Lough Sheelin Angling Report By Brenda Montgomery, IFI June 9th – June 15th, 2014
They are the most beautiful fish that God ever put on this earth …
Dick Blalock on brown trout
Letting it go – A 4lb 3oz Trout caught on the dry Mayfly at Holywell
The end of the 2014 mayfly season on Lough Sheelin is fast approaching and this was visually evident by the significantly reduced number of boats on the lake during the week. The evenings and at the weekend did, however see a pick up in numbers of anglers to a reassuring level and there were some good trout caught but it is a stark contrast to two weeks ago when mayfly mania hit the lake and the bays, shorelines and the’ hot spots’ were congested with boats.
It is hard to avoid ‘that crash’ – the anticlimax from where the lake seems to be boiling over with fish and everyone regardless of fishing abilities could catch a fish, to the present time when the lake has adopted a quiet calm with patchy fly life and only sporadic rises of trout.
This week on Sheelin was a little like what they call in running terms ‘the finishers kick’, that last spurt for the end, which in this case is the finish of our mayfly season. Earlier in the week saw good hatches of the greens particularly in Walkers Bay and Kilnahard and for most days what was described as a trickle of spent when out on the water. The trout did not seem to be totally gone off the spent and indeed on some evenings they seemed to be searching the surface water looking for the sparse scattering of this gnat which meant a strategically placed artificial spent struck gold many times for anglers fishing on a drift where the trout were hunting.
Spent gnat at Chambers Bay, Lough Sheelin
Undeniable it has been a busy time on Sheelin over the past number of weeks. This lake has had substantial boat traffic on its surface and ‘duffers fortnight’ has meant that there has been a lot of jagging, snagging, hooking and releasing of fish, it therefore makes sense that the trout are now a little spooked or wary of anything on the water surface and this coupled with the fact that they are literally stuffed with mayfly makes them reluctant to grab at just anything so there is a natural and necessary slowing down on this lake. Despite all this trout however do not stop feeding, instead the angler has to put in a great deal more effort into studying what’s going on in terms of weather and fly life and once the fly is right, the reward will be some nice trout. As one angler said ‘this mayfly season has shown all of us that the heavy weights and numbers of trout are in there and now it’s up to us to figure out how to catch them when conditions do go back to normal’.
The dictionary definition of a duffer is ‘an inexperienced person’ so now this is the time of year that the inexperienced disappear off Sheelin and the experienced angler comes to the fore.
Andrew Brown, Dublin with his 6 ½ trout caught & released using a Spent Gnat
Any local will tell you that Sheelin always ‘goes quiet’ after the mayfly and they will also follow this by saying that this is a good thing and that Lough Sheelin needs this respite.
This lake sometimes gets a ‘survivor hatch’ i.e. a second hatch of mayfly but in truth the sequence for here is mayfly – sedges – murrough – green peter, these will be the dominant species from now until the end of the fishing season. Caenis hatches also feature as well as the alder fly.
Finney’s Caenis Klinkhammer The Leggy Bumble
There were good hatches of sedges during the week particularly at the back of Church Island and along the Bog Bay and Goreport areas of the lake and in sheltered alcoves. Monday and Tuesday’s weather proved problematic and dangerous for anglers as both days were thundery, showery and humid. Rain is never a problem but where there is thunder, lightning is not far away. Modern rods are made of carbon fibre which is an excellent conductor of electricity. Pointing the rod up to the sky with therefore make a perfect natural source for a lightning strike. It can therefore not be over emphasized enough that fly fishing in thunder and lightning is a no go area regardless of age or ability or closeness to god…
The lake did fish surprising well when the thunder and rain cleared with some real beauties being caught. This phenomena where trout all start surfacing to feed after a thunder storm can be attributed to a change in barometric pressure (ref. Weather & fly fishing by Terry Lawton).
Mary Harkin, Dublin (Rory’s Tackle Shop) with her 6lb trout caught & released using a spent gnat
Some anglers had good caenis fishing on the lake during the week. These tiny mayflies are similar to our familiar ‘normal’ mayfly but are deemed by many as not as near as important. Still there were good numbers predominantly hatching in the evenings and along the margins of the lake. Duns emerge just before dark and almost immediately molt into spinners. Ideal conditions are warmth and flat calm. These tiny insects rarely elicit selective feeding but when they do they are very tough to match because they are often much smaller than a size 28. This difficulty along with the fact that they stick to everything and anything earn them the name ‘fisherman’s curse’.
Anglers should seek out quiet sheltered corners with a patch of calm water close to the shore. Goreport Bay, Sailor’s Garden and around the islands in Chambers Bay are particularly good locations. A small nymph will sometimes work, but most success is achieved with an imitation fished dry on a fine leader.
Small hatches of Alder take place and they are especially visible as they sit motionless on the water near the shore on calm sunny days in May and June. Occasionally a trout may be seen to take one and it just is possible to tempt a fish with a natural artificial fished dry.
The Murrough has been slow to appear compared to last year. This great red sedge hatches at dusk usually form late May well into June. Some anglers only fish a single Murrough dry while others the Murrough and a balling buzzer on the dropper. It is claimed that the balling buzzer takes most trout. Some of the largest fish of the season are taken on the Murrough and the most likely places are behind the Stony Islands, Gaffney’s Bay, Ross Bay, Rusheen and the bottom of. Goreport Bay and Bog Bay.
The flies most used this week by anglers were the green Mayfly, the Spent Gnat, a small Brown Sedge (12-14 or smaller), the Bibio, Watsons Fancy, the Fiery Brown Sedge, the Chocolate Drop, the Sooty Olive, the Wulff (grey, royal and green), the red tailed Green Peter, the Welshman’s Button, French Partridge, the Golden Olive Bumble, the Stimulator and a selection of Dabblers.
Finney’s Fiery Dabblers
Martin Browne, Dunleer with his Sheelin catch
Cathal McNaughton, Antrim with his 4lbs 13oz trout caught in Holywell Bay using a Spent Gnat (released)
Finney’s Fiery Brown Dabbler Pseudo Fiery Dabbler
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Please remember anglers to abide by BYE-LAW 790 which strictly prohibits
• All trolling on the lake from March 1st to April 30th (inclusive).
• June 16th – October 12th – no trolling under engine between 7pm – 6am.
• No trout less than 14 inches should be taken from the lake
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
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
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
So please put on and keep on that life jacket until you are back on dry land.
Caoimhe Sheridan, Cavan – getting it right
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 4194156 Telephone: +353 43 6681298 Email: [email protected]
Most of the fish featured in these angling reports are returned carefully and safely to the lake
“It is only the inexperienced and thoughtless who find pleasure in killing fish for the mere sake of killing them. No sportsman does this.” – W.C. Prime, 1888
The heaviest fish for the week was a 6 pounder caught on thursday June 12th by Roger Whittaker, England using a small brown sedge around Bog Bay
Total number of trout recorded for the week: 49
Selection of Catches
Peter McArdle, Dundalk – 1 trout at 5lbs using a Spent Gnat.
James Troy, Navan – 2 trout averaging 2lbs each using a selection of Dabblers.
Pat Brady, Baileborough – 3 trout for the week, heaviest was 3lbs, all on the wets – Golden Olive Bumble as a top dropper.
Mark Linton, Northern Ireland – fishing at the back of Church Island 4 trout, heaviest at 2 ½ lbs using a Spent Gnat.
Joe Foley, Meath – on the Spent 1 trout at 3lbs.
David Foley, Northern Ireland – 2 trout, heaviest at 2 ½ lbs on the Spent Gnat.
Craig Sheridan, Bray – 5 trout up to 2lbs on the Greens and Spent Gnat.
Andrew Doyle, Kells – 5 trout on the Spent Gnat, heaviest at 4lbs.
Brenda Montgomery IFI
