After last year’s very poor season for salmon fishing, anglers on the River Suir have reported a marked improvement this year, particularly in early July.
High water levels had an adverse effect on wading conditions early in the season, restricting access for fly anglers, but there were still some very good salmon running, with reported catches of well-conditioned fish in the 12lb to 16lb size range.
There was a good build-up of salmon in Upper Suir estuary in early June and a mini flood tempted those fish in from the tide to the freshwater sections; however, due to an inundation of moss lifting from the riverbed – known locally as Daubiins – angling was practically impossible. When the moss ‘floss’ cleared in mid-June, fishing improved considerably, and this improvement continued into mid-July when another build-up of salmon in the upper estuary occurred. Fish entering the estuary were monitored by IFI throughout the season, with regular boat patrols in the tidal waters until the fish moved upstream.
When they did move through, good numbers of salmon between 10lb to 16lb and grilse of 3lb to 5lb were caught and released, with plenty of others met briefly by anglers but evading the landing net! Some impressive fish have been landed already this season though, including twelve specimens recorded in the 20lb to 25lb range.
Mid July onwards saw a drop in numbers of larger fish in the estuary with just small numbers of grilse running. The fish that entered the river during June and July are now spread out over entire catchment waiting for what anglers hope will be an excellent spawning season.
For what remains of the angling season, the months of August and September have been very poor months for anglers in the last number of years, with the traditional backend salmon – known locally as ‘Blackberry’ salmon – not appearing in almost a decade. Suir anglers are crossing their fingers and toes in the hope that those fish will make a reappearance this year.
The Suir, which is 184km in length with a fluvial salmonid habitat of just under 9 million square metres, is Ireland’s largest salmon river with a conservation limit of over 14,000 salmon. The river has been catch and release since 2013 and these regulations are strictly enforced by IFI. It is estimated by clubs on the Suir that over 90% of Suir salmon anglers prefer to fly fish, with smaller hook sizes and in-river wading helping to keep fish wet during the unhooking process and further improving salmon conservation on the river.
While fishing in some areas of Clonmel Town and Carrick on Suir Town is considered to be free fishing, fishing is strictly permit only on club waters where Gardai and court appointed waterkeepers strictly enforce public order issues and trespass along the Suir catchment.
