Ken O’Neill IFI reports from the West of Ireland:
Sea Angling on West Coast in Fanore / Liscannor area has picked up with Conger, Pollack and the occasional Dog Fish being caught also. However the Mackerel catches still remain poor.
Ken O’Neill
IFI Limerick
Lough Sheelin (Loch Síodh Linn meaning “lake of the fairy pool”)
There is certainly something in angling that tends to produce a serenity of the mind. ~Washington Irving
Brian McAvinney caught a cracking 6.5lb trout from Lough Sheelin last week. Brian’s fish was caught on a minkie.
Lough Sheelin Guiding Services (www.loughsheelinguidingservices.com) 087 1245927
Michael Farrell @ 087 4194156Telephone: +353 43 6681298 Email: [email protected]
Kenneth o Keeffe Grey Duster Guiding 0868984172
For anyone interested in joining Lough Sheelin’s Angling Club – The Lough Sheelin Trout Protection Association please contact Thomas Lynch @ 087 9132033.
Lough Sheelin 2015
Please remember anglers to abide by BYE-LAW 790 which strictly prohibits
A catch & release policy is actively encouraged on the lake at all times
Please remember All anglers are required to have a Fishery Permit to fish Lough Sheelin which must be purchased before going out on the lake.
It won’t work if you aren’t wearing it…
Water rarely gives second chances and a life jacket is just that – it saves your life, so we would implore anglers and all other users for their own safety as well as it being the law under
SI No 921 of 2005 – Pleasure Craft (Personal Flotation Devices and Operation) (Safety) Regulations 2005
Once again Donegal Bay was alive with fish as 14 nations compete for the Word Boat Angling Championships. Against a backdrop of wheeling gannets and busting bluefin tuna teams from Ireland, England, Wales, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Croatia, San Marino, Slovia and Luxemburg dropped lines at 9.30 this morning.
A variety of wrasse, pollack, dogfish, ling, coalfish, and an odd conger, to name a few, were landed by the 70 anglers fishing from 9 charter boats. All angling is done at anchor and is bait only.
Today’s leg of the competition was fished in Zone 2 – between Teelin and St. Johns Point. Some boats saw catches dominated by pollack and wrasse, some dogfish and others had a mix of fish – all depending on the ground and the tactics employed.
The Italian team did incredibly well taking four first places and a second. The Azzurris have thrown down the gauntlet to the other teams and if this form continues they will be very hard to shift from first place.
The Irish team will hope to do better on Day 2. Heiko Dreier got caught up on very snaggy ground, losing a lot of time and gear, and Tony Santry also had a bad day in the office but John Dennehy and Josie Barrett did enough to keep Ireland in contention.
While a number of the the teams were disappointed not to feature in the top 5, The Slovenians but on a great unexpected performance to take a very solid Third place.
Ghillie Vincent Appleby reports on the salmon and sea trout fishing in the past week on Lough Currane:
09/09/15 Fishing out of the Bungalow, Mr. John Heaton, fishing with his Gillie Mr. Tom O’Shea of www.flyfishingatloughcurrane.com caught and released 1 Junior. Staying at the Bungalow Mr. William Timmermans of Waterville and Holland and fishing with his Gillie Mr. Neil O’Shea of www.oshealoughcurrane.com caught 3 Sea Trout, from 2 ½ lbs. up 4 lbs. Now we head out of the Bungalow and up the North Shore to the hired out boat department of Waterville Boats and at [email protected] Marc’s Fly Fishing Team from Belgium, caught 3 Juniors and finished their day off with a fine 2 ½ lbs Sea Trout and Marc was telling me that it was hard going out there. Wind SE fresh with reasonable cloud cover at times.
10/09/15 Straight to the Salmon Fly department, Mr. Markus Kruse caught a fine 9 lbs. Salmon, while fishing with his Gillie MD. Now we head for the C&R Sea Trout fly department, Mr. Liam McKnight caught a 1 ½ lbs. Sea Trout, while fishing with his Gillie Mr. Tom O’Shea of www.flyfishingatloughcurrane.com Now to the apology department, yesterday I forgot to mention that Marc’s Fly Fishing Team from Belgium, C&R all their catches. Wind SE strong and heavy rain this evening.
11/09/15 The Big floods take the headlines, with heavy rain for about 24 hours, give or take, will give the Valentia observatory exact amount in tomorrow’s No Spin No Fly’s zone. Now back today’s facts. Straight to the hired out Boat department of Waterville Boats and at [email protected] Marc’s Fly Fishing Team from Belgium, caught 10 Sea Trout ranging Junior class up to 3 ½ lbs. and just for the record all their catches were returned. Now head down the North Shore to the Bungalow, Mr. Arnold Slater caught and released 1 Junior, while fishing with his Gillie Mr. Tom O’Shea of www.flyfishingatloughcurrane.com and Tom’s weather report was flat calm and heavy rain all day. Now back to yesterdays notes, Mr. Markus Kruse of Germany, Markus, sent me a fine photo of his Salmon on the day of capture and sadly I have to say I failed miserably in my duties, because I didn’t check my email last night and Markus and his Gillie MD were not amused, all I can do is put my hands up and say Guilty as charged.
12/09/15 We Start at the Bungalow on the North side, Mr. Arnold Slater, while fishing with his Gillie Mr. Tom O’Shea of www.flyfishingatloughcurrane.com caught and released a fine Sea Trout in the 2 lbs. class. In Tom’s hired out boat department, Mr. Henry Mc.Corry of Armagh in the last 3 days caught and released 8 Juniors. Staying at the Bungalow Dutch Angler Mr. William Timmermans, caught a fine 7 lbs. Salmon on the fly. While fishing with his Gillie Mr. Neil O’Shea of www.oshealoughcurrane.com Now we head down the North Shore to Waterville Boats and at [email protected] Marc’s C&R Fly Fishing Team from Belgium, caught 10 Sea Trout ranging Junior class up to 3 lbs. Staying in the Sea Trout Department, German angler Mr. Markus Kruse, caught 3 Sea Trout on the fly ranging from 1 lbs. up to 3lbs. Now to yesterdays weather, Valentia observatory recorded 55.4 mm of rainfall.
13/09/15 I start in the backdate department, yesterday on the River Inny, Mr. Werner Tutenberg, caught a fine 9 lbs. Salmon. Now we cut across the Valley to Lough Currane and today’s catches, Marc’s C&R Fly Fishing Team from Belgium and in Marc’s own words, plenty of wind this evening but not this morning, again the 3 of us totaled 10 Sea Trout from Juniors and few good 2 ponders and one good fish of 4 ½ lbs. this was our last days fishing and hopefully will be back and fishing in the hired out Boat department of Waterville Boats and at [email protected] again next year. Just for the record its made one almighty flood this evening and still bloody going so watch this space.
14/09/15 Lough Currane was on the quiet side, which isn’t surprising with a total of 36 mm of rainfall yesterday and I can tell you there weren’t many anglers manipulating on the lake, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that, the Native angler headed for the River Inny and Commeragh and as of yet the mobile is silent but I very much doubt if the Inny and Commeragh anglers reels are as silent.
15/09/15 Lough Currane was on the quiet side, even though Local Gillie Mr Neil O’Shea of www.oshealoughcurrane.com reported that his clients, Mr. Denis Daly and Mr. Tom Corkern caught 3 Trout and considering there was little to no wind and a rising Lake they did well, so on that note we head across the Valley to the River Inny where Mr. Werner Tutenberg, caught a fine Grilse and that’s your ration on today’s notes. Now to the picture department, as you all know Marc’s Fly Fishing Team from Belgium were in good form last week and Marc sent me a nice picture of his good friend Dirk holding a fine Trout. Now to the Waterville news department, it has nothing to do with fishing but in my book it has because if the Good Village of Waterville didn’t have a good tidy Village we wouldn’t have Anglers keep coming back, so on that note I will let the tidy towns of Waterville have the last say. Our Tidy Towns Chairman Brendy Donnelly has resigned after putting in a tremendous effort over the last few years! His commitment has been unprecedented and will be sorely missed and that’s a fact.
That is your ration from the opening days on Lough Currane, from your Gillie and the Waterville Fishery, no spin no fly’s just facts.
Vincent Appleby
Vincent Appleby Eureka Lodge, Caherdaniel West, Co. Kerry.
Telephone: +353 (0)66 9475248
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: www.salmonandseatrout.com
The rivers and lakes of Waterville drain a large catchment and are regarded by many as the foremost Salmon and Sea-Trout fishery in the country. The lake system is well developed with access to boats and guides being readily available to the tourist angler. The Sea-Trout caught here are renowned for their size and quantity. For more details see
Waterville lakes and rivers system
Much of Connemara suffered massive floods over the last few days, with up to 140mm of rain recorded in the Clifden-Letterfrack area, causing landslides and roads to collapse. Nigel Rush reports it was the biggest flood he has seen in his time at Kylemore. The water at one stage was flowing over Derryinver Bridge, which as regular visitors will know is usually many feet above water level! Roads in the area were closed for a time, and the abbey itself had to close. The day prior to the flood one salmon was landed, which brought the season total to 99 so far. Water levels will presumably take a while to return to normal, but the lakes usually fish very well at this time of year and should be worth a cast. To book fishing, contact Nigel at 087 9580702.
Ronan Cusack reports that Lough Carra has come alive over the past 2 weeks with some outstanding dry-fly fishing to be had. Dr Martin O’Grady of Inland Fisheries Ireland, spent most of last week fishing dry sedges on Carra and reported having trout up to 5lbs. Martin said it was the most exiting fishing he had experienced in years and looked forward to coming back this weekend. Kevin Egan and Ronan Cusack fished Carra on Sunday and had 6 fish on dries (best fish 4lbs, all released).
Ronan Cusack reports that torrential rain over the past few weeks in the Connacht area has driven water levels on Lough Mask up to what you would expect in mid-November. Anglers and boatmen that have not seen their boats for a while would be well advised to take the time to check them, as many are just about clinging on to the shore.
Fishing over the past week or so has been difficult; possibly due to the volume of flood water in the lake at the moment. Last week saw the 14th Vintners Federation of Ireland 2 day Trout Fishing Competition on Lough Mask, which was hosted by Burkes Bar, Clonbur. As always the competition was well supported by 128 anglers. In first place was well known competition angler, Basil Shields from Oughterard, with 5 fish for 4.255kg over the 2 days. In second position was Tom Ormond from Dublin with 2 fish for 3.131kg. Tom also weighed in the heaviest fish, which tipped the scales at 2.687kg. Richie Willis from Mallow took third place, with 5 fish for 2.583kg. Richie also won the best Vintner prize over the event. The best team of four went to Eddie Gibbons Tourmakeady, Tom Sweeney Macroom, Richie Willis Mallow and Jackie Coyne Renvyle with a total of 13 fish weighing 6.486kgs.
Declan Gibbons reports that as anglers are having their last casts this month, Corrib is still producing excellent sport on wet and dry fly with sedges, daddies and olives doing the business.
In the Oughterard area Kevin Molloy of Baurisheen Boat Hire (087-9604170) and his brother Eamon Molloy had excellent wet fly fishing on Saturday in the Oughterard area, landing 6 trout to the boat with the best fish being 3.5lbs. Also in the Oughterard area Frank Doyle and a friend from Cork had super fishing on Sunday, with Kevin landing 6 trout to the boat with the best fish 2lbs. Staying in the Oughterard area Galway angler Harold O’Toole on Friday last had superb sport catching 10 trout for an estimated 15lbs on wet flies, and on Saturday along with his father kevin they landed 9 trout with an estimated weight of 30lbs on a mixture of wets and dries. In the Greenfields area on Saturday last anglers Andrew Boyd and Michael Monaghan had great wet fly fishing in the area landing 6 fish over 13 inches and landed 10 trout in the 11 to 12 inch bracket, all trout sportingly released.
Readers may be familiar with the well-known flytyer and author Ted Malone from Belfast. Ted and his lovely wife Judy have been coming to Corrib for many years, with a two week pilgrimage in May usually followed by two weeks in September. They always stay at Currarevagh House (www.currarevagh.com) and fish with John Oliver Molloy, their loyal boatman for many years. Last week Ted enjoyed some good sport, with his best fish a fine trout of 4lbs 10oz, as ever caught on a fly that Ted had tied himself. Not bad for a man of 98 years young! Also at Currarevagh, Paddy Dawson from NI and England enjoyed a few good day’s fishing, including 5 trout on one day for approx. 12lbs to wet fly, best fish 3.5lbs.
Larry McCarthy from Corrib View Lodge and Angling Services (www.corribangling.com) had another good day on Sunday, and he says “Corrib has to be the most consistent wild trout fishery in the world. Corrib View Angling Services reported great fishing again last week with trout on wet and dry fly patterns. Larry, while fishing with Peter Neeson from Northern Ireland over 3 days, reported 8 trout between 1.5lbs and 3lbs on wet fly and dry olives in the Greenfields area. On Sunday Larry fished alone for 4 hours and between showers caught 5 cracking trout for a combined weight of 14lbs all on small size 16 dry olive patterns. All trout were sportingly released to have the opportunity to run the spawning streams next month.
At this time of year we would also encourage anglers to practise catch-and-release with fish soon about to run rivers for spawning.
Fishery manager Osgur Grieve reports on fishing from the 8th to the 15th. On the 8th Jean Francois Calvar had a nice 4lbs grilse which he returned on a small black fly from the middle garden pool. On the 10th Jean Jacque and Jean Francois Calvar had 5 sea trout between them ranging in size from 1lbs to 1.5lbs from beats 1 and 9, all of which were returned of course. The sea trout numbers have been very low this year so it was great to see some nice sea trout being caught. The Calvars struck again on the 11th catching and releasing 3 more sea trout weighing 1lb, 1ls, and 1.5lbs. On the 13th Benoit Delille caught and returned a 1lbs sea trout from the Square Pool. Also on the 13th Frederick Murphy caught a 3lbs grilse which he released on a Cascade from the Black Banks. On the same day Martin Wiltort caught a nice 3lbs grilse on a Cascade from the Colonels Run. Willliam Dunbar caught a grilse of 3.3lbs from the Coronation Pool on an Ally’s shrimp on the 15/9/15. With so much rain recently it has meant the river was unfishable on 2 days this last week. Hopefully we will have more to report next week.
With rain forecast we hope to have more to report next week as we still have a few fresh fish entering the system. At the moment we have beats available during September, if you would like to book some fishing please call 095 42208 or check out www.aasleaghlodge.ie
The fourth and final NCFFI Junior Team Ireland qualifier to select Ireland’s Teams to fish at the World Youth Angling Championships in Portugal next year will take place this Saturday on the river Suck at Donamon.
The bait limits for the match will be 3 pints of live bait and 12 ltrs of groundbait. We will be fishing for 3 hours pole and whip fishing only. Poles up to 13m for U23 and 11.5m for U18.
ULSTER JUNIORS RETAIN THEIR INTER-PROVINCIAL TITLE
Teams from Leinster, Connacht and Ulster represented their provinces at the NCFFI inter-Provincial Team Championships yesterday. 20 young anglers in teams of five fought for the title with the scoring based on a points system. Congratulations to the winning Ulster team of Harry Whitehead, Haydn Kellegher, Stefan Patterson, Aaron Galbraith and Jamie Edwards.
1st Ulster 8 points
2nd Leinster 12 points
3rd Connacht 14 points
4th Leinster1 16 points
All credit to the juniors for representing their province, some of whom had fished the All Ireland Championships the day before, and others for whom it was only their second match. Judging by the smiling faces they will be back again. Our juniors are our future – well done everyone!
Compiments of:
NCFFI Junior Team Ireland
Web: www.ncffi.ie
