Angling conditions in Galway are perfect at the moment, with low water levels favouring the fly, and plenty of grilse coming in, with numbers increasing by the day. There were 93 fish reported for the week, with many of these taken on fly.
Kevin and Noel McCrossan from Donegal accounted for 5 grilse to 5.5lbs, all on the fly, while Offaly man Liam Dunne landed 4 fish to 5lbs on fly and shrimp, including one released. Fellow Offaly man Jim Kinahan had 2 fish to 6lbs on fly and shrimp, while Dublin angler Brian Howard took 3 grilse on fly. Local angler Fintan Murphy had 2 grilse on shrimp, while Elaine Kooi and Brian Healy enjoyed their visit from Mayo, landing 3 grilse between them on fly and shrimp. Laois angler John Hetherington had 2 grilse to 5.5lbs on fly and shrimp, while Dessie McWhirter from Northern Ireland had a successful visit, landing 5 grilse to 5.5lbs over his two days in Galway. Young Dublin angler Amy O’Reilly showed dad Dave how to do it, as she landed the only salmon of their trip, with Dave hooking but failing to land several fish. Well done Amy! Finally Michael Hegarty from Galway had 2 grilse to 5lbs, as did Markus Hanziker from Switzerland, all taken on shrimp.
With grilse numbers increasing every day, and stable water levels and good weather, fishing prospects in Galway for the coming weeks are excellent.
Fishing upstream has not picked up as well as in Galway itself, with the Clare River in particular enduring low water levels, but there was success for one young angler – Brian Joyce from Cregmore, who only took up fishing properly this year, landed his first salmon off the Cregmore beat. Brian recently visited the Galway Fishery for a tour of the fish counter and smolt traps and was clearly very keen to learn all he could about fishing, so it’s great to see him putting it into practice. Well done Brian!
