Lough Sheelin Angling Report By Brenda Montgomery, IFI -March 10th to March 16th, 2014
Trout are like dreams hovering in the elusive unconscious…
Kitty Pearson-Vincent
Mirror, Mirror on the wall …………The spiritual beauty of Lough Sheelin
It was a week of mixed fortunes for the Sheelin anglers with the weather ultimately having the final say with the fishing. Catches were sporadic throughout the week but despite frost bitten fingers and chilling temperatures dropping to below zero, Lough Sheelin kept its anglers engaged, enthralled and enchanted by producing some lovely catches of wild trout in top class condition.
A thick fog shrouded the lake on most mornings reluctantly clearing to leave heavy grey leadened skies and dead flat calm waters with only Friday and the weekend alleviating the stillness with west to south westerly winds causing some kick to the waters.
A foggy Lough Sheelin – March 11th
We are only into the third week of the fishing season and early season fishing can be notoriously tough going but this week that toughness was softened somewhat by the first sightings of the duck fly particularly around the Stony Islands.
The duck fly is basically a dark early season buzzer (belonging to the Chironomid family) and its arrival heralds the beginning of some serious fly fishing.
If temperatures continue to rise and the weather behaves itself then the duck fly hatches will be big and in general last up to 3 weeks. The duck fly probably got its name from providing a handy meal for ducks when there was a profusion of hatching but the gulls also put this fly on their menu. Some local anglers watch out for what is jokingly referred to as a hatch of gulls – when the gulls feed on the hatching fly.
Anglers are reporting that the fish are starting to show an interest in this fly with some pitching and head and tail rising.
With the milder weather coming in (fishing rods crossed) it’s time to start thinking about patterns which should bring out a few naturals.
Sheelin has extensive shallow bays and with the gradually receding water levels the best areas are around the lake edges, rocky shores and the exposed points.
Because the water temperatures are still low, trout do not move much so fishing a figure of 8 would be recommended. The Humungus (in black and silver) and the Minkie (in black) are still in top place because of the predominant (but gradually changing) feeding of the trout on the freshwater louse, but a team of small wets (Black Pennel, Watson’s Fancy and a Sooty Olive) might be a killing combination. Using a sinking line is still best but using a sinking tip because of the increasing shallowness of the lake could also achieve good results.
David Nevin, Dublin with his wild Sheelin trout
The most successful flies for this week’s fishing were the Dabblers, Hare’s Ear, the Glister Ollie, Bibios, Humungus (black & Silver and also black), Minkies, Golden Olive Bumbles, Connemara Black and the Midnight Stalker.
It is good to see some different wet fly patterns emerging, all of whose’s make-up is a closely guarded secret, divulgence of which I am told would be like seeing ‘snow in the summer’ but the way our seasons are going perhaps that may well be a possibility and so maybe will the sharing of those coveted killer Sheelin patterns.
The Kilroy Cup
On Sunday March 16th the first competition of the season – The Kilroy Cup was hosted on the lake by the local angling club, the LSTPA. This year saw the biggest numbers of entrants at 67 with the angling club raising the bar to participants by introducing a 16 inch limit. Lough Sheelin exceeded expectations by producing some beautiful fish well beyond that limit and allowing all the anglers to see what this lake is capable of. 18 fish in total were weighed in with many more being released. The competition was won by Monaghan man Peter Boyle with a fine 6.32 lb 63cm trout, coming in tight on his heels was Mullingar angler Kieran Newman with a 6.1 lb 66cm fish.
Peter Boyle, Monaghan with his winning 6.3 lb 63 cm trout
Some other nice weights in the competition were from –
Martin McGorian 1 @ 4.1 lbs
Aidan Heffernan 1 @ 4.34 lbs
Oliver McCormack 1 @ 4.66 lbs
Martin McCoy 1 @ 4.32 lbs
For anyone wishing to join this club – The Lough Sheelin Protection Association, please contact Thomas Lynch @ 087 9132033.
Kieron Newman, Mullingar 2nd in the Kilroy Cup with his 6.12 lb 66cm fish
The angling magazine Total Flyfisher has recently published an article about Sheelin in which local ghillie Gary McKiernan (www.loughsheelinguidingservices.com) ‘praises this prolific water’. It makes for interesting reading and throws an encouraging light over this special lake.
Tom McMullan with his 55cm 5lb Sheelin trout (www.loughsheelinguidingservices.com)
Please remember anglers to abide by BYE-LAW 790 which strictly prohibits
- All trolling on the lake from March 1st to April 30th (inclusive).
- From May 1st to June 15th – no trolling between 7pm –6am and no trolling under engine between 6am – 7pm and
- June 16th – October 12th – no trolling under engine between 7pm – 6am.
- No trout less than 14 inches should be taken from the lake.
A catch & release policy is actively encouraged on the lake at all times
Back to the water – an over 3 lb trout safely returned
Upcoming Competitions
The popular Sheelin Classic trout competition now in its 10th year will be run on Lough Sheelin on Saturday April 19th which is the Easter Bank Holiday weekend.
For further information on this competition please contact Noel McLoughlin at 087 2179460
Please remember All anglers are required to have a Fishery Permit to fish Lough Sheelin which must be purchased before going out on the lake.
The heaviest fish for the week was the winner of the Kilroy Cup – Peter Boyle, Monaghan with his 6.3 lb trout.
Total number of trout recorded: 56
Selection of Catches
John Mulvaney, Kells – 1 trout at 2lbs caught on a minkie.
Paul Lunney, Ballyconnell – 1 trout caught March 14th weighing in at 4 lbs using a Sooty Dabbler.
John Bates, Navan – 1 trout over 3 lbs caught fishing from Derry pt. to Inchicup.
Tommy Rush, Northern Ireland – 1 trout at 2.78 lbs using wets.
Dave McBride – 1 trout at 3.22 lbs.
Andrew Brown, Dublin – 1 trout at 2.92 lbs.
Frank Kelly – 5 trout on Sunday March 16th, ranging in weight from 1 ½ to 3 ½ lbs caught using teams of small wets.
Finea Bridge, March 13th
Brenda Montgomery IFI
