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2019 Newsletter

In less than a month, anglers will once again be travelling to the Bandon River as a new season begins. Fishermen can only hope for more rain and better fishing conditions this year. 2018 was possibly the most difficult season in history for anyone fishing the Bandon. Spring salmon fishing in April was extremely encouraging and there is a growing trend towards better late spring fishing. However, from May onwards, the river was gripped by drought conditions and dredging works associated with the Bandon Flood Relief Scheme commenced for a second year. The scorching summer meant fishing for much of it was a fruitless exercise and members were requested to restrain from fishing on a voluntary basis. Thankfully, the sky to the west darkened in September and the river finally received the flood it was so badly craving. Excellent salmon fishing was enjoyed but most fish were stale and released again. Unfortunately, sea trout fishing was non-existent due to the drought and dredging works. Brown trout fishing was good up to mid-June but difficult from then on. Will drier, hotter summers become the norm? The wet summer of 2015 seems like a distant memory.

Fishing will continue on as normal, with opening day on February 15 th . Refreshments will be served on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17th in the Munster Arms Hotel, Bandon, from 7.00pm. As always, we remind anglers to record all salmon and sea trout over 40cm in their logbooks whether they are retained or released, including salmon kelts, baggots and rawners. Taking into consideration negative effects incurred by the flood relief scheme, compulsory catch and release of all trout is being implemented on all club waters below Bandon Weir. This rule may be in place for a couple of seasons and will be lifted once it is deemed suitable to do so.

The dates set for payment of club permits are the 4th and 5th of February from 7.00 pm to 9.30 pm in the Munster Arms Hotel. Season permit prices for the upcoming season remain the same at €150 and IFI state licenses will also be available for purchase. Payment for state licenses is by cash only. An option for online payment is available for club permits. Please email [email protected] for further information. We would advise all members prompt payment of subs and for administration purposes, a strict deadline has been set for Monday April 1st . Member permits will not be issued after this date. We request all members to familiarise themselves with the updated club rules outlined on their permits. As usual, when receiving your permit you will also obtain a tag for your jacket/hat. This is a visual aid to help fishery officers, water keepers and anglers alike to identify whether someone should be fishing or not. We must stress this is not a licence and you must still carry your permit. This year, club members are required to fill out General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) forms. Forms are included with the newsletter and will be available for members to sign on the permit nights. Permits will not be issued to members until we are inreceipt of GDPR forms.

Weekend patrolling by club members was conducted in a very successful manner last year, with cases of poaching declining over the summer. We sincerely thank you for all your efforts. If you suspect a non-member is fishing, do not approach them and contact the designated persons whose details are below. This spring, work parties will be organised to clean river banks for the 2019 season. Our aim is to begin these soon and we encourage all members to help out as much as possible when asked. Work parties will offer members the opportunity to get to know the river better and offer a chance to meet more fellow anglers.

Bandon Angling Association hopes to carry out spawning stream enhancement work which will be extremely beneficial to our population of trout in particular. This includes fencing, tree coppicing, gravel raking and designating livestock drinking areas. Additionally, we have ear marked sections of the main channel which require fencing to exclude livestock from the river. This will decrease river bank erosion, benefit instream habitat for trout and salmon as well as water quality in general. A River Works Fund, which will be ring fenced for similar projects to improve the river and fishing for all, is available for anyone to donate to. Please email [email protected] for further information. All contributions are very welcome.

Water quality will receive a welcome boost on the Bandon this year as works have commenced for the Bandon Watermain and Sewage upgrade. Thankfully, after much pressure from BAA, the Innishannon Sewage Scheme will begin this year. The Bandon Rivers Trust has been formed and the objective will be to protect, conserve and enhance biodiversity throughout the Bandon catchment. With regards to the Bandon Flood Relief Scheme, monitoring was conducted throughout the works period by 3 ecologists on a full time basis. Where parameter limits were exceeded, works were downgraded/halted to prevent injury to aquatic species. Instream works will commence once again in May of this year.

After 4 years of dedicated service as chairman of the Bandon Angling Association, Robert Smith has stepped down from his role. Rob’s commitment to the club and towards it’s betterment for all members was immense. In his place comes Phil Dewey and we have no doubt he will lead the club into a new era with his infectious enthusiasm!!

Officers and Committee for 2018

President; Roy Lee. Vice President; Don Carey. Chairman; Phil Dewey. Vice Chairman; Sylvester Cotter. Treasurer; Fergal O’Regan. A/Treasurer; David McCann Secretary; Jason Nash. Youth Officer; Patrick Siegne.
Environmental Officer; Jason Nash. P.R Officer; David Forde.

Committee

Denis Fahey, Tim O’Brien, Anthony Buckley, Brian Warren, Trevor O’Mahony, Neil Burrell, Shane O’Mahony, Patrick Seigne, John Morehead, Robert Quinn, Alan Cassidy, Leon Costello.

Designated Members for Reporting Pollution/Poaching

Rob Smith; 086-387 1173. Jason Nash; 085-116 7865.

Website: www.bandonangling.com

Email: [email protected]

Club Mobile: 086-3724358

Dermot Long - Fisheries Officer: 087-4199870

Environmental Officer: 085-1167865/ [email protected]

Secretary’s Address: Shippool, Innishannon, Co. Cork.

Tight Lines!

Jason Nash,
Honorary Secretary.

Think Conservation, Enjoy the Bandon River.

Amazing looking at a salmon and thinking of its life history . This fish would have been laid as an egg in autumn/winter 2011. Born spring 2012. Grew up and developed as a parr in the Bandon for 2 years. Migrated as a smolt in spring 2014. Swam up the Norwegian Sea to the Faroe Islands for one winter. Decided one winter wasn't enough and swam over to Greenland for winter 2015. 2016 came around, the Multi Sea Winter adult fish matured and migrated along the north Atlantic Ocean back to its native waters in West Cork to breed the next generation of salmon. Life cycle complete.

2018 Newsletter

It’s coming to that time of year again when excitement is growing as we get our fishing tackle in order for the new season ahead. 2017 was very similar to 2016 as we witnessed relatively low rainfall amounts and prolonged dry spells. This, coupled with the dredging downstream of Bandon, restricted angling opportunities from May onwards. As a consequence, many anglers found the season tough going. Nevertheless, those who adapted to circumstances reported very good catches with multi sea winter salmon plentiful in June. A pleasing run of grilse was evident in July and if we had more water sport would have been excellent. Sea trout fishing was curtailed on the lower river meaning the run of fish was difficult to assess as anglers don’t tend to fish upstream regularly. Maybe 2018 will see more fishing effort above Bandon? Brown trout fishing was excellent at times, with nymph fishing picking up many early season fish and dry fly coming into its own on warm summer evenings.

Fishing will continue on as normal for 2018, with opening day on February 15th. This year, we have decided to change proceedings and refreshments will be served on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17th in the Munster Arms Hotel, Bandon, from 7.00pm. As always, we remind anglers to record all salmon and sea trout over 40cm in their logbooks whether they are retained or released, including salmon kelts, baggots and rawners. Also, make sure logbooks are returned by October 19th so accurate figures are collated by Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI). The total allowable catch (TAC) for the Bandon has slightly increased for 2018 as anglers have recorded their catches and returned logbooks in an efficient manner. Please continue to do so. Anglers are still permitted to retain 10 salmon/sea trout over 40cm. However, Bandon Angling Association encourages catch and release of both salmon and trout on club waters throughout the season. Although it is not a rule, we would like to encourage single, barbless hooks at the beginning of the season to minimise injury to kelts.

The dates set for payment of club permits are the 6th and 7th of February from 7.00 pm to 9.30 pm in the Munster Arms Hotel. Season permit prices for the upcoming season remain the same at €150 and IFI state licenses will also be available for purchase. Payment for state licenses is by cash only. An option for online payment is available for club permits. Please email [email protected] for further information. We would advise all members prompt payment of subs and for administration purposes, a strict deadline has been set for Sunday April 1st. Member permits will not be issued after this date. As usual, when receiving your permit you will also obtain a tag for your jacket/hat. This is a visual aid to help fishery officers, water keepers and anglers alike to identify whether someone should be fishing or not. We must stress this is not a licence and you must still carry your permit. We would also like to remind members that referees are responsible for who they sponsor. Action will be taken against members in breach of rules and their referees.

Weekend patrolling by club members was conducted in a very successful manner last year, with cases of poaching declining over the summer. Remember, it is your river and your sport which you are protecting. We sincerely thank you for all your efforts. If you suspect a non-member is fishing, do not approach them and contact the designated persons whose details are below. Patrols will begin again in the new season.

Bandon Angling Association carried out bank protection works at Deasy’s Turn as a result of a successful application to the IFI Salmon Conservation Fund. This included rock armouring approximately 60m of the north bank. Furthermore, we have been provisionally granted additional funds for spawning stream enhancement work which will be extremely beneficial to our population of trout in particular. This includes fencing, tree coppicing and designating livestock drinking areas.

Water quality will receive a welcome boost on the Bandon this year as planning permission has been granted for the Bandon Watermain and Sewage upgrade, plus the Innishannon Sewage Scheme. Both of these schemes will see a significant improvement in quality of discharges to the river. With regards to water quality degradation as a result of the Bandon Flood Relief Scheme on the lower river, monitoring was conducted throughout the works period. Where parameter limits were exceeded, works were downgraded or halted to prevent injury to aquatic species. For more information on the scheme and a summary of works to date, please visit www.bandonfrs.ie.

This year, we are reviving our former policy of initiating weekend bank clearing parties to improve our club waters fishing potential. Assistant Development Officers have been designated stretches to assess work potential and a Works Maintenance Organiser has been appointed to assemble work groups. We would encourage all members to participate when asked as it affords you an opportunity to get to know the river better and meet new people.

Officers and Committee for 2018

President; Roy Lee. Vice President; Don Carey. Chairman; Robert Smith. Vice Chairman; Sylvester Cotter. Treasurer; Fergal O’Regan. A/Treasurer; David McCann Secretary; Jason Nash. A/Secretary; Shane Deane. Youth Officer; Fergal O’Regan. A/Youth Officer; Ian Walker. Environmental Officer; Jason Nash. Development Officer; Barrie O’Mahony. P.R Officer; David Forde.

Committee

David Forde, Denis Fahey, Mansfield Wagner, Tim O’Brien, Don Ring, Anthony Buckley, Brian Warren, Shane Deane, Phil Dewey, Trevor O’Mahony, Ian Walker, Michael Waugh and Noel Scanlon.

Designated Members for Reporting Pollution/Poaching

David Forde; 089-707 0552. Dave McCann; 086-258 7802. Jason Nash; 085-116 7865.

Website: www.bandonangling.com

Email: [email protected]

Club Mobile: 086-3724358

Dermot Long - Fisheries Officer: 087-4199870

Environmental Officer: 085-1167865/ [email protected]

Secretary’s Address: Shippool, Innishannon, Co. Cork.

Tight Lines!

Jason Nash,
Honorary Secretary.

Think Conservation, Enjoy the Bandon River.

Please contact Jason Nash at 085 116 7865 or Fergal O'Regan at 086 3724 358 for more information.