Ronan Cusack reports that strong gales pounded the rocky shorelines of Lough Mask over the past few days, producing some of the best wet fly fishing seen for years! Rod averages of 7/8 plus trout over the limit were not uncommon throughout the week, with large numbers of undersize trout also coming to the fly. Mayfly hatches are reasonable, with trout responding well.
Michael Shovlin and son Michael Jnr, from Tourmakeady fished on Sunday last and they had 14 cracking trout pulling wet-flies in very wild conditions (best fish 3.25lbs, all released). Mick Dunne and Michael Prendergast also from Tourmakeady had 8 on Sunday (best fish 1.5lbs, all released). Simon Mitchell and Victor Long from the UK had a 4 day trip to Lough Mask towards the end of last week. The lads had a total of 68 keepable trout over 4 days, all on wet flies. The best fish of their visit was 4.75lbs and all fish were returned. Dave, Martin and Garry Connor from Co. Armagh fished with Kevin Sheridan, Ballinrobe over the weekend and they had a total of 75 trout on a combination of buzzer and wet fly.
Again this week wet fly is accounting for the majority of the fish, due to the nature of the weather. Forecast for the coming days are for strong winds and temperatures not passing the low teens.
Ronan also guides on Mask and can be contacted at [email protected]
Margaret Gorman from Cong Self-Catering and Boat hire also reported great fishing for their guests. A party from Cavan including Larry Tierney and Pat Bannon averaged 5-7 trout per day, including a nice 2.5lbs trout taken on a Claret Bumble. Wet fly proved very successful, with Green peter and Bumble Olive also taking fish. Chris Loots and Edith Bollen from Belgium enjoyed fine fishing, averaging 15 trout a day, as did another Belgian party with them. Dr. Ian Gordon and wife Rosie fished a day on Carr and reported a great hatch of mayfly, landing a couple of nice fish.
Donal Whiteman and 2 friends celebrated Donal’s impending wedding with a fishy stag party over the weekend, enjoying very good fishing despite the distractions of the pub! German visitor Thomas Burkart averaged 5 trout a day for his visit, and also landed a fine 12lbs spring salmon from the Cong River. Pat Gorman and Adrian Gorman fished in the rain on Sunday and had tremendous sport, landing 20 trout, including 12 on the first drift. They also fished a few hours on Saturday evening and had 7 trout. Mask really is fishing superbly at the moment and producing wet fly fishing to rival anywhere. For further information on accommodation and angling advice, please contact Margaret Gorman at 094 9546582 or check www.congselfcatering.com. Boats are available for hire – with or without outboard motors.
Inland Fisheries Ireland would like to take this opportunity once again to remind anglers that fisheries officers are continually carrying out checks and patrols around Corrib, Mask and Carra lakes to ensure that local bye-laws and regulations are being adhered to. Anglers should be mindful that since 2008 it is illegal to be in possession of any trout under 33cm (13 inches) and that there is a daily bag limit of 4 brown trout per angler per day. Also a 4 trout limit is what it says “A limit” and not a target. So please keep conservation in mind and practice catch and release. All undersize trout must be handled with great care using a wet hand and returned to the water as quickly as possible.
