The weather has been nothing short of Mediterranean this week, with blue skies and temperatures up to 26C in the western half of the country. The jetstream is remaining north of Ireland, dragging up warm air from southern climes and giving most people a welcome taste of summer. While spate rivers suffer in this weather, the bigger rivers benefit from lower flows, and salmon angling this week has been best on those bigger rivers, with the Moy and Blackwater both fishing well.

 

This is the very beautiful Ballincurrig Beat with the famous Churchill's pool at the end.
This is the very beautiful Ballincurrig Beat (Ballyduff Bridge) with the famous Churchill’s pool at the end.

 

The Blackwater saw a good run of fish this week, and with ideal conditions for the fly, anglers took advantage and landed some fine fish. The Moy continued its fine form, with over 200 fish reported for the week, while Carrowmore Lake defied the hot weather and produced a good number of spring salmon, most released. The Boyne produced a fine 16lbs salmon caught on fly by Spanish angler Ignacio, and released again. Elsewhere, low water and bright sunshine means that most rivers need a drop of rain to get salmon taking.

 

 

Despite the tropical conditions, Corrib fared reasonably well, with good mayfly fishing up to the weekend, and some fine fish landed. Buzzer fishing has also produced, with late evening buzzer hatches providing some good sport, and early morning Caenis hatches getting underway in some areas. Indeed, with temps in the mid-twenties by day, the best sport is often early and late in these conditions. Spent and dry fly has also been successful on Lough Arrow, with a good hatch this week getting trout feeding.

 

Adrian Gorman with a nice trout on buzzer
Adrian Gorman with a nice trout on buzzer

 

Coarse angling has been very good this week in spite of the bright sunshine. Tench fishing has picked up at Lanesborough, and competition anglers have reported good bags from venues as diverse as Lough Ree, Leitrim and Lough allua in Cork, where anglers relocated from the closed Carrigadrohid Reservoir enjoyed excellent fishing, with 30kg on one day for overall winner of the O’Callaghan’s Festival, Jim Brockie, who finished with an impressive 3-day total of 51kg! The Catch of the Week came from a lake venue in the midlands, where Tommy McGee caught a cracking rudd of 4lbs 3.375oz, just a few ounces shy of the Irish record, if confirmed as a rudd.

 

Rudd or Rudd/Roach Hybrid
Catch of the Week: Tommy McGee’s Rudd or Rudd/Roach Hybrid weighed in at 4lb 3 and 3/8oz

 

Speaking of Inniscarra and Carrigadrohid which were closed during the outbreak of carp edema virus (CEV) at the Lough and Belvelly, these venues will now open from tomorrow, June 1st. The Lough and Belvelly Lake remain closed for the foreseeable future. IFI urges all anglers to act responsibly in relation to bio security measures. Full information on how to safely clean angling gear and minimise the risk of spreading pathogens and invasive species can be found at: http://www.fisheriesireland.ie/documents/358-invasive-species-biosecurity-guidelines-for-anglers-leaflet-1.html

 

Despite the bright conditions, some decent pike fishing has been reported this week from the Newbridge Anglers and O’Casey’s Anglers, Co. Monaghan, who both fished river venues, although no monsters were caught with the best fish 12lbs. A change in weather is probably needed to improve pike fishing, which rarely produces well in a heatwave.

 

Sea angling has probably benefited most from the benign weather conditions, with sea temperatures improving and slack winds allowing more boat access to offshore marks. Bass fishing has certainly picked up, with good fishing reported from Cork and Kerry, while some lovely boat fishing was reported from Killala Bay.  The downside of the good weather, however, is that anglers and skippers are busy fishing, and don’t have time to write reports on fishing, so we may have to wait until next week, or a break in the weather, to find out how they’re getting on!

 

And now the weather…

We’ve had a week of warm and mostly dry weather, and incredibly, it’s set to continue like this for at least another week! Temperatures are set to hit the mid-twenties on quite a few days, warmest in the midlands and west, with cooling easterly breezes keeping it more bearable in the east. There is a risk of thundery showers in a few places up to Saturday, but it looks dry for the most part. As ever when fishing, if a thunderstorm approaches, stop fishing and seek shelter. Fishing rods are lightning conductors – don’t be holding it when there is electrical activity about!

With the bank holiday weekend upon us, more people will be out fishing and enjoying the fine weather, but safety is extremely important. Please remember your lifejacket if going afloat, tell someone where you are going and what time you expect to return, and carry a mobile phone with you in case of emergencies. And don’t forget the sunscreen!

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

Kevin Crowley
Catch, Photo, Release

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