Well known specimen hunter Jim Clohessy report on a recent trip out from Cobh on board the new Bellavista BIG1 with Kevin Murphy from Bellavista Hotel:
Hard to believe that this was our first real trip of 2014. The winter storms certainly took their toll on our fishing up till now.
Kevin Murphy and Jim Clohessy took advantage of the recent settled spell to launch the Bellavista BIG1 and take an experimental trip for some lure fishing. Water clarity is certainly improving.
The new Bellavista BIG1 prior to launching
Kevin reports ” We launched and headed offshore making the most of the conditions. Even though there was an unexpected Easterly kick to the wind we still managed to locate some nice pollack. Many of the fish were small but we did manage to knock out some bigger fish as well. We were exclusively fishing with lures.”
Jim with a nice Pollack
Kevin had most success with a little Surecatch Pilk whereas Jim had best results from some Yokozuna Sentail paddle tail lures fished on a 60g articulated jig head.
Kevin with very fine pollack
It is early days yet and the fishing will only get better as the water temperature increases.
Fancy a run on the Bellavista BIG1? Contact Kevin Murphy at the Bellavista Hotel, Cobh. 086-6029168. www.bellavistahotel.ie
Get more information on light tackle lure fishing at www.topfisher.eu.
Ross Norton and friend Rory Lynch from Dublin were up for a few days fishing with guest house owner and guide Kevin Lyons of Melview Lodge in Longford, due to the weather on the first day the boat was not an option so Kevin showed them a place to fish from the bank.
Rory Lynch with a personal best pike of 18lb 6oz
It turned out to be a good day for Rory as he managed to bank a nice 18lb 6oz which not only turned out to be the biggest of the day but also a personal best beating his previous weight by 3lb. The fish fell to mackerel dead bait fished on the bottom.
Kevin said the guys tried everything and were rewarded in the end for their efforts.
3.02lbs trout from Lough Owel caught by Pascal Cleary
Michael Flangan had some good fishing on Owel over the weekend and met a few anglers who were also enjoying the sport…
I had a few days on Owel over St Patrick’s weekend and met some great Angling characters. I dropped into Portloman for lunch and caught up with Rochfortbridge brothers Pascal and Tom Cleary. The deadly Duo were having a super day, and Pascal had just wiped Toms eye by landing a super Owel trout of 3.02lbs.
3.02lbs trout from Lough Owel caught by Pascal Cleary
The super looking trout latched onto a Tasmanian Lure, and was in mint condition.
I also had a bit of luck on Owel, and latched onto some lovely over wintered trout. The fish were hitting sticklebacks very hard, and really slapped into my small colorful Lures. I actually had 11 takes but only boated 2 fish with the best at 1.87lbs.
Drumlish angler Johnny Canning on Lough Owel
Johnny Canning a big reader of our Angling slot was also in the thick of the action on Owel. Johnny is from Drumlish Co.Longford, but travels the Country after trout and salmon. I met Johnny down near Kilpatrick Point and he had just boated a fine trout pushing 2lbs on the Tasmanian Lure.
Midlands Angling provide a top class Guiding service covering many of the top coarse and game waters across the Midlands. Visiting fly anglers have landed some fine trout while out with Midland Angling Guides, pike anglers also recorded some net bursting catches including many pike over 20lbs. Top waters include Lough Ree, Ennell, Owel, Lene, Mount Dalton, and Glore Lake just to mention a few. Michael Flanagan Midland Angling
Pike and Trout angling guide.
Angling guide and journalist, Michael Flanagan has all the news from Lough Lene where catching up who doing what and from where is nearly as much fun as the fishing…
Mullingar Lad Des Byrne was drifting across Lough Lene last week and hooked – up with some beautiful hard fight Rainbow trout on the fly. Des is the son of the late Danny Byrne of Danny Byrne’s Bar and Hugh Daniel’s cloths shop, and has recently opened his own Dentist Practice in Navan Town. Des Byrne on Lough Lene
Des starting off on Lene trolling small Lures, and as we trolled some nice fish started to break the surface taking small fry. We pulled in for lunch and tackled up with the fly gear, and as they say the rest is History. On the day we boated cracking fish up on 3lbs.
LOUGH LENE CUP
This coming Sunday March 23rd we kick off our trout competitions on Lough Lene.Its an all legal method competition, and all going well weather permitting we will see a few young Anglers out on the Lake. It’s an 11am start from Fagan’s Point and all boats in at 6pm.
KILMACANOHUE / BALLYNACARGY CONNECTION
Even in the Angling World you never know who you meet up with, and last week Graham Bushe and Son Kevin of Kilmacanohue, Co. Wicklow were enjoying a father Son day on Lene. Grahan and Kevin Bushe from Wicklow had some lovely trout on Lough Lene
The Lads are only getting into the fishing game, and young Kevin really had a super time here in Westmeath. I had a great chat with Graham and he told me that he has quite a bit of Westmeath Blood running through his veins. Grahams Mother was born Lucy Riggs back in 1931 in Ballncarrigy, and all of 83 years old. Lucy along with other family members left Ballacarrigy at a very young age, but never forgot their Westmeath Roots. The lads will certainly be back in Mullingar, and thirteen years old Kevin is also a very Keene soccer player and you just might see him coming up against Mullingar Town, or Mullingar Athletic in years to come. Michael Flanagan Midland Angling
Make a booking
Midlands Angling provide a top class Guiding service covering many of the top coarse and game waters across the Midlands. Visiting fly anglers have landed some fine trout while out with Midland Angling Guides, pike anglers also recorded some net bursting catches including many pike over 20lbs. Top waters include Lough Ree, Ennell, Owel, Lene, Mount Dalton, and Glore Lake just to mention a few. Michael Flanagan Midland Angling
Pike and Trout angling guide. Telephone: +353 (0)44 9348969 or +353 (0)87 2797270 Fax: +353 (0)44 9342781 Email:[email protected]Web:www.midlandangling.com
Pat Cleere is back with another update on the fly fishing and hatches on the River Liffey…
Fly life still scarce with small hatches of large Dark Olives on North Kildare’s water around Newbridge and also on the Clane stretch. Hatches will no doubt improve with suitable conditions.
The Liffey is still a bit on the high side and is slightly coloured. Anglers fishing around Athgarvan and Kilcullen areas had fish on beaded nymphs and small wet spider patterns, with some anglers catching fish on Dry flies mostly fished on the blind.
David landing a trout on Liffey
If you want to give the River Liffey a cast some Gold Bead Hares Ear nymphs, Copper Johns are worth a try or the following wet fly patterns, Partridge & Yellow, Greenwell Spiders, Partridge & Orange, Pearl spiders.
If we get a few mild wet days don’t forget some Olive or CDC patterns. Don’t forget Day & Evening tickets for the River Liffey can be purchased from us.
Fly casting instruction in both Trout & Salmon for complete novices or more experienced anglers just wishing to improve their techniques. Tuition can be arranged either individually, in pairs or a group. EQUIPMENT CAN BE PROVIDED. We also provide Guided Packages on the River Liffey. There is a large stock of Brown Trout in the Liffey, with the average size of 30cm on some stretches, with trout in excess of 2lb being a real possibility. www.flycastingireland.com
Day tickets for the Liffey
Day & Evening tickets for the River Liffey can be purchased from,
Cleere’s Angling Centre,
16B Clane Business Park,
Clane, Co. Kildare.
TEL: 045-893551/045-902932 www.fishingirelandcentre.com
Lough Sheelin Angling Report By Brenda Montgomery, IFI -March 10th to March 16th, 2014
Trout are like dreams hovering in the elusive unconscious…
Kitty Pearson-Vincent
Mirror, Mirror on the wall …………The spiritual beauty of Lough Sheelin
It was a week of mixed fortunes for the Sheelin anglers with the weather ultimately having the final say with the fishing. Catches were sporadic throughout the week but despite frost bitten fingers and chilling temperatures dropping to below zero, Lough Sheelin kept its anglers engaged, enthralled and enchanted by producing some lovely catches of wild trout in top class condition.
A thick fog shrouded the lake on most mornings reluctantly clearing to leave heavy grey leadened skies and dead flat calm waters with only Friday and the weekend alleviating the stillness with west to south westerly winds causing some kick to the waters.
A foggy Lough Sheelin – March 11th
We are only into the third week of the fishing season and early season fishing can be notoriously tough going but this week that toughness was softened somewhat by the first sightings of the duck fly particularly around the Stony Islands.
The duck fly is basically a dark early season buzzer (belonging to the Chironomid family) and its arrival heralds the beginning of some serious fly fishing.
If temperatures continue to rise and the weather behaves itself then the duck fly hatches will be big and in general last up to 3 weeks. The duck fly probably got its name from providing a handy meal for ducks when there was a profusion of hatching but the gulls also put this fly on their menu. Some local anglers watch out for what is jokingly referred to as a hatch of gulls – when the gulls feed on the hatching fly.
Anglers are reporting that the fish are starting to show an interest in this fly with some pitching and head and tail rising.
With the milder weather coming in (fishing rods crossed) it’s time to start thinking about patterns which should bring out a few naturals.
Sheelin has extensive shallow bays and with the gradually receding water levels the best areas are around the lake edges, rocky shores and the exposed points.
Because the water temperatures are still low, trout do not move much so fishing a figure of 8 would be recommended. The Humungus (in black and silver) and the Minkie (in black) are still in top place because of the predominant (but gradually changing) feeding of the trout on the freshwater louse, but a team of small wets (Black Pennel, Watson’s Fancy and a Sooty Olive) might be a killing combination. Using a sinking line is still best but using a sinking tip because of the increasing shallowness of the lake could also achieve good results.
David Nevin, Dublin with his wild Sheelin trout (David wears a floatation jacket)
David Nevin, Dublin with his wild Sheelin trout
The most successful flies for this week’s fishing were the Dabblers, Hare’s Ear, the Glister Ollie, Bibios, Humungus (black & Silver and also black), Minkies, Golden Olive Bumbles, Connemara Black and the Midnight Stalker.
It is good to see some different wet fly patterns emerging, all of whose’s make-up is a closely guarded secret, divulgence of which I am told would be like seeing ‘snow in the summer’ but the way our seasons are going perhaps that may well be a possibility and so maybe will the sharing of those coveted killer Sheelin patterns.
The Sooty DabblerThe Black Pennell
The Kilroy Cup
On Sunday March 16th the first competition of the season – The Kilroy Cup was hosted on the lake by the local angling club, the LSTPA. This year saw the biggest numbers of entrants at 67 with the angling club raising the bar to participants by introducing a 16 inch limit. Lough Sheelin exceeded expectations by producing some beautiful fish well beyond that limit and allowing all the anglers to see what this lake is capable of. 18 fish in total were weighed in with many more being released. The competition was won by Monaghan man Peter Boyle with a fine 6.32 lb 63cm trout, coming in tight on his heels was Mullingar angler Kieran Newman with a 6.1 lb 66cm fish.
Peter Boyle, Monaghan with his winning 6.3 lb 63 cm trout
Some other nice weights in the competition were from –
Martin McGorian 1 @ 4.1 lbs
Aidan Heffernan 1 @ 4.34 lbs
Oliver McCormack 1 @ 4.66 lbs
Martin McCoy 1 @ 4.32 lbs
For anyone wishing to join this club – The Lough Sheelin Protection Association, please contact Thomas Lynch @ 087 9132033.
Kieron Newman, Mullingar 2nd in the Kilroy Cup with his 6.12 lb 66cm fish
The angling magazine Total Flyfisher has recently published an article about Sheelin in which local ghillie Gary McKiernan (www.loughsheelinguidingservices.com) ‘praises this prolific water’. It makes for interesting reading and throws an encouraging light over this special lake.
Tom McMullan with his 55cm 5lb Sheelin trout (Tom wears a personal floatation jacket)
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
Back to the water – an over 3 lb trout safely returned
Upcoming Competitions
The popular SheelinClassictrout competition now in its 10th year will be run onLough Sheelin on Saturday April 19th which is the Easter Bank Holiday weekend.
For further information on this competition please contact NoelMcLoughlin at 087 2179460
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.
The heaviest fish for the week was the winner of the Kilroy Cup – Peter Boyle, Monaghan with his 6.3 lb trout.
Total number of trout recorded: 56
Selection of Catches
John Mulvaney, Kells – 1 trout at 2lbs caught on a minkie.
Paul Lunney, Ballyconnell – 1 trout caught March 14th weighing in at 4 lbs using a Sooty Dabbler.
John Bates, Navan – 1 trout over 3 lbs caught fishing from Derry pt. to Inchicup.
Tommy Rush, Northern Ireland – 1 trout at 2.78 lbs using wets.
Dave McBride – 1 trout at 3.22 lbs.
Andrew Brown, Dublin – 1 trout at 2.92 lbs.
Frank Kelly – 5 trout on Sunday March 16th, ranging in weight from 1 ½ to 3 ½ lbs caught using teams of small wets.
Fishing on Carrigavantry and Knockaderry in County Waterford has got off to a great start this month . Both lakes have been stocked with over 1000 browns and rainbows in the past month and the fly take has been superb. Many of the fish caught are of the over winter variety and are great fighters. The local fishermen and visitors have recounted their stories of great battles with some large fish. Some up to 6lbs weight. Some have been described in the words of the late Jacques Cousteau as “Predators of the deep ” because of their large size. In the pictures you can see some of the beautiful golden brownies caught in Carrigavantry earlier in the month by local club members Tommy MacFarland and Paul Mitchell. The vast majority of fish caught are now on catch and release. Looking forward to a great season and visitors are most welcome.
Maurice O’Connor
PRO Waterford City and County trout anglers association
Sean Carty of Carty’s Land and Sea Sports in Bundoran, Co. Donegal updates us on the fishing in the north of the country:
The Sea angling from the charter boats has taken off again this week with reports of great fishing from the Prospector 1 boat that is based in Mullaghmore . This morning (Sunday ) they are out and are reporting great fishing for Coalies and Pollock with anglers taking doubles and trebles regularly and there is also reports of good Cod fishing too . Even though it’s early in the season it’s well worth wetting a line especially if you would like to tick the Cod off your species list for 2014 keeping in mind that as the weeks pass and the water temperature rises many species such as the Cod will move away to deeper , colder waters only to be replaced by other species such as the Mackerel etc .
Donegal PollackA March treble
Its been a fairly good week on the Shore angling front too considering the time of year etc . Anglers on the silver strand for a few hours during the week had good fishing with Flounder , Turbot and Coalies . Tullan Strand at Bundoran also fished well with one angler reporting 12 fish in 2 hours including Seatrout , Flounder , Turbot and Coalies .
Gavin Dorrian with a nice Flounder
It’s only a few weeks till the Carty’s Alcedo shore league that is been ran in conjunction with Artico and Shamrock tackle . Any anglers interested in taking part should contact us in the shop on 07198 29698 or by email at [email protected] to book your place or get further information
This week we have a highly motivated and skilled Swedish team led by Hasse Dehlin. They are all experts in catching big salmon in Norway. This skill and expertise which the men claim to have, has so far been almost fruitless with one exception.
Kenneth Nordia had small fish of approx. 5lbs yesterday from Wrens Point off Finlough. The fish was taken on a non descript.
Lisa Engbert with her 11lb 15oz fish
It was however Lisa Engbert who showed all the boys how to do it today when she landed a beautiful 11lbs15ozs fresh fish off Finlough. The fish was taken on a Breakfast fly, never heard of it before but it’s basically a black and orange tube. Lisa it must be said had an excellent ghillie in her husband Nils. Lisa is therefore well in the lead on the score sheet as we speak.
The river is still holding at 25 and we are supposed to get a belt of rain tomorrow night which would give the boys a chance to claw some ground back on Lisa.
On a totally different issue we also have a cottage and 2 rods available for week 23, i.e. 31st May to 7th June which can be an excellent week. If there is anybody interested in this, please contact the Carole or Anne in the office on 095 42222
David McEvoy Delphi Fishery
Go fishing…
At Delphi Lodge, with many years of experience with the timing of the best runs of fish, we have in place a price system that offers both great value fishing and lets our anglers know when they have the best chance to catch a fresh run spring salmon or a summer grilse or Delphi sea trout.
It wasn’t green but silver that caught Steven Neely’s eye on St Patrick’s Day as he went in search of Sea-trout on the Donegal coast. He tells us;
It has been a long time coming but finally we tracked down the first few sea trout of 2014.
The weather in Co. Donegal has been rough to say the least but battling those fierce winds paid off. As expected there are a few kelts knocking around at the moment – it is important to take great care of these fish and return them with as little stress as possible.
Judging by the tail on this fish it certainly has a lot of weight to put back on before regaining its pre spawn size.
The 70 mm Black Minnow was proving to be the lure of choice along with the ever faithful Abu Krill!
As the weather improves and hopefully settles down the sport should start to pick up!
Check out Steven’s online shop….Fish on Lures
With A – Z in brand names, Fish on Lures caters for all anglers. It specializes in lure fishing equipment giving quality at a reasonable price.
Tel: +44 (0)7729614986 Email: [email protected] Web:www.fishonlures.co.uk
