 2015.

#Angling - Following the news that Ireland's bronze-winning anglers will host next year's Shore Angling Worlds in Wexford comes confirmation that the FIPS-ed Youth Worlds will be held in Cork in 2017.

According to The Corkman, more than 40 teams from around the globe will make the trip to Coachford for the championships that will be fished on Inniscarra Reservoir.

And it's set to be the biggest world championship angling event ever staged in Ireland, says National Coarse Fishing Federation of Ireland (NCFFI) president Der Casey.

The Corkman has more on the story HERE.

#Angling - The tender process for Inland Fisheries Ireland's (IFI) State fisheries for 2016 is now open.

A list of available fisheries is available to download from the IF website HERE. To tender for one or more fisheries, fill out the Condition of Tender and Application Form 2016.

Tenders will be accepted up until 18 December 2015; proof of postage on or before this date will be accepted. Please mark your envelope TENDER APPLICATION and send it to:

Paul O’Reilly
Business Development,
Inland Fisheries Ireland,
3044 Lake Drive,
Citywest,
Dublin 24

If your angling club is interested in a longer-term licence, fill out the relevant section on your form but ensure to tender the ‘per year’ licence fee.

In addition, all clubs who held a licence on a State fishery during the 2015 season need to fill out an End of Year Report Form and return it to IFI Swords at the above address, or by email, by 31 December 2015.

End of Year Reports may be posted together with tender applications, however, all envelopes marked ‘TENDER APPLICATION’ will not be opened until after the closing date for applications. Any tender cheques enclosed will also not be acknowledged until after 18 December.

If you have any queries relating to State fisheries or the 2016 tender process, contact Paul O’Reilly at [email protected] or at 01 884 2600.

#Angling - It was a podium finish in Portugal for Team Ireland at the 32nd World Shore Angling Championships last month.

A fourth-place finish on a tough fourth day of the week-long contest was enough to secure the bronze medal for Ireland's eight-strong angling team in the Algarve on 26 November, as Fishing in Ireland reports.

"The importance of this result cannot be overstated," said Irish Federation of Sea Anglers (IFAA) chairman Michael Quinn as the team arrived back at Dublin Airport on 28 November.

"It shows that Ireland’s anglers are among the very best in the world and can compete with the very best in the world at the highest international level."

Ireland last claimed the world bronze medal in the Netherlands in 2012,as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

Next year's Shore Angling Worlds will be held in Wexford between 12 and 19 November.