The title is nothing to do with music and you knew this but I suppose that this depends on what you regard as music to your ears. In my case the sound of a five or six pound trout sipping down a spent gnat imperceptibly in the evening gloom is indeed music to my ears. I can’t see them as well as I used to but I still enjoy the experience.
A change in wind direction to east and north has slowed the fishing just a tad on Lough Sheelin on a number of days earlier this week but there were still plenty of fish to be had and some great catch reports with some large fish to 8.5lbs were received. I am sure that Brenda Montgomery will have further in-depth reports in the coming weeks giving a more detailed and comprehensive insight into this weeks fishing. See Brenda’s previous reports here. Fish are being taken on wets and dries and the spent fishing has been both sporadic and spectacular on certain evenings but again some anglers had some really great fishing.
Paul Moinester from the USA visited on Tuesday with angling guide Peter Cunningham and John Baker. Hatches of fly were occurring throughout the day and heavy rain in the morning changed the feel of the day completely. Torrential rain and squally conditions gave way to bright sunny calm periods. The conditions changed throughout the whole of the day.
The fish were still on though and I boated a small one early on a mosely mayfly. John boated a couple of nice ones and then I hit into a nice two and a half to three pound fish which threw me after several acrobatic jumps. What I like to call the long line release. Varying the technique a little I then stuck into a really good one again on dry fly. A couple of runs around the boat and a few surface kicks revealed a spade of a tail, a really big tail. As I reached for the net my line slipped under the heel of my boot and a surprisingly strong run caught me out and as I released the slack line it pinged as the line broke.
At this stage John came into his own and boated several very nice fish on wets and he consistently boated fish right through to the spent fishing in the evening where he again picked of several fish on his own patterns. John is also an accomplished fly tyer.
Paul and Peter were fishing hard as well and Peter boated a nice three pound fish. Paul also had a couple of fish on what his first foray out on an Irish Lough and first experience of Lough style fishing. We all agreed that the fish were acting a little oddly probably due to the change in weather. They were coming short to the fly and varying the presentation and speed of the retrieve was important. As the boats circled for the fall of spent in the evening you could cut the anticipation with a knife. A beautiful evening, but was it going to happen. The periods of inactivity were punctuated by bursts of activity as some small pods of fish tucked into the spents.
The day finished all too quickly. Its amazing how quickly 10 or 12 hours passes in this fantastic environment. The fishing, the flies, the environment and the company all make this a fantastic experience. All have vowed that we will try again before the mayfly finishes. Paul Moinester commented after his first day Lough fishing “with the chance of a bestial five-pound brown devouring your mayfly dry on every cast, Lough Sheelin inspires ultimate focus and produces exhilarating moments and days regardless of how many trophy fish grace your net.”
If you fancy a days guided fishing for trout why not contact Peter at 086 4682516 or by email at [email protected]
