Lough Sheelin Angling Report By Brenda Montgomery, IFI – March 17th to March 23rd, 2014
Fishing consists of a series of misadventures interspersed by occasional moments of glory…
Howard Marshall
Happiness is a Sheelin trout – Paul Lunney with his 4lb prize
A cold westerly wind swept across the lake for most of the week with days of varying wind speeds and temperatures dropping as the weekend approached. Because of a cold air mass originating from Greenland an unwelcome mix of strong gusts intermingled with heavy showers of rain and in some instances hail and sleet made fishing conditions challenging at times for the Sheelin angler.
With the receding water levels the shoreline is gradually reappearing with the surrounding lake vegetation looking somewhat like a faded hemline.
White horses skimmed the lake’s surface and the water churned to a moody blue/black colour, but beneath those waves, in the dark recesses of the water, still feeding low are those much coveted heavy weights – the Sheelin trout, waiting for the right fly or lure to tempt them.
The turbulent weather meant that most anglers remained glued to the shoreline and sheltered bays as besides being the best places to fish in early season, the middle of the lake proved stormy and unforgiving.
For most Sheelin trout anglers, winter and the closed season seem like an eternity of waiting. Sometimes it feels as if you’d forget how to cast a proper line after all those months of abstinence. The flies that have been tied during the long winter evenings are in their boxes waiting to be tried and tested and then March 1st, the open season, finally arrives like some sort of a saviour but alas except for a few days and snatched hours for this month, anglers have been met with conditions that are too cold, too windy, much too wet or a most complicated mixture of everything.
Once St. Patrick’s Day is over, we are forever hopeful that the weather will ‘pick up ‘but March coming in ‘like a lion and going out like a lamb’ doesn’t seem to be the case for this year – the lion prevails and the lamb doesn’t seem to have been born yet…..
The weather needs to soften up a little for a real take off in fishing. Some say that the ‘trout are still laying deep’ and it’s true that mid-March is not the time to be expecting a multitude of rises particularly as the recent cold has caused last week’s tentative little duck fly hatches to all but disappear. Deep and slow is the rule so the wet flies and lures are still top of the game for trout catches this week. Fishing a sinking line is still the order of the day.
Danny Murray, Dublin (ghillied by Gary McKiernan of Lough Sheelin Guiding) with his impressive 8 1/2 lb 64cm Sheelin trout, caught and released on Saturday March 22nd.
The Humungus (in black, black & silver and gold) is still responsible for most of the catches on the lake this week. Minkies (in black) also feature with one angler landing himself a lovely 4 pounder with a Minkie on the top dropper and 2 Dabblers behind with his confident theory that the trout will follow the Minkie but take the Dabbler.
Shane MacNamee’s 5 pounder caught using a Golden Humungus
Along with the usual fly patterns worked singly or in teams – the Dabbler (fiery, brown, claret and silver), Connemara Black, Black Pennell, Hare’s Ear, Golden Olive Bumble, Glister Ollie, Dunkeld, the Midnight Stalker and a large black lure like the Sweeney Todd there are other successful newcomers appearing namely The Butcher, the Sooty Olive and the Snake Fly.
Andrew Brown, Dublin with is fish of over 3lbs (released)
Chairman of the LSTPA Kenneth O’Keefe presenting the Kilroy Cup to Peter Boyle, Monaghan for landing the winning fish of 6.3 lbs
The Butcher pattern with its red tail, silver body and rib, black iridescent duck feather and black hen hackle is now over 170 years old and is a fly designed to imitate little fish. One Dublin angler landed himself an impressive 4 ½ lb trout using a two fly set up, with a Bibio as a dropper, fishing deep and slow on a very cold and windy Friday afternoon of this week.
In March a combination of Bibio on the bob with a Butcher at the end mostly saves the day. It is definitely an attractor fly, since it is impossible to say what it is imitating.
The two Fly-cast Combination game regarding wet flies have one constant – it catches fish during the entire season and brown trout just love it, because it somehow represents perfectly everything and nothing.
Saturday March 15th was the first reasonably mild day of the season, a ‘pet day ‘and with the mildest came hatches of duck fly causing a few anglers to chance a Sooty Olive on their lines. The Sooty Olive is one of the better- known traditional Irish patterns and imitates the duck fly. Their time is the spring and usually April is a great month for this fly. When trout don’t take the Butcher too well anymore, but Wickham’s and Invicta are not working yet, that is when the Sooty Olive has its heyday. On Sheelin the duck fly only lasts 2 to 3 weeks so this is when the Sooty Olive features most.
Andrew Brown, Dublin bring in his 4 pounder
Mary Kelly and Nana Payne, Dublin heading out for a days fishing on Sheelin Saturday March 22nd
Oliver McCormack braving the elements with his 4.6 lb beauty caught using his own tying of a Sooty type Silver Dabbler
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
Most of the fish featured in these angling reports are returned carefully and safely to the lake
A new and welcome pro-active approach by Lough Sheelin’s angling club the L.S.T.P.A to conserve and protect the fish stock in this lake
“Catch and Release fishing is a lot like golf. You don’t have to eat the ball to have a good time.” ~Anonymous, Fly fishing guide
Oliver Ross’s 4lb trout swims away to live another day in Sheelin
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. The kick off time is 11am with a finish at 6pm. All boats should be on the shoreline and ready to go by 10.50am. There is a strict 15” size limit and the individual with the heaviest fish wins. There comes an impressive list of prizes with this competition with a 19ft Sheelin boat as a first prize.
For further information on this competition please contact Noel McLoughlin at 087 2179460
Oliver Ross, Tyrone (ghillied by Lough Sheelin Guiding – www.loughsheelinguiding.com) with his 4 lb 51cm trout
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 Danny Murray, Dublin with a trout of 8 ½ lbs 64cm caught on saturday March 22nd using a Minkie.
Total number of trout recorded: 31
Selection of Catches
Barry Fox, Ratoath – fishing on Thursday March 20th 3 trout, 1 @ 5 ½ lbs and 2 at over 2 lbs, the 5 ½ pounder was caught in Chambers Bay, the other two fish were landed around Crover. This was Barry’s first day out on Sheelin this season so it was an impressive breaking of the 2014 duck egg on this lake.
Shane MacNamee, Dublin – March 17th 3 trout heaviest weighed in at 5 lbs using a gold Humungus.
Danny Murray, Dublin fishing with ghillie Gary McKiernan (www.loughsheelinguiding.com) – Tuesday March 18th 4 trout on wets all over 2 lb in weight. March 22nd 1 trout at 8 ½ lbs using a Minkie – all released.
Oliver Ross, Co.Tyrone – fishing with Gary McKiernan on March 17th, 1 trout at 4lbs (51cm).
Andrew Brown, Dublin – 1 trout fishing wets at over 3 lbs (47cm).
Larry McAlinden, Newry – 1 trout over 3lbs fishing wets on Friday March 21st,
Peter Boyle, Monaghan fishing with Kenneth O’Keefe, Cavan – 2 trout fishing wets averaged over 2 lbs on Saturday March 22nd.
Oliver McCormack – 1 trout at 4.6 lbs fishing around Crover using his own tying of a Sooty type Silver Dabbler
Thomas Lynch, Kilnaleck – 1 trout at 5 ¾ lbs on March 23rd on the wets.
Mike Redmound, Belfast (ghillied by Lough Sheelin Guiding – on Saturday March 22nd 1 trout at 54 cm.
A stormy shoreline, Crover, Lough Sheelin March 20th
It was with profound sadness that we record the tragic and untimely death of 27 year old David Warnock on Lough Ree earlier this week and as yet (as we go to print) the unrecovered body of 30 year old Darryl Burke.
There is an invisible line of connection between all anglers whatever their lake or fish preference is and so it is with unreserved conviction that the sympathies of all the angling fraternity and IFI go out to the families of these men. Deus vobiscum.
Brenda Montgomery IFI
Note: All anglers report that they are wearing lifejackets or jackets with built in lifejackets
