Brenda Montgomery IFI- Lough Sheelin Report October 7th to October 12th
“A lake is a landscape’s most beautiful and expressive feature. It is Earth’s eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature.”
Henry David Thoreau,
Last Friday October 12th saw the close of the fishing season on Lough Sheelin for another year with some anglers fishing this lake right up to the last hour before reluctantly leaving this magical expanse of water. The lake fished well in its final week and trout were recorded on all days with all catches being carefully released back into the water. Wednesday with its overcast and reasonably mild weather conditions proved to be the best days fishing with a number of trout over the 2 ½ lbs being caught.
John Murphy of Crover nailed the winning weight of the final week at 4.20pm on Friday with a beautiful almost 6 lb trout caught on a dry sedge near Crover.
Dry fly fishing methods predominated, although some fished on the ‘wets’. The most popular flies were the small dry sedges, golden olives, sooty olives, cock robbin, gorgeous George, buzzers, blae & black, silver invicta and a selection of dabblers (claret, silver, gold and redneck).
The days before the close of season are different to other times as there is a winding down and a gentle exodus of boats leaving Lough Sheelin’s shorelines. A lot of anglers fished the lake throughout the week as if to soak up the last hours in a seeming attempt to sustain themselves mentally over the winter months until this great lake opens again on March 1st.
The other day someone quoted that saying to me ‘are all fishermen liars or do all liars fish’ well, everyone is entitled to their own opinion but mine is that none of the people who have fished Lough Sheelin are liars, it is important to be fair, respect and trust that people give information honestly with an injection of their own personal interpretation and that is what happens on this great lake
Sheelin has disappointed nobody this year and has in one angler’s words ‘given everyone a fair crack of the whip’, there have been plenty of chances for everyone and plenty of beautiful fish caught and mostly released
Sheelin anglers are unique in that they expose a passion, love and enthusiasm about this lake that is unrivalled. Lough Sheelin is undoubtedly a natural wonder but it needs its anglers with all their diverse personalities and fishing skills to keep it alive as without the anglers although beautiful this lake wouldn’t have a heart.
The Lough Sheelin Protection Association will be running fly tying classes for all age groups – children and adults from mid-November onwards at the IFI store at Kilnahard, Lough Sheelin at 7.30pm. Please contact Thomas Lynch @ 087 9132033 (after 6pm) for further details.
Total catch recorded for the week was 36
All were released.
Selection of Catches
John Murphy, Crover – on a dry sedge, 3 on Monday October 8th best weighed in at 3lbs, on Wednesday October 10th 3 trout best weighed in at 3 ½ lbs fishing around Inchicup dry fly fishing using a small brown sedge. Friday October 12th 1 trout at almost 6lbs.
Kilbride Anglers – Jim Cullen & Jim Keeshan, wet fly fished the lake on Wednesday and landed a number of small trout, all returned.
Father and son – Pat and Kevin Dunne, Clane anglers on Thursday October 11th using a silver invicata and green peter, 5 trout heaviest 2 ¾ lbs.
Kilbride Anglers – Greg Long and Noel Bennett, fishing on Thursday accompanied by Noel’s enthusiast 6 year old son Noel Junior caught 3 fish, averaging 1 – 1 ½ lbs
Thomas Harten, Kilnaleck – 1 trout at 1 ½ lbs on a golden olive on Friday October 12th
Gene Brady, Ballinagh – 1 trout at 1 ¾ lbs on an olive on Friday October 12th.
Anthony Mathews, Dundalk and Paul Ruane, Mayo – wet fly fishing around Inchcup and into the bay at the Sheelin Shamrock, 4 trout, heaviest weighed in at 2 ½ lbs.
Thomas Lynch, Cavan – on Wednesday October 10th 4 trout in excellent condition, all averaged around 2 ½ lbs using dry sedges.
Andrew Browne, Dublin – Andrew fished throughout the week and caught 1 or 2 trout every day, he was using a selection of dabblers and small dry sedges, heaviest fish was 2 lbs.
Early on Saturday morning October 13th, a thick mist rose slowly from the lake and the fog cleared leaving an expanse of mirror calm water, ruffled only by groups of swans or the visiting Brent geese, a mixture of curled up starched sycamore and damper ash leaves covered the pier at Kilnahard where only a few boats lie waiting for collection. For just over 18 weeks there will be little or no activity on this lake save for the odd sportsman or IFI officer.
The lake may look peaceful on the surface but already there is activity of a different sort as underneath the surface the trout prepare to return to the 9 feeder Rivers to spawn.
As the day comes to a close, there is finality about the season, an empty feeling and I am reminded of a line from Thomas Gray’s poem ‘the plowman homeward plods his weary way, and leaves the world to darkness and to me’.
Sheelin’s fishing season reopens on March 1st 2013 and this lake will be ready and waiting for all of us again – deo volento.
I feel I am still on that lake shore,
gravel crunching under my feet—
and, suddenly—Him.
You will embrace His mystery in me no more – Pope John Paul 11
Brenda Montgomery IFI
