Fin Lough before the thunderstorm
Fin Lough before the thunderstorm

Most anglers, whether at sea or fishing in freshwater had to fish in extremely bright conditions last week. There were occasional showers, and even the odd thundery downpour but for the most part it was a week of sunny, hot weather in which many fish took to the depths and other shadowy places…

Low water received anglers at most salmon fisheries last week and the Drowes was no exception. Coupled with the hot bright weather, it is no surprise that only a handful of fish were landed. At Ballisodare the conditions were so unsuitable that by Thursday no fish could be caught, although some success was enjoyed to that point with 17 salmon landed. On the Moy the unsuitable conditions took their toll on catches but nonetheless a few really good springers to 19.07lb were caught. The lake fisheries are not so dependent on water levels as the rivers and Carromore’s anglers enjoyed better fishing with 20 salmon for the week. At Lough Beltra this rule of thumb held true and a good number of salmon between 6 and 9lb were taken. Anglers at Delphi had a tough time with low, dead clear water, bright sunshine and hot days, but amazingly a couple of very good fish were had from the river. One river which suffered from a high water was the Corrib at the Galway Fishery where 4 gates were open but there still 11 salmon caught including a a few grilse. There seven fish reported on the Feale last week, but low water has seen the catches dry up. The Laune was not stuck for water last week and as of Monday the levels were described as “beautiful”! Not many salmon are being caught but there are a few sea trout to be had. Unlike the lakes in the west, Currane was not much of a refuge for anglers in the sunny weather  and it was only the change in weather early this week that saw a couple of salmon caught. The nearby Owenmore Fishery has also benefitted from the rain and there are now sea trout well distributed through out the system with conditions very favourable to anglers. There were a couple of salmon reports from the Mealagh and Ilen and West Cork and the Bandon also saw a few salmon met by anglers particularly after the small flood they had. The Lee has been quite low and not many salmon are being caught, though there is always the chance that the run of water from the dam might stir a fish if you can present a suitable lure to him.

Mayfly is up now on Loughs Conn and Cullin and some great catches were had over the weekend on dry fly. A few trout were also reported from Lough Arrow where fishing was described as difficult but rewarding and Mayfly are starting to hatch in bigger numbers. There good hatches of Mayfly and Olives across Lough Mask and fishing was excellent despite the challenging conditions. Around the shores of Corrib and on its islands the sight of whitethorn blossom was welcomed by anglers who know that it heralds the Mayfly hatches in earnest. There were some good fish 6lb boated on the dapp, and there are still fish to be had on buzzers and wetfly. It is only in the last 24 hours that Sheelin joined the ranks of those lakes where the Mayfly is up. Fishing to now has mostly been to the buzzers. Buzzer fishing has also seen some great rainbow trout caught on Lough Lene, particularly on dry fly. Hawthorn fly at Carrigavantry produced a great rise of fish at that Waterford rainbow fishery.

Stephen O'Brien - Cork harbour 26 inch mullet
Stephen O’Brien – wins Catch of the Week for this 66cm mullet

After a tough three day event on the beaches of Co Wexford the winners of the EFSA European Shore Angling Championship 2016 were announced last night at the awards ceremony in the Upton Court Hotel in Kilmuckridge. The final placing’s saw German anglers make a clean sweep across the boards with their A Team taking gold in the team event, they also had gold and silver in the individual event and gold and silver in the ladies event. A sterling Irish performance saw the Irish A team improve from bronze to silver on the final day just pipping the Italian B team who took the bronze.  Small boat anglers in Cork Harbour are getting some great pollack on fly and lure. At times the fishing can be patchy but there are also some good cod to 8lb to be had. Staying in the Harbour, Catch of the Week goes to Stephen O’Brien for his fabulous 66cm mullet caught on bread fly. A mullet of this size is likely to weigh well in excess of 8lb. Charterboats off the west coast made the most of the settled weather and some great fishing was had off Kerry and Clare with a range of species that included bluemouth and skate.

Good pike fishing was reported from Lough Gowna where anglers had up to pike to 14lb in a local competition. French and Swiss anglers reported that Lough Oughter is fishing well with pike to 100cm landed. Four Dutch anglers staying in the Longford area had 155 pike with many in double figures. The best was a smashing pike of 29lb. Lough Lene is not just home to Rainbow and brown trout, there are plenty of pike there too and despite blazing sun some good fish have been had recently.

Congratulations to 2015 Team Ireland Youth International, Jordan Hall who wins the 41st Classic Fishing Festival. Jordan’s incredible catch of 28.180kg,made up of 100 perch, hybrids and roach to 2lbs at Boa Island on Friday secured him the title with a total weight of 59.400kg over the three days of the competition. Fishing on Garadice Lake has improved greatly with some anglers fishing newly cleared swims opposite Paddy Macs and they report 40/50lb mixed bags. Belgian anglers in the Longford area had decent bags of bream and hybrids and also enjoyed good roach and tench fishing. There were also good reports from Ballybay and the Grand Canal at Daingean.

Inland Fisheries Ireland is seeking submissions from interested parties in respect of a number of proposed Bye-laws pertaining to the Eastern / Neagh Bann International River Basin Districts. Inland Fisheries Ireland intends requesting the Minister to introduce Bye-laws for Lough Lene, Lough Muckno and the River Vartry with a view to enabling improved management of these waters in a sustainable manner. For further information please see: http://www.fisheriesireland.ie/Public-Consultation/eastern-and-neagh-bann-international-river-basin-districts-revision-update-of-certain-regulations.html

Its going to be a wet weekend with widespread rain over the weekend. Winds will be from the South and Southwest but will swing to the North on Sunday, with more sunny spells, and continue from there through Monday. There may be a return to settled conditions on Tuesday.

Safe fishing to all and tight lines, especially here in Ireland.

Myles Kelly

Catch, Photo, Release

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