Pat McDonnell Reports:
Lough Derg :
Paul Burke and Danny Tiernan from Irishfishingtours.com report that the pike fishing has slowed down because of the high water and jack pike are the only fish obliging at the moment.
Portumna :
Very few anglers about with the high water but any that have made the effort are having a hard time keeping up with their ground bait such is the power of the current.
West Clare Rivers and Lakes report by Ken O’Neill
Rivers and lakes have been in flood all week and angling for trout is quiet. Knockerra Lake and Kilkee reservoir have been restocked with some nice rainbow Trout.
Fergus River
The Fergus is in flood at the moment. Some nice trout were caught during the rising flood in Ennis.
All anglers on the Fergus are requested to pay heed their hook sizes in order to reduce the risk of accidently catching and killing Salmon at this time when there is a run on.
East Clare Rivers and lakes
Lough Derg coarse angling is poor enough at the moment due to weather and flood conditions. The number of anglers out on the lake were few enough last week.
A 7lb 9oz Trout was taken when trolling in Derg near Bushy Island (Mountshannon) during the week by a young angler called Patrick Mooney from Ogonelloe.
Clare Area Report by Ken O’Neill
Summary.
Some surprising catches last week in spite of the persistent weather conditions and flooding in rivers.
Clare Areas
Sea Area – Fanore – Doonbeg – Shannon Estuary
The Shannon estuary is fishing well at the moment for Tope and Bull Huss. The normal whitefish fishing is sporadic at the moment as is the Mackeral fishing. A nice Conger was taken at Querrin during the week.
The upcoming Doonbeg Seafood Festival is one to watch. It will be held on the 20th – 22nd July and it will have a number of events including boat trips / fishing trips from Doonbeg Pier. For more information on this checkout the website [http://www.doonbegseafoodfestival.com/
An 11lb Bass was caught by Mr. Johnny Cregan last Saturday morning from the shore at Fanore. The Bass caught the anglers by surprise when it took the bait as the rod was pulled off its mount and into the surf.
A 3lb Mullett was taken at Spanish Point on the Fly during the week also.
Longford, Leitrim & Stroketown Area report – Fergus Lynch
Fishing continues to be fair in the North Longford area. Water levels are very high and are causing difficulties in accessing most fisheries.
Guest house owner Kevin Lyons reports that the River Shannon fished well where fishing areas can only be reached by boat.
Sam Dennison of Dennison Tackle Longford, had very little to report as water is very high and few anglers were willing to brave the weather conditions.
Leitrim
It was a similar situation in Mohill, Brian Bohan reported that only a few anglers were fishing in that area
Andrew Reilly and Sheemore Angling Club fished the Mud Flats in Carrick-on-Shannon and had some excellent catches – they have been fishing the Mud Flats Up stream and this section is fishing well.
Lower Annagh – fishing very well with top weight of 32 Lbs
Lough Allen – water levels are very high. Tony Ashford from England fishing at Holly Island had 6 small bream hybrids for an evenings fishing in the rain.
Midland Lakes and River Inny report by Dermot Broughan
For the sixth week in a row it has been a very difficult week for angling. Very heavy rain again this week has seen more fresh water coming into our lakes.
Lough Ennell:
During patrols on the lake local anglers reported fish feeding but vey slow to take.
Lough Glore:
The Lough Glore anglers held a trout competition on the lake on Sunday. Three anglers fished the competition with no fish weighed in.
Lough Owel:
It has been a slow week on Owel. 35 fish were landed for the week with 15 fish returned. The best results for the week were W Fitzgearld, Dublin with a fish of 3lbs trolling, and Barry Lenihian with a fish of 3½lbs.
Lough Derravaragh:
There are no reports of fish being caught on Derravaragh this week.
Ballinafid Lake:
Over the past week no anglers have been fishing the lake.
Royal Canal:
Angling has been very slow again this week on the canal.
River Inny:
There were a number of patrols of the Inny over the week and no anglers were seen fishing the river. By Thursday the river was in flood and it would be dangerous to fish many sections
River Suck and Lough Ree report by John Devaney
Water levels are still high on the River suck and River Shannon but there are indications that the water level is subsiding especially on the River Suck.
A group of Polish Anglers fishing on the Suck below Ballinasloe had good pike fishing with a number of pike landed over the 20lb mark.
A group of Swiss anglers fishing from cruisers on Lough Ree (Carranure Bay) reported catching big perch with many of the perch being in the 1.5lb bracket.
The Shannon below Athlone is still very flooded and fishing is impossible there until weather improves.
River Feale report by Paddy Halpin
The river Feale had ideal salmon fishing water last week but only six fish were reported for the week. It would seem that the fish are still scarce, but according to locals, it should start to pick up this week for the remainder of the season. Water levels are low at the moment and the river is suitable for fly fishing with the weather forecast indicating that there should be good spinning water again next week-end.
The Bolding brothers braved the weather of Cork harbour and had a fantastic week of fishing(with both Kevin Murphy owner of Bellavista hotel and self drive fleet and Pat Condon osprey skipper) catching many species of fish such as cod, Pollack, conger and even blue shark. They are already planning a trip for 2013 and hoping to come with friends so that they too can receive the Céad Míle Fáilte that the Bellavista hotel and Kevin it’s owner showed them on their stay in Cobh!!!
If you’d fancy a day out on one of the self-drive fleet why not contact owner Kevin on 086 – 6029168 or check out their website www.bassfishingireland.com.
Bella Vista Hotel and Self Catering Suites,
Cobh, Co. Cork, Ireland.
Tel: +353 21 4812450
Fax: +353 21 4812215
E-mail: info@bellavistahotel.ie
Hamish Currie heads out on the Predator and sends us this report:
Thank God this week’s Dutch clients didn’t fancy fishing the tope and opted for a mixture of stuff. So it was game on all over the show and a good few miles were steamed to get the boys the stuff they were after. Being repeat clients for many years, it’s always a pleasure to have them onboard as they are very experienced anglers and also specimen hunters as well.
A good few species were recorded along with quite a few Irish specimens working north and south of Red Bay’s deep and shallow waters. In 4 days the boys had 9 common skate. The biggest being 189lbs which is picture here with the commander aka Cornelius Plomp, aged 68 years young. He demonstrates the art of fighting a cracking 189lb common skate using the famous Predator fighting chair in very very deep tidal water and in the week he landed 4 of them!
Hamish Currie
Predator II
Red Bay Stormforce 9.1 Rib
Web: www.predatorireland.com Email: info@predatorireland.com
Telephone: 028 2177 1828 Boat: 07720440117
Angling Guide Pat Mc Loughlin reports that a group of French students fished recently with him for a few days and had a great time catching several trout, pike, roach, rudd, bream and perch. One of the youngsters also hooked a salmon briefly on a goldhead nymph. Pat reports that there were no really big pike but a few doubles were caught and 2 lovely pike in the low twenties were hooked and lost. Water levels are still high in the Kells Blackwater and not many trout rising.
On Sunday last Pat took 6 year old Andrew Conan and his dad Roger fishing on the Blackwater. Andrew had a ball catching 7 fish, made up of some nice roach, perch and pike.
