Report: The Irish Shad Run

Guest blogger Gerard Doran, of South East Angling Services in Ireland, takes a break from the bassing for the annual St Mullins shad run

St Mullins is a popular location on the River Barrow, which attracts tourists from near and far. The River Barrow is Ireland’s second longest river at 192km, flowing through six counties until it meets the sea at Waterford Harbour. The Barrow is one of the Three Sisters, the others being the Rivers Nore and Suir.

The annual twaite shad run on the river is very valuable to the economy of nearby villages at a crucial time of year. If, like me, you have been travelling to St Mullins for many years you often find yourself meeting many of the same anglers each year and exchanging stories of many fishing experiences from the previous year on rivers, lakes and coastal locations nationwide.

Time spent on the river this week provided good sport, catching using Tasmanian Devil lures and other small metals. Using a Garbolino Magister micro lure rod proved ideal for landing fish without stress, but still offering great sport.

Early morning and late evening sessions provides the best catches. No specimens on this trip, but having seen some photos there have been some very nice fish landed by other anglers!

Other fish such as flounder, dace, perch, pike, trout and the very occasional salmon are also caught from time to time when targeting shad. The Irish Specimen Fish Committee (ISFC) weight for a specimen twaite shad is currently 1.1 kg.

The Barrow really is worth a visit for the silence and fantastic scenery. Of course, the fishing is pretty good too, with many species available to the angler despite a decline in previous years . You can find more information about the River Barrow here. If you are going there to fish take care, respect the fish and tight lines.

Gerard’s South East Angling Services specialises in shore-based guiding for bass and sea trout in the Wexford area of Ireland