Lough Sheelin Angling Report By Brenda Montgomery, IFI – September 15th – September 21st 2014
‘You’re my downfall, you’re my muse
my worst distraction, my rhythm and blues’
John Legend
Lough Sheelin – September 2014
Immersed in an Indian Summer, Lough Sheelin, bathed in shafts of autumn sunshine, with daytime temperatures creeping over the 20 degree mark, shrouded in heavy morning mists and with thousands of cobwebs threaded over shore line bushes, has over the past number of weeks become stuck in a phase of challenging trout fishing where the wheat is being separated from the chaff so to speak and only the anglers who really understand all the intricacies of fishing this great lake are catching trout. For many anglers this month has been particularly disappointing due to the fact that going on previous years it has been a given that after the sluggishness of August the trout fishing always became good in September and continued that way until the end of the season – October 12th but for this year things are different.
In order to banish frustration it is important to understand what is happening here because with understanding comes acceptance and with acceptance comes tolerance.
Lough Sheelin’s fishing is ultimately governed by the weather, this lake’s trout feeding patterns are irrevocably intertwined with temperatures, wind direction, sunlight, cloud coverage and the month we are in. This year’s weather has been very different to previous years in that we have had a dry warm summer, a small amount of rain and then another long dry hot spell. Water temperatures have never really dropped to the required level to bring the trout up through the warm oxygen poor top layers and although we are well into the month now, night temperatures until recently have not followed the usual seasonal coolness. That injection of that much needed fresh water which would energize the trout has not happened yet.
‘Seasons of mists and mellow fruitfulness’ Keats’s Sheelin, September 21st
Lough Sheelin is not a hungry lake instead this lake carries an abundance of food for its trout – a variety of sedges, olives, midges, spinners, shrimp, hog louse, nymphs and terrestrials – daddy long legs, hoppers and beetles to name but a few. The Sheelin trout undoubtedly have a huge menu to choose from and it has to be a very special fly, worked rather than fished with skill and precision to get these fish to take.
So for the past number of weeks these two irrevocable facts – the warm dry weather and the abundance of food have left Sheelin trout fishing sluggish and difficult but not impossible and certainly challenging.
Kenneth O’Keefe, Cavan making it look easy with his Sheelin beauty
There were a number of boats out on the lake over the past week with the All Ireland Final taking its toll reducing the usual increase at weekends to only a few anglers venturing out.
Over the past week the Sheelin trout are feeding just under the surface until about half eight to nine o’clock at night and then they feed on the surface and it is the sedges that they are taking. There are many varieties of sedges but the Cinnamon Sedge and the Chocolate Drop have been responsible for some nice catches this week.
Day time fishing has been slow but dry fly fishing predominated because of the mainly calm conditions, these conditions also suited fishing with olives and spinners. A few anglers dapped the Daddy when the necessary ripple rumpled the water’s surface. The Apple Green Midge made an appearance on the lake. The Apple Greens feature in late May and early June and although sporadic then usually return in significant numbers in August but because of our ‘long summer’ it comes as no surprise to see them a month later. These flies can begin hatching as early as 9.30am and certainly not later than 11am. The hatch lasts well into the early afternoon and there is further activity at dusk, as both emerging insects and females return to the water. Wet fly fishing favours fishing this and other midge Campto Chiromids so patterns such as the Sooty Olive, Blae Sooty Olive, Black & Peacock Spider (size 12). Nymphs will produce good results and take trout feeding close to the surface, particularly along a ripple.
Tony Grehan’s 2 pounder caught on a Chocolate Drop
The Stimulator dry fly landed some of its users a few 2 – 2 ½ trout. This dry fly is a great go-to attractor fly, it sits high in the water ‘prospecting’ for trout when there is no hatch. It can be particularly good used as a top dropper.
The Dabblers featured heavily for the wet fly fishermen. Dragging the wets is preferable when there is a wave on the lake. The flasher the Dabbler the better, with orange, greens and purples interlaced with glitter making their mark on the Sheelin trout. Anglers need to grab the trout’s attention so although matching the hatch is important, something different intertwined into an imitation of a natural will sometimes do the trick.
The most popular flies used this week (with varying degrees of success) were the Sedges, Gorgeous George, the Klinkhammer (size 14), Olive Dun (size 14), Pheasant Tail Nymph, Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear (8-10), Sooty Olive, Stimulator, the Dabblers (Silver, Claret, Green, Peter Ross, Woven Ross and Pink Pseudo), the Chocolate Drop Sedge (fished static or pulled to create a disturbance, choose the colour to match the naturals on the water), the Dunkeld, the Silver Invicta, Daddy Long Legs, Hoppers and the Caperer.
As the lake pushes into the last half of September, two things are gradually happening which tend to bode well for great trout fishing. The first is that temperatures have dropped over the past few evenings and with longer nights this cooling effect will increase which means that the trout will be much less lethargic as a consequence. The second is that the trout will sense that the winter is drawing in and and will start to feed ferociously in order to pack weight on for the lean cold months and also for that river journey to their spawning grounds. Both these factors bring the bigger trout closer to the surface.
During my recent leave from work in early September I ventured out to fish Sheelin myself along with my ‘expert trout fishing’ American companions. At 6.15am we slid our boat out from Kilnahard and headed out across the lake. The mist was dense, forming a blanket that fell about 2ft short of the lake’s surface, conditions were very calm and it was unusually warm. We eventually settled around Merry pt. waiting until the fog lifted a little but waiting was no penance at all as all around us we could hear and see the surfacing of hundreds of trout in what seemed like a well rehearsed orchestra of ‘head rises’ accompanied by gentle ‘plops’ as the fish dropped below the surface again. We felt we were privy to something very special and although we landed no fish (although there were a few misses) it was one of those special always to be remembered moments that my American friends and I with never forget.
Relaying this story to a Sheelin angler particularly the fact that my very experienced trout anglers hadn’t been able to catch a fish produced this immediate response ‘they may be experts but they don’t know Sheelin’ – there but for the grace of god go I…………
A work in progress – the LSTPA MFF project on the Crover River, Lough Sheelin – September 18th
The local angling club – The Lough Sheelin Protection Association as part of a Midland Fisheries Funding project have over the past number of weeks been carrying out rehabilitation and enhancement work on the Crover River. This work which involves the introduction of spawning gravel, weirs, deflectors, cattle drinkers, bank protection and fencing will greatly improve this river as a spawning site for the Sheelin trout.
Up-Coming Events
The Lough Sheelin Protection Association’s Stream Rehabilitation competition has been set for Saturday October 4th. This competition is now in its 9th year and the entry fee is used to rehabilitate and enhance the rivers within the Sheelin catchement. The closing date for this competition is Friday September 26th. This is a heaviest fish event where there will be up to €8,500 in prizes. All rules, details and entry forms can be downloaded from the LSTPA’s web site at www.loughsheelinanglers.ie.
A catch & release policy is actively encouraged on the lake at all times
Lough Sheelin Guiding Services (www.loughsheelinguidingservices.com) 087 1245927
Michael Farrell @ 087 4194156Telephone: +353 43 6681298 Email: loughsheelinguide@hotmail.com
The heaviest fish for the week was a 4 lb trout caught by Sheelin angler Ned Clinton on Monday September 15th using a Lawrence Finney Dabbler
Total number of trout recorded for the week: 15
Selection of Catches
Tony Grehan, Rathfarnham, Dublin – 1 trout at 2lbs at Holywell using a Chocolate Drop Sedge.
Trevor Dancey, Cavan – 1 trout on a sedge at Merry Pt, 2lbs.
Thomas McGory, Newtownbutler – 2 trout at 1 ½ lbs and 1 ¾ lbs using Dabblers and Klinkhammers.
Martin Kenneth, Dublin – 7 trout for the week, averaging 1 ½ – 3 lbs using Sedges, Stimulators and Dabblers.
Pat Brady, Cavan – dry fly fishing – sedge – 1 trout at 3lbs.
Brenda Montgomery IFI
