It was another cool enough week but spring is certainly doing its best to catch up on itself. There is so much birdsong to be heard when your out and when the sun shines at all you can feel it warm your bones. The Duck Fly was a little late this year, but it is up now, and that extra hour in the day will become really useful when you’re on the water…
There were a couple of more salmon from the Munster Blackwater last week, six from the Lee and one from the Bandon. The Laune and Killarney Lakes reported no fish, but Lough Currane did well and it was great to see more of the fish there being released. The Moy had a good week and 25 salmon were reported on a mix of methods. Lough Beltra had a couple of springers on Sunday, a great start to the season there. The Drowes had another good week and 18 salmon were caught. The outlook for Easter is very encouraging, with most fisheries reporting good water levels and fish moving.
There was good fishing on the Suir at the weekend. Sunday’s sunny weather didn’t bring the fish up but they were keen enough on nymphs. In the midlands there was good fishing reported on Lough Owel and Lough Lene. Trout anglers on Corrib were relieved to hear that the first Duck Fly were up and some boats have been getting some decent fishing already. Better late than never! Catch of the Week goes to another big trout caught and released by a pike angler. This time the fish was caught on the River Erne but the lure looks very similar to the last big Catch of the Week trout.
The annual Waterways Ireland Open at St. Mullins got off to a slow start but in the end produced some top weights of dace for the winning anglers as all enjoyed their river fishing on the tidal section of the River Barrow. The Sheemore Anglers reported some tough days in Leitrim on both canal and lake venues as the cool conditions did little to improve the fishing there. Meanwhile on the Shannon at Portumna nets to 14lb were weighed in at the final of the Munster Coarse Anglers Winter League.
Kit Dunne is back amongst the specimens this year as the bigger spurdog return to the Wicklow area. John Fleming’s anglers on Galway Bay continue to enjoy good sport with pollack to double figures on light gear. The Killybeg Mariners are back again with reports of good coalies and flounders during a night session kicked off by a glorious sunset and crowned with a display of shooting stars.
And now the weather..
Cool tomorrow with occasional showers, more frequent across eastern coastal counties. Good spells of sunshine over Connacht and west Ulster. Highs of 6 to 9C in fresh NE winds. Lots of dry and bright weather on Saturday with sunny spells and just isolated showers, these most likely in eastern coastal counties. Brisk northeasterly winds will ease during the day. Top temperatures of 6 to 9 degrees. Sunday will begin largely dry with sunny intervals and isolated showers. However, cloud is expected to build from the south during the day with rain extending to southern coastal counties during the afternoon. Maximum temperatures of 5 to 8 degrees in freshening easterly winds. The rain will extend gradually a bit further northwards on Sunday night. Minimum temperatures of -1 to +3 degrees. Monday is set to be a cold day in strong and gusty east or northeast winds with maximum temperatures of just 3 to 7 degrees. Details uncertain at this stage but there is the risk of wet weather becoming more widespread with some wintry falls in parts. Tuesday and Wednesday look much te same at this time. That’s what you get for having Easter so early I suppose…
Safe fishing to all and tight lines, especially here in Ireland.
Myles Kelly
Catch, Photo, Release
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Headlines
Salmon angling news
- Anglers catch and release some fine springers on Currane
- A good week on the Drowes and prospect remain positive
- Anglers report no catch on Laune or lake as temperatures too low
- 25 salmon from Moy, prospects look good
- A few salmon from the Lee last week
- Water levels suit fly on Bandon, one salmon last week
- Lough Beltra gets its first salmon of the year
- Sun shines on the Munster Blackwater and salmon caught
Coarse angling reports
- Good Weights at Munster CAC Final Winter League Match
- Tough fishing in Leitrim for Sheemore anglers
- Good bags of dace in Waterways Ireland Open at St. Mullins
Trout angling reports
- Corrib cold but fishing picks up as Duck Fly starts
- Good rainbows at Lough Lene Cup
- Owel update, high and cold but trout taking
- Huge trout for pike angler on the Erne
- Nice trout from the Suir at weekend
Pike angling reports
Sea angling reports
- Cool but some great fishing along Donegal Bay
- Spurdogs back for Wicklow Boat Charters
- Pollack fishing thick and fast on Galway Bay
