Galway Fishery sees great fishing after re-opening
The Galway Fishery re-opened last Saturday following a long closure during the Covid-19 lockdown. Angling is still restricted to anglers from Co. Galway until the travel restrictions are loosened further, presumably on June 29th. Angling has also been restricted to 4 rods, and two 4-hour sessions per day. This is to allow social distancing, and to facilitate disinfection and cleaning before and after fishing.
Low water
The exceptionally dry spring has resulted in very low water levels, but even with half a gate open on the weir, fishing has been excellent since Saturday. Fresh grilse have been appearing on every tide, and the beat has been filling up with fish all week. Plenty of fish have been caught, with a lot of good grilse in the 5-7lbs range. In the low water, a lot of fish have been taking short too, with many anglers reporting very gentle pulls and tweaks on the fly without hooking up.
Good sport
Some of the anglers to enjoy good sport were Tony Kavanagh, who had 3 grilse (1 released); Enda Scahill also had 3 fish, including a fine 8-pounder (1 released). Other anglers to land 3 fish were Neil Spellacy, P. Harte, Dave Lenihan and Fergal Cormican. Quite a few more had 2 fish, including Eoin Cosgrove, Eoin Warner, John McCarthy, Fintan Murphy among others.
There is a good run of fish at the moment, with a lot of these going straight on upstream in the low water and not holding in the weir, so a much-needed drop of rain should see the tributary rivers like Cong and the Clare fish well if we get enough water.
To Book
Angling is restricted to Co. Galway residents until the 29th, but with the anticipated removal of travel restrictions, anglers from further afield should be able to book fishing thereafter. To book contact the fishery at 091 562388 or email seamus.hartigan@fisheriesireland.ie
