It’s been a wild and blustery week as we endured a couple of strong wind warnings and, while writing this, the wind continues to howl and swirl around the house with some heavy showers rattling the windows. But, there have been some intermittent spells of genuinely warm sunshine over the past week where, wrapped up to face the elements, you are pleasantly surprised to feel the heat of the sun penetrate through the layers.
Those patches of warmth are critical for early season trout anglers as they stimulate the fly hatches that finally get things moving after the long winter months. And for those lucky enough to live within 5km, a number of our top trout angling loughs opened up again this week. Unfortunately, the wind probably kept plenty of boats on the shore so we don’t have any reports of the fishing in yet. Still, we do have another fly tying masterclass from Peter Driver where he focuses on that most important early-season trout fly: the buzzer. Peter has drafted in top Corrib angler Basil Sheilds to give a host of tips on how to rig and fish the buzzer, so this one is a must for those of us hoping that we’ll be able to cast a line on the loughs before too long…
Unfortunately, the wind kept the boats on the shore of Lough Currane, as Vincent Appleby reports on a blustery week down in Waterville. But luckily we have a couple of entertaining YouTube clips of anglers in pursuit of salmon to keep our interest going while we are away from the riverbanks. And lady luck played a helping hand in Andrew McGall’s fine catch as a cast that could have gone horribly wrong turned out to be the one that ‘hit the spot’. Meanwhile, prolific YouTuber Marcin Kantor gives us a blow by blow account of his quest to catch his first salmon. It didn’t happen first time for him, but as we all know, perseverance pays, and after trying a few different methods it all came good in the end.
Some anglers were able to get out and cast a line within 5km of their house, and Longford angler Daniel Daly was one who made the most of his opportunity. Fishing with his brother and a friend, they managed to get 16 pike over a few different sessions, which led to smiles all round.
Stefan Marting of Killybegs Mariners SAC continues to reap the rewards of his lockdown fishing on the local piers and harbours. There seems to be plenty of different species showing up, and they are falling to a range of methods, including jigs, lures and bait.
Finally, Inland Fisheries Ireland and Blackrock Education Centre are calling on aspiring young poets to put pen to paper in a water-themed poetry competition. Aimed at 5th and 6th class primary students, the task is to write a poem with the first letter of each line spelling the word STREAM. There are some prizes on offer for the top three poems, so that should spark some creativity, and hopefully we’ll be flooded with entries.
And now the weather…
Mostly cloudy and breezy at first this afternoon with outbreaks of rain and a risk of flooding in the south. Brighter conditions with sunny spells and scattered heavy showers will extend from the west this afternoon. Mild, with highs of 10°C to 12°C. Strong southerly winds will moderate this afternoon, but remaining strong to near gale force on eastern coasts. The blustery weather is set to continue for the next few days as a showery weather pattern takes hold over the weekend with gusty winds and temperatures remaining relatively mild. The winds will increase again early next week, bringing some wet weather on Monday night before becoming more settled later in the week.
Safe fishing to all and tight lines, especially here in Ireland.
Shane O’Reilly
Catch, Photo, Release
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