Robert Connor was fishing with hisĀ good friend and longtime Lough Ree fly-fisherman Donal Hegarty near the Portlick area of the lakeĀ last Tuesday. Ā There was a nice fall of spent that particular evening and some really big fish started to rise.Ā Donal had a fish over 4lbs that he sportingly returned.Ā Late in theĀ evening (approaching 10pm) Robert had his own fishĀ onĀ a spent gnat mayfly – a beauty of over 6lb.
Robert reports thatĀ not many other fish caught, and any other fishermen theyĀ met hadn’t doneĀ any good.
Also on the lake last week was Robert Downey.Ā The trout was caught with a Green Drake at about 3pm on Saturday 23rd May and weighed 6lb. Conditions were dry, breezy and overcast. RobertĀ was fishing with my friend Joe McCormack from Boher Co. Westmeath. Robert tells us that this was hisĀ first excursion for the “mayfly” in a number of years and heĀ was absolutely shaking after the battle. Normally a salmon angler on hisĀ native river Feale in Listowel, Kerry, he was quick toĀ acknowledge the fantastic fight this fish put up.
There areĀ still lots of mayfly hatching on the lake but fishing conditions have been really difficult with the wind and cold evenings. The best hope for catching some of these big Lough Ree trout would seem to be late in the evening fishing dry flies. As the weather forecast is set to improve in the coming days, so should chances of catching a fish…
