Ian Powell of the Blackwater Lodge reports that about 20 rods fished the opening day on the Munster Blackwater. The water was rather dirty and though 3 kelts were caught no salmon showed.
Over the next couple of days there were no rods out on Blackwater Lodge beats so Ian went for a cast himself. Within an hour he a fish on the bank. Ian takes up the story.
“There were no rods booked to fish today (03 February) & the weather had turned mild after only 2 days of a cold snap. Glenda was going to teach on Upper Kilmurry for 2 hours, so I decided to accompany her & go for a cast for an hour or so.
I caught this 6.2lb fish on spinner at the Jole on Lower Kilmurry. It would have been released, but was deeply hooked and bleeding. Interestingly, the fish didn’t have sea-lice, so had obviously been in the river for a few days.
This could mean that there is already a reasonable number of spring fish in the river, as we have had prolonged spells of high water & mild temperatures throughout January to encourage them to run. It was only the first 2 days of February where temperatures fell to zero at night.”
Over the weekend the river was in good order and a few rods out. The anglers intercepted a few kelts but no springers were reported until Sunday. The river had risen 12cm but clarity good. Paul Howard was the lucky angler. He caught his first ever springer on his first visit to the river. the salmon was taken on spinner on Lower Kilmurry. His pal Ger McCarthy also caught a sea-liced 5 pounder on the same beat the same afternoon and they saw about a dozen fresh springers during the course of the day.
River conditions: The river is already in excellent spinning order with clarity of approx. 3-4 feet. At 0.78m on the gauge this evening, it would still be high for fly-fishing, but it is dropping steadily & should be coming into fly order in the next couple of days.
Ian & Glenda Powell
Blackwater Lodge & Salmon Fishery
Upper Ballyduff, Co. Waterford.
Tel: 00 353 58 60235 From UK: 0871 474 0135 (10p/min any time!)
Mobile: 00 353 87 235 21 20
E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net
Fishing Syndication: We initiated a very limited syndicate scheme in 2010. This was extended further in 2011 with membership for either the full season or just the first 4 months. This scheme will continue for 2012, providing an enticing opportunity for those who are able to fish the Blackwater more often. More details on this can be found on this link – Syndication
