Jim Hendrick writes “Saltwater fly fishing for bass is not easy, or rather, fly ‘casting’ for bass is too often the very difficult part of it, if not the most difficult, part for many people. I’m on a constant search for ways and means to make it easier both for my customers and myself. One of these ‘ways’ that I have spent a hell of a lot of time on is turnover and fly delivery for bass.
I want my fly to land where I want it to be and I want to connect and control it immediately after it has landed.”
Jim gives some excellent tips on how to fish on a rocky windy coast with rising tide. He breaks his advice down into three categories:
Shortly after posting my last update on the 27th, Yvonne Zirngibl managed to land a beautiful 6lbs2ozs sea liced fish from the Whin pool. The fish was taken on a Collie Dog and was landed by her husband Werner.
Since then water levels have dropped off and fish are becoming increasingly difficult to entice, especially since water temperatures have dropped even more and were only 4.4 degrees C this morning. There are still fish to be seen in the river, as only yesterday I saw 4 in one pool. Hopefully someone will manage to wangle one out!!
This now brings total for the year to 18, which considering the conditions is not bad at all. Personally I would actually be quite optimistic whenever we do return to normal weather that we will be pleasantly surprised by the number of fish. I hope I don’t have to eat my words!!!
David Muirin from East Coast Fishing was delighted to get a fishing permit from the missus and he wasted no time in putting it to good use. A quick call to his friend Dawid and off they went for some late afternoon trout fishing. And the water didn’t disappoint them, they managed to catch two fine fish.
Easter TroutDawid with trout David hiding behind his fish !
Eileen Carroll Murphy IFI reports on conditions from Killarney lakes, Lough Leane, Killarney Flesk and Laune beats for the week ending Sunday March 31st:
KILLARNEY LAKES AND LOUGH LEANE
2 salmon landed on the Lower Lake, one weighing 10lbs and one weighing 8lbs, both caught trolling by local anglers.
RIVER LAUNE BEATS 1 AND 2
Water levels low and the fish are running straight through.
KILLARNEY FLESK
1 salmon of 8lbs landed spinning by a local angler.
Three confirmed catches have been reported from the Moy over the past week, with Gannons’ Fishery yielding one of 8lbs to Padraic O’Boyle which was taken on a spinner. Meanwhile, at Rinanney, two springers of 9.5lbs were taken on the worm by James Martin and Christy McClelland.
Martin Nolan landed the first salmon of the season on Lough Beltra recently, where he captured the fresh 7lbs sea-liced fish on a shrimp pattern at ‘Tommys Wall’.
A stones throw from Dublin is the well stocked Tinnehinch Fly fishing Centre in Enniskerry. Hugh Duff tells us that with the weather taking a step back to winter the hatches of olives that were beginning to appear prior have come to an abrupt end.
Nevertheless the few hardy souls that have ventured out are being rewarded with fish which are mostly coming to lures.
A couple of extra degrees of mercury should provide the hatches that are only round the corner!
Tinnehinch Lake and club house
Lessons and tackle hire are available on request
For enquiries on fishing in a beautiful and scenic location contact Hugh Duff at Tinnehinch, Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow.
The Arctic weather continued on during this week stretching disappointingly right into the Easter weekend as anglers watched on apprehensively trying to find a gap to take to the water.
Why is it so persistently and unseasonably cold? Well the villain of the piece is a big blob of high pressure air sitting perched above northern Scandinavia which has refused to budge since early March and which is blocking off the normal westerlies and the mild Atlantic air that we usually get at this time of the year and instead is channelling bitterly cold easterlies in our direction. Because of the extent of the high pressure the source of air is from the very far east in Siberia and until the blockage moves we are stuck in this weather trap and remain shivering.
Kilnahard pier, good Friday March 29th
It was the North East wind that put a nail in it for even the ‘die hards’ on Lough Sheelin and the waiting game continued all through the week. The lake, however seemed unperturbed and stretched out in front of its anglers covered in white horses and churned up water oblivious to the frustration building up on its shoreline in the form of fishermen donned in their gear accompanied by an array of flies, rods and the essential flask, only to have to turn away once more. The Easter weekend is traditionally busy on the lake but this year only a smattering of anglers went out and without sounding like a broken record the only reason for this was the bitter cold.
Paul Lunny’s trout March 31st 2013
Some anglers despite everything and through sheer perseverance did catch fish and one in particular Paul Lunny from Ballyconnell in Cavan had a real battle on his hands on Easter Sunday when he caught a trout in Chambers Bay. This trout did not come easy as the fish rose to the top dropper and was hooked in the dorsal fin by the middle dropper. This left it very hard to control and in the ensuing battle, Paul got his net tangled in the engine while trying to reverse towards the fish. The engine stalled, the net was destroyed, and poor Paul had to beach the boat on Chamber’s shoreline in order to land the fish. The trout measured 19.5 inches and weighed around the 4 ½ lb mark and after all that showing true conservationist spirit, Paul carefully released his hard to catch prize back to fight another day.
Easter Sunday March 31st – an angler battles his way across towards the shelter of Church Island
Paul also lost a fish in Ross Bay on the same day but has caught a number of trout since the beginning of the season, this is a young angler who shows true promise for the future.
Dry fly fishing as yet doesn’t feature on the lake so for now it’s all ‘dragging the wet flies’. Flies used this week were a selection of Dabblers, the March Brown, the Silver Invicta, the Glister Ollie, the Hare’s Ear and the Cock Robin and still as in previous weeks the lures used were predominantly the black or fan coloured Minkies.
Peter Boyle’s beautiful wild 4 lb Sheelin trout caught using a Cock Robin March 2013
Anglers advisably kept to the shorelines and sheltered bays and could be found in various alcoves and behind islands, the choice of location solely dependent on wind direction and of course on some days shelter from the showers of sleet and hail…
A warm up was essential before going out on Sheelin for this month. Tadhg (7) and Oisin Sheridan (9) at Finea bridge March 24th after taking 1st and 2nd place in GAA 5km fun run around the Sheelin Catchement to raise much needed funds for the local clubs – and then it was fishing.
Sheelin Classic trout competition
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 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
There will be numerous prizes which include:
1st 19ft Sheelin boat & trailer & crystal & the coveted Davey O’Connor perpetual cup
2nd 5 hp 4 stroke outboard engine & crystal
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…….
The heaviest fish for the week was by Paul Lunny, Ballyconnell at 4 1/2lbs
Total catches recorded for the week: 9
One of the many Lough Sheelin Trout Protection Association’s signs to encourage trout preservation on the lake
James leaned forward across the table, his ample fist wrapped around the jam jar that served as a wine glass. “Lookie here,” he said with an air of finality, “there’s not a trout stirring in this cold, the rivers are far too low for salmon, and you might as well cast into the bathtub as into the sea, for the boats have the ocean scoured. There’s only one hope for a right fish of any sort, and that’s to go for a pike. The females are fat and heavy with spawn and the Jacks will bite at anything… The Mayo News, 02/04/13. Read the full article ‘Time to strike for a record pike‘.
