Members of the ILFA at their recent trial on Lough Carragh Co Kerry Women standing Back row - Jenny Casey, Julie Gerry and Mary Murphy Women kneeling – Stephanie Troy, Susan Brown, Madeleine Kelly & Hazel O’Connor and local boatmen
Kevin Lyons of Melview Lodge in Longford reports on the coarse fishing in the Longford area…
Cracking Bream to 7lb for Nigel and Howard
Nigel and Howard from Devon were over once again for their annual fishing trip to Ireland and Melview Fishing Lodge in Longford, these two guys are very keen anglers who like to go that extra mile if need be to catch fish.
Howard with one of his nice Rudd.
The plan had to change a little when they arrived due to the weather conditions. The effort the guys put into preparing venues and prebaiting was worth it in the end. The first part of their week started a little slow but then the hard work paid off for them with some cracking Roach catches and some specimen Rudd and Bream, various cocktails fished at 35 yrds using feeder tactics into 18 ft were getting results.
Nigel with a cracking Tench.
Ater a few days of this the Pike decided to come to the dinner table which put the bigger fish off feeding so a change of venue was required. At the time of writing the prebaiting was done and things are looking good for them, log on next week to see how the week ended for Nigel and Howard.
Kevin has over 30 years experience of fishing in Ireland and is happy to offer a guided tour on your arrival, and to advise where the on-form waters in the area are. We can arrange your bait order so it’s here when you arrive. Melview offers free use of 17ft lake boats with engines to our guests (pay fuel only) and Kevin is happy to assist with any pre-baiting requests. Maps and other information regarding fishing are also available.
A party of Mayo anglers enjoyed a pleasant fishing trip on board LEAH in Killala Bay on Sunday 24th June. The first drift of the day over hard and rocky ground produced some fine fish including pollack, ling, pouting, and spurdog. During this drift well out in the bay party was able to witness a majestic Fin Whale which was obviously feeding in the bay. As the day moved on, drifts over sandy ground produced lesser spotted dogfish, tub gurnard, dab, and brill. Not a bad day with a great variety of species!
Nice Brill from Killala Bay
To book a day’s fishing in Killala Bay contact Donal Kennedy on +353 (0)86 8174509 or visit www.dkennedyangling.ie.
Gerard McPartlan with his 3.5lb tench from Inniscarra
Heavy rain on Monday and Tuesday resulted in a substantial rise in water levels, with all fisheries reporting good catches from Wednesday on. Nearly 800 salmon were reported caught across the system.
Eugine Farrell, Patrick Harrington & Gary Mongey Ridge PoolMark Follis
In Ballina the Moy Fishery had 41 salmon. Mark Follis, NI, had a 10.5 lbs fish on spinner from the Weir Pool. Eugine Farrell, Dublin, 5.5 lbs on fly – Ridge Pool, Patrick Harrington Dublin 8.5 lbs and 11 lbs on fly – Ridge Pool, James Bonner, NI, 3.75 lbs – Cathedral beat.
George Kernaghan, Foxford Fishery
Upstream Alan Rogers, UK, had an 11+ lbs salmon which he released at Mount Falcon Fishery. Ingrid Keller, Germany, had a 9 lbs fish on prawn at Gannons Fishery. George Kernaghan, NI, had a 14 lbs on prawn at Foxford Fishery. Long time visitor to the Moy 96 year old Louis Lecoeur from France had a 4 lbs grilse on worm from East Mayo Anglers.
Louis Lecoeur, France, 96 years old, with his 4lb grilse
With high temperatures and bright sunshine forecast it is hard to predict the week ahead but there is a good show of fish on all fisheries throughout the system.
How’s the river doing? Check the Ridge Pool Webcam
Monday and Tuesday brought low water levels (0.12m) on Monday and Tuesday but on Wednesday we received a good flood reading 0.44m on the gauge. This gave great water levels for the day and decent levels on Thursday (.018m). The river then dropped very rapidly and by the end of Sunday the gauge only read 0.06m. Despite the nice conditions over Wednesday and Thursday the fishery was fairly quiet with 8 visiting rods in attendance. The very low water and very bright, hot conditions at the weekend did not help. There were a number of salmon caught all the same.
On Monday Alan Watson recorded 2 salmon weighing 7 & 9lb caught & released on fly from beat 8 in low water conditions (0.12m).
On Tuesday, Anthony Carr reported a 5lb grilse caught & Released on fly from beat 3.
There will have been fish caught on Wednesday and Thursday by local anglers and I have no word of these to date.
At present, we are experiencing a heat wave with blazing sun and very low water. This is forecast for the whole week with the chance of some rain at the weekend which is much needed. There will be salmon caught even in these conditions by the ‘dedicated’! Late evenings and early mornings give the best chances.
Make a booking
For info/bookings etc on the Owenea Fishery –
Tel: 074 9551141. (9am to 1pm April to May & 7am to 1pm June to Sept).
The Drowes ran at very low levels all week once again. On Monday the gauge at the Four Masters Bridge read only 0.2m and by Tuesday this had dropped to 0.28m! After some limited rain the river started rising but only reached 0.35m on Wednesday. The river then fell slowly again to read 0.34m by the end of Sunday.
Richard Evans
With the warm temperatures and bright conditions, angling was hard work and rod attendance low. It was mainly the booked in guests that fished and early morning and late evening offered the best chances once again. There were a number of grilse reported. Richard Evans recorded 2 grilse caught on worm from Red Roof.
Make a booking
River Drowes
The Drowes Fishery is one of Ireland’s premier spring salmon and grilse fisheries. The river is some 5 miles in length, with over 70 named pools, flowing from Lough Melvin at Lareen Bay and entering the sea at Tullaghan, just outside Bundoran. The Drowes has a wide variety of water suitable for all fishing methods, including several miles of good fly water and deeper slower moving pools suitable for spinning and bait fishing.
For information and bookings on the Drowes Fishery & Lough Melvin see http://www.drowessalmonfishery.com Tel: 071 9841055 (8am to 12 noon). Mob: +353 (0) 87 8050806
For info/Guides/boat hire on Lough Melvin contact Sean Maguire’s Tackle Shop, Main Street, Garrison.Tel. (048) 686 58194
Lough Melvin, Rossinver Fishery: For info/Guides/boat hire/bookings etc. contact Sean Carty. Tel: 083 1197428.
Home » Boat hire » Lakes » Boat hire on Irish Lakes Lough Mask Halls Angling Centre David & Helen Hall, Cahir Bay, Cushlough, Ballinrobe, Co. Mayo. Tel: +353 (0)94 9541389 Email: info@lakeshoreholidays Web: www.lakeshoreholidays.com Brian Joyce Derrypark Lodge, Deerpark, Tourmakeady, Co. Mayo. Tel: +353 (0)94 9544081 Email: [email protected] Web: www.derryparklodge.com Tom & Maura Staunton [...]
June 18th – June 24th 2018
“Success is all about going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.” Winston Churchill
Dan ‘Humpy’ Prunty, Dublin with his sunset Sheelin trout
After the disappointment of the traditional mayfly fishing period, Lough Sheelin has turned the tables on its anglers and is now presenting some good fishing opportunities. This is mainly due to the our fickle Irish weather and for the past week the weather has been kind to those pursuing Lough Sheelin’s elusive trout – north west and the more desirable south to south westerly’s featured along with good cloud cover and a slight reduction in temperatures, comparable at least to the tropical heats of weeks gone by. The best fishing days were from mid week through to the weekend where many of the regular anglers put in a frenzied number of hours before the onset of the fore casted ‘heat wave’.
Keith Lough, Scotland with his 60cm Lough Sheelin trout
The Hatches
Food for thought – a carpet of mayfly shucks
The mayfly still predominates here, with hatches of these beautiful fragile insects, freshly hatched, sitting like little sailing boats on the surface water waiting for their wings to dry before taking to the air. Strong winds on Tuesday night kept the spent from going out but on other evenings, although not nearly as excessive as in previous weeks, we were treated to the familiar scene of exhaustion and death slicked across the surface of the lake as that elegant life of the mayfly ended and with it providing a tempting meal to a cruising trout.
Dancing at Church, June 19th. 2018 boasted the biggest mayfly hatch on record for Sheelin, with swarms of these insects rising up into the air like smoke to begin their courtship dance. They bounce, there is no other word for it. They fly up vertically, to about 12 to 15 feet, then parachute back down to about 4 feet from the ground, but then return back up again so abruptly it’s as if they have landed on an invisible entomological trampoline.
Hatches of mayfly were still in evidence on parts of the lake – Holywell to Crover, into Chambers Bay and around the islands. There were small hatches of caenis in Goreport, Sailor’s Garden and Chambers Bay at first light at the weekend, best fished using a small Grey Duster pattern.
‘Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive’ Walter Scott
Now, with the longest day of the year, June 21st, behind us and with the month of July in sight, inevitably we are moving away from the mayfly and into what some anglers would consider the cream of the fishing calendar and that is the sedge fishing. The transition from Ephemera to sedge has already been in evidence over the past week or so with the appearance of the Great Red Sedge – the Murrough as well as a vast number of species of smaller sedges present in considerable numbers particularly around Church Island, Stony and Derry Sheridan. There are reputedly a bewildering 300 different species but for the sake of entomogical sanity, anglers really just need to know a few of the basics – a small brown sedge, the Cinnamon, the Welshman’s Button, the Murrough and the Green Peter.
The Welshman’s Button
Sedge is late evening, twilight and after dark fishing. The sedge pupae makes for the surface with an impressive turn of speed and emerging onto open water it must get to safety as quickly as possible before being eaten by a marauding fish. Trout feeding on moving sedge hit their meal with a tell tale slap as they pounce on the doomed sedge scurrying across the water in its attempt to get to a safe haven.
Murrough and Mayfly
Local angler and Sheelin guide Ned Clinton caught two trout averaging over 3lbs at the end of this week both on Murrough patterns.
A rare white Welshman’s Button
Best places for sedge fishing on this lake are behind Stony Island, Gaffney’s Bay, Ross Bay, Rusheen and the bottom of Goreport and Bog Bay.
Sedges on outboard
The Catches
Christopher Defillon’s bar of gold
Lough Sheelin never has nor never will be an easy lake to fish, moody and erratic the main attraction to anglers is that this lake carries a stock of heavy wild trout and this in itself offers the trout angler angler an irresistible chance of catching that dream weight.
Mark Lough, Scotland with a 57cm trout caught on a wet Mayfly pattern
Anglers as a rule have high expectations of here and when conditions are challenging and trout do not give themselves up, they move on, leaving this beautiful and capricious stretch of water to those who understand the intricacies of fishing a wild brown trout fishery.
Cian Murtagh’s Sheelin trout caught on a wet Yellow Partridge
Twenty seven catches were recorded for this week with a top weight of almost 7lb which is good considering the scattered numbers fishing these waters.
Peter McArdle’s trout of the week caught on a Murrough
Peter McArdle easily took the weight of the week with a superb trout of almost 7lbs, a burnished gold piece of piscatorial perfection caught on a Murrough pattern near Corru Bay.
Selection of Catches
Ned Clinton, Cavan – 1 trout at 3lbs using a Murrough pattern, June 21st.
Cian Murtagh, Cavan – June 20th – 2 trout both at 3lbs using a French Partridge fishing around Church island and Curry point. June 21st 1 trout at 4lbs on a French Partridge at Derrysheridan.
Gary McKiernan (Lough Sheelin Guiding Services) – 1 trout a 3lbs on a dry sedge.
Florian Tortel Le Ven, France fishing with Christopher Defillon – June 21st 1 trout at 65cm.
Johnny Murray, Ballymena – 1 trout at 2lbs using a sedge pattern.
Michael Donnelly, Dublin – June 20th 3 trout heaviest at 5lbs using Stimulators and Wet Mayfly patterns.
JJ Sullivan, Meath – 1 trout at 3lbs on a spent gnat, June 19th.
George Stonehouse, Ross – 1 trout at 3 lbs using wet mayfly patterns.
Michael Dunleavy, Dublin – 2 trout for the week, heaviest at 4lbs using a Spent Gnat pattern.
Ned Clinton with his 3lb trout caught on a Murrough pattern
The Flies
During the day time and into early evening wet mayfly patterns worked well and in particular the French Partridge, although I am told any wet mayfly pattern would do. A person could get lost in the confusion of mayfly patterns out there, unhelpfully referred to as ‘wet mays’ but the patterns that keep appearing and producing successful fishing have been the Klinkhammers (Green and in Yellow), the Octopus, the Gosling (good as a top dropper), an Emerger Yellow Mayfly and the Olive May Muddler (an excellent pulling fly that can be greased up if you want to fish it on a floating line). My favourite has to be Peter Hehir’s Lissane Lady which regardless of attracting a number of 3lb plus trout this week is just simply lovely to look at with of course having the added bonus of being great in a team of wet flies, in a rolling wave, fished on an intermediate or floating line.
A number of fish were caught using Spent patterns and it was the Wulffs which featured most – grey, green and royal. Aiden Rush’s ‘Lough Sheelin Spent’ and Mick Kelly’s ‘Leggy Black Spent’ were also favourites.
The most successful flies this week were the Mayfly nymph patterns, wet Mayfly patterns in greens with mixes of brown and claret mingled through, , the French Partridge, the Goslings, , CDC Mayfly Emergers, the Wulffs (grey and royal), the Spent Gnat patterns (a predominance of black worked best). For the sedge fishing a small brown sedge pattern (size 12) fished dry and Murrough and a balling buzzer on the dropper got results. Wickham’s Fancy, the Cinnamon Sedge and Black Gnat dry fly also got a look in. Other patterns catching fish were the Dabblers (Claret, Green and Silver), Stimulators and Bumbles (Golden and Cock Robin).
Competitions
The McDonnell cup will be held on Saturday August 11th on Lough Sheelin, fishing from 11am till 6pm from Kilnahard pier… This competition has been fished catch & release for the last five years, which proved to be very successful. Measures will be provided for all boats with the cup awarded to the longest fish. This competition is open to members of the club only but membership is available on the day
There will be lots of prizes on offer and this day is generally viewed as a great day out.
For further details contact Thomas Lynch @ 087 9132033.
The Lough Sheelin Trout Protection Association will be hosting a Youth angling day on Saturday July 21st. For further details contact Thomas Lynch @ 087 9132033 .
A catch & release policy is actively encouraged on the lake at all times
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 1st 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.
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.
Fishery manager Brian Curran reports that the Costello Fishery received a nice lift in water levels following the rain last week, and despite light angling effort 8 salmon were landed for the week.
Local rod Geoffrey Fitzjohn accounted for 3 grilse to his own rod on 2 days, best 5lbs and all to his trusty size 12 Black Shrimp. Indeed I managed a peek inside Geoffrey’s fly box on Friday last and sure enough, it was a veritable cornucopia of Black Shrimps in various guises and sizes. The fish all came from Beat 1, including the Cabbage Pool, the Dinner Run and the Sea Pool, and he lost another fish in the Cabbage Pool.
Hugh Maguire landed two fish, both grilse of 5lbs – one from the Cabbage Pool on a Stoat’s Tail and one from the Butts at Fermoyle on a Daddy. Hugh also lost a big fish here. Sean Kelly took a 3.5lbs grilse in the Sea Pool on a Black Shrimp, and lost another in Hedge Pool.
Michael Dillon also had a 3.5lbs grilse in the Cabbage Pool, and Anthony Bolustrim landed a grilse on a Black Shrimp, again in the Cabbage Pool.
While levels are dropping now there is sufficient water in the system to allow the fish to run following rain on the 20th. Sea trout have been slow to arrive, as were the grilse, but we are starting to see sea trout move in a number of pools near the sea.
Go fishing…
Costello & Fermoyle Fishery
Costello & Fermoyle is a jewel in Connemara’s crown, with a short, productive river draining a chain of lakes, all providing quality salmon and sea trout fishing. Salmon run the system from April, with the grilse run peaking in June, while sea trout start in May, with the most prolific runs in June and July. Fishing can be excellent right through September.
Following last week’s storm the weather was a little unsettled at times and inclined to be a bit windy. On the whole it wasn’t a bad week for anglers, particularly those who had hoped for a bit of rain. Unfortunately for anyone looking for another bit, you might have to wait a while yet…
The rain that fell last week did not make it to the Moy, but the cloud cover did enough to see just over 300 salmon caught on the river. Fisheries in Galway and Connemara did better following the rain that made it to their headwaters. In Donegal a small flood on the Owenea saw some fine salmon landed but the Drowes remained low and fishing was confined to the late evenings and early mornings. Lough Currane benefited from the rain, but windy conditions made it hard to make the most of the run of salmon. Rivers in Cork fared lass well and most measured their catches last week in single figures.
Jean Jacques Chaumet from France wins Catch of the Week with a Salmon caught on the river Suir (Jean Jacques Chaumet, 2018)
Conservation of sea trout Waterville area (No.7 or Kerry District)
Inland Fisheries Ireland is seeking submissions from interested parties in respect of a proposed bye-law which would prohibit the retention and possession of any sea trout taken in the Waterville area of Co. Kerry. This new bye-law is intended to decrease the pressure on sea trout stocks in the systems while still allowing anglers to fish. For more information see: Conservation of sea trout Waterville area (No.7 or Kerry District)
Lough Corrib had some super early morning fishing to Caenis. Traditionally called the Angler’s Curse the fly is now a welcome hatch to many anglers. Many travel from far afield to make the most of the sport on offer. Lough Sheelin had some of it’s biggest hatches of Mayfly ever last month. But the fish did not put on much of a show for the hopeful anglers who flocked to the lake. Now that the lake is nearly empty of boats, trout have started to feed on the few fly that have continued to hatch in the last week.
Coarse anglers saw some great catches at festivals fished in Fermanagh and Cavan. The fishing really picked up in Cavan and Colin Moss won the Breffni Challenge with 70.670kg, beating Bob Nudd by 17kg. Anglers in Longford are also getting good fishing with some lovely looking bags of bream and tench reported.
We have pike reports in from Lough Lene, Longford and Lough Ree. Big fish continue to be caught and as the weather is set to get warmer we ask all those targeting pike to ensure they take the necessary steps to minimise stress for these toothy predators and allow the fish plenty of time to recover when releasing them.
Congratulations go to the Irish Team who won the Home Nation Boat Championships fished from Cobh last week. It was not an easy competition by any means as the fish had been scattered by Storm Harvey. The Irish Team showed their quality with 3 boat wins on the first day and kept the momentum going to keep the lead and win over all.
Staying safe by the water
Irish Water Safety (IWS) has lots of sensible advice for parents ahead of the next spell of hot weather. It can be all too easy to get into difficulties in water, not just while we are out and about, but also around the home. The newly published Ultimate Water Safety Guide for Parents is well worth a read by anyone taking kids to the waterside – https://www.mykidstime.com/for-parents/the-ultimate-water-safety-guide-for-parents/
And now the weather…
High pressure is forecast to stay over Ireland for the next week. There will be sunshine each day and it will stay dry everywhere. Or in other words – this is the start of a heatwave. It will become very warm by day with afternoon temperatures in the mid to high twenties. Sea breezes will make it a bit less warm near coasts and perhaps some sea fog may affect coasts later in the week.
The nights will initially be cool with lowest temperatures on Saturday night of 6 to 10 degrees, but after that nights will become close with temperatures not falling much below 15 degrees from Monday night onward. Anyone who was thinking of doing an all nighter has just got a green light…
Seventeen anglers turned out to fish three of the small developed lakes, Unshinagh (Gavin’s), Lyons and Killyfole at the weekend. The latter producing bream weights and 21.750kg on the feeder and pole for Francis McGoldrick on day one and subsequently a festival win. Tench were the dominant species caught on Lyons along with skimmers and Unshinagh producing decent nets of roach and perch.
The weekend festival had a prize fund of £1100 including sponsorship from Fermanagh and Omagh District Council and paid out the top five; In second place was CM Lakelands Feeder Club angler Neil Mazurek with 16.220kg and 3rd John Mcvey with 16.070kg. 4th was John Potters with 15kg and 5th East Belfast Coarse Angling Club angler Aaron Nabc Hutchman with 14.240kg.
These under-used lakes developed by DAERA as part of the Clones Erne East Blackwater project back in 2014 also include Drumacritten, Inver and Nayre and all make for a good days fishing.
Go Fishing…
Grey Duster Guiding
