Ronan Cusack reports that the good fishing which anglers enjoyed recently slowed slightly over the Easter weekend. The change in wind to an easterly direction, coupled with bright sunshine, made angling conditions extremely difficult. The majority of anglers fishing Mask this weekend anticipated the start of the olive and Campto buzzer hatches, but unfortunately this was not the case. In bays such as Cushlough and Ballahalla, olives only hatched in small numbers for a short period during the day. Their late arrival is possibly due to the late spring and high water levels.
Waterford anglers Christy Crotty and John Ronayne spent Saturday and Sunday on Mask and they had 4 fish for their efforts. Christy’s best fish was 4.5lbs which he got on his last drift in Cushlough Bay before finishing up. Liam Conroy and his son Damien from Tourmakeady landed 2 fish pulling wets on Sunday last (best fish 1.75lbs). Former World Cup winner Mick Dunne also reported a good day’s fishing on Sunday while fishing with John Purtell from Tipperary. The lads had 13 fish between them (best fish 2lbs). Local angler Kevin Egan fished with Ronan Cusack for a day over the weekend and they had 5 fish (best fish 3lbs all returned). Ballinrobe angler Kevin Sheridan reported catching 6 fish last week on a combination of wets and dries (best fish 2lbs). Gerry McDonnell also from Ballinrobe had 5 fish pulling wets on Wednesday last along the north shore (best fish 1.5lbs, all returned).
The majority of anglers on the lake at the moment are reporting that the number of under size fish they are encountering on each outing is incredible and very much on par with last year. Inland Fisheries Ireland officers are very much aware of this and are out at the moment around the lake carrying out routine checks on both size and bag limits. Anglers are asked to respect the minimum statutory size and bag limits and return any undersize fish to the water as quickly and carefully as possible. (The minimum size limit is 13 inches (33cm) measured from the nose to the fork of the tail, and the bag limit is 4 trout per day per angler.)
Ronan also guides on Mask and can be contacted at [email protected] or at 087 2869487