Philip Maher of Fish Hunt tells us on June 23rd that the Suir was still out even for trout in the upper reaches. The rain on Friday night caused it to burst its banks in Ardmayle Saturday. There is still good trout being had in the tributaries like these caught in the Nire.
Philip Maher, Fish Hunt,
Tel: + 353 58 47524
Mob: + 353 87 8399345
Email:philip@fishhunt.ie
Web: http://fishhunt.ie/
Friday 22nd june: The upper river was falling from it’s slight rise yesterday, but at 11.30 today had gone up another 1cm. The lower river is falling & is at 1.00m this morning at 9.00am. Clarity not bad @ 2-3 feet. No rods out yesterday so obviously no fish caught.
Saturday 23rd June: John McSweeney caught this 8.9lb. fish yesterday on spinner on Kents on the lower river.
Three more fish to 9lb. were caught on the upper river. All the fish were extremely fresh & all taken on spinner. Several more fish were lost, including one large fish which broke the anglers line – he had already caught two fish of 3 & 9lb. in one hour before. The total for June is now 51 fish (for a mere 68 rod days) which is already the Fourth Best Total for June for the last Ten Years & this is only up to the 22nd.
Sunday 24th June: The river this morning @ 09.00 was down slightly to 0.91m on the Ballyduff gauge & the clarity the best part of 3 feet. A glorious warm sunny day & the forecast is mainly dry for the coming week so expect the river to come into absolutely stunning order in the next couple of days.
This beautifully fresh 10.2lb (the sea-lice had just fallen off) was taken on spinner on the upper river yesterday, where big runs of large fish have been seen moving through, especially on Friday. We had another sea-liced 8 pounder on spinner on our upper beats as well. Two in total for the day for just 3 rod days.
Fourth Best Day of the Season -Five fish caught – all grilse to 5.5lb on spinner.
Even more remarkable was the fact that three were First Ever Salmon. There were two for the Sinde party from Spain on Ballyhooly & one for Joe Wale (UK) from Woodstream.
The upper river fell 7cm to 1.63m during the day & the lower river fell 3cm to 0.88m.
Clarity was good throughout at ~ 3 feet.
At 12.30 there were already 2 very fresh fish on spinner reported from Carrig on the upper river. River is reported as clearing very well. There were a good number of fish reported caught on club waters on the upper river yesterday including a couple on fly.
Ian & Glenda Powell
Blackwater Lodge & Salmon Fishery
Upper Ballyduff, Co. Waterford.
Tel: 00 353 58 60235 From UK: 0871 474 0135 (10p/min any time!)
Mobile: 00 353 87 235 21 20
E-mail: info@ireland-salmon-fishing.net Website: www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net
June 23rd: Best fish today was 7lb6oz. River up and down due to the heavy rainfall over the past three weeks. We had some good fishing in the upper reaches Today, approx. 5 miles below Millstreet. Saw a lot of fish running even this far up in the system so as soon as we get a few dry days there should be great fishing ahead. Still offering best value for Blackwater beats €40.
Philip Maher,
FishHunt
Tel: + 353 58 47524
Mob: + 353 87 8399345
Email:philip@fishhunt.ie
Water Height: As of Saturday 23rd June water now stable at just under 4 feet on the gauge at Johnston’s, high and clear, ( unless the Gwestin brings colour into the Laune). A bit high for fly fishing but from Monday next should be perfect for all methods.
Up to Wednesday of the past week it was difficult to meet a fish on any method but that all changed on Thursday with fish being met on several fisheries. Tom Curtayne from Killorglin had a fish of 9.5 lbs on Thursday and bettered that on Friday with a beauty of 17 lbs at the Rock Pool spinning.
There were fish also caught on Beat 3 with one angler having fish of 11 lbs and 6 lbs.
Sea Trout: Sea trout are being caught on all methods especially on small flies later in the evening.
Prospects: With the excellent water and fish being caught in the second half of the past week I would say that the coming week is the best prospects we have had so far this season. Get fishing on Sunday and especially in the early days of next week.
Beat 3: Excellent water in Beat 3, high but fishable and fish being caught there. Well worth a try. The recent maintenance done on the Beat has met with universal approval of local and visiting angler alike.
Club Secretary- Billy Downes
Laune Anglers’Association
Phone: +353 (0)66 712 3950
E-mail: billydownes@hotmail.com
Paddy Dunworth, flyfisher and guide from Adare tell us about his American visitors who he had over last week :
Lon Teter and his 14yr old daughter from New York are in Ireland for a short break and Lon takes his flyfishing gear everywhere. A man after my own heart, Lon loves the traditional cane rods and has reels of similar vintage to match. Both he and Nora were fishing with Orvis cane rods, Lon’s paired with a Hardy Perfect reel and Nora’s with a JW Young’s Beaudex made for Orvis. Conditions were not great but it was their last chance to fish since any fishing was out for the first 3 days of their stay. The Maigue at Adare was the only water I thought might be fishable, it was running too strong for wading further upstream. The water was clearing a little and the only hope was to fish any slack water off the still high river, we fished streamers on sink-tip lines. Lady luck struck and Nora bagged herself a nice brownie on a brown woolly-bugger.
Paddy Dunworth
Tel 069/68202 087/6525687
E-mail: info@celticangling.com
So…the weather for Friday looked bad…here we go again….ok…that’s it a change of plan! Up at 4 am and a quick coffee and away down the main road, which was dreary. Along the back roads and noting the huge amount of rain which was still on them I thought this was going to be another waste of time. Got to my chosen mark to find the water like cocoa. A few casts and off to mark two which was inside the harbour. Lovely clean water with patches of weed. Fished for a few hours here, but no luck, it just was not happening. Realised I had left the lure box back at the car and had no spare, and yes it happened …crack! Rigged a bit of stick on the line and managed to pull it in range of the tip of my rod…lucky lure?
Off to mark three…outside the harbour, to find milky water but quite fishable, and a ramble began, casting down the gully’s as I went. Half asleep now I wound the pilchard lure in and it all stopped…then shaking… I realised I had my first Bass of the season on. Played the fish for a bit and got it close to the edge of a rock pool, when it threw the hook just as a wave washed it over the lip into the rock pool! I dropped the rod and dived in, chasing the fish around on my knees…grabbed it! Yes! Phone cam to get out…shite it’s away again…it was like a mad mud wrestle! Tried to grab/photograph the fish and it was going mental in the pool! Then another wave came in, filled the pool and she was gone. I’m counting that! (Did I get a pic? Turns out I got a fuzzy one)
Stood up and realised my shorts had popped a button or something and were slipping down hanging on by the wader gusset! Drama! Anyway moved off along the mark after a few more casts came to a lovely gully. First cast and fish on…no drama here nice and easy on to the pebbles. Barb less hooks out like a dream and back it goes,
Fished on and another hit which resulted with me holding the Bass, the lure floating away snapped off, and the rod getting washed into the gully….sorted it all out using the length of the rod to snag the lure back (lucky lure for sure!)
Dropped another fish soon after hooking up, and looked at the time I had to leave for Clare’s school concert! But walking back flicking the lure here and there I winkled out a small one… I am sure I could have had more if I stayed… but who knows! Anyway finally…The Monkey is off my back!
Report by: Bass Fishing Cork
Ashley Hayden, An Irish Anglers World reports:
Drifting east, pushed by an ever increasing tidal flow, a lazy swell lifting and rolling under charter vessel “Autumn Dream”, eighty feet below three black pollack feathers worked their magic over the boulder fields and kelp beds close to the Conningmore rock, south west of the Saltee Islands. A lask of fresh mackerel adorned the bottom hook blood and juices wafting down tide, letting out line to remain in contact with the bottom, thump, thump, striking and reeling in unison a head shaking ferocity transmitted through the braid indicating a ling or maybe a good cod, I began the long retrieve.
Pumping my catch towards the surface its dogged resistance never relenting, twenty feet below a long whitish shape comes into view, skipper Eamonn Hayes readies the net and does the honours swinging a reef ling topping eight pounds+ over the rail. “Good man Ash, bait that lower hook up and get it down again”. Turning his attention to all on board Eamon advises, “bait the bottom hook only with fresh mackerel, changing every drop down lads”, then further quips in his broad south Wexford accent, “and remember boys every time you get hung up in a rock and lose a rig you’re keeping a nice Asian girl in a job”. Autumn Dream is a happy boat and the party of Welsh anglers who kindly invited me out are having a ball.
Some of the party are regular visitors, although ten in the total contingent of twenty on this visit are first timers. They come for the variety and quality of species present and are certainly getting value for money over the Kilmore reefs today. Pollack, coalfish, cod, ling, ballan and cuckoo wrasse, pouting, mackerel, and launce continuously keep rods bending, smiling faces populate the deck, ribald jokes and laughs are a constant, the chaps are having fun. “We’ll be crossing kelp beds now lads, there might be a few cod” advises Eamonn, on cue over go a couple of rods. Straining to lift up from the depths, 20.lb class rods in their fighting curve, codling up to 6.lbs a welcome sight.
The group are divided equally between “Autumn Dream” and Kilmore Quay based charter vessel “Enterprise” skippered by Eamonn’s brother Dick Hayes. Both men offer a wealth of sea going experience stretching back over thirty years and know the inshore reefs, shoals, and banks off Kilmore Quay intimately. With unseasonal storms over recent days having dirtied the water and scattered fish, both Eamonn and Dick communicate returns throughout the day resulting in fine catches aboard both vessels. Pollack predominate with coalfish making an appearance now and again.
Reef fishing off Kilmore Quay requires anglers to be vigilant, the ground is rough, boulder strewn and kelpy. With depths ranging from 30 – 100 foot plus (16 fathoms+), averaging 60 foot, allied to rolling seas and the need to keep hard on the bottom tackle losses are unavoidable. Bring lots of leads ranging in size from eight ounces to a pound and stock up on various hokai and feather rigs suitable for pollack, cod, and ling. I find black , white, and purple colours work well off Kilmore in hook sizes 3/0 and 4/0. Keeping in contact with your lead by not letting too much of an angle develop, maintaining more or less straight up and down reduces losses. Create a mental picture of the sea bed by touch, it requires concentration, lifting and dropping the lead, winding and releasing line to work the undersea troughs and rises, however the effort pays off in terms of fish and retained rigs.
Lines up was signaled at 16.00pm, Eamonn pointed the bow north east towards Kilmore and accompanied by Enterprise we headed for harbour, a shower, pints, and dinner in that order. Lots of fish were caught with many released to fight another day, whatever fish retained being gutted and filleted as we motored back. Gulls followed, swooped, squawked, and fought for pieces of offal in that age old tradition associated with returning fishing boats, there is no doubt it was a great day. Thank you to Alan Duthie and the boys for inviting me, and to Eamonn for his professionalism, warmth and fun approach…..
Ashley Hayden,
An Angler’s World
Email Ashley Hayden at anirishanglersworld@gmail.com.
Eugene Farrelly from Ullcatch presents us with an informative and interesting article about Tralee Bay. Or as Eugene calls it ‘Stingray Alley’. This beautiful shallow bay contains some wonderful species of fish such as the Common Stingray, Monkfish, Undulate ray, Common skate and White skate plus many more. It has been fished by many famous anglers, including Jack Charlton.
Eugene tells us of the dangers when catching Stingray, how to hold them and finally how to release them safely (both for man and fish!).
Read the full article ……http://www.ullcatch.com/stingray-alley/
Ullcatch
Ashley Hayden, An Irish Anglers World reports on Thurs 21st June:
David Murphy loves to catch predatory fish, especially pike, bull huss, and conger, goes with the territory I suppose given that he is the bass guitarist with up and coming metal band AeSect. Ledger fishing a local pond with frozen roach bait David was initially pestered with small jack pike, then he got a more purposeful run.
Biding his time David struck and connected with a lively fish which gave him the run around before being netted. Close to ten pound weight the pike was carefully unhooked and released, swimming off to fight another day.
Ashley Hayden,
An Angler’s world
Siegy Grabher was out in his boat ‘The Sioux’ last week around Valentia and had an unusual catch. Rosi caught a monkfish! She and the rest of the angling team from Germany caught also 137 pollock, 25 ling (the biggest 108 cm), 28 coalfish, 2 cod, 11 pouting, 2 grey gurnard, 10 cuckoo wrasse and 1 conger.
Siegy Grabher,
Valentia Fishing
Phone/Fax: +353-(0)66-9476420
Mobile: +353-(0)87-6871267
E-Mail:info@valentiafishing.com
Web:http://www.valentiafishing.com
Michael McVeigh, skipper of the Rosguill, reports the following from the shores of Donegal:
It appears that almost all the fish off north Donegal have vanished. Mackeral which were so plentiful early this season are extremely hard to find – catching them in ones & barely that. The Rosguill spent 3 hours searching the inshore reefs a couple days ago – unbelieveably 1 single Pollack on board. The only exception is Tope which seem to have moved in numbers onto the Limeburner grounds – at least 1 month earlier than normal. Cannot understand why the fishing has gotten so bad – perhaps that we have been having either light or easterly winds for quite some time. Flummoxed!!!
Heather & Michael McVeigh
The Fisherman’s Village Lodge
Downings
Co Donegal
Telephone: 074 9155080 / +353 74 9155080
eMail: info@rosguill.com
