Dan O’Neill reports from the River Nore…
The riverbank and indeed the river’s transformation is well underway at this stage, small swarms of flies can be seen when the sun decides to show its presence and slight heat,
The river itself is dropping and its beautiful pools and runs are more visible and remind us more of our wonderful summer sessions of seasons past. After a nice observational stroll Pa and I decided to fish George’s Wall. The water was running slightly high but clear. Our first choice today was a pink shrimp pattern, a wonderfully coloured pattern tied up by Pa himself.
Pa began at the head of the run and after 4 or 5 throws set into the first fish. It’s great to see the fly rod bent and fly line leading to the waters surface. Unfortunately on this occasion the hook didn’t have a strong enough hold and the trout in question got away without getting his or her picture taken! After a few more casts Pa again was into another fish. It was fighting quite hard and showing the acrobatic skills that are mostly associated with our beautiful brownies this fish indeed stayed long enough for a picture and what a lovely picture it was too.
I decided to change to a peeping caddis and had one fish that decided it was also camera shy and fled. The rest of our session showed a few small salmon parr which is indeed great to see and there is a very strong run this year of these little fellows which is of course a good sign. It’s very important to be mindful and careful when unhooking this little lads as they are the future of salmon angling.
13 April
Very tough windy conditions today on the fishery. We had 4 anglers in total brave the wind. Between them they did very well considering conditions, having 8 trout all to three quarters of a pound. The pink shrimp and peeping caddis fished best.
It was and has been a very rewarding week for me getting to see the fishery produce such a fine stamp of trout,the trout catch is up and also the trout weight average is up from this time last season. For the time of year the trout are in great condition, vivid colouration and weight healthy. There has been some fly activity also which is great to see and trout were active around the surface for short intervals throughout the day,
Overall a great weekend despite tough conditions,
With a busy week of fishing ahead and the water just coming to the right levels hopefully I will be lucky enough to meet a few nice brownies along the stretch.
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.
