April 1st to Sunday 23rd June 2019.
The fishery is Catch & Release once again in 2019. There were nice water levels around the 4th April but then we suffered with low water levels for weeks thereafter.
The drought did not break until the 30th May, 7 weeks later! This gave nice water levels for the last two days of May.
The first week in June also brought decent rain and good water levels but then it was back to low summer water levels which have persisted to now with only a minor fresh on the 17th June. The fishery was quiet overall, hardly surprising given the low water conditions for the greater part.
The 1st salmon of the season was caught on the 28th May. This was a 10lb salmon caught & released on fly by Alan Watson on beat 8. The following day Alan caught & released a further salmon weighing 8lb on fly from beat 8. On the 30th May, Davey Sullivan caught & released a 10lb salmon on fly from beat 8. On the 31st May, Sam McMenamin caught & released a 9lb salmon on fly from beat 5.
On the 1st June, Davey Sullivan caught & released an 11lb salmon on a spinner from beat 8. Sam McMenamin caught & released a 6lb salmon on fly from beat 4 and Mark Barbour caught & released a 12lb salmon on fly from beat 7. On the 4th June, Brian Smith caught & released a 4lb grilse on fly from beat 9 and Uel Stewart caught & released a fine 15lb salmon on fly from beat 8.
On the 17th June, during the minor fresh, Alan Watson caught & released an 8lb salmon on fly from 8 and Davey Sullivan caught & released a 4lb sea trout on fly from beat 9. On the 20th, Alan Watson caught & released a 9lb salmon on fly from beat 8.
The forecast for the coming week is for the weather to turn very warm and thunder storms. Hopefully this will equate to some good water levels in the river. It may be very humid given the forecast and the biting midges around here are looking excited. ‘Nets and Jungle Formula’ guys!
For info/bookings etc. on the Owenea Fishery –
Tel: 074 9551141. (9am to 1pm April to May & 7am to 1pm June to Sept).
