The Fermoy Festival kicked off on 15 May. We have reports here of the first 2 day’s fishing…
Day 1
Fermoy Festival Week started yesterday with 40 staying in the area to enjoy match fishing on the River Blackwater.
The fishing was started off difficult in areas even though conditions were good, water levels up with a little bit of colour. Day One winner was Nigel Hirst from Leeds with 16lb 4oz, second was Connaught Ollie Doyle with 12lb 8 oz and 3 was Dave Miles of Leeds with 11lb 14oz.
Usually the anglers would head to Inniscarra for the intermittent days but this year they will remain on the River.
Day 2
Wayne shows off his catch
Lovely bright sunshine met the anglers in the River Blackwater for the second match day but of course it’s not the weather they wanted to see!
Nottingham’s Wayne Swinscoe won the day with 14lb 6oz, second was Nick Chaffer, Leeds with 10lb 6 and joint third was Trevor Platt, Cork and John Whitehouse, Darlington with 6lb 8oz. Nigel Hirst is still leading after two days with 21lb 14oz.
The Dutch King of Clubs competition was held last week at Connolly’s and Church Shore on Garadice Lake, the Rocks at Lough Scur, and the Woodford River at Derrycassan last week.
The fishing was not as good as hoped for as the venues were perhaps still a bit behind following the unusual weather the country has experienced this spring.
In general the fishing was as follows:
Connolly’s, Garadice; there were roach, hybrids and a lot of good size perch.
The Deeps, Garadice; roach, hybrid and perch.
The Rocks lough Scur; small roach, many of the with some hybrid, roach and small bream.
Derrycasan; a lot of roach and hybrid, some perch.
Not many anglers got into double figures in a single day but Michel Diepstraten deserves special mention for his impressive catch of 17.610kg on Day 3. Unfortunately for Michel the scoring is based on a points system, where the final score is based on the best 3 days of the 4 days fished (the worst result is dropped).
Jan Willem Plekkenpol
So in the end it was Jan Willem Plekkenpol who won the tournament with a total of 5 points and 16.680 kg.
1
Plekkenpol, Jan Willem
5 points
16.680kg
2
Multem, André
6 points
20.840kg
3
Oven van, Ronald
6 points
14.320kg
4
Kivits, Raymond
6 points
13.870kg
5
Munro, Lee
7 points
18.280kg
1st Jan Willem Plekkenpol, 2nd André Multem, 3rd Ronald van Oven
Paul Waghorne, of www.lanesboroughangling.ie, is back in town with his up to date reporting from Lanesborough…
17 May: I have to admit that from March 25th through to May 11th, there was little or no chance of my annual pilgimage to Lanesborough being likely to happen, and if were truthful, I didn’t miss much.
Those who study weather patterns may have noted that the first three months of 2018 saw the longest prolonged low ground temperature probably since 1963? Some parts of Ireland averaged just 2.5c and I believe this is unprecedented. Being the smart arse that I am, I was confident that spring would be very late to arrive, and from reports all over Ireland, I understand that fishing has been poor.
Lanesborough can usually be relied on (when the levels are right) to produce early sport due to the warmer water from the power station outlet. It is true that some 4oz fish populated the area, these could have been resident fish. For the adult spawning fish however, it was a different matter.
I had my eye on the water temperature for Lough Ree and for most of March it was still less than 6c. It started to rise and on the weekend of 22nd April just got to the magic 10.3c (51f) which sees the shoals amass prior to spawning.
Those who kept in contact with me, were advised to fish the stretch, and Connor Lowry took advantage to weigh a new P.B. of 2lb 2oz. It was noted that far more female Roach were present than in previous years.
At least three Pike over 20lb were caught on the same weekend, but the week after the spawning, it was grim. The water temperature dipped and took a further two weeks to recover.
I predicted that we would not see an April Tench. Thankfully, I was wrong. Two very small males were caught before Arthur, a local Polish man had two in one session. The news of which prompted several very experienced anglers into action. (they blanked!)
So, when offered a window of opportunity to travel, albeit for just 10 days, I jumped in the car and made my way to Holyhead. The water had been a steady 12c for the best part of two weeks and surely it was just a matter of a short time before the next rise to see the Tench in the stretch?
I’ve been here four days now, and the sport has been very poor. Steven and myself have endured blanks on not just the disabled swims, but on the gusher and the warm peg below. How was this usually prolific area seemingly devoid of fish?
Whilst we were suffering however, two Tench over 6lbs were caught by Clifford and Keith Moreley from Norfolk on Sunday, but like us they really struggled the following day. Last night saw six anglers on the disabled swims, two of us blanked (guess who that was) whilst only one credible fish was netted to Keith who had a magnificent 2lb 7oz Rudd.
Here is the chart of water temperature rises, 22nd April was the Roach invasion. Yesterday saw the rise which should herald the tincas arrive in numbers?
Due to the biosecurity risks posed by the Asian Clam populations anglers can only use the specially provided keep-nets, available both sides of the bridge – from the Daybreak Filling Station, Ballyleague and Bridie Holmes Fishing Tackle Shop, Lanesborough.
Dan O’Neill at the Mount Juliet Estate reports on the trout fishing on the Nore…
05 May: Clear skies and hot today. The water was running clear with 0.7 on the gauge and the temperature reading 12.8C. Fishing dry fly and nymph we had 9 trout, 4 salmon smolts and 4 dace. The trout mostly around the half pound mark. Pretty lean condition wise, and could do with putting bit of weight on. This will happen over the coming weeks I’m sure.
06 May: A foggy start to the day followed by strong heat and high sun from 12 until 4.45pm. The river was very clear, seemed to be a lot of white froth present,more than usual and more or less the same as yesterday. We stuck to the nymphs (GH-PT) today and had 9 trout and ,2 smolts. Again trout mostly half pound with one nice fish above the pound mark. The fish were hitting the nymph very hard.
Grilse from the Nore about to be released
08 May: There were 2 salmon caught on the fishery today. The first was 8lb the other 10lb. We also had day 3 trout landed on the salmon fly. Water levels dropping down to 0.59 on the gauge, conditions were clear.
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.
Monday 30th April to Sunday 13th May 2018 (2 weeks).
Water levels were fair to good overall on the Drowes over the fortnight. The gauge read 0.51m on the 30th but decent rain meant the river steadily rose over the next 3 days and the gauge read 0.57m by the 3rd May. The river then began to fall and by the 13th May the gauge read 0.46m, a little lower than its best level. Angling was good with good numbers of salmon recorded and some very good spring fish were reported.
Eddie Roulston and his son Nash had a salmon each
On Monday 30th April, Eddie Roulston and his son Nash recorded a salmon apiece weighing 10 & 8lb respectively caught on a Flying ‘C’ lure from the Upper Mill & Stakey’s and Michael Bothwell accounted for a 6½lb salmon on a fly from the Sea Pools.
On the 2nd May, Phil McGrath reported an 11lb salmon caught on prawn from the Mill Pool and also caught and released another salmon weighing around 7½lb.
On the 3rd, Paul McCausland recorded a 14lb salmon caught on worm form the Black Hole and Julian Ciconte accounted for a 10lb salmon caught and released on a spinner from Spa Well.
Billy Grimes caught a grilse of around 5lb
On the 4th, Billy Grimes recorded a grilse of around 5lb caught from the Mill Pool. Stevie O’Donahue logged a grilse of about 5lb caught on fly and Alan Curry caught and released 2 double figure salmon on a fly from the Upper Mill and Crooked Hole.
On the 5th, Ciaran Boyle caught and released a grilse weighing around 5lb on a fly from Briney’s and Rob Law caught and released a 15lb salmon from the Mill Pool.
On the 6th, P.J. Bailey logged a 10lb salmon caught on worm from Red Roof and David Anthony accounted for a 6lb grilse caught on a spinner from the Mill Pool.
Mark Barbour’s 13.5lb salmon. It seems of interest to the rare Drowes Water Terrier! Beware, it can appear anywhere on the River and nick your fish!
On the 7th, Mark Barbour recorded a 13½lb salmon caught on a fly from Fall Run and 9 year old Kieran McEvoy caught and released a 9lb salmon on prawn from Tinker’s Hole.
Julian Ciconte releases his 18lb salmon. Julian wins Catch of the Week for this super fish. #CPRsavesfish
On the 11th, Julian Ciconte caught and released the best salmon to date of the 2018 season. This was a salmon in excess of 18lb.
A couple of day later Julian did it all again with a 16lb salmon #CPRsavesfish
On the 13th, Julian recorded another fine salmon of 16lb caught and released from Briney’s and P.J. Bailey accounted for an 8½lb salmon caught on worm from the Black Hole.
The river is starting to drop to lower levels but heavy rain is forecast for the weekend and Monday. Prospects look very good for the coming week and weekend.
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.
Irish Ladies first outing of the year took place on the 22nd of April at a new venue for the ladies at Tildarg Fishery, Doagh, Ballyclare. The ladies will like to thank the Tildarg for the warm welcome we received also a special thanks to Sam and Ernie and to the ladies who made us a lovely lunch.
14 ladies for the first trial of the season
This was the first time that the ILFA used TIldarg as a venue and 14 ladies turned out for the first trial of 2018 a friendly welcome was given to those who traveled far an wide for the trial to try to hook into the spotted trout beneath the waters at Tildarg.
Buttery trout!
It was a blustery start with strong gusts and scattered showers throughout the day. The sun shone for one angler on the day and that was Julie Gerry who had 7 fish for the top honors. Julie had caught some lovely fish all day but she did catch a lovely buttery Brown trout. The top boatman on the day was Mark Dermott.
Julie Gerry winner of the 1st Trial being presented her prize by Liz dermott
The next Ladies trial will take place on lough Lene, Collinstown on the 3rd of June. For further information contact Jenny Casey
We would also like to wish team member Almha McDonnell the very best of luck in her leaving cert which starts in a few weeks time.
Go fishing…
For more information on these events or to join the ILFA please visit www.irishladiesflyfishing.com or ring Jenny Casey on 087 6593 174 (ROI) or Madeleine Kelly 07738 362459 (NI)
Donal Kennedy reports
Last week, a party of anglers from Co. Mayo left Killala Harbour at 9.00am and headed out into the bay. Winds were moderate South Westerly with some heavy rain showers during the day. However, this did not put off the keen anglers which were pleased with the good start. Coalfish, pollack, ballan wrasse and mackerel were first to be caught. As the day moved on, some fine ling and conger were added to the list of species. Later on in the day drifts over sandy ground rewarded the anglers with a variety of flatfish including turbot, dab and plaice. All returned to harbour well pleased with the day’s fishing. Great fishing aboard LEAH last week
To book a day’s fishing in Killala Bay contact Donal Kennedy on +353 (0)86 8174509 or visit www.dkennedyangling.ie.
Anglers on Lough Arrow experienced a cold week with just a few mayflies hatching towards the end of the week. However, Martyn Elliott and friend from the UK did well catching 16 fish for 5 days heaviest 2.5 lbs. Martyn McDaid from Strabane had 2 fish heaviest 2 lbs., while Sarah Maxwell also caught 2 trout heaviest 3.25 lbs. Junior angler Oliver Wall boated 2 fish on Saturday heaviest 1.25 lbs. Higher temperatures forecast for the coming week should hopefully bring on the mayfly.
12-year old Oliver Wall with a nice Lough Arrow brownie
The annual Mayfly Competition is taking place on Lough Arrow on Sunday 20th May from 10am-6pm. All anglers must be paid up members of the club for insurance purposes – new members welcome. Membership and entry accepted from 9am-10am on Flynn’s Pier or by text to Colin +353 (0)86 6000630 prior to start of competition. Weigh-in for heaviest fish over 13′ will take place in McDonagh’s Bar at 7pm. No trolling or spinning permitted.
Two visiting anglers from Finland were among the first to catch salmon on the Owenmore River this year. Rami Törmälä and his fishing partner Panu Lampinen from Helsinki caught & released a spring salmon each last week while fishing the Bangor Angling Club water of the Owenmore River. The two Finnish flyanglers are repeat visitors to Bangor Erris and hope to return next season to continue their success.
Rami Törmälä with his fine double figure springer from the Owenmore
Rami’s mate Panu Lampinen also did well on the Owenmore!
Carrowmore Lake also produced a few fish recently. The lake has been fishable since Monday after the windy weather that prevailed for most of last week. Amongst the successful anglers were Larry McAlinden, Pat Foley and Mervyn Corway. Most successful flies included Green Peter, Claret Dabbler and Clan Chief Muddler. The outlook for the next few days is good with more settled weather and light to moderate winds.
Please note that Carrowmore Lake is a Brown Tag Fishery and that the Owenmore River is “Catch & Release”! For fishing contact Seamus Henry on +353 (0)97 83487 or visit www.bangorerrisangling.com
9/5/18 Lough Currane was on the wild side with a strong NW wind blowing, wind or no wind the Currane anglers did venture out manipulating their flies and lures, but sadly all Currane anglers caught was a wind tan. Wind as already stated and just for the record there were a few heavy showers. Yesterdays weather, amount of rainfall 3.2mm. Maximum air temperature 13.3c.
10/5/18 Great news on the Specimen Sea Trout department and we will let the captor have his say on this great Sea trout! The ‘man with the hat strikes again, catch and release department. Lovely fresh specimen sea trout in the 9 lbs class. “No pictures unfortunately as by myself and had to get fish back in water quickly and with minimum distress”. All I can say is congratulations Mr. Jerry O’Sullivan. Now we head for the Salmon department, Mr. Michael Roden , while fishing with his Gillie Mr. Junior Scully, caught a cracking 12 lbs. Salmon on the troll.
Ken and Vincent – 30 years a fishing
Now to the fly department UK and Waterville angler Mr. Ken Towner caught a fine 8lb salmon on the fly today, while fishing with his gillie Mr. Vincent O’Sullivan. This fine fish gave Ken one almighty good rise and took him right down to the backing on its first run and Vincent O’Sullivan had the last say with the net. Ken told me, “An important picture of 30 years! Vincent O’Sullivan and I caught a lightning fresh 8/9 lbs. Salmon on the fly. We have fished on Lough Currane for 30 years and this one was a bit special”. Well here’s to the next 30 years. Wind strong SW good cloud cover. Yesterday’s weather, amount of rainfall 8.8 mm. Maximum air temperature 12.2c.
11/5/18 Now today’s facts, there was a fine 7lbs.Salmon caught on the fly by Mr. Jack Murphy, while fishing with his gillie Mr Dominic McGillcuddy of www.fishingwithdom.com and for the rest the Currane anglers it was all quiet on the SW front. Just for the record it made a big flood early this morning. Wind W fresh to strong with good cloud cover at times. Yesterday’s weather,amount of rain fall 3.0 mm. Maximum air temperature 12.4c.
12/5/18 Lough Currane was all quiet on the SW front in all departments after yesterday’s 19.8mm of rainfall and the next few days should be interesting once the lake settles down. Just for the record there was a fine 4 lbs plus Seatrout caught and released. Wind W light to fresh with reasonable cloud cover. Yesterday’s weather amount of rainfall as already stated, maximum air temperature 12.2c.
13/5/18 All the action comes from the Bungalow, so straight to the facts of the day. Dr. Tim O’Connor caught a cracker of a 11 lbs. Salmon on the fly, while fishing with his gillie Mr. Tom O’Shea of www.flyfishingatloughcurrane.com. Staying at the Bungalow, also in good form was Mr. John Smith of Co. Offley, while fishing with his gillie Mr. Neil O’Shea of www.oshealoughcurrane.com caught a fine 8 lbs.Salmon on the troll and Neil also reported that an angler fishing out of the Bungalow caught a fine 10 lbs. Salmon on the troll. Wind SW Moderate with good cloud cover. Yesterday’s weather,maximum air temperature 12.3c.
14/5/18 Today’s notes are short and for good reason, it was all quiet on the SW front, but to be fair we Lough Currane anglers can’t complain with the Wild Atlantic Salmon’s activity today because they were in a lethargic mood. Wind W light with reasonable cloud cover. Yesterdays weather, amount of rainfall 2.0mm. Maximum air temperature 13.1c.
15/5/18 A nice bit of history was made today by Mr. Mike Corner Jones of the UK and Gillie Mr. Terence Wharton Snr, fishing out of Hogs Head Golf Course, caught a cracker of a 11 lbs. Salmon and by doing so is the first ever client to catch a Salmon on the troll, fishing out of Hogs Head Golf Course. Just for the record this was also Michaels’ first ever Salmon and may it be the first of many for both Michael and Hogs Head Golf Course and to finish the day with a double Grand slam Michael’s good friend Mr. Greg Campbell of the UK caught a fine Brown Trout on the fly while fishing with his Gillie Mr. Terence Wharton Jnr. Now to the weather and in the words of local Gillie Mr. Terence Wharton and I quote it was bitterly cold out there with a ENE wind blowing. Yesterdays weather, amount of rainfall 1.3mm. Maximum air temperature 14.0c.
That is your ration from the last week on Lough Currane, from your Gillie and the Waterville Fishery, no spin no fly’s just facts.
It is not generally recognized, when discussing the well known salmonid populations of Waterville’s Currane catchment, that some of the mountain lakes host relatively healthy populations of Arctic Charr. These Charr populations, in common with the brown trout in these upper mountain lakes, are relict stocks from the last Ice Age when the land, relieved of its burden of ice, rose up again and isolated these relict marine species beyond impassable waterfalls in the uplands of Co Kerry. Charr are a fascinating, often defying attempts to define the various races. It’s generally thought that Charr do not compete well with brown trout in their shared environment and as a result tend to occupy the deeper zones in these glacial lakes where they find a relatively stable habitat. The original marine Charr are still prolific in the arctic north where annual runs of these much larger fish still spawn in the coastal streams of Iceland and Greenland. Both of which countries, incidentally, have become favored destinations for intrepid anglers!
Kerry char
In their natural arctic range the Charr have similar spawning patterns to sea trout, running the small coastal streams and spawning in the gravel beds. In the mountain lakes, although some individual strains will spawn in small gravelly streams, there is, apparently, a tendency for them to spawn in the lakes themselves, utilizing gravelly areas well oxygenated by wave action. As a result they are incredibly difficult to observe. Research of other Charr populations has shown a preference for spring spawning and there is every reason to suppose that this pattern occurs in these lakes.
A typical mountain lake in the Currane Catchment with a healthy population of Charr
Ron Greer, the well known Scottish freshwater biologist and Charr fanatic, likens the Charr to a ‘freshwater reindeer’ with the ‘wolf’ predator being the Ferox Trout. It has yet to be established whether this synergy exists in the mountain lakes of the Currane catchment, but undoubtedly there are populations of Ferox Trout in both Cloonaghlin and Derriana Loughs where these fish have been caught in the past by anglers trolling for salmon. It’s an exciting thought that these Ferox trout might also find an existence in the smaller mountain lakes feeding on the Charr.
A ‘Ferox’ trout from Lough Derriana
Fishing on Lough Cloonaghlin?
Could I remind anglers who intend fishing on Lough Cloonaghlin over the coming weeks to please avoid driving over the bog to the lakeshore. Instead, leave vehicles in the ‘quarry’ area and walk to the lake. This bogland is a protected area in the Killarney National Park and as a result of recent very wet conditions, is extremely sensitive to vehicular damage from which it will take years to recover. The Trust has a project planned to enable future access but work on this will only be possible following a period of dry weather.
The Waterville Lakes & Rivers Trust, formed by concerned volunteers in 2016, is one of the new Rivers Trusts to be set up in Ireland and is currently aspiring to Charitable Status. Its remit is to protect the fresh and coastal waters of the Iveragh Peninsula.
The rivers and lakes of Waterville drain a large catchment and are regarded by many as the foremost Salmon and Sea-Trout fishery in the country. The lake system is well developed with access to boats and guides being readily available to the tourist angler. The Sea-Trout caught here are renowned for their size and quantity. For more details see
