Dan O’Neill, fishery manager at Mount Juliet, reports on the Nore:
I don’t think any of us forgets the first trout we have caught or the first of whichever species is your chosen. I remember my first brown trout which came from the River Barrow near Borris, Co. Carlow. The piece I remember most was my dad showing me how to release the fish safely back to where it belonged and nursing it a little after our battle.
As a guide most of my clients are novices intent on taking up fly fishing as a hobby. It’s very important to me that I show them the correct way to release trout and also teach them the importance of catch and release fishing. This is a strong foundation for them to begin their journey into the wonderful world of angling.
This weekend, after more Easter eggs than I should have had, it was time to hit the river with my apprentice. I have fished many, many times with Anthony – mainly coarse fishing on lakes with a trip to Lough Erne in October for his first pike. But the water was coming right and with him asking me more and more about fly fishing I decided to take him Sunday afternoon and let him swing wet flies at George’s Wall. He was very eager to wade but the water is still a little pushy so we decided to fish from the bank.
Some fish were rising just below us which kept us on the edge of our seat as the fly, one of my own Greenwell’s Spiders, drifted down in their direction. After what was probably the 5th of 6th cast the rod dipped and Anthony’s face lit up. Not used to the feeling of a nice sized trout taking a wet fly on a light set up Anthony looked downstream in amazement waiting on his prize to break surface. With a couple of head shakes and lunges his prize came to the net and immediately he was captured by the beauty of the trout. From the take to the release he went through the motions of becoming hooked on fly fishing.
It was a special moment for me to see this happen especially with fly fishing being so dear to me. After a heavy shower of rain many trout followed with some jumping to add to Anthony’s excitement. Each trout was released very carefully, which we will continue to practice across all our angling adventures.
Water Level and Temperature 17 April
Water Level .44 cm
Water Temp @12noon -> 11.1°C
Go fishing
Guiding available on site over 2.5 miles of the river Nore, classes also available for every skill level , learn or improve on your chosen technique , contact me for more information .
Dan O’Neill
Mount Juliet
Fishing
Dan O’Neill, Fishery Manager, Mount Juliet Estate, Thomastown, Co Kilkenny, Ireland
Telephone: +353 85 7652751
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://www.mountjuliet.ie/fishing-on-the-estate.html
General Information
The river Nore is a beautiful river that meanders it way through counties Laois and Kilkenny before joining with its sister river the Barrow just upstream of New Ross on its way to the sea. The Nore gets a good run of Atlantic salmon and the river which is currently open for angling on a catch and release basis produced 563 salmon in 2015 and 599 salmon in 2016. Salmon fishing is available on a number of stretches including the Mount Juliet Fishery which is located just outside Thomastown, Co Kilkenny, approximately mid-way between Kilkenny City and New Ross.
For further information on the Nore please visit https://www.fishinginireland.info/salmon/south/nore.htm
