Lough Sheelin Angling Report By Brenda Montgomery, IFI May 12th to May 18th, 2014
‘You dream about it, you think about the next time, the way you’ll fish for it. The flies you’ll use. If I only had one fish to fish for it would be the wild brown trout’ …
Ted Williams
The May Fly is up and Sheelin swings into action
This week Lough Sheelin stamped its mark on Ireland’s angling scene by once again reminding us that what we have here is one of the best brown trout fishing lakes in Ireland, if not the world. The bar is set high for this beautiful limestone lake, these waters have a lot to live up to as they carry with them huge angling expectations because unlike other trout fisheries this lake has an impressive stock of ‘the heavy weights’ – prime wild brown trout, weighing over the 3lb mark right up to last September’s record18 pounder. Anglers fishing this lake in general dismiss a 2 – 3 lb trout as a ‘small’ fish, nearly not worth mentioning, they really only get that adrenaline kick when a 4 -5 lb plus is landed which they consider as a ‘warm up’ for what’s down beneath Sheelin’s surface.
Surprise & joy – Ciaran Fitzgerald, Ratoath with his trout caught May 17th
From Sunday to Thursday of this week, the lake fished superbly giving first timers and old hands a heart stopping taste of what this lake is capable of producing. Most anglers were landing three to four trout predominantly in the 2lb plus range but there was also an impressive scattering of 4,5 and 6 pounders there as well with two trout tipping the scales at 9lbs. Larry McAlinden from Down however topped the league with his beautiful fish of over 9lbs caught using an International Dabbler last Monday May 12th.
The pressure was on this week as word got out that the Mayfly was ‘up’ on Sheelin and that the lake was fishing well and the access points and slip ways soon metamorphosed into a blur of boats, engines and anglers, with 60 – 150 boats on the lake every day.
The mayfly is always a special and magical time in the fishing calendar but especially on Sheelin. There is something inexplicably exciting and mystical about the freshly hatched dun that has an almost fairy like quality, flitting and dancing on the waves, looking for all the world like a scene from Tchaikovsky’s Sugar Plum Fairy. Watching the spinners perform their mating dance above and around Church island, when there are sometimes that many that it’s like smoke rising from the trees is just amazing, can there be anything better and beautiful in this world?
Fishing was excellent throughout the week and into the weekend but as always if the weather conditions are not right, the fly will not be up and there were unfavourable weather patches from Thursday through to Sunday that didn’t suit the mayfly – bright sunshine, evening time drop in temperatures and squally winds. But that’s all part of the Irish weather, it’s unpredictable and at times reminds me of the rock band, Crowded House’s 1992 release ‘four seasons in one day’.
It was easy to recommend the lake this week and most if not all visiting and local anglers caught good numbers of sizable fish and fortunately that very annoying saying which most anglers have heard ‘you should of been there last week’ didn’t feature over the past number of days.
A delighted first timer – nurse Bernie McManus, Cavan with her 2 3/4 lb trout
This can be a time of great comradeship among the angling fraternity here but it is also a time where in general anglers are ‘tight lipped’ about what are the catching flies and the expression ‘blood from a stone’ springs to mind as you try to squeeze out information.
So what is working? throughout the week wet flies worked well because there was a lot of nymph activity sub surface but as the weekend hit in particularly on Sunday dry fly fishing was the order of the day. It always takes the trout a few days to switch on to the dry fly as they begin feeding on the mayfly in all its life-cycles so it’s firstly the nymphs, later the emerging fly, the hatched dun or ‘green drakes’ as they are called at Sheelin and then the spinner or spent (gnat) which is normally the evening. Sheelin still isn’t at the peak of the mayfly and the first real fall of spent only happened on Thursday night around the western shoreline and in sheltered bays and then on Sunday the spent went out early around 3pm and was finished by 5pm due to a drop in temperature.
‘Anything with green in it’ worked for this week but the flies that featured well were the different variants of wet and dry Mayfly, the dry green Wulff, dry Melvin Green, Corrib Green, Denis Moss’s Ginger Mayfly, the Mosley Mayfly, Royal Wulff, Grey Wulff, Green Drake, the Dabblers – International, Claret, Red Tailed, Silver, Peter Ross and Green (with a red tail), the Claret Bumble, the Golden Olive Bumble, Gorgeous George, Sooty Olive Hopper, Cock Robin Hopper, Fiery George, Pheasant Tailed Nymph and Spent Gnat.
Ryan Houston with his beautiful Sheelin trout
Finney’s Pseudo red tailed dabbler
‘Bring it in’
Oliver McCormack with his 3 ½ lb trout, May 13th
The Mosley Mayfly
Sheelin in top form – a 4 pounder, one of 17 caught by Barry Fox, Rathoath on May 13th
Dr Feargal Quinn, Ratoath – a first timer for Sheelin with his
5lb 12oz trout caught in bright sunshine, May 13th
Finney’s catching crew – The Corrib Green and the Corrib Yellow E-mail – [email protected]
Barry Hickey with his 6lb Sheelin prize (ghillied by Lough Sheelin Guiding)
Shane McNamee’s Sheelin catch
Jim Crawford, Scotland – Happy Out!
Jonathan Kerr, Lisburn ghillied by Lough Sheelin Guiding
The Lough Sheelin Trout Protection Association will be hosting a Youth angling day in July. This popular event will include fly tying, fly casting and trout fishing followed by a Bar B Q. For further details contact Thomas Lynch @ 087 9132033
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 small friendly fly fishing competition was held between on Fermanagh and Cavan on Sunday last. There were two teams of ten anglers with over forty fish landed. Cavan came out tops to win the trophy.
The Dance at Church Island, May 18th
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 gift for another day for another angler
It won’t work if you are not wearing it
Water rarely gives second chances and a life jacket is just that – it saves your life, so we would implore anglers and all other users for their own safety as well as it being the law under
SI No 921 of 2005 – Pleasure Craft (Personal Flotation Devices and Operation) (Safety) Regulations 2005
To please put on and keep on that life jacket until you are back on dry land.
‘Getting it right’ – Caoimhe Sheridan, Cavan
Finney’s black tailed Mays
There are a good selection of Sheelin ghillies/guides available and they are well worth investing in if angling visitors are unfamiliar with the lake, or perhaps haven’t that much fly fishing experience or maybe are a little ‘cut for time’ due to work or other commitments. If one guide is unavailable it’s an absolute certainty that there will always another capable one to step into the breach.
Lough Sheelin Guiding Services (www.loughsheelinguidingservices.com) 087 1245927
Michael Farrell @ 087 4194156Telephone: +353 43 6681298 Email: [email protected]
Rising Trout Photography by Oystein Rossebo
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 caught by County Down man Larry McAlinden weighing in at over 9lb beauty caught on May 18th using an International Dabbler
Total number of trout recorded for the week: 1152
Selection of Catches
Cian Murtagh, Cavan – Monday May 12th 6 trout ranging in weight from 2 to 4lbs, all caught on the wet mayfly. May 15th 2 trout around 2 ½ lb each, caught as the sunset on dry Mays.
Billy Devitt, Ardee, Co.Louth – 18 trout best 3 four weighed in at 3lbs, rest around 2 – 2 ½ lbs. Apologies to Billy for getting it wrong in a previous report, Billy is from Ardee not Donegal.
Barry Fox and Feargal Quinn, Ratoath – May 13th 17 trout in total, heaviest trout weighed in at 4lbs and 5 lbs 12ozs.
Glen Rooney, Warrenpoint – May 14th 4 trout at 9lbs, best 4lbs caught on a dry wulff (released).
Seamus Kelly, Mayo and Jim Crawford, Scotland – fishing around Arley and Merry pt. 21 trout averaging 2 ½ lbs, heaviest was 4 ½ lbs.
Joe Casey, Athlone – 8 fish for the week, averaged 2 ½ to the heaviest at 4lbs, 6 caught on dry mays and 2 on a spent gnat.
Peter McArdle and Ken Kearns, Dundalk – 27 trout for the week, averaged 2 ½ lbs, heaviest weighing in at 3 ½ lbs.
Kenneth O’Keefe, Cavan – fishing mays on Wednesday May 14th 13 trout, all over 3lbs in weight.
David from flyandlures fishing with Martin Cooper – 6 trout, heaviest weighed in at 3 and 4lbs.
Terry Walsh and Kevin Dunne, Clane – 12 trout 2 at 4 ½ lbs and 1 at 3 ½ lbs, rest averaged 2 – 2 ½ lbs caught on the wet and dry mayfly.
Frank Kelly & Tony Harton, Cavan – 17 trout in total averaging over 2 ½ lbs.
Dara Murtagh, Cavan – May 18th 3 trouts on wets fishing from Stoney over to Crover, 2 on the Lough Arrow Mayfly and 1 on a Sooty Olive, 4lbs, 2lbs and 1 ½ lbs.
Oliver McCormack fishing with Pat Sweeney – May 13th, Oliver had 5 trout, heaviest was 3 ½ and Pat had 2 fish weighing in at 5lbs and 2lbs. Both men had a great days fishing and all fish were safely returned.
Andy Young, Dublin – 1 trout at 4 ½ lbs fishing the wet mayfly.
David Reilly, Tullynallen – 4 trout on Wednesday evening May 14th heaviest weighed in at 3 and 4 ½ lbs.
Tom Wilmot, Dublin – 7 trout heaviest at 6lbs, all caught using wet mayflies and all released.
Alex McClenaghan, Enniskellan – using a mosley mayfly 4 trout heaviest weighed in at 5lbs.
Gerard Usher, Ashbourne (ghillied by Lough Sheelin Guiding) – 2 trout averaging 2 ½ – 3 ½ lbs,
John Mulvaney, Kells (ghillied by Lough Sheelin Guiding) – 8 trout averaging 2 ¾ lbs.
Brenda Montgomery IFI
