Belgian anglers William and Patrick spent 5 days bellyboating around Ballinamore last week. Due to bad weather conditions the fishing was tough for much of the trip. William was disappointed with his 14 pike for 5 days fishing, but Patrick (who will stay fishing until Friday) managed to catch 32 pike of on Saturday alone!
In the majority of the lakes they fished the pike could not be found close to the bank. However 2 smaller lakes, which will remain unnamed, proved a different story and so Patrick hit 32 pike close to the banks amongst the weeds. The pair fished to 9.25 pm that Saturday, and returned on Sunday at 7 am but all pike seemed to have left the lake. What a difference in just a few hours!
William with his 82cm pike
William caught the 2 biggest pike of the five days. One of them was measured at 82 cm and the other one was touching 80cm. He also had the heartache of loosing something that felt much bigger, “something big my shad hit at 7 meters of water, I could hold her for just a few meters and then lost it…damn”.
The pair survived heavy showers and strong wind and reported that bellyboating in those cold, wet and windy conditions was no fun. For most of the trip it seemed like spring was still a far way off. But now that the weather has changed so dramatically there’s a good chance that Patrick his having the time of his life.
Angling accommodation
William and Patrick stayed at Hamill’s Bed and Breakfast and found their host Damien to be a very good Fear an Ti who was able to cater to all their angling requirements.
Hamills have a ‘Fishermans Workshop’ located in the grounds offering work benches, bait fridges, clothes lines and storage. Theyare situated right next door to a Bait and Tackle Shop, ‘The Forge’.
Brenda Montgomery, IFI reports from Lough Sheelin – April 15th to April 21st 2013:
Only an extraordinary person would purposely risk being outsmarted by a creature often less than twelve inches long, over and over again.
~ Janna Bialek
Early morning at Crover, Lough Sheelin April 15th
Sheelin was dogged this week by days of wild blustery south to south westerly winds which tore across the lake and on some days reached gale force. The windy conditions continued on right up to the weekend which made fishing the lake near impossible and precarious on Wednesday when winds reached speeds of up to 90km/hour, the lake looked like churned up milky tea and in one local angler’s words ‘sure it would be like fishing on the sea that day’ and maybe it would have been but there are some anglers who have sea legs and it didn’t stop Armagh men Martin and his son David O’Connor tentatively venturing out and Martin landing a beautiful 8 ½ – 9 lb trout using a claret dabbler and David also catching 3 trout averaging 2 – 3lbs, all of which were carefully released to live to fight another day.
Martin O’Connor with his 8 ½ – 9lb trout caught in gale force conditions on April 17th
The day time temperatures steadily remained at over 10 degrees and on some occasions reached the ‘near tropical’ heights of 15. Fly life is still poor to verging on non-existent on the lake although a cone of buzzer was spotted around the sailors garden on Sunday afternoon/evening.
It is still all wet fly and lure fishing, no sign of the dry fly moving in.The Dabbler remains in the dominant position with the claret, peter ross and green dabbler proving to be the most successful but the cock robin, hare’s ear, silver invicta and glister Ollie are still hanging in there. Lures are the minkies and humongous.
All areas of Sheelin are fishing well and the only thing that governs where the angler chooses to go is the wind, for instance on Wednesday the waves were beating off the shore at Wilson’s pt and seemed to an ever hopeful angler a likely spot to hold ‘a big lad’ that same angler momentarily struck gold when a 5 lb plus trout came to the side of the boat but as he stood the fish suddenly woke up and took blistering runs to the depths then disaster struck in that the angler’s line broke and the fish was gone and how did that happen – he had made the fatal error of stepping on the line………….
David O’Connor, Armagh with his 6 ½ trout caught on Sunday April 21st using a dabbler
Sheelin is gathering speed and the weekend with the mild temperatures showed a big increase in catches.
Lough Sheelin is starting to’ bubble’ with fish and if the weather behaves itselfthis lake is going to stretch to its full potential and become every anglers dream.
Andrew Browne (loughsheelinguidingservices.com) with his trout of 3 ¼ lbs caught in stormy conditions on Sheelin on Wednesday April 17thPaul Lunny, Cavan with his beautiful 4 ½ lb trout caught on Sunday April 21st using a Peter Ross Dabbler
The popular SheelinClassictrout competition now in its 9th year will be run onLough Sheelin on Sunday June 9th 2013 – 11am to 6pm.This is a heaviest fish competition with a 15” size limit and only 2 fish per competitor.
This competition willinvolvean open draw for partners and entries must be in by May31st.Entry fee is €70 for a boating angler and €90 a non boating angler.Entry fee includes a meal in Crover House after the competition
There will be numerous prizes (up to 10 ) which include:
1st 19ft Sheelin boat & trailer & crystal & the coveted Davey O’Connor perpetual cup
2nd 5 hp 4 stroke outboard engine & crystal
This is a competition well worth marking in your diary and because of the popularity of the Sheelin Classic and to avoid disappointment, it is advisable to secure your entry sooner rather than later by contacting NoelMcLoughlin at 087 2179460 for further information
A catch & release policy is actively encouraged on the lake at all times
Please remember anglers that the size limit on this lake is 30 cm (11.8 inches) – we need our small fish alive…….
East Coast Angling club members taking a break from their Sheelin competition on the Ross shorelineGary McKiernan with his 4 ¼ lb trout caught April 17th
Catch of the week was a 8 ½ – 9 lb trout caught by Martin Connor, Armagh on April 17th using a claret dabbler
Total catches recorded:79
Selection of Catches
Martin and David O’Connor, Armagh – Wednesday April 17th, Martin caught his record 8 ½ – 9 lb trout and David caught 3 trout ranging from 2 – 3 lbs in weight, all caught on claret dabblers. On Sunday April 21st both men were out again this time David landed 4 fish best of which was 6 ½ lbs with the others ranging between 1 ½ – 2 ½ lbs, while Martin took 1 trout at 4 ½ lbs.
Gary McKiernan (loughsheelinguidingservices.com) – on April 17th 2 trout at 4 ¼ and 2 ½ lbs, on Saturday 4 trout heaviest weighed in at 2 ½ lbs and on Sunday April 21st 1 trout at 1 ½ lbs.All these fish were caught on a silver dabbler and all were released.
Andrew Brown, Dublin – on Wednesday 3 trout, heaviest at 3 ¼ lbs using a silver dabbler.
Noel McLoughlin & Brendan Moran, Kells – using lures, 2 trout weighing in at 3 and 4lbs.
Dessie McEntee, Cavan – on April 17th, 1 trout at 4 ½ lbs on a green dabbler in Ross bay.Dessie reported a lot of movement of fish and great fishing between 4 – 5pm then it just stopped.
Gene Brady, Cavan – 1 trout at 2 ½ lbs.
On Saturday April 20th a visiting Offaly angler landed himself a lovely 3 ½ lb trout in Goreport on a dabbler.
David McBride, Dublin – 5 trout at 4 ½, 3 ½, 2 ¾ , 2 ½ and 1 ½ lbs on lures.
John Brennan, Longford – on Saturday April 20th 1 trout at 4 ½ lb using a peter ross dabbler.
Alan Murray fishing withNoel Shiels – 3 trout at 1 ¾ – 3 ½ lbs using a sooty olive and a pearly dabbler.
William Craig, Antrim and Harry Graham, Belfast – 3 trout ranging in weight between1 ½ – 3 lbs, caught using a sooty olive
Eamon Ross fishing with Paul Lunny, Ballyconnell – 3 trout on Saturday April 20th, heaviest at 4 ½ lb, rest ranging in weight between 1 ¾ – 2 ½ lbs.4 trout on Sunday April 21st heaviest again was 4 ½ lbs with the rest of the fish weighing in at 1 ½ – 2 ½ lbs, best fly used was the peter ross dabbler.
Gary McKiernan (loughsheelinguidingservices.com) releasing his 4 ¼ lb trout caught on April 17th
While on an evening session this Slaney bar of silver (pictured below) gave me the fight I’ve been looking for. After a few sessions with nothing much to report but a few small brown trout and the odd sea trout this strong and beautiful 10lb (approx) Salmon led me up and down the bank stripping my fly reel twice. After fighting hard for what seemed like an age, I was finally able to get her into my net. With a quick photo taken this wonderfully conditioned Salmon was released back to carry on with her journey. It’s nights like these that make me want to go fishing again and again.
Heribert was very pleased with his 14lbs 5oz salmon
22/04/2013: The Cuckoo has just arrived and according to Paddy Heneghan’s calendar it’s a day early. It may hopefully be an indication of the onset of kinder weather with higher temperatures. I hope this isn’t wishful thinking on my part.
The fishing has continued to be excellent and we have landed 8 fish since my last update.
David Dunne had a fish on Saturday afternoon off Finlough of 6lbs3ozs on a Flame Thrower.
Ken Williams, Heribert and Jens with their fish
The remaining 7 fish have all been landed by a group of German anglers from Munich. 5 of these were landed yesterday, 4 of them off Fin weighing in at 7lbs10.5ozs taken by Heribert, 6lbs9ozs taken by Jens, 8lbs14.5ozs taken by Ken Williams, his first ever and then in the afternoon Bernd had one of 10lbs9ozs. All were taken on cone head Frances’s or Collie’s. One fish was also landed on Doolough of approx 11lbs again by Heribert.
Bernd from Munich with his 10lb 9oz catch
There were 2 landed today, both from Finlough on Collie Dogs weighing in at approx. 7lbs and a sea liced cracker of 14lbs5ozs taken by Heribert.
Fish are proving difficult to tempt in the river at the moment with most of the apparently running straight through, even though conditions are ideal with water running at 55 and dropping.
Heribert was very pleased with his 14lbs 5oz salmon
Labour TD for Cork South West Michael McCarthy has welcomed the news that almost a quarter of a million euro has been allocated to harbour projects and coastal development programmes in West Cork.
The funding has been made available under the Fishery Harbours and Coastal Infrastructure Development Programme 2013.
Deputy McCarthy said: ‘This funding will help to develop a number of local fishing harbours, piers and coastal projects in West Cork this year. In total, €234,000 has been allocated to local projects under the scheme, with the funded works varying from reparation of sea walls to upgrading power supply units at piers. I am confident that the money will go some way towards improving the infrastructure in these areas and enhancing the well-being and sustainability of our local coastal communities…..
Hamish Currie, skipper of Predator II returns to the sea and reports:
After a long spell ashore for a number of reasons its was back to business last week and the first target was a wreck 27km north of Red Bay, a few Pollack were taken along with coalfish, spurdogs ling and a few strap congers. Decided to anchor up in the wreck for a couple of hours over slack water and low and behold we had a stranger making a appearance to the delight of William Watson from Newtownabbey. It was his first ever one and weighed in at a impressive 151lbs well done that man on 30lb gear.
Patrick Halpin from IFI’s Limerick offices reports that though there was good fishing water for most of the week on the Feale, with the exception of Wednesday when there was a huge flood. Patrick spoke with 7 anglers on the river during the week but no fish were reported. The river was up about a foot again on Sunday and there was great fishing water yesterday (22 April). The River Smearlagh, a tributary of the River Feale had quite a flood on Sunday so there should be a run of fresh there soon.
The River Smearlagh in a rising flood on Sunday
North Kerry Anglers Association
The North Kerry Anglers report that as of today there is good fishing water on the Feale with 500mm on the gauge. The weather is mild 13.0C- overcast now – slight breeze.
Darra's salmon, caught on his first trip to the FealeDarra Safely releases his fish
Darra O’Connel had a great introduction to the river. On his first outing he had a lovely 12lb 2oz fish on an ally Tube in the Joinings. Darra released the fish unharmed.
Joinings – The meeting between the Feale and Smearlagh rivers – this is the junction where salmon and sea trout take a breather in their relentless journey upstream to spawn. Here in this melting pot – they analysis the juices from both rivers and then decide whether they have to travel east up the Feale or south up the Smearlagh. Best fished in high to moderate water with a fly or spinning lure. Peaceful and tranquil area to fish in – it will melt all your troubles away and send you home feeling ‘it’s good to be alive’.
North Kerry Anglers wish to inform Members that we have secured the lease of 1.1 miles of additional fishery known locally as Cooke’s Fishery for the additional pleasure of our members and all those that want to join our club. The fishery runs westward from Listowel Town and adjoins our existing fisheries. A two bank fishery it runs on the North bank for .06 Miles and on the South bank for .05 miles towards Finuge Fishery taking in the “Cot Hole”.
Ken O’Neill from our Limerick office reports that there were a modest number of anglers competing on the Lough Graney Pike angling Competition last Sunday 21st April. The Winning catch was a 14lb with the runner up Pike weighing 6lb.
Ken O’Neill reports on trout fishing in County Clare’s rivers and lakes…
West Clare Rivers
There has been a slight increase in Trout Angling due recent flooding conditions in the West Clare Rivers (Doonbeg, Annageeragh and Inagh). This present flood is the first big flood of the season and Trout will be stirred up and feeding. The retreating flooding conditions in a week or two will be timely for the mayfly hatch there.
Anglers are advised to be aware that there is a new Byelaw in place on the West Clare Rivers – Byelaw 907 – which prohibits a person using (or attempting to use) Worms as bait. In addition, this Byelaw provides for the use of only single barbless hooks when angling for any kind of fish. County Clare Rivers that are specified in the Byelaw are Owenagarney River (Sixmilebridge Area), Skivileen or Cree River (Near Doonbeg), Aughyvackeen (Kilshanny / Lahinch Area), Doonbeg, Annageeragh (Quilty Area) and Inagh (Ennistymon area).
However, this does not prevent anglers from Fly Fishing or Spinning – as long as its a single barbless hook. For more details, contact IFI Limerick Office – (061) 300239.
The Fergus River, being a Mixed Fishery is not specified under this Byelaw – However, care is kindly requested from all anglers to ensure that any Salmon accidently hooked in this Closed River is carefully handled and returned to the river as soon as possible.
East Clare Lakes
Roslara and Dromore Lakes are quiet at the moment. The Tulla Anglers Lough Meelagh produced a whopping 3 ¾ lb Trout during the week.
Ken O’Neill reports on the trout fishing on Lough Derg…
The Mayfly has not yet been seen on the Lake. Anglers are hoping that this year will be a more natural mayfly year this year than last year. The Mayfly hatch in 2012 occurred very early. Mr. Kevin Grimes of St. Flannans angling club recorded the beginnings of the hatch on the 18th Match, a lot of May Fly out on the 29th March and the full hatch in early April. The hatch this year, being a bit later, may be more natural for the lake and this will hopefully provide spent fishing in warmer evenings for anglers. The Mayfly angling last year was a colder experience as it happened earlier in the season.
There was a fly angling competition in Scarriff on Sunday the 21st April. The results of the competition were three fish weighed – 1lb, 1 ½ lb and a 2 lb Trout. The winning fish was caught by Mike Gough from Killestry.
It is worth mentioning also that a 5 ½ lb trout was caught In Lough Derg at Mountshannon trolling last week.
The Annual Interclub competition between Mountshannon and Ballina angling Club produced 4 Trout – the winning Trout was a 2lb beauty caught by a Ballina Angling Club Member – Nially Barry
Jimmy (Crock) Minogue Memorial Cup
Jimmy (Crock) Minogue Memorial Cup
The Mountshannon Angling Club, in association with Waterways Ireland, are running an Open Competition on Lough Derg on the 5th May. This is an angling competition for Trout and the heaviest Fish wins (bag limit of 4 Fish).
It costs €50 to enter the competition – however the club are putting all proceeds in aid of Stream enhancement and Rehabilitation for the many nursery tributaries streams / rivers into Lough Derg. All enquiries about this competition to Mr. Brian Kenneally (087) 6216639.
