Donavin Brinklow gives us a round up of the season so far, with the Erriff swinging into peak season now as grilse start running in earnest.
May
May was a tough month with little to no rain making conditions difficult. There were 8 salmon and 1 Sea trout caught.
On the 7th Seamus Nee landed the first salmon of the year, weighing 12lbs in Poleen on Beat 4 using a McDermott’s Bagger (no, we don’t know it either!). Peter Coyne was next on the 11th, when he landed a 9lbs salmon in the Bridge Pool on Beat 9 .
On the 19th David Hunt landed an 11lbs salmon in the Garden Pool on Beat 9 using a Willie Gunn and Gregory Hornsby landed a 8lbs ranched salmon on Beat 9 using a Willie Gunn.
Martin Witort landed a 6lbs salmon on Beat 6 on the 21st. On the 23rd Peter Coyne landed a 10lbs salmon on Beat 9 using an Ally’s shrimp. On the 26th Conor O’Leary landed a 10lbs salmon in the Garden Pool on Beat 9 using a Cascade.
And finally, on the 27th May Lars Friebergshauser landed a 7lbs salmon and a 2lbs sea trout in the Garden Pool on Beat 9 using a Sunray pattern.
June
A better month with 55 salmon and 31 sea trout caught.
Des Chew kicked June off on the 3rd when he landed a 5lbs salmon in the Garden Pool on Beat 9.
The next day John Ryan landed a 2.5lbs salmon on Beat 9 using a Cascade and John Phelan landed 5 sea trout between 1lbs and 2.5lbs also on a Cascade.
On the 5th June Matthew Brinklow landed 2 sea trout around 1lbs on a black and silver shrimp pattern and John Phelan landed 4 sea trout between 0.5lbs and 1lb.
Amenda Sebastian landed a 5lbs salmon on the 8th in the Garden Pool on Beat 9 using a Sunray, and Peter Coyne landed a 12.5lbs salmon in the Falls Pool on Beat 9 using a Willie Gunn.
On the 10th Declan Convery landed a 10 lbs salmon in the Coronation Pool on Beat 8 using a Sunray. The day after, Seamus O’Neill landed a 10.25lbs salmon in the Bridge Pool on Beat 9 using a Willie Gunn and Donavin Brinklow landed a 12lbs salmon in the Garden Pool and a 9lbs salmon in the Sea Pool using a Posh Tosh. Conor O’Leary also landed a 4.5lbs salmon in the Sea Pool 9 using a Collie Dog. Conor Reynolds landed a 2.5lbs salmon in the Coronation Pool on Beat 8.
Michael Wade landed a 4lbs salmon on the 12th in the Sea Pool on Beat 9. On the 13th, John Phelan landed a 12lbs salmon in the Falls Pool on Beat 9 and Peter Murphy landed a 4lbs salmon in the Sea Pool using a Cascade.
More sport on the 14th, with Jake Delany landing a 4lbs and a 10lbs salmon in the Falls Pool on Beat 9 and John Phelan landed a 4 lbs salmon, also on Beat 9. On the 16th Robin Keady landed a 4lbs salmon on Beat 9 using a Cascade, and the next day Seamus O’Neill landed a 12lbs salmon in the Falls Pool on Beat 9.
18th June Jim Ryan landed two 3lbs salmon on a Cascade in the Garden Pool and a 5lbs salmon in the Falls Pool using an orange shrimp pattern. Michael Wade landed a 3.5lbs salmon on Beat 5 using a small Sunray . On the 19th John Ryan landed a 3lbs salmon in the Falls Pool and 5 sea trout between 1lbs and 1.5lbs on Beat 9.Peter Coyne landed a 5lbs salmon in the Falls Pool using a Cascade.
23rd June Ken Livingstone landed a 3.5lbs and a 5.5lbs salmon, and 2 sea trout, in the Garden Pool using a Connemara Black, and Lucy Livingstone landed a 5lbs salmon in the Garden Pool and 3 sea trout. Donal Chambers landed a 3.5lbs and a 4.5lbs salmon in the Falls Pool.
Next day Ken Livingstone landed a 3.5lbs and a 4lbs salmon in the Lower Garden Pool and Lucy Livingstone landed a 1.5lbs salmon in the Garden Pool, all on a Cascade. Alistair Purdy landed 3.5lbs and 4lbs salmon in the Middle Garden Pool and a 1.5lbs salmon in the Falls Pool on Beat 9. Niall Lynch landed a 1.5lbs salmon and 5 Sea trout between 1lbs and 0.5lbs in the Sea Pool.
26 June Niall Lynch landed a 7lbs salmon in the Garden Pool and a 3.5lbs salmon in the Gauge Pool on Beat 9 using a Willie Gunn. Alistair Purdy landed a 3lbs salmon in the Garden Pool using a Willie Gunn and Declan Muckian landed an 8lbs salmon on Beat 5. C O’Leary landed a 4lbs salmon in the Falls Pool using a Cascade.
On the 28th June Niall Lynch landed a 4lbs salmon and 3 sea trout around 0.5lbs on Beat 9 using a Willie Gunn. Kevin Mitchell landed a 4.5lbs, 4lbs and a 2lbs salmon and a 2lbs sea trout on Beat 9 using a McCormick shrimp.
29 June Benni Weltz landed a 2.5lbs salmon on Beat 5 using a Collie Dog , Michael Wade landed a 3.5lbs salmon on Beat 8 also using a Collie Dog. Gerry Merrick landed a 6.5lbs salmon on Beat 9 using a Posh Tosh. James McGuire landed a 4.5lbs salmon on Beat 9 using a Collie Dog and Jim Stafford landed a 4lbs salmon on Beat 3.
Finally on the 30th June Mark Helmore landed 3 salmon ofd= 3lbs, 5lbs and a big fish estimated at close to 20lbs on Beat 9 using a silver tube.
Water levels have improved recently with the arrival of rain, and grilse are running the river in good numbers at the moment. The good fishing has continued over the weekend, and given the right conditions, prospects for the next few weeks are excellent.
Go Fishing
The Erriff System is comprised of the Erriff River and the two small loughs of Tawnyard and Derrintin. The River Erriff is one of the premier salmon fishing rivers in Ireland. A spate river, it is characterised by lively streams and deep fish-holding pools. It has 8 miles of prime angling water, divided into 9 beats. Beats are un-crowded with only two rods on most and a maximum of 3 sometimes. Angling is rotated on a daily basis.
Telephone: (095) 42382
Email: [email protected]
