Trout fishing on the Nore has remained slow in most of the popular spots due to the unusually warm and dry weather conditions of recent weeks. Despite the unsuitable fishing conditions there have been some decent reports coming in from the Thomastown area in recent days. One Angler from the Thomastown / Inistioge area reported that Trout are rising in the evening to dry fly (size 20), with Parachutes and Ginger Quill being popular. Sizes being caught are ranging between 4 inchs and 10 inches respectively.
A Trout fishing competition will take place in the Thomastown Angling club on the 8th and 9th of September, there are 21 teams registered to date and a waiting list! Beats will be along the Ballygallon and Mount Juliet areas.
Mout Juliet and surrounding area
Dan O’Neill at the Mount Juliet Estate reports on the trout fishing on the Nore…
With the end of the season unfortunately in sight I’m trying to cram in as many fishing sessions as I possibly can with novice and experienced anglers alike. I’m always willing to learn new ways to trick the crafty brown trout and my session this time was with a good friend of mine Pa O’Shea. Pa is an angler who likes to fish in small challenging rivers so I knew I could learn some new ways in which to trick the more wary trout on the fishery. Location today was Mount Juliet and the weather all day was humid and slightly overcast. Air temperature was 22 degrees and water was at 16.8C. The water height has been steady over the past week moving between .17 and .19m on the gauge.
Our first area was at the top end of the fishery. Pa started with a Hares Ear nymph which 2 small trout fell to. In search of something slightly larger he changed to a wet fly and had quite a bit of success with that but no sign of anything larger. After watching Pa for 1 hour I decided it was time for me to throw a line. Starting out with a wet fly I fished the next run down from Pa. Watching real flies on the water and trying to identify them resulted in my first missed take. sSo now it was time to pay attention. You never really know how quick your reactions are until you get a take from a trout whilst concentrating (of course) and not admiring the fly life. So I was into my first of this evening, a nice brown with very vivid colours and in fabulous condition. One other fish followed this trout some casts later. Taking a last look at the surroundings and beautiful run it was time to hit the next beat.

With the fly life now in full swing and the heads of hungry trout bobbing up more frequently it was time to change to a dry fly. I fished the head of the pool to the middle reach while Pa fished the middle to lower reach. First fish to the net was a quiet plump dace who hit the fly reasonably hard. Listening to the noise of rising trout I heard some erratic splashing downstream from me which of course was Pa into a nice brown trout larger than the previous fish of the evening.
I decided to change fly and try something a smaller “white midge”. Placing a cast on the current line of the opposite eddy my fly glided nicely down the food line when one of those heads popped up and took the fly. Lifting into the fish gave all the usual noises and feelings that gets every angler’s heart racing. Then within a mouse’s heartbeat your brain goes through all the motions of trying to figure out the details of your catch. You then as an angler try to enjoy the fight and savour the moment and when you land the fish this is exactly what happens and it stays with you as a great memory. Then there’s the lost fish that you didn’t get to see that keeps you awake at night and remains the infamous “fishermans tale” which unfortunately is what happened to the trout I just lifted into.
Running the fly down the run for perhaps a further 12/15 times I had 2 nice trout that were quite plump and in great condition. I turned my attention to Pa for the remainder of the session and watched him fish and what a treat and delight it was too. Great to go fishing with someone who is used to fishing for the wary wild browns of the smaller rivers. His different approach to certain things is something I will adopt in my further angling adventures.

So far this season I’ve noticed that we have a lot of trout along our fishery that are small but that means hopefully that in a few years with the right care along our river systems they will thrive and grow into larger trout thus making sport for ourselves and indeed our future generations. Something that will give many enjoyable evenings and of course some frustrating ones,
Dan O’Neill
Mount Juliet Estate.
Go fishing…
Mount Juliet House is set on a large estate, which offers private fishing on 2.5 miles of the middle to lower reaches of the River Nore. Mount Juliet Estate offers fishing of the highest quality, just a short stroll away from the Manor House. There is a fishing room on site in the Manor House for your convenience i.e. for storage and drying of fishing equipment. Mount Juliet Estate can also provide the necessary equipment on site if needed.
https://www.mountjuliet.ie/fishing-on-the-estate.html