About 50 anglers fished the New Year’s Day salmon opener on the Drowes. As the week progressed conditions deteriorated with stormy weather and plenty of rain putting the river into flood by the weekend. Shane Gallagher reports…
01 January: At the end of the first day of the 2018 salmon fishing no fish have been landed. One fresh fish was reported lost by Andrew Mc Donnell on flying c from the Black Gutter. Conditions this morning were wet and very windy, becoming more settled in the afternoon. Current water level is 0.855 metres. The forecast for tomorrow Tuesday is for further heavy showers with winds strengthening towards evening. A big thank you to the 50 or so anglers who braved the conditions to cast a line on the first day of the season.
04 January: All the colours of the rainbow but no silver yet. Fishing conditions have deteriorated considerably since opening day and the river is now in full flood at just under 1 metre on the gauge at the Four Masters Bridge. No further fresh fish have been reported hooked or lost and it will take a drop in water levels for prospects to improve.
06 January: We’ve had persistent heavy rain so the river is now in full flood, making for difficult fishing conditions. The weather outlook is for colder, drier conditions over coming days which should see a drop in water levels and an improvement in fishing prospects.
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River Drowes
The Drowes Fishery is one of Ireland’s premier spring salmon and grilse fisheries. The river is some 5 miles in length, with over 70 named pools, flowing from Lough Melvin at Lareen Bay and entering the sea at Tullaghan, just outside Bundoran. The Drowes has a wide variety of water suitable for all fishing methods, including several miles of good fly water and deeper slower moving pools suitable for spinning and bait fishing.
For information and bookings on the Drowes Fishery & Lough Melvin see http://www.drowessalmonfishery.com
Tel: 071 9841055 (8am to 12 noon).
Mob: +353 (0) 87 8050806
