Francis picks up where Ellen leaves off as Sheelin anglers move to late season tactics

By

-

August 31, 2020

‘We fish for hours to hold a trout for seconds’
-Unknown

Now, on the cusp of autumn it was a difficult week to pull the proverbial rabbit out of the hat as far as any kind of decent angling returns were concerned. After struggling to straighten up after storm Ellen, along came Storm Francis bring with it unattractive piscatorial obstacles of heavy downpours and strong southerly winds, churning up and raising Lough Sheelin’s water levels. This rain will however get things back on track by reducing summer temperatures and pushing anglers abruptly into the last leg of the fishing season here. As the dry fly anglers pack up their bags, early autumn tends to be a good time to fish for the wet fly brigade and with September round the corner this week’s catches were all about fishing wets, with the old favourites of Black Pennell, Golden Olive Bumble and Dabblers featuring heavily. Although there are still a smattering of sedge hatches as well as the appearance of some late olives, the fly life here is dwindling and so wet fly fishing is really the only way to go from here to the end of season with a concession of perhaps a dry sedge pattern or a Daddy if the weather behaves itself. Wet fly fishing, although sometimes dismissed by the purist dry fly anglers, is an effective style and produces some nice catches – heaviest this week at a respectable 4lbs.

For a ‘whenever I have the time angler’ it is hard not to love the wet flies because of how forgiving a fishing method it is – casting out as far as possible without the fear of an ugly presentation, easier to control the line, easier to hook a fish (the line is all the time in tension), effective when the trout are feeding in the water film or just under it and the trout doesn’t seem to be as sensitive to fly size so a big fly can be used without a problem. Basically this method takes out the pernicketiness and exactness necessary for its counterparts.

Late summer and early autumn are synonymous to Daddy Long legs time. Morning, afternoon and evening the ubiquitous Crane Fly can be seen on the water and fishing a Daddy can bring with it some good results – foam bodied Daddies are the most durable flies when the takes are splashy. Hoppers can work wonderfully around this time of the season too with Claret and Black being particularly good depending on cloud conditions, but even on a bright day the Claret Hopper provides all the silhouette trigger factors that the feeding trout need.

Bibio patterns - good for fishing around Bog Bay — Bibio patterns – good for fishing around Bog Bay

Above any other time in the fishing calendar, now is ‘terrestrial time’, those accidentals that are non aquatic and have the misfortune of being blown on to the lake providing an irresistible packed lunch to a cruising trout. Lough Sheelin has its own mixture of land based casualties – daddies, beetles, heather flies, wasps, ants etc. Terrestrials can’t be classed as fishing flies, they are land dwelling insects such as beetles that have unfortunately ended up stranded in the water, but never the less they have the ability to outperform even the greatest trout flies in the correct conditions! Think gusts of wind and you can realise how much extra food terrestrials can supplement for trout.

1 of 10

The Whirligigs (photograph in report) found in pockets in the sheltered areas of Sheelin, are not trout food because of their speed but are definitely worth while making a small diversion on if not for fishing but for the wonderful example of the adaptions that evolution produces. These are small, dark beetles that gather in clusters on the water surface and swim around in mad circles. They are predators and swimming in circles is a way of locating prey. They catch things on the surface and below it so they have two pairs of eyes, one for seeing in water and one for seeing in air. The purpose of the whirling is to create ripples. If something like a midge lands on the water surface it alters the pattern of the ripples, the beetle senses this instantly and uses it to locate the prey. Whirligigs are sensitive in that once disturbed they will disappear under the water. Like all beetles, they have no gills and have to breathe air. They manage this by grabbing a bubble of air in an organ at the tip of the abdomen and using it like a scuba diver’s tank. They can stay under water for a remarkably long time and when they are not whirling, this is where they hunt. But eventually they have to make a rapid trip to the surface to grab another bubble. These amazing little beetles are just one example of the diversity of Lough Sheelin.

Getting back to trout fishing – going through the week:

Heavy rainfall effectively cancelled out Tuesday and Thursday of this week and although not drawing a blank angling numbers were down to single figures. After a misty start Monday settled into some light southerly winds changing to an easterly direction as the day moved on. Muddlers and some fry patterns brought in fish of up to 3lbs but it was reportedly a ‘hard slog’.

1 of 12

Heavy rainfall reduced Tuesday’s fishing appeal, nonetheless a number of trout up to 2 ¾ lbs were caught using Black Pennels, Golden Olives and Stimulators. Temperatures remained around 18 – 19 degrees on Wednesday with moderate westerly winds, after the previous days rain the water was discoloured, brightly coloured flies had some success and some nice trout of 2 – 3 lbs were caught on Silver Dabblers and Golden Olive Bumbles. Thursday was another wet day but still the weight of the week, a lovely 4lb was landed on this date. Temperatures dropped a few degrees on Friday with northerly winds, it was a day of blanks and early finishes. The weekend featured the first real chills of autumn coupled with north easterly winds. Anglers reported good movement of fish particularly around Merry pt. but catches were poor.

27 trout were recorded for the week. The majority of the catches were at noon and into the lake afternoon.

The weight of the week was a beautiful 4lb trout caught on a Black Pennell by Navan angler William Smyth.

1 of 8

The most popular flies were the Red Tailed Peters, Golden Olives Bumbles, the Dabblers (Silver, Sooty and Peter Ross), the Grey Flags, the Stimulators (Grey, Claret and Bling), the Black Pennells and the Black & Peacock Spiders. Some lures were used on sinking lines – di3 and 5.

The Green George, Claret George and Detached Daddy were good, these are great teaser flies and were excellent as top droppers. The Muddlers worked well on the lake, these flies push through the water creating a bubble which attracts the feeding trout. Other ‘pusher flies’ used to create a disturbance and used again on the top dropper were the Bibios, Zulus and Sedgehogs. Something sleeker and more imitative on the middle like the Claret & Mallard, Silver Invicta and Wickham’s Fancy and then a flashy attractor on the point like a Dunkeld, Peter Ross or Alexandra. The Bibio is a very versatile fly as it can work both as a top dropper attractor and a tweaked dry, when greased.

When fishing small dry sedges along sheltered areas it is best to use a floating line with a 4 – 6 lb. leader.

Gaudy patterns were good for those targeting the Daphnia feeders out in the open water.

Lures that were successful were Black & Silver Minkies and a black Humungus.

The best areas for fishing on the lake this week were Lynch’s pt. (good for Murrough), Chambers Bay, the middle of the lake, Ross Bay round to Derrahorn.

Go Fishing

House Rules

A permit is required to fish Lough Sheelin. Buy your permit online at: shop.fishinginireland.info or from any of the permit distributors listed here.

Catch and release

A catch & release policy is actively encouraged on the lake at all times.

Extra care is needed when playing and releasing trout during periods of high water temperatures as additional stress at these times will decrease the survival rate of hooked and released fish.

BYE-LAW 949 strictly prohibits:

The taking of any brown trout of less than 36 centimetres.
For a person to fish with more than 2 rods at any one time.
To fish with more than 4 rods at any one time when there is more than one person on board the boat concerned.
For a person to take more than 2 trout per day.
All trolling on the lake from March 1^st to June 16th (inclusive).
To fish or to attempt to take or to fish for, fish of any kind other than during the period from March 1st to October 12th in any year.

Join the Club…

For anyone interested in joining Lough Sheelin’s Angling Club – The Lough Sheelin Trout Protection Association please contact Thomas Lynch @ 087 9132033.

Guides and ghillies…

Lough Sheelin Guiding Services
www.loughsheelinguidingservices.com
087 1245927

Christopher Defillon
[email protected]
+33685964369
evasionpecheirlande.net
https://m.facebook.com/christopher.defillon?refid=0&fref=seaperch#

Michael Farrell
087 4194156
Telephone: +353 43 6681298
Email: [email protected]

Grey Duster Guiding
Kenneth O’Keeffe
Tel: 086 8984172 Email: [email protected]

John Mulvany
[email protected]
086 2490076

D.C Angling & Guiding Services
– contact David @ 087 3946989

Michael Flanagan,
Trout and Pike Guide.
Email: [email protected] Web: www.midlandangling.com

Lifejackets

We would implore anglers and all other users to wear life jackets for their own safety as well as it being the law.

Life jackets are required by law – SI No 921 of 2005 – Pleasure Craft (Personal Flotation Devices and Operation) (Safety) Regulations 2005. Water rarely gives second chances and a life jacket is just that – it saves your life.

Please put on and keep on that life jacket until you are back on dry land.

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.

First International Women’s Flyfishing Day – 12 September 2020

By

myleskelly

-

August 31, 2020

International Women’s Fly Fishing Day (IWFFD), is an initiative from 2 women in very different parts of the world – Maddy Kelly from County Down and Pamela Caldwell Dunlap from Hurricane in West Virginia, USA. They met on a women’s Flyfishing site – Women Wine and Waders – that was set up by Pamela and they’ve been sharing fishing tales and life stories for the three years since.

The aim of the day is to bring women together from all over the world, virtually, for one day to celebrate their fly fishing and to encourage them to be role models who will support new women who take up fly fishing

Pamela Dunlap guiding on the north Fork, Potomac River West Virginia USA

Pamela and Maddy are asking women that are interested in taking part to post a photo or a video at 11am to Face Book on Saturday 12^th September 2020 on the ‘International Womens Fly Fishing Day’ page that shows how they’re celebrating the special day. Some women will be flyfishing but some plans will have been curtailed because of adherence to local Government guidelines re Coronavirus which are different throughout the world. There’s always the chance as well that weather may interfere with fishing plans and some women are in a part of the world that is out of the fly fishing season. To allow for those circumstances the photo or video posted can be of anything related to fly fishing e.g. practicing casting, tying a fly, or even reading a book on the topic or watching a fly fishing video etc. Or for women unable to be doing anything related to flyfishing at 11am on 12^th Sept they can post a photo that shows that they do indeed enjoy fly fishing.

Maddy Kelly at Straid Fishery in Co Antrim where she runs most of her training events as a volunteer of the South Antrim Angling Hub
©Photo by TPX Photo 14th July 2019.

Julie Cook, Vice President of the Southland Fly Fishing Club in Invercargill New Zealand is, at the minute, the most easterly woman planning to take part which means she’ll get the first opportunity to post her 11am photo, and Catrina (Cat) White from Los Angeles is the most westerly. She will close the celebration day and will be tying flies in preparation for a week-long fishing trip happening during the following week.

With photos being posted at 11am from all over the world the day will unfold from New Zealand to the west coast of the USA over a 20 hour period.

Maddy Kelly has been flyfishing for over 30 years and has fished throughout Ireland. Since 1993 she has been a regular member of the Irish Ladies Fly Fishing team which takes part in the Ladies International Flyfishing Championships fished against teams from Scotland, Wales and England. She has recently gained coaching qualifications and has been organising events to introduce women and young people to flyfishing.

Maddy Kelly with the Lifetime Commitment Award for Services to Women’s Angling presented to her by Albert Titterington of Irish Game Fairs and Fine Food Festival in June 2019

Pamela Caldwell Dunlap is a more recent convert to flyfishing. Prior to discovering the joys of flyfishing she was not keen on the outdoors at all. She was introduced to it on a first date 5 years ago and enjoyed it so much that since then she has organised camps for women to learn and has been responsible for a number of women becoming anglers.

The internet friends, Pamela and Maddy, have spent three years sharing stories of the days that they organise for women to enjoy flyfishing. Though separated by 3,590 miles, most of it ocean, it turns out they’ve a lot in common. They are both committed to encouraging and supporting new women into flyfishing which is why the original plan for IWFFD was to attract new women into flyfishing by encouraging experienced women fly fishers to run tuition days. However with the pandemic situation as it is, IWFFD has instead become a day whereby women who are already fly-fishers will celebrate the event by undertaking a range of activities that are flyfishing related. While some will be flyfishing, either as individuals or with other women, others will be involved with a fly fishing related activity

For more information please visit International Womens Fly Fishing Day on Face Book

Decent ledger fishing in Cavan despite high water levels

By

myleskelly

-

August 31, 2020

Padraig Carroll, based in our Corelesmore office, reports that although the water levels are already at high winter levels and the water temperature has dropped a few degrees the roach and perch are still feeding. David Mills from Killeshandra braved the flood at the weekend to get in some of his much loved feeder fishing in the Cavan area.

David Mills sitting perched on the water line was fishing over the area he’d normally expected to be sitting on if water levels were normal

David fed the swim where he would normally be sitting in normal summer levels and still managed to get some great roach and perch fishing with a small lead bomb fished over a bed of groundbait and catapult feeding little and often instead of the regular swim cage feeder tactic. Maggot and choppie proved the best baits on the day

Irish Angling Update – 28th August 2020

By

Paul O'Reilly

-

August 28, 2020

Conditions haven’t been ideal for the Irish angler in the last while with heavy rainfall and high winds a recurring August theme. Storm Ellen paid us a visit last week, and this week Storm Francis dropped by making for a very wet period with much of the country receiving between 2 and 3 times the average weekly rainfall for August. Rainfall amounts of up to 90mm were recorded in the past week in parts of Kerry, whilst elsewhere between 30mm and 60mm has been widely recorded. The coming week will be generally drier than the last 7 days, though some areas will still receive above average rainfall. Across the pond Hurricane Laura made landfall in the Gulf of Mexico overnight on Wednesday with 150 mph winds and 15ft-20ft storm surges; current models have the tail end of this hurricane tracking closer to Iceland than Ireland, so hopefully we will get to wait another while before Storm Gerda comes along.

River anglers will know about the high levels of rainfall we’ve had, with this reflected in the low number of fishing reports we’ve seen. The constant high levels in the rivers has meant that many salmon fisheries in the lower reaches of rivers have been by-passed by the fish; with perfect conditions for river migration, the salmon just shoot through on their journeys upstream without holding or resting up in lower pools. This has been reflected on rivers like the Moy and Munster Blackwater where fisheries far upstream have done well this week.

Michael Kane from Foxford releasing a lovely July grilse on the River Moy

In the south, we have seen the first real signs of life on Lough Currane this year with both salmon and sea trout reported caught by fly anglers from the lough; much of the fishing in the Waterville area has been on the Inny this year, where the levels of rainfall have suited the catch and release anglers there. We have one report of good grilse fishing to unusual methods on the River Lee in Cork, well worth checking out.

To the trout loughs and local anglers on Lough Conn have reported the best trout fishing they have seen in 25 years this season. The fantastic fishing reported at mayfly time got even better from mid-July when a second, prolific hatch of mayfly occurred which brought some excellent fish to the surface and the spent gnat fishing came into its own once again. The good quality fishing has continued since then with dry sedge and daddies still taking nice fish. The same can’t be said for Arrow or Sheelin, where the fish have been sulkier, but over on Corrib anglers are still reporting some fine fish on wet flies and to the dap with one or two even finer fish coming to the ferox hunters.

Angler in boat on lake holding a very large trout. — Paul Byrne with his fantastic Corrib trout, which was sportingly released. #CPRSavesFish

River fishing has been tricky for fly anglers with the high water levels meaning some traditional methods are less effective. One tactic that can bring success is nymphing with bright, heavy beaded nymphs that get down to the trout in strong flows and that remain detectable in poor visibility. High water can make for good worm or spinning conditions, as shown by Emmet Daly from Dublin who caught and released a big brown trout while fishing near Lough Leane in Killarney. If your local river is a complete washout, you can always turn to one of the stocked rainbow fisheries to get your fishing fix, like Dan O’Neill did this week at Southern County Fishing Resort, landing a number of fish in the 2 lbs – 5 lbs size range.

We have little to report from the coarse and pike angling scene this week other than some super perch from a midlands river caught in the most traditional of styles – with a trotted, freelined worm, on a single hook, with only a small split shot added as required.

Once again, the cream of the fishing this week comes from the North Atlantic where Ireland’s bluefin boats hit some truly sensational form chasing these speedsters of the oceans. Up to twenty hits in a day were recorded as the tuna smashed the trailing lures at high speed. Good numbers of fish between 300 lbs and 600 lbs were caught in the last seven days, with many happy anglers fulfilling their lifelong dreams. Ireland’s CatchTagRelease bluefin fishery is on a par, if not better, than anywhere else on the planet; the difference being that all of our fish are caught, tagged and released to provide more invaluable data for the Tuna CHART tagging programme.

Tagged and ready to go, this is what it’s all about

Plenty of smaller, but no less significant, sea species were also caught by our saltwater anglers this week. Charters out of Sligo have done really well and Killybegs Mariners recorded an impressive 21 different species on their recent offshore trip, including the mighty megrim, big blonde rays, spotted rays, turbot, thornbacks, all types of gurnards, wrasse, pollack, launce and scad. The very next day the Mariners crew went rock hopping and caught some cracking pollack along with red gurnards, tompot blennies, conger, dogs, pouting, poor cod and coleys. Nothing like it.

Our final report this week comes from bass and predator expert Marcin Kantor who has some sound advice for anglers looking to hook up with a big bass over mixed ground; don’t charge into the water with your waders on, fish in close, fish all the nooks and crannies and take your time. Marcin caught our Catch of the Week this week with his super 9.9lb C&R bass caught – you’ve guessed it – close in, fishing the nooks and crannies! Marcin has some great advice up on his latest video, well worth checking out.

Our Catch of the Week, Marcin’s 9.9lbs bass ready for release #cprsavesfish

And now the weather….

Friday will be a cool, breezy and showery day, brightening up from the west later in the day; highs 14°C to 17°C in gusty northerly winds, strong at coasts. Lows of 7°C to 10°C overnight with winds moderating.

Mainly dry Saturday with isolated showers, cool for the time of year with moderate northerly winds and highs of just 13°C to 16°C. Dry and clear on Saturday night with lows of 5°C to 9°C in light breezes. Cool and dry with just the odd light shower possible on Sunday; highs of just 14°C to 16°C. light winds. Dry with variable cloud amounts and clear spells on Sunday night. Cloud will thicken overnight, however, as breezes becoming southerly. Lows of 7°C to 11°C.

Dry in most areas to begin on Monday with patchy rain and drizzle becoming fairly widespread in the evening. Still rather cool with highest temperatures of just 14°C to 16°C in light to moderate south to southeast breezes. Outbreaks of rain Tuesday with some heavy bursts possible across the west and north, gradually brightening up with sunny spells developing, milder than previous days with highs of 15°C to 18°C.

Safe fishing to all this weekend and tight lines, especially here in Ireland.

Paul O’Reilly
Catch, Photo, Release

If you have an angling story to share with the Irish Angling Update please send it to [email protected].

All the angling news

Salmon Fishing Reports

Trout Fishing Reports

Coarse Angling Reports

Big perch reported from midlands river

Sea Angling Reports

Other News

Reliving childhood memories on the Bunowen

By

myleskelly

-

August 28, 2020

Louise Courtney and trout — Happy angler and the said annoyed fish. Neither are any worse for the encounter.

Jermey Ryan reports on a visit to the Bunowen where a childhood memory was relived and revived…

Recently myself and my partner Louise travelled to Ahascragh, Co. Galway to visit her family and to explore Louise’s ancestral home. Louise first learned to fish at the side of her late uncle Richard Lewis as a small girl on the beautiful Bunowen River. So when a free hour presented itself we took to the riverbank; me armed with my fly rod and Louise armed with her inheritance of local knowledge. For Louise, no method would suffice but for the one set down by Richard all those years ago. A single split shot, a single hook and a single fresh worm cast beneath a single overhanging ash tree.

After twenty minutes a stunning (but quite frankly, very annoyed at the interruption) 2lb trout [in sprit anyway – Ed] was duly hooked, duly played and duly banked and many a glass was raised to the memory of Richard over the course of the evening.

Bass to 9lb for Marcin on the south coast

By

myleskelly

-

August 28, 2020

Marcin Kantor had some lovely bass fishing just before the the storms hit…

I was lucky enough to catch some fantastic bass lately, here on the Irish Coast. Sea Bass fishing can be tricky at times, but when the conditions are right and all the factors add up to be in a chance of catching a Big Seabass on lures, there is a certain way I approach my fishing.

I go for spots that are rocky, difficult to access spots, ideally with a beach nearby. The rocks should have a series of channels and rocks underwater, where the sea creates a lot of water movement, ideally some white water, causing smaller bait fish, and other saltwater creatures to get confused, making it an easier target for those large Seabass. I tried to share some of this approach here in the video, that approach doesn’t apply to each type of fishing ground, but some of this advice is transferable to any type of bass fishing grounds.

Let me know in the comments what did you think about the video, do you agree or disagree, let me know your experiences and any feedback you might have.

To give feedback and for a chance to take part in a give away competition see this link.

Youtube Channel: Marcin Kantor

Heavy nymphs get best trout in high water on the Nore

By

myleskelly

-

August 28, 2020

Dan O’Neill reports on some decent fishing at Mount Juliet before the floods hit…

The river has been up and down over the past week so with news of more rain on the way and a slight opening on Monday for some trout fishing we grabbed the opportunity.

The river did look quite angry and slightly tinted but there isn’t much that would put Joe off a day on the river. After a good look around the bottom of the chest pack I found what I call the “warriors” which are a team of brightly beaded nymphs with various flashy pieces added around the thorax area and a quite exaggerated tail. These little fellows will be deployed into the dark turbulent waters of the Nore and hopefully will find our quarry for today.

After picking out a nicely coloured French nymph it was time to deploy our warrior.. Today we were at George’s wall which is known to be quite a tough spot, yet fishes quite well in these conditions. With wading sticks firmly in hand we made our way up along the margins not going much further than a rod length out.

After adjusting to the current and looking for the new seams at the edges of the main run it wasn’t long before we were rewarded with a lovely little brown trout. Some small trout followed so we decided to change nymph at this stage to a slightly larger bead to try to stick near the bottom a bit better and it seemed to pay off as a couple of larger trout did fall for the bigger fly. These were really strong powerful takes and made for an exciting fight in the stronger current.

We were quite happy with our results in such conditions so decided after about 12 trout it was time to head back to the Manor House.

Names now being taken for the 2021 season Memberships.

For any information contact me on 0857652751 or [email protected]

Dan O’Neill
Mount Juliet Estate.

Go fishing…

Mount Juliet House is set on a large estate, which offers private fishing on 2.5 miles of the middle to lower reaches of the River Nore. Mount Juliet Estate offers fishing of the highest quality, just a short stroll away from the Manor House. There is a fishing room on site in the Manor House for your convenience i.e. for storage and drying of fishing equipment. Mount Juliet Estate can also provide the necessary equipment on site if needed.

https://www.mountjuliet.ie/fishing-on-the-estate.html

Contact Dan: 0857652751 or [email protected]

Live in Wicklow? Would you like to become a Freshwater Detective?

By

myleskelly

-

August 27, 2020

Do you live in County Wicklow? Are you interested in becoming a citizen scientist?

With thanks to support from county Wicklow partnership and the leader programme, East Wicklow Rivers Trust invites you to participate in Ken Whelan’s increasingly popular one-day Freshwater Detective course. You will gain additional skills in aquatic survey techniques and get the chance to attend the AST’s, two day course, the “Small Streams Characterisation System” (SSCS).

For More information and registration visit https://wicklowrivers.ie/aquatic-biology-training-programme/

poster — Click for more information and registration

Salmon on the surface for Mr Kingfisher

By

Paul O'Reilly

-

August 27, 2020

Salmon on a dry fly? Sounds tricky, right? What about a barbless size 18? Mr Kingfisher, Paul Hanley, explains how he recently targeted grilse with his dry fly rod on the River Lee in Cork:

The water was about 6.3 on the gauge, great water for salmon fly fishing especially as the clarity was good but not so good if one is targeting salmon on a very small dry fly. The pace of the water was causing the fly to drift unnaturally fast so I had to give a few false mends into the line to facilitate a drag free drift. The salmon are being heavily fished at this time with anglers spinning, shrimping, worming and even the odd fly being thrown across them so they are hugging the bottom and staying out of harm’s way.

Early in the morning or again at late evening they are moving about and this is when they can be targeted with dry fly. My setup is simple a 5wt soft action fly rod using a floating line and about a 3ft furled leader of about 7lb breaking strain copolymer combined with a 9ft tippet of 6 or 5x tippet and a size 18 barbless dry fly. Some size 18 hooks won’t take a 5x tippet because of the thicker diameter so you have to step down to a 6x instead so a soft rod has to be used to protect the lighter tippet.

There is still enough back bone in the 5wt to turn a salmon but I would recommend that if anybody is thinking of trying this they’d be better served fishing for large rainbows on the same tackle first to get a feel for the rod, line and fly size in dealing with the bigger fish. It’s very easy to bend one of these dry fly hooks but there is a balance between playing a fish fast and breaking the tippet. I played the salmon hard and landed it on soft weed before removing the barbless hook and holding the salmon for release.

It is very important at this time of year to hold a fish a bit longer and let it recover well before releasing it back into the river. I hooked and released another grilse later on in darkness using the same method, it worked well for me last year and the harder the fishing pressure gets this seems to be the best method for catching heavily pressurised fish.

Fantastic season continues for SeaFishingSligo

By

Shane O'Reilly

-

August 27, 2020

Tommy McCallion reports that the fishing in Sligo has been outstanding in recent weeks. With mackerel shoals being prolific throughout the bay the fish seem to just keep biting and there are plenty of different species coming to the boat as the photos below show.

1 of 17