Things are really heating up on Corrib, with quite a few reports in this week. Olives have been hatching for the last 10 days or more, and mayfly have started to hatch in more areas now. The main mayfly season looks like it will be over the next 2 weeks, although the forecast for warm sunny weather next week may set things back slightly.
Frank Reilly reports that fishing improved significantly last week, with some anglers reporting good rises of fish to olives. In the Oughterard area Dieter Lampe, Germany, staying at Currarevagh House, landed 10 trout over 2 days – best fish 3.5lbs. Dai Williams and John Cohen, Wales reported having the best fishing in 20 years landing 21 trout for 1 day on olives. 13 year old Cillian Tierney of Derrymoyle landed a fine trout of 6lbs in 1 evening.
Good hatches of olives and some mayflies were reported in the Greenfields area, however very few anglers fished over the week. John Ryan from Nenagh, fished for 2 days and landed 5 trout for 9lbs. Headford Anglers held the Andrew Egan Competition on Sunday the 27th, with 20 anglers landing 8 trout over the size limit. 1st was Philip Hall, England, with 2 trout for 2.33kgs. 2nd was Martin Connor, England, with 2 trout for 2.18kgs. 3rd was Paul Ramsey with 2 trout for 1.18kgs. Philip Hall also won the best fish with a trout of 1.53kgs.
Tom Doc Sullivan sent in a great report from the annual Corr na Mona Anglers competition to raise money for the Galway Hospice. This was the 7th running of the event which was started in 2008, and is run as a catch-and-release pairs event, with teams being mixed in different boats.
“As the event is staged on the last Sunday in April it is always a guess as to what the fish will be on, it could be olives, mayfly or buzzers. However the most important thing with wild brownies is weather conditions and the Gods weren’t smiling on us for the event.
26 teams set out from the Carrick shore on the morning to brilliant sunshine and at that stage a very slight north easterly, however this wind lasted for an hour until midday. From that time on we were left with a flat calm lake, bright sunshine and, with thunder in the air, a very close and heavy atmosphere. It stayed this way until 5pm when the weather broke and we got some decent conditions for the last hour.
The fishing proved really difficult for all involved and the score cards showed that most fish were caught in either the first or last hour. The winning team was the pair of well-known anglers Toby Bradshaw and Joe Creane; Toby’s catch of 3 trout including one cracker of 49 cm was enough to swing it and they finished 20 points ahead of Jimmy Molloy and Declan Gibbons in 2nd place – Jimmy also had a good fish of 49cm. They in turn were just 20 points in front of Mike Keady and Kevin Kerrigan in third place who had 3 trout between them.
The longest fish of the competition was a great fish of 54 cm caught by Peter Roche of Crossmolina, which was reckoned to be in the region of 5lbs weight. In total 52 rods caught 28 trout with an average length of 39 cm.
A special word of mention must go to Keith Nicholson’s party from Kent in England. For the last two years they have switched their weekly holiday in May to fish in this event. Keith Lawrence and Mick Priest from the group finished 5th and won the overseas prize of a day’s guided fishing on Lough Mask along with 4th prize which was 2 rods on the Galway Weir (kindly sponsored by IFI). Their compatriots, Keith Nicholson and Peter Thomason came 6th and they won a day’s fishing on Lough Inagh with an evening meal for 2 (sponsored by Lough Inagh Lodge). The boys now think this was an elaborate ploy by Fáilte Ireland to get them to come back over again as they are now looking at availing of their fantastic prizes in July of this year! Two of this party – Keith and Mick – have been coming to Cornamona every year since 1990 and hope to celebrate their 25th anniversary with a big bash next year!
While we don’t have exact figures yet for this year’s event it is hoped that the club will have raised in the region of €2,000 for Galway Hospice. Up until this year’s competition Corr na Mona Anglers have donated in excess of €13,000 to the Hospice from this event.” Well done to all concerned for a very worthy cause.
Elsewhere, Mark and Martin Wilson enjoyed some great fishing on their recent trip to Corrib. Fishing out of Grasshopper Cottage at Cornamona on the 25th/26th April, they landed 12 trout up to 2.5lbs over the two days, all sportingly returned. The fish were all taken on size 12 wet Sooty Olive patterns and were in fantastic plump condition. They also saw mayfly hatching in the shelter of islands with the odd fish taking feeding on these. Two English anglers fishing from Grasshopper Cottage over the mid lake shallows near Mark and Martin had a great day’s fishing on Saturday, landing 19 trout between them with many in the 2lbs bracket – best fish 4 lbs, and all sportingly returned. They commented that it was the best fishing they had experienced in many years. To enquire about boat hire or accommodation at Grasshopper Cottage, contact Roy or Sorcha at +353 949548165 or check www.troutfishingireland.com
In Oughterard, Gary Costello reported on great fishing for Welsh visitors Dai Williams and John Cowan, had a great weekend’s fishing with 4 fish on Friday, 9 on Saturday and 7 on Sunday – best fish 4lbs caught by John Cowan, and most fish taken on olive patterns. Dai and John are annual visitors to Lakelands Angling Centre, where information on boat hire and accommodation can be obtained from Gary at on [email protected] , call 091 552121, or check www.lakelandanglingcentre.com
