Lindsey Clarke reports from Owenea Fishery – Monday 29nd August to Sunday 11th Sept 2016. (2 weeks)
Week 1: Water levels were low for the most part this week. There was a small fresh on Saturday but this only registered 0.18m on the gauge. The gauge average for the week only read 0.14 metres. The fishery was quiet with only 14 visiting rods in attendance, 12 of these over the weekend. Despite the poor conditions, our visiting French Anglers recorded 3 fresh grilse caught at the weekend, all on worm. On Saturday, John Chisholm recorded a 4lb grilse caught from beat 8 and Olivier Martell accounted for a 4lb grilse caught on beat 9. On Sunday, Olivier reported a further grilse of 3lb caught on beat 9 once again.
The forecast for the coming week is for a fair amount of rain and hopefully this will equate to some decent water levels.
Week 2: The Owenea had good water levels on Monday (0.26m), Tuesday (0.30m), Wednesday (0.26m) and Saturday (0.28m). The gauge average for the week was good reading 0.25 metres. The fishery was not particularly busy and only 17 visiting rods fished over the week. There were some 10 salmon caught for the week. On Saturday, Neil Gallagher recorded a 5lb grilse caught on a spinner from beat 5. On Sunday, Neil reported a further grilse of 5½lb caught on a spinner from beat 4 and John Ward accounted for a 6½lb grilse caught on a spinner from beat 5.
Lindsey Clarke reports from LOUGH MELVIN – Monday 29nd August to Sunday 11th Sept 2016.(2 weeks)
Week 1: Lough Melvin remained quiet on the salmon angling front with few rods targeting the same. A few trout anglers reported seeing fresh salmon showing in various locations on the lough however. The trout fishing for Sonaghan was good however with rods reporting good daily catches of the same. On Saturday, Melvin hosted the Interprovincial competition. Most rods reported good fishing and the winning boat recorded 8 fish caught with individuals recording up to 5 fish and there were trout up to 5lb recorded. The winning team was Connaught.
Week 2: Lough Melvin was fairly quiet over the week. There was very little effort for salmon but the trout fishing for the Sonaghan was fair. The Seamus Doherty Memorial Cup was to be held on Sunday but the day brought very strong winds and the competition was cancelled for safety reasons. It was not a day to be afloat!
For info/Guides/boat hire on Lough Melvin contact Sean Maguire’s Tackle Shop, Main Street, Garrison. Tel: 0044 7871443304
For bookings/guides etc on the Rossinver Fishery contact Bill McNeary, Tel: 071 9854930 or Jim Hoye, Tel: 0831197428
For info see http://www.rossinverfishery.com/
Lindsey Clarke reports from the RIVER DROWES – Monday 29nd August to Sunday 11th Sept 2016. (2 weeks)
Week 1: The river was fairly quiet this week. Water levels were a little lower than desired but still fair. The Gauge on Monday read 0.56m and the river gradually fell over the week. By Sunday the gauge read 0.52m. There were some 6 salmon recorded for the week and we are awaiting details of the same. The river at present is rising again and water levels will be better this coming week.
Week 2: Water levels were fairly good this week. The gauge read 0.53m on Monday but then the river rose fairly steadily and by Friday the gauge read 0.64m. Water levels then fell fairly rapidly for the Drowes and by the end of play on Sunday, the gauge read 0.56m. The river was quiet this week and angling attendance was fairly low. Despite this there were still 8 salmon caught, all grilse.
For info/bookings etc on the Drowes Fishery & Lough Melvin see the website: http://www.drowessalmonfishery.com/ or Tel: +353 (0)71 9841055 (8 am to 12 noon)
Christopher Defillon with his superb Sheelin trout
Trout spots
“Poets talk about “spots of time,” but it is really fishermen who experience eternity compressed into a moment. No one can tell what a spot of time is until suddenly the whole world is a fish and the fish is gone.” Norman Maclean
Although now heading into mid September there was little evidence of autumn this week around Lough Sheelin as temperatures remained at a humid 18 to 20 degrees, courtesy of a tropical air mass which moved in over Ireland, with us only seeing a drop to 14 accompanied by persistent rain on Friday with fresh southerly conditions taking over at the weekend.
Paul Ford a Scots/Balbriggan angler with his catch on September 8th
With little discolouration in shoreline foliage and with the absence of those early morning chills if you shut your eyes and ignored the date, a person (who suffers from Cheimatophobia) could almost fool themselves into thinking that it is still the summer but the truth is that we are stuck in those days that aren’t quite summer but aren’t quite the autumn either.
William Craig’s Sheelin trout
Out on Lough Sheelin it’s a different matter, things are changing and the trout, operating on an inbuilt genetic calendar are becoming restless, aggressive and agitated with splashy rises and aerial pirouette perhaps trying to impress and entertain the anglers.
Christopher Defillon with his superb Sheelin trout
The Catches
This was a week more about fishing than catching with all days seeing respectable numbers of boats out on the lake but only sporadic trout catches. Lough Sheelin is not an easy lake to fish at the best of times and this was week was tough going, where the trout were not giving themselves up easily and where only the persistent (and lucky) angler achieved the desired results.
A picture paints a thousand words ‘The Race’ – Damien Willis’s photograph taken at Kilnahard, Lough Sheelin 9 years ago, epitomising the frantic rush to get to that fish place.
Despite a week battling a fickle and capricious stretch of water, Lough Sheelin still treated its anglers to a taste of what it holds as large numbers of trout were seen with some misses of reportedly ‘huge trout’. The weight of the week was a trout of over 5lbs by Dublin angler John McKay using a Silver Daddy pattern and the rest of the returns for this week averaged 1½ to 3½ lbs of beautiful well conditioned fish.
River Inny entering Lough Sheelin at sunset – September 2016
The heaviest fish for this week was a 5lb trout caught by Dublin angler John McKay using a Silver Daddy. Total number of trout recorded : 38
Selection of Catches
Pat Johnston, Cavan – 2 trout at 2 ½ and 3lbs caught using wet flies at Merry pt.
George Stonehouse, Ross – 3 trout, heaviest at 3lbs caught using Golden Bumbles and Sooty Olives.
John Brady, Cavan – 2 trout, heaviest at 3½ using a Klinkhammer and wet Daddies.
Derek Mathews, Wexford – 2 trout heaviest at 3 ½ lbs fishing at the Long Rock using Claret and Silver Dabblers.
Padraig Hayes, Northern Ireland – 3 trout – 1½, 2 and 3lbs on a Pearly Dabbler, Claret Muddler and Stimulator around Plunketts pt.
Pat Brady, Baileborough – 1 trout at 3 ½ lbs using a Silver Dabbler at the Long Rock.
It is an undisputed fact that Lough Sheelin is ‘stuffed’ with trout but these fish are the bosses and for the week gone by it seems as if the anglers were only the observers in an elaborate piscatorial game.
The Hatches
Like it or not we are into autumn and autumn out on this lake offers a series of distinct challenges that are specific to this season. Hatches have already done so or continue to taper off. Water temperature is slowly dropping. Sun angles change. All of these differences, and more, add up to a different puzzle facing the angler and one that requires a change in approach in order to keep the spirits up and a fish in that landing net.
September sunset on Sheelin
While there were plenty of sedges around the lake, these preferred the bushes and shoreline trees with little to none venturing out on the water, so sedge fishing was a non starter for this week and a line was effectively drawn through the dry flies. Apart from the odd terrestrial – daddies and beetles, blown inadvertently on to the surface water from the shoreline, there was little or no surface food available to the trout so as a result no consistent food source up at the top to lure those fish up. Trout looking up to the surface for food was very random and they couldn’t afford to pin their hopes on any one species as it just wasn’t there and confirmation to this fact is if you spooned a trout at this time of the year, the stomach content would be made up of a jumble of different flies and crustacea.
At this back end of the season, trout on open water on Lough Sheelin are feeding on daphnia and they tend to feed in shoals, cropping the concentrations of this small insect, so fishing a team of wets should bring success but usually of the smaller fish, the 1 ½ to 2 pounders.
The Flies…
With less than six weeks to go before the close of season on Lough Sheelin, this is the time for the angler to remember that the trout are not looking for food so the need to stimulate a feeding response from them becomes even more important and wet fly certainly for this week had the edge over the dries. Trout respond best to movement than to static and because they are not looking for a specific food item (because there isn’t one) they are not selective about a fly pattern so basically for now anything goes but movement and colour are important. The old tried and tested patterns are the best and the fly pattern that has done consistently well on this lake throughout the season and rose to the top this week was the Dabbler in Claret, Olive, Silver and Ginger – the Sooty Dabbler, Claret, Silver, Pearly and Peter Ross to give them their correct titles. Tried and trusted patterns are the best bet but with longer hackles or wings to produce extra movement and a more streamlined shape.
Other popular flies were the Golden Olive Bumbles, the Klinkhammers, the Silver Invicta, the Daddies – Detached and in Silver, Gorgeous George, the Humpies, the Stimulators (particularly with a twist of silver in them), the Diawl Bachs, the Bibios, the Muddlers and Wickhams Fancy.
‘Going Home’ Lough Sheelin, September 2016
Everyone has their own ‘special’ and ‘secret’ pattern and understandably it’s difficult to prise these patterns out of anglers but after putting in my best investigatory effort with a consistently successful angler on this lake I was told by the said angler that he fished ‘dry wet flies’ – which made me want to walk away in despair but never one to give up I cautiously pursued this statement with other anglers who explained that it is when the dry flies are pulled under the water as wet flies, the fish are basically up on the top with the flies being blown by the wind and waves, this I’m told seems to be a favourite with older anglers.
In pursuit of trout…
Autumn migration
Lough Sheelin has a reputation for hefty trout and this is one of the few times of the season along with the mayfly that these fish will be on the move, for the mayfly it was because of the allure of a new food, a change in diet – Ephemera danica but this time it is because we are approaching the spawning season and these fish are undergoing physical and chemical changes triggering their inert need to migrate up the rivers. Trout do not suddenly leave the lake, heading on mass to the incoming rivers, this happens over several weeks and this is what’s happening now – a gradual getting into position. Trout will move into certain locations and hold in these areas prior to making that spawning run. The trout gather near particular areas of the lake, certain features year after year, before making that spawning journey and knowing where these congregation points are would obviously be a huge advantage to the Sheelin angler. Just as in early season, where the trout hold inshore, feeding over the food-rich shallows to gain condition and put on weight after spawning and the rigors of winter, now at the end of the season, these fish are in these same locations only it’s a lot tighter and it’s not for food, it’s a waiting game and not one for gathering food. These pockets or pods of trout may hold over certain shallows, near the mouths of spawning rivers, around certain islands and off rocky points, remember it isn’t the need for food that has driven the fish into these areas. Search and find is the key.
Gary McKiernan (www.loughsheelinguiding.com) with one of Sheelin’s smaller fish
The Sheelin trout were doing plenty of jumps, pitches and splashes this week and theories vary considerably as to why exactly they take to the air more so at this time than at any other part of the fishing season. Experts believe that they very rarely jump for food except perhaps at mayfly time or perhaps after the odd low flying damsel. Interesting theories vary from their attempt to dislodge an irritation (they can’t scratch) maybe lice, showing off, forgetting to stop at the surface, showing off or just for joy – take your pick…
This fly was tied using a Klinkhammer hook which operates more successfully than a straight hook
For anyone interested in joining Lough Sheelin’s Angling Club – The Lough Sheelin Trout Protection Association please contact Thomas Lynch @ 087 9132033.
Lough Sheelin Trout Protection Association Stream Enhancement Competition
Lough Sheelin Stream Rehabilitation Competition
On Sunday October 2nd Lough Sheelin’s angling club The Lough Sheelin Trout Protection Association will host their annual Stream Rehabilitation Competition starting at Kilnahard from 11am to 6.0pm.
All proceeds of this event go towards the enhancement and rehabilitation of the rivers within the Lough Sheelin catchment.
The club and organisers of this competition, now in its eleventh year, welcome all anglers who wish to fish one of the best wild brown trout fisheries in Ireland and to experience first hand the magic and allure of this lake which has the potential to produce the heaviest trout in the country.
Click on the Link for a copy of the Entry form for Lough Sheelin Trout Protection Association Stream Enhancement Competition www.loughsheelinanglers.ie
For details please contact Eamonn Ross @ 086 6619834/ 049 9526602 or Thomas Lynch @ 087 9132033
House Rules
All anglers are required to have a Fishery Permit to fish Lough Sheelin which must be purchased before going out on the lake.
Please remember anglers to abide by BYE-LAW 790 which strictly prohibits
All trolling on the lake from March 1st to April 30th (inclusive).
From May 1st to June 15th – no trolling between 7pm –6am and no trolling under engine between 6am – 7pm and
June 16th – October 12th – no trolling under engine between 7pm – 6am.
No trout less than 14 inches should be taken from the lake
A catch & release policy is actively encouraged on the lake at all times
Lifejackets
6 year old Noah Breen Johnston
Life jackets are required by law – SI No 921 of 2005 – Pleasure Craft (Personal Flotation Devices and Operation) (Safety) Regulations 2005.
Water rarely gives second chances and a life jacket is just that – it saves your life.
We would implore anglers and all other users to wear life jackets for their own safety as well as it being the law.
Please put on and keep on that life jacket until you are back on dry land.
Killinarden Angling Initiative had two great sea trips last week. Young anglers enjoyed the challenge and gained some great experience angling from the boat. All the fresh air out at Howth wore many of them out and a lot of sleepy heads took a nap on the way home.
Killinarden Angling Initiative extend a big thank you to Dave from HowthBoats for trying his hardest to find the fish!
The next trip will see KAI heading to Oaklands in New Ross, Co Wexford .
After that the KAI Adults will be heading to Longford for a 24hrs mini comp this weekend.
KAI was set up in March 2014 in Killinarden, Tallaght. Its principle aims are to promote, develop and improve angling in the Killinarden and the greater west Tallaght area and is affiliated with the National Coarse Fishing Federation Ireland. During the summer months the main work of the initiative is taking young people from Killinarden on fishing courses .The Initiative has also been a catalyst in setting up a children’s and Adult fishing club in Killinarden for many of these young people and giving them a hobby they can enjoy for life.
KAI run fishing competitions for juniors and a host of other events feature on the calendar, attracting greater interest to the sport year after year.
Call or text Pat on 085 1192724 or Stephen 085 2131096
The Irish Federation of Sea Anglers report on the FIPS-M World Shore Angling Championships 2016 – Launch
We are delighted to announce that the official launch of the 2016 World Shore Angling Championships takes place in Clayton Whites Hotel, Wexford on Friday 16th September at 7.00pm. In attendance will be senior officials for the Irish Federation of Sea Anglers, Wexford County Council, Event Ireland and members of both the Men’s and Ladies Irish teams. The 2016 event will be historic for many reasons but most notably for the first time ever, Ireland will have a Ladies team competing in the Championships.
Ladies team:
Anne Whitty Captain, Bannow Bay Anglers.(Wexford)
Jane Cantwell, Wexford Garda SAC
Janet Snoddy, Glengormley and District Sea Angling Club (Antrim)
Lisa Gormley, Glengormley and District SAC (Antrim)
Margaret Truesdale, Carrickfergus Beach and Rockers SAC (Antrim)
Pat Short, Bray Sea Anglers (Wicklow)
Manager: Jim Snoddy, Glengormley and District SAC (Antrim)
The World Shore Angling Championship is a major international event on the angling calendar and will attract over 250 competitors from 30 countries for a week long competition across many of the South East’s finest beaches. In addition, many teams will arrive a week early for practice along with hundreds of spectators, officials, coaches, family and friends. It will have a significant economic impact on not only the town of Wexford, but the country of Ireland as a whole and is a wonderful showcase for Wexford, Ireland, the IFSA but more importantly, the sport of angling as a whole. We expect the 2016 World Shore Angling Championships to be the biggest and best yet!
Mixed weather last week was followed by torrential rain and strong winds in places over the weekend. The early part of this week saw an improvement in conditions and there were good reports from many parts of the country, though salmon fishing has yet to pick up…
Low water, floods, hot weather – these factors have all conspired against salmon fishing and most rivers put another slow week behind them. Sea trout fishing on the other hand has not suffered as badly and rivers and lakes across Kerry and in Connemara reported good catches. Lough Currane and the Owenmore Fishery have both benefited from the weekend’s rain while further north there were plenty of sea trout, from Delphi to lakes in south Connemara.
Trout reports were sparse but some good fishing was had on Lough Sheelin where fish to 7lbs were landed. A mix of wet fly and dry fly tactics are meeting with success. Catch of the Week goes to Christopher Defillon for his 7lb trout, returned.
Christopher Defillon with his Catch of the Week – a superb 7 lb trout from Lough Sheelin (released)
River anglers had good trout on the Bandon where one 4lber was reported. Better known for its salmon, the Bandon’s trout fishing is often overlooked. The upper lakes of the Lough Currane system also provided good sport for trout anglers and in the north west of the country Lough Conn and Arrow saw anglers reporting some entertaining days on the water.
Lough Garadice is hosting the World Pairs at the moment but over the weekend the Fishmaniaks held a pike and perch competition there. Saturday was a washout, but Sunday was better – perch to over 30cm and pike to 94cm were landed. Lough Allua in Cork is fishing well at the moment. The advice is to go deep but the exact method doesn’t matter as all manner of baits and lures are being taken. Once again Lough Derg put forward a strong argument for it to be recognised as the country’s best pike venue. Anglers from home and abroad fishing with the guides based on the lake had loads of pike with no shortage of 1m plus fish measured and released.
Day 3 of the World Pairs saw no change at the top of the leader board as German anglers Jens Koschnick and Thorsten Kusters continue to keep the top spot, which they claimed at the end of Day 1. Their running total now stands at over 136kg, 20kg ahead of their nearest competitors. Recreational anglers in the Longford area had bags of bream to 138lb. Kevin Lyons of Melview Lodge was key to the success here. Naas and District Anglers fished a competition in the Ballybay area and bream helped to make up good weights. Inniscarra in Cork is also hosting a number of competitions and festivals at this time. The Vinters Cup was one of the closest on record with just 600g between the top four. Congratulations to the winner John Bohane with 44.620kg, 2nd Robert Bell with 44.360kg and 3rd was Alistair Ogilvie with 43.880kg. The Dublin Angling Initiative had 2 big events recently. One saw a group of youths from Sphere 17 night fishing at the Meadows Fishery in Maynooth where carp to over 30lb are a very real possibility. The other was at the Irish Wheelchair Association competition at Lucan, on the Grand Canal. The competition saw over 200 anglers, with physical disabilities and other mobility impairments competing. The winning team were from IWA Clontarf – Congratulations to Derek, Eric, Lee and Ian!
Although the weekend was fairly miserable and winds have often been up, sea anglers still had plenty to be happy about in the last week. Bass anglers all along Cork’s coast are reporting lots of fish about, with some good size fish in the mix. The season’s shark tales continue with Kilmore Quay back in the frame again as Kit Dunne and Co. managed plenty of blues and even porbeagle. Porbeagle also featured again at Courtmacsherry and Baltimore. Some unusual fish popped up in the reports with Trigger Fish landed by small boat anglers in Cork Harbour and shore anglers in Killary Harbour. Shore anglers are getting some great fishing just now with big pollack coming to lure anglers from many rocky marks across West Cork, Kerry and up in Donegal.
As we go to press there is a Wind Warning in place: Southerly winds later veering southwesterly, will increase 55 to 65 km/h on Friday and will gust 90 to 100 km/h at times. Winds will be strongest on exposed parts of the northwest coast. The outlook is for wet weather over the weekend. Winds will pick up again on Sunday and the early part of next week will continue wet and windy.
Nigel Barnes from the UK ,who has now been coming to Melview Fishing Lodge for 10 years, had a cracking week’s fishing while staying with Kevin and Jane. Kevin said on arrival it was straight out to fish for a few hours and then the work of prebaiting got under way.
Some nice Hybrids and Roach for Nigel.
They prebaited a couple of venues and both produced some good weights of fish; the first some fine Bream and nice Roach and the second good Hybrids and Roach. Kevin said, “I had the pleasure of fishing with Nigel for three out of the six days and what a cracking time we had. We would have had a lot more fish if the Pike had left us alone. There were some very big Pike taking 2 lb Hybrids at one stage so I will giving the place another visit soon with Pike gear in hand. Well done mate and hope to see you again soon.”
Kevin has over 30 years experience of fishing in Ireland and is happy to offer a guided tour on your arrival, and to advise where the on-form waters in the area are. We can arrange your bait order so it’s here when you arrive. Melview offers free use of 17ft lake boats with engines to our guests (pay fuel only) and Kevin is happy to assist with any pre-baiting requests. Maps and other information regarding fishing are also available.
The World Shore Angling Championship is a major international event on the angling calendar and will attract over 250 competitors from 30 countries for a week long competition across many of the South East’s finest beaches. In addition, many teams will arrive a week early for practice along with hundreds of spectators, officials, coaches, family and friends. It will have a significant economic impact on not only the town of Wexford, but the country of Ireland as a whole and is a wonderful showcase for Wexford, Ireland, the IFSA but more importantly, the sport of angling as a whole. We expect the 2016 World Shore Angling Championships to be the biggest and best yet!
