Reader's Stories

Porbeagle shark from my kayak by Graham Smith
Porbeagle shark from my kayak, well worth the wait. Hi all, I am back again with more shark mayhem. It was a day of huge disappointment and delight all rolled into one.     Start from scratch. Well after last year being a terrible year for porbeagle and even the boat men working very hard to get a few sharks, I was hoping this year would be different. So this year I intended to hit the mark where I saw a porbeagle or mako jumping mad after mackerel a couple of years ago. So my so...

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River Lure Fishing by David Bowles
River Lure Fishing   Tranquil and peaceful there is nothing like fishing on a river and endless hours can be spent walking, taking in the wildlife and the endless mystery that there is beyond. But urban rivers have their charms too and can hold some very big fish indeed in amongst the chaos of street life. In this article I will point out the differences between the two and how to make the most out of them.         Tackle and lures For most of my small river fis...

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Reporting back on some early Sea-trout fishing by Andrew Wolsey
Reporting back on some early Sea-trout fishing. When winter comes to an end the change in season for me is usually marked by a few early sea-trout sessions. Come the 1st of March, the Northern Ireland Game season is open and provided you have a Game Rod license you can target sea-trout in both saltwater and freshwater although most rivers and loughs will require additional permits or club membership.   It’s also worth mentioning at this stage that from the 1st March 2014 “al...

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Opening Day Bass Fever, by Alan Stewart
Opening Day Bass Fever Where does this story start?  Well, I suppose it starts in the depths of Winter, those frosty evenings looking out the window in Kinsale, thinking……how many more sleeps until the bass return.  Those evenings we spend on fishing forums, perusing all the new sparkly stuff in the Shimano catalogue, trying to pass the time and sate the lust which is our obsession, the silver spikey predators.      In reality it is just a bluff, somet...

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Shore Trip, Donegal by Karen Pritchard
Muckross Beach, Donegal   We haven't long moved back to Northern Ireland from South West Scotland, and thought it was about time to dust the cobwebs off the fishing rods.   Unsure of fishing marks around the area, we decided to take a three and a half hour drive to Killybegs.               We drove along the coast taking in the wonderful scenery, when we spotted a wee quiet secluded beach with a car park and a toilet, to which we late...

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Catfish on the Ebro by Simon Gibson
Catfish on the Ebro As we drift into the summer months, I’m reminded of my recent trip to Northern Spain last September. I was lucky enough to be invited along with a group of veterans that had been making the same journey to both the Ebro an a few different carp lakes in France. This year however the mighty River Ebro was the destination, a river that’s runs right through the heart of Spain from the Pyrenees Mountains to the Mediterranean Sea.     It was at a fr...

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Leinster Pike Anglers - 2 Day boat competition by Stíobhard Proinséas
Leinster Pike Anglers - 2 Day boat competition The day is finally here it’s time for the Leinster Pike Anglers annual boat competition in Leitrim Quay to fish the Shannon. For me it’s my first time fishing this competition. I missed out on last years, but I plan to make this my annual pilgrimage!     Friday 22nd of May. We land at Leitrim Quay around lunch time, most of us taking the Friday off work and setting off early. All week we were watching the weather closely ...

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Home Turf by Andrew Mcilhone
Home Turf By Andrew Mcilhone With the warmer weather recently it was time to have another crack at the salt!!!!     A quick chat with a Noel Mckernan and it was arranged to meet on Saturday in my home village of Ardglass Co. Down. It was nice to actually lie in bed to a reasonable hour and get up, get organised and arrive at the launch point (100 yards from my house) all in less than 30 minutes. We did not take long to get on the water as usual, and my main target of the day was...

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Jumping pike by Anthony Byrne
Jumping Pike By Anthony Byrne   Weather here at the moment is bonkers and changing by the hour, this morning was to be calm but sure enough the forecast changed yesterday and started to predict a gale.       Fortunately the wind worked in our favour and moved the rain on before we got fishing at 7.30 am. Macker, John, David and I all met at the secret lake for a wee shot at the pike.   It was a messy start for me, dropping a reel overboard, and managed to grab ...

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