Lough Currane and River Inny updates from Vincent Appleby and the Waterville Lakes and Trust…
4/7/18 This 4th of July was the hottest day since the American independence, that might be a slight exaggeration, but if you were an angler on Lough Currane today it would feel like it especially if one landed on one of the islands at lunchtime, so God only knows what the fish feel like, very lethargic one would think, plus one must take into consideration also the lake is very low and to catch fish in theses conditions you can take your hat off in celebration and as you all have seen he can be caught if your out there, mind its getting harder. Wind NW light to fresh and bright and sunny all day. Yesterday’s weather, maximum air temperature 23.9c.
5/7/18 The Currane Anglers had a cooler day but sadly the wild Atlantic Salmon are staying in a dormant mode. On the Sea Trout front it was reported to me that one boat caught and released one Junior, I take it, it was caught on the fly, but I could be jumping to the wrong conclusion and I’m sure I will soon be corrected if I have failed miserably in my duties. Wind West light with reasonable cloud cover. Yesterday’s weather, maximum air temperature 19.3c.
6/7/18 Believe it or believe it not there was light misty rain in Waterville this morning so light infact it will be interesting to see did it register, in meteorological language when it is so light, its a trace and I can tell you going by my mobile phone there was no trace of action on Lough Currane today in the Wild Atlantic game fishing department and with the water levels being so low it’s not surprising. Wind W light with reasonable cloud cover and very warm this afternoon, yesterday’s weather, maximum air temperature 19.6c. Going back to low water levels the Inland Fisheries have a special message for river anglers and I quote. Inland Fisheries Ireland is appealing to anglers and fishery managers to voluntarily cease salmon angling on catch and release rivers with immediate effect due to high water temperatures and the current drought conditions. The agency also advises for conservation purposes on open rivers, anglers should cease angling once their daily bag limit is reached
7/7/18 The Currane anglers sweated out again this warm day, but sadly their sweat didn’t rise the lake and there was no rise out of the Wild Atlantic Game Fish either. Wind W light with reasonable cloud cover at times. Yesterday’s weather, maximum air temperature 20.0c.
8/7/18 Lough Currane maybe low but this didn’t deter UK angler Mr. Jim Marriot from catching a fine Salmon on the fly, while fishing with his gillie Mr. Neil O’Shea of www.oshealoughcurrane.com and as you can see by the photo it was put back to fight another day.
Now back to the dry weather believe it or not there is still fresh water flowing into Currane as you can see by the video, mind you Kerry anglers in Listowel are bone dry and the same goes for the Kenmare anglers who are also looking at a dry river, so we Currane anglers have no excuse, on that sarcastic note I have to say easier said than done. Wind NW light variable and sunny. Yesterday’s weather,maximum air temperature 20. 8c.
9/7/18 Currane anglers had to endure another scorching day on Currane and with all their hard efforts, be it the early shift or the evening shift, their reels were all quiet on the SW front. Wind NE light with bright and sunny for most of the day. Yesterday’s weather, maximum air temperature 19.9c
10/07/18 The Currane anglers were the only ones that got crisped and fried today as the Wild Atlantic Game Fish stayed dormant in the deep waters of Currane preserving their oxygen. Wind NW light, reasonable cloud cover in the morning and bright sunshine in the afternoon. Yesterday’s weather, maximum air temperature 20.5c.
Vincent Appleby
www.salmonandseatrout.com
The Trust report
A wider remit.
When the Waterville Lakes and Rivers Trust was first established in 2017, it was one of the new ‘Rivers Trusts’ being set up in Ireland, encouraged at that stage by the, also newly established, Local Authority Water and Communities Office -LAWCO. Its remit, as a new Trust, was to serve the wider ‘Public Benefit’ befitting a conservation organization aspiring to Charitable Status. The Waterville Lakes & Rivers Trust has, from the beginning, adopted a much wider sphere of interest than, for instance, that of a local ‘Fishing Club’ and it continues to address a broad range of problematic environmental issues, from the disastrous collapse in our famous sea trout stocks to ongoing pollution events in Ballinskelligs Bay and round our coastline.
Ballinskelligs Bay has, in recent years, become a focus for fly fishing for European Sea Bass and is an ideal, easily easily accessible and wadeable environment for the pursuit of this much prized species. In somewhat happier times the Bass angling was an ideal foil for the freshwater fishing on the lakes and rivers of the twin catchments. The bright sunny conditions we have been experiencing over the last month, where sea trout and salmon fishing would normally be at a standstill, proved to be ideal conditions for chasing the Bass in the shallow waters of the Bay! This variety of angling opportunities clearly contributed to the popularity of Waterville as an Angling ‘destination’.
In 2017 there were a number of local pollution events in Ballinskelligs Bay itself, ranging from excessive nutrient ‘spikes’, possibly generated by the doubling of the size of the Salmon Farm at Deenish Island (see copy of one of the charts from an analysis of nutrients, carried out by one of our volunteers, from data obtained under the Trust’s Freedom of information requests to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Marine) to agricultural run off of slurry etc. resulting from the extreme weather events over the last twelve months. One of these events involved e-coli pollution in the inner bay resulting in a ban on swimming, on what is supposed to be a pristine beach, and a kill off of many inshore species such as crabs, shrimps and juvenile sea fishes.
The Trust is continuing its efforts in monitoring water quality in both freshwater and inshore and in particular the problematic ‘events’ in the Bay, on a regular basis. There is now a greater awareness of the extreme sensitivity of these pristine environments to even small changes in water quality and anglers visiting Waterville to shore fish for bass are asked to report to the Trust any untoward conditions they may encounter.
In the meantime the Waterville Lakes & Rivers Trust is very much committed to its wider remit.
Rod Robinson
Waterville Lakes & Rivers Trust
Go fishing…
Vincent Appleby
Eureka Lodge, Caherdaniel West, Co. Kerry.
Telephone: +353 (0)66 9475248
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: www.salmonandseatrout.com
Waterville Lakes and Rivers Trust
The Waterville Lakes & Rivers Trust, formed by concerned volunteers in 2016, is one of the new Rivers Trusts to be set up in Ireland and is currently aspiring to Charitable Status. Its remit is to protect the fresh and coastal waters of the Iveragh Peninsula.
Find out more and how you can contribute at
Find out more about Lough Currane…
The rivers and lakes of Waterville drain a large catchment and are regarded by many as the foremost Salmon and Sea-Trout fishery in the country. The lake system is well developed with access to boats and guides being readily available to the tourist angler. The Sea-Trout caught here are renowned for their size and quantity. For more details see
