Water levels have been very up and down all week, ranging from 2 gates open up to 4, and back to 2 again, although after this morning’s heavy rain and seeing the forecast I won’t be surprised to see that go up again. Salmon are running the weir in very good numbers now, with many running straight through in the high water. Flyfishing has been difficult due to the conditions, although fly anglers are still getting fish, with many also being caught on spinner or shrimp.
There were 35 fish landed for the week, and among the anglers to score were Conor Haughey from Dublin, who had a 4lbs grilse on shrimp, and fellow Dublin angler Dermot Quinlan who had 2 grilse to 6lbs on shrimp. Michael Rogers from Dublin landed 3 fish over 2 days, all grilse and all caught on spinner, while his friend Andy Smyth landed a 7lbs grilse on fly and a 5.5lbs fish on shrimp. Northern Ireland angler Dexter Lynas, a longtime visitor to Galway, caught a nice 6.5lbs fish in high water on the fly, while Jim Ryan from Tipperary took 2 grilse to 6lbs on fly also. Kildare man Sean McManmon took 2 grilse on fly, while Offaly angler Liam Dunne landed a 7.5lbs fish on shrimp.
Damien Nolan from Clare landed a 5lbs grilse and the best fish of the week, a 10.5lbs salmon, both on shrimp, while Dublin angler Brian Howard took 2 grilse on fly. Local man Dave Lenihan showed his expert knowledge of the fishery by landing 3 grilse, including 2 on fly and one on shrimp.
Fishing prospects depend very much on water levels over the next week, but runs of fish are very good at the moment and should produce good fishing.
