James Quinn reports another good week in Galway, with perfect water levels at one gate open and a great run of grilse through the fishery giving anglers great sport, in spite of high water temperatures which reached 21 degrees C. There were 65 fish recorded for the week, with a huge number of fish also hooked and lost. Only 16 were taken on shrimp, with the rest on fly.
Louis Brennan, Tuam had 2 fish on shrimp at 3.5 and 5.5lbs. Some Northern Ireland anglers had good sport for their visit, with Ben Gilbert landing 2 for 3 and 4lbs, Ian Jefferson taking a 4lbs fish, and Jim Davison and Andrew Lynas also landing a 4lbs grilse each. John Anderson, Moycullen had 2 grilse to 5lbs, while Billy Millar (NI) had 2 grilse of 3 and 3.5lbs on fly.
Dublin angler Dave O’Reilly landed 2 fish for 4.5lbs each on fly, PJ O’Connor also had 2 fish of 4 and 4.5lbs on fly, while expert fly man Mossy Brown from Waterford landed 2 fish to 4lbs on fly.
Water levels are perfect for angling at the moment, and grilse are running in good numbers on every tide, making for excellent fishing prospects for the week ahead.
Jim McEvoy Cork with an excellent Corrib trout caught on Caenis, guided by Larry McCarthy of Corrib View Lodge Glencorrib
The settled weather continued up to the weekend, making for ideal conditions for Caenis fishing in the mornings, but the weather has turned more unsettled and breezy now, giving daytime fishers more chance of sport and making the Caenis fishing more difficult.
Declan Gibbons reports on a week of early starts and some superb fishing for those early risers.
Larry McCarthy of Corrib View Lodge Glencorrib (www.corribangling.com) says it was another very busy week at the lodge, with lots of good Caenis action. Owein Mealing and Nick Measham from the UK enjoyed four great early mornings with Larry, catching 30 trout which were all sportingly returned. Four of the fish weighed in excess of 4lbs. Jim McEvoy, a regular client from Cork, had 3 brilliant mornings with Larry and he caught 17 trout for 42lbs, all returned to fight another day. The weather change has made the fishing more difficult but with a little knowledge trout can be found in several areas of the lough feeding on Caenis. Anglers staying at Corrib View recorded 72 trout for the week.
Jim McEvoy Cork with an excellent Corrib trout caught on Caenis, guided by Larry McCarthy of Corrib View Lodge Glencorrib
In the Oughterard area Tom Kelly reports on the John Gill Cup competition which was held on Sunday last and saw 23 rods participate, with Jim Glynn winning the competition with 2 fish for 4.13lbs. Second place went to Mark Colton with one trout weighing 2.15lbs and in third place was John Kelly with one fish for 1.95Llbs.
Visiting Swiss angler Stefan Kaufmann staying at Currarevagh House has enjoyed some excellent fishing on Lough Corrib dapping and trolling. He had one cracking fish for 9.25lbs among many others landed.
Galway angler Harold O’Toole enjoyed catching 3 trout on Saturday morning last all on Caenis (best fish 4lbs) and on Sunday Harold boated fellow Galway angler John Reidy who caught 5 trout, also on Caenis, with the best fish being 3lbs.
Basil Shields reports on quieter fishing activity for the week gone by with only one angler producing the goods on early morning Caenis fishing – John Crookshanks from Northern Ireland landing 9 trout for one morning, with the best fish being 3lbs.
Jim McEvoy Cork releasing one of his 17 trout taken on Caenis on Corrib in the early morning
Inland Fisheries Ireland is currently carrying out a fish stock survey on Lough Derg to assess the current status of the fish populations in the lake. The survey will take place between the 13th June and 1st July 2016 and will involve netting of over 200 sites throughout Lough Derg and Parteen reservoir. Four different types of survey nets are being used. Many of these survey nets are being set on the lake bed but a small proportion are being set as floating survey nets on the surface. A hydroacoustic survey of the deeper parts of the lake is also being undertaken.
Bouy like these will mark IFI survey nets
The fisheries research survey will be conducted by IFI under the supervision of Inland Fisheries research staff and will include a total of five boat crews with one of these working at night.
The survey will provide a range of information on the fish stocks in the lake, e.g. size distributions of fish captured, age and growth information for all species, diet of selected species, catch per unit effort (CPUEs) for each fish species, etc. It will also provide information on the status of the rare and endangered fish species Pollan. Samples for genetic analyses of brown trout and pike and other species will also be taken.
The survey crews will be very visible on Lough Derg over the next few weeks and all sets of nets will be marked with distinctive buoys labelled ‘IFI Survey’. Any anglers or other lake users are asked to be vigilant if out and about on the lake over the next few weeks and to avoid snagging in the nets.
Information on the Lough Derg Survey (FAQ)
Why Survey Lough Derg ?
IFI is aware of major changes in the ecology of many of our freshwaters over the last four decades due to the spread of non-native species, the spread of invasive species and various anthropogenic pressures. As the statutory body charged with the conservation of our waterways IFI need to stay informed on the status of fish stocks in all Irelands’ major fisheries, including Lough Derg. It is also a requirement of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) surveillance monitoring programme that the fish stocks in Lough Derg are monitored every three years. A fish stock survey, using survey gill nets and other methods (e.g. fyke nets, hydroacoustics) is standard international practice for carrying out such a census. Lough Derg was surveyed previously as part of IFIs WFD monitoring programme in 2012 and 2009.
Survey Timing
The summer season is the most appropriate season for undertaking a full fish stock survey on a lake, as most fish species are active at this time and spawning of coarse fish species is normally finished, juvenile fish are also large enough to be captured. Since 2005 fish surveys for Water Framework Directive Monitoring purposes have been undertaken during the June to early October period..
Are new / alternative fishing methods being explored?
IFI continue to explore new fishing methods that will enable us to quantify the stock levels in our fisheries. A specialised boat fitted with hydroacoustic apparatus will be surveying the deep parts of the lake in tandem with the netting survey. This method may, in time, offer an alternative method to survey gill nets but it will require a considerable amount of research and ground truthing, the latter which will be achieved using survey gill nets.
IFI is also bringing into operation electrofishing boom boats, which have the capability of catching fish in water up to 2 metres deep (and deeper in clear lake situations). This method will complement other lake fishing methods but on its own will not be capable of generating the metrics required to assess the stock status of a large lake system. One of these boats will be used in selected shallow areas of Lough Derg during the survey.
Survey Catches relative to Stocks
It must be stressed that this netting exercise is a survey of all fish stock species, not a management tool in relation to pike or any other species. IFI are aware that Lough Derg is a valuable “mixed fishery” for Cyprinids, Pike and Trout. Data indicates that the proportion of any species captured in such a survey is usually ≤ 0.1% of the stock of any species present.
Survey gill nets in tandem with fyke nets provide the most effective method for catching fishes in lakes. The nets are generally set for a period not exceeding 24 hours but commonly are fished overnight to capture the active periods of fish movement, i.e. dawn and dusk. Not all fish that enter survey gill nets are killed and many can be removed and returned alive to the water. Research conducted within IFI over the years, commonly using tagging methods, has demonstrated that many fish that are released from survey gill nets survive for long periods and are available to the angler.
Some fish species (e.g. bream and large hybrids) can be relatively unaffected by survey gill nets as they become passive once they enter the net. The proportion of fish captured in survey gill netting operations relative to the stock levels present in a lake is very small (usually ≤ 0.1% of the stock of any species present). Every effort is made by IFI staff to release live fish to the water.
What happens to the fish that are killed?
All fish that fail to survive the survey gill netting operation will be used for scientific purposes. Each fish will be measured, weighed, aged and have their stomach contents examined. This information will be analysed to provide information on the age cohorts of each fish species present, their relative growth rates, their feeding patterns and other relevant information.
Fish scales will also be retained for possible subsequent genetic or other use.
Other studies being undertaken in parallel
Pike diet
As part of the on-going review of the pike policy a new research project has been initiated by IFI to assess the seasonal diet of pike in selected Irish waters. A trial of appropriate methods to use in this new research project is being undertaken on Lough Derg in tandem with the fish stock survey.
Landlocked sea lamprey
IFI are collecting information on landlocked sea lamprey as part of the ongoing research on rare and endangered fish species. IFI staff will be recording information on fish with lesions and other relevant information.
Eels
Many eels have been tagged in the Shannon catchment as part of the National Eel Management Programme. During the fish stock survey the IFI survey team will be checking eels captured in fyke nets for tags and recording the relevant information.
Galway’s war on weed faces defeat as funding for an important Lough Corrib project dries up.
Cuts to staffing levels and budget of Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) will sink efforts to rid Lough Corrib of the invasive pondweed, Lagarosiphon major.
A programme to control the spread of the invasive species on the lake has successfully curtailed the invader, known as Curly African Pondweed, over the past eight years….
West Yorkshire angler Andy Burnett landed the top prize of €1,000 in the second annual Lough Ree International Coarse Angling Festival held over the bank holiday weekend.
Andy, who is a big fan of the hot water stretch in Lanesboro and netted a catch of 33kg of fish over the three days, heaped praise on the festival organisers.
A the presentation of prizes in the Yacht Bar, Lanesboro, on Monday evening, he said the Lough Ree Angling Hub committee had put ‘Lanesboro firmly back on the worldwide fishing map’….
International Fly Fishing teams from all over the world will be competing in Galway for the World Masters Trout Fly Fishing Championship next week.
From June 13-19, nearly fifty people from nine countries around the world will compete on the renowned lakes of Lough Corrib, Lough Inagh, Lough Fee and Lough Muck for the Fips-Mouche World Masters Fly Fishing Championship.
Those countries include France, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Scotland, Sweden, South Africa and the United States….
IT MAY well be a long way to Tipperary, but for native John Quirke it was just a short distance to travel on Lough Conn to win the Lough Conn and Cullin Two-Day Fly Fishing competition in fine style, last weekend.
In weather more suitable for the beach, John managed to coax six fine trout on day one to his homemade Wolff patterns in blistering sunshine and flat calm waters. It left an insurmountable struggle for the remaining 95 anglers over the two days….
Lady Angler Ruth Arrell from Magherafelt, Co Derry was one of the top Irish rods at last weeks International for Ladies Flyfishing at the Carron Valley Fishery, in Stirling, Scotland.
The Home Internationals for Ladies Fly-fishing are fished between teams from England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland each year. Next year’s Home International will be held on Lough Melvin, out of Garrison, Co. Fermanagh.
This was Ruth’s second International cap for Ireland in Ladies Flyfishing. Ruth fishes regularly at Loughmacrory lake and is a member of the Loughmacrory & Murrins District Angling Association….
The Lakelands and Inland Waterways World Pairs Angling Championship 2016 has been launched.
The cross-border event, takes place from 5-9 September 2016, and attracts top anglers from the UK, Ireland, Europe, challenging them to not only to catch the natural wild fish so prolific in the area, but to do so in partnership.
Over 100 entries have already been registered for the competition, which is based within a one hour radius of Killadeas on Lough Erne, Northern Ireland, and Garadice on the Shannon-Erne Waterway in Ireland…. Afloat.ie 14/06/2016 Read the article ‘Lakeland & Inland Waterways World Pairs Angling Championship Launched’
Coaches Mary Tigwell and Nick Richards of Lakelands Angling Club were delighted to bring the boys from St. Patricks out to Kiltybarden on a lovely sunny day last week. The pupils were introduced to coarse fishing using a whip and the feeder method and everyone caught fish to include roach, skimmers and perch! St Patricks Boys School Ballinamore
It was a busy day which also included a pole cupping competition, fish care, catch and release, fish identification and casting. Even the principal Noel went home with some useful angling related tips!
We look forward to some of those who took part joining us for our summer angling programme – for more into contact lakelandsangling@gmail.com
Go fishing…
Lakelands Angling Club are affiliated to the National Coarse Fishing Federation of Ireland and a designated Angling for Youth Development Hub with the Angling Council of Ireland offering children from all backgrounds the opportunity to go fishing.
Join the club…
Club membership is €15 for Adults and just €5 for Juniors. Every year we organise the Annual Festival held in May. Contact: lakelandsangling@gmail.com
