Ronan Cusack reports that we are now in the last two weeks of angling on Lough Mask and the going has proved tough. Other than the prolific hatches of daddy’s around the lake, fly hatches are relatively poor, with little or no sedges to be seen. Despite the shorter days and noticeable drop in air temperature, anglers are still out in reasonable numbers in anticipation of better fishing in the deeper water. So far this week, rod averages have struggled to rise above one, even though large numbers of under size trout are still being caught.
Reg O’Keeffe from Cork and his angling partner Paul McQuaid spent a day in the deeps last week with Ronan Cusack. Conditions were poor, with low cloud and wind direction changing several times throughout the day. The day finished with two fish over the 13” limit (best fish 1.25lbs) and also returning 5 undersize fish. Father and son team Eamon and Sean O’Riordan from Limerick fished on Thur/Fri last with Ronan and enjoyed slightly better fishing. Sean had most of the action dapping natural daddys in open water, while his father Eamon stuck with the wet-flies. Day one finished with 3 trout (best fish 1.5lbs). Conditions deteriorated on Friday with virtually no wind, so the lads decided to have a go at ferox. After spending roughly 2 hours without a pull, Sean’s rod hooped over and to his delight he landed his first ever ferox which was an impressive 9.5lbs.
Local Ballinrobe angler Kevin Sheridan took his young grandson Theo Bellanger for a day on Mask this week and he had his best ever brown trout of 2lbs. Kieran Biggins and Gerry Moran, Ballinrobe had a good day’s wet-fly fishing on Tuesday last. The lads spent the day in a west wind, drifting from the deep into shallow water along the Shintillas and finished with 5 trout (best fish 1.75lbs, all returned).
Ronan also guides on Mask and can be contacted at 087 2869487 or by email at [email protected]
