This week’s banner photo shows the sun rising over Greenfields Bay on Saturday morning. A beautiful morning when I had the pleasure of watching pods of trout feeding on a large hatch of Caenis between 5am and 8am. After a poor mayfly season, it was a joy to see so many trout feeding hard, and indeed the old saying “The early bird gets the worm” is most apt when it comes to fishing on Corrib at this time of the year. Caenis fishing is really delicate stuff, with small dries, fine tippet and light rods the order of the day. The Caenis hatch very early, and it can all be over by 7am, but with the hot sunny weather we have been enjoying lately, this is the most pleasant and productive time of the day to fish anyway.
Declan Gibbons reports that the heatwave conditions affected the Annual Mayfly Competition held on Sunday by Cong Angling Club, with 27 rods participating and only two anglers weighing in trout! In first place was Dan O’Donovan with one fish for 1.9lbs and in second place was Domhnall Ryan. Domhnall also won Best Junior Angler on the day.
Kevin Molloy of Baurisheen Bay Boat Hire, Guiding & Self Catering (087-9604170) reports on Cork man Harry Couch and his two sons, dapping for two days, having excellent sport landing 17 trout dapping with the best fish being 4lbs. Visiting anglers from Spain Stephen Walsh and Michelle Ursv enjoyed three days trolling on Lough Corrib catching a total of 12 trout, all released apart from two for their visit, one of which was a ferox of 13lbs and was sportingly released.
Basil Shields of Ardnasillagh Lodge, Oughterard (086-0869758) says there was less activity on the lake due to weather conditions and hatches and any clients he had out were all Caenis fishing. Northern Ireland angler Jimmy Johnston had 4 fish for his 1 day visit with the best fish being 4.5lbs. Dr. Terry Bradley from Lisburn had one fish on Caenis.
Also held in the Oughterard area was the Cathal Noone Memorial Cup (Heaviest Fish Competition) and the winner on the day went to Mike Faherty with one trout for 12.25lbs.
Galway angler Harold O Toole has been enjoying some excellent sport in the week gone by, catching 9 trout for 4 mornings on Caenis with the best fish being around the 3lbs mark on the lower lake.
Richard Molloy of Ballard Shore Boat Hire & Self Catering (087-2879339) reports a quieter week on the angling front with Ashbourne man Paul Geraghty catching one trout for 5lbs trolling.
In the Greenfields area on Sunday Paul Dignam, Ennis and Tuam angler Sean Naughton had 3 trout on dry may flies for their efforts in what was a very bright day with high temperatures.
Larry McCarthy at Corrib View Lodge, Glencorrib (087-9135222; www.corribangling.com) reported a huge improvement in fishing over the last week with great early morning sport. Larry was guiding a regular client from England and had 25 trout over 3 days with several fish over 4lbs and one over 5lbs, all caught on Caenis patterns. Anna Dawson from Scotland caught her first 2 trout both on small dry fly, one which weighed 4lbs 6oz. In total 6 anglers guided by corribangling.com over the week caught 47 trout! Not bad for short early morning sessions.
