The 2018 Waterways Ireland Classic Fishing Festival got off to a steady start on Monday on the shores of Lough Erne in the Fermanagh Lakelands, with the sun shining brightly on the 240 anglers occupying fishing sections from Bellanaleck on the upper lough to Boa Island on the lower lough.
Tony Hopkins, 2nd overall Day One, Broadmeadow 1
Today’s top weight of 32 kgs 530 gms was caught on the Cornagrade section by Andrew Hampson from Chapel Allerton, which earned him the top daily prize of £500. Second was another Classic regular, Tony Hopkins from Gowna with 28 kg 120 gms, caught from peg 1 right in front of Enniskillen Castle at the Broadmeadow section. In third spot was Stuart Harford from Worcester, who landed 25kgs 750gms from peg 14 at Rossahilly, with double Classic winner John Potters from Lisbellaw in fourth place with 23kgs 850gms, also on the Rossahilly section.
The action continues on Tuesday with the first day of the King of the Erne competition and the next Classic fishing day is on Wednesday. The weather is predicted to heat up as the week progresses, adding to the unpredictability of the event. All of the anglers will line up again on Wednesday morning, hoping to reel in the top prize of £5,000 and the Crystal Chalice, or some of the many other cash prizes and trophies on offer.
The Classic is sponsored by Waterways Ireland and is organised by Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, in conjunction with the Inland Fisheries Division of the Department of Agriculture Environment and Rural Affairs.
Lawrence Hickey, Dublin with his perfectly marked Sheelin trout (released)
Lough Sheelin undeniably abides by its own rules and continually defies us, twisting and turning, never predictable and forever demanding observation and focus from the anglers that fish this capricious and moody stretch of water. We struggled through April, battling cold miserable weather, undesirable north to north easterly winds and poor clarity. Although only in early season the tiring of this lake and its nutrient problems among the angling fraternity was palatable. As Sheelin struggled with its issues interestingly and coincidentally LAWCO (Local Authority Waters and Communities Office) during April ran a number of meetings within the Lough Sheelin catchment appealing to anyone with an interest in Lough Sheelin and its improvement to attend, disappointingly very few turned up and the community water officer along with drawing up a vision for Sheelin out of these meetings also made this observation ‘It seems from the discussions and from my limited experience of the catchment and the local villages I visited in the past few weeks that the local community has turned its back on Lough Sheelin. It has become a contentious space rather than the local treasure it should or could be’ – food for thought I think.
A good day’s fishing for Monaghan angler Peadar McAvinney, May 13th
The Hatches
A Lough Sheelin Olive
Now, into the month of May it seems as if the magic button of salvation has been pressed for here – the water has cleared, clarity is good and the insects have returned – lots of buzzer, a scattering of olives and a mired of unidentifiable chironomids are back and more importantly to those fishing this lake, the trout appear to be on the move, dragging themselves up from the depths and beginning to feed on the nymphs, emergers and adults.
May 8th – a good buzzer hatch but the water was too cold for the Sheelin’s mayfly.
For this week it has been all about the buzzer fishing with the Sailors Garden, Bog bay down into Goreport and round as far as Curry point being the main areas. There are over 400 species of Buzzer which anglers thankfully don’t have to identify individually but it is good to remember that regardless of other food items available to trout, these midges in all stages of development play a big part in the trout’s meal plan. One of the best indicators of recent buzzer activity is of course the floating shucks of the adults on the water and mud or silted areas with a reasonable depth of water are usually good places for this type of fishing. Sheltered areas on the lake are best as they warm up first, cold winds will always slow down hatches. The recent appearance of the swallows are useful as well in that they are fond of flying close to the surface mopping up emerging buzzers from the water as they hatch.
Romain Durand and Damiens Fenelon, France
Anglers need to be clued up on all stages of the buzzer lifecycle. When this chironomid is getting near to hatching they lose their blood red colour and take on a more somber appearance. They then make their way from the lake bottom up through the water columns to the surface. This is achieved by a wriggly swimming action. They swim towards the surface then stop either to catch their breath or to wait for the right conditions to hatch. When they stop wriggling towards the surface they slowly sink back down before swimming upwards again. When they eventually reach the surface they hang from the surface film and hatch out in to adult buzzers or midges. It is however on the journey to the surface that Buzzers / Midges are at their most vulnerable. The midge pupae drift gently up to the surface where the survivors struggle to break through the surface film. Many do not make it, especially if the water is very choppy or if a flat calm has allowed oily film to form. At this stage trout patrol the surface sipping in huge quantities of hatching midges.
Brian McAvinney, Monaghan with his 5 ¼ lb trout, May 13th
It cannot be over stressed that for success with nymph fishing, the speed of the retrieve should be as slow as possible and that contact with the flies should be maintained at all times.
Lough Sheelin’s Ephemera danica
One or two mayfly have been spotted in the later part of this week, at Kilnahard and Crover with a few shucks on the water at Plunkett’s pt, it is still early days here for Ephemera and because of the mixing of spring with summer it is difficult to tell when the main hatches will occur but suffice to say Met Eireann are giving a promising ‘mayfly’ weather forecast for the next 7 days.
Sheelin may fly
The Catches
Christopher Defillon, May 7th
There were some days and evenings when the fishing was considered ‘excellent ‘by some, with catches steadily making the 4lb plus mark and this is where Sheelin rises like the cream to the top, ahead of many of its contemporaries because there is always that heady mixture of anticipation and expectation that on this or that particular day you land that dream fish.
Nico, France [email protected] (+33685964369) evasionpecheirlande.net
Michael Farrell after a 40 minute play and losing his line along with most of his backing line into the bargain eventually netted 9lbs of wild piscatorial perfection which put me in mind of this week’s quote because as the angling drums beat with this news there wasn’t one angler who didn’t comment that they couldn’t get better. So, thanks to Michael already the bar is set high.
‘Simply the best’ Michael Farrell’s 9lb trout (released) [email protected]
The biggest fish for the week was Michael Farrell’s trout weighing in at an impressive 9lbs
Total number of trout recorded: 45
Selection of Catches
Peter McArdle, Dundalk – 6 trout totaling 29 lbs heaviest at 5 ½ lbs, all on buzzer patterns.
Michael Farrell – May 8th 8 trout, smallest at 4lbs, heaviest at 9lbs.
Brian and Peadar McAvinney, Monaghan – May 13th 9 fish in total, heaviest for Brian was 5 1/4 and 5lbs for Peadar.
Donal Ryan – 5 trout, all over 4lbs on buzzer patterns.
Gary McKiernan – 6 trout, best at 65 cm using Buzzer patterns.
David Trent, Dublin – 3 trout @ 12lbs in Bog Bay using small black Buzzer patterns.
The release of Michael Farrell’s 9lb fish #CPRsavesfish
The Flies
Billy Boland’s Shuttlecocks
With the lures finally taking a back seat it was the buzzer and nymph patterns that took centre stage – the Pheasant Tail Nymph, the Diawl Bach, the Hare’s Ear and Olive Nymph (size 12 & 14).
Trout on a Diawl Bach
A combination of an Olive Bumble on the top dropper and two nymphs for the middle dropper and point worked well. The Claret Bumble, the Sooty Olive, Mallard & Claret Nymph, the Bibio, Shuttlecocks, Klinkhammers, Black Buzzers and Silver & Fiery Brown Dabblers.
Andy (www.loughsheelinguidingservices.com)
Best areas were Stony Island, at the back of Church Island, Merry Pt, Inchacup, Chambers Bay and from Kilnahard down to Crover. Bog Bay, Sailors Garden and into Goreport.
A Klinkhammer variant
The Klinkhamer, originally named LT Caddis (light tan), was devised by a Dutch angler Hans van Klinken, in the early 80’s to imitate an emerging caddis fly to catch trout which feed from them as they float in the surface film. This pattern has proven to be an extremely effective fly on Sheelin. Klinkhamers are different from many other parachute dry flies in that the thorax of the fly is designed to hang down ‘through’ the surface of the water to imitate an emerging insect. The abdomen serves as a trigger point which penetrates the surface film, which gets noticed by trout from great distances, even before any resulting surface footprint features.
Damiens Fenelon, France
In all variations of this fly, the abdomen of the fly float is underneath the surface of the water to attract the fish and improve hookups, while the parachute hackle and foam or wing is on or above the surface of the water for visibility and flotation.
A catch & release policy is actively encouraged on the lake at all times #CPRsavesfish
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…
A slab of a trout from Sheelin (released)
For anyone interested in joining Lough Sheelin’s Angling Club – The Lough Sheelin Trout Protection Association please contact Thomas Lynch @ 087 9132033.
Lough Sheelin – no matter how safe it looks you need a lifejacket
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.
Declan Gibbons reports that the week gone by saw an improvement in angling due to a rise in temperatures and hatches of mayfly becoming more consistent.
In the Oughterard area Basil Shields of Ardnasillagh Lodge 091 552550 reports excellent buzzer fishing on Corrib at present with anglers not being disappointed for their angling efforts. On Thursday last Ballinrobe duo Declan Murphy and Sean McEvoy had excellent sport on buzzer, landing 12 fish to the boat with 5 fish over 4lbs. John Gallagher had a great day on Corrib landing 7 trout with one noble trout over 7lbs. Northern Ireland anglers Gary McGuire and Davy Wilson had 8 fish on buzzer for their day. Mark Kinnane from Shannon had 12 fish for his day last week on Corrib, with his best fish being 3.5lbs. Visiting anglers from Wales Mark Thomas & friends had 25 fish for their trip to Corrib. Local rods Cyril Conlon and Toby Bradshaw had a great day on Monday, landing 14 fish to over 7lbs, all released.
In the Cornamona area Richard Molloy of Ballard Shore Boat Hire & self Catering (tel. 087 2879339) reports an improvement in angling in the Carrick and Dooras areas of the lake, with hatches of olives slowing down and hatches of mayfly increasing especially in the late afternoons. On Sunday last Limerick friends Aidan Spooner and Una Heffernan enjoyed a day’s dapping in the Carrick area, landing a trout each, while also on Sunday Dublin angler Tom Ormond had a fish of 3lbs on the dap which he sportingly released.
Alan Spooner and Una Heffernan from Limerick with their catch
Visiting anglers from Scotland fishing from Molloys Ronnie & Graham had 1 fish for 2lbs on a dry mayfly, sportingly released. Staying in the Cornamona area Roy Pierce of Grasshopper Cottage (http://www.troutfishingireland.com tel. 094-9548165) reports 8 regular visiting English anglers from Tunbridge Wells for 6 days had 62 fish over twelve inches, all C&R with a rod average of 1.5 fish per angler per day and the best fish ~2.9lbs.
Chris Johns, England
David Connors of DC Angling 087-3946989 reports of fishing in the Cornamona area on Friday last with a group of 22 anglers – they had 12 fish for their efforts with the best fish being 2.5lbs, and on Saturday last David guided visiting English anglers Chris Johns & Peter Matthison in the Ballindiff area landing 8 fish with the best fish being 5.75lbs. Paddy Gargan had 3 fish in the Birchall area on Saturday last.
Peter Mathison, England with a lovely Corrib trout
Peter Matthison releasing his fish #cprsavesfish
On Monday last Father & Son duo Robert and Ciaran Reilly from Loughrea had 7 fish to the boat with Robert landing a beautiful Corrib trout of 9lbs 2oz in the Greenfields area.
Robert Reilly Lwith a fine fish from the Greenfields area
Larry McCarthy of ( Corrib View Lodge tel. 087-9135222) reports of super fishing in many areas of the lake with Greenfields, Birchall and Saddle Island areas producing excellent buzzer fishing with one boat landing 23 fish on Thursday last.
Another beauty for Larry’s guests at Corrib View Lodge #cprsavesfish
The Oughterard International Mayfly Festival was also held over the weekend, with a large entry enjoying good fishing. The top rod on the day was Kevin Molloy from Oughterard, while the winning team of Barry Dixon, Stephen Barry, Michael Dillon & Mícheál Ó’Fátharta managed to hold off a strong challenge from the team representing Wales. The happy anglers retired to the Lake Hotel for the prizegiving ceremony and a delicious “Taste of the Corrib” food buffet showcasing the local food producers and products from the area. Another well-run festival from the Oughterard committee.
Sponsor Tommy Tuck presents the International Mayfly Competition trophy to top rod Kevin Molloy
The John Smith Memorial Cup pike competition took place on Lough Gowna over the bank holiday weekend. 32 boats took part. The overall winners were Kieran Lee and Alan Smith formerly Kingfisher Lodge with a fish weighing 14lbs 2ozs. Paddy Walsh and Pauric Martin were the overall heaviest bag winners.
Kieran Lee with the 14lbs 2ozs competition winning pike
Billy Thornton reports from Ballina on fishing on the Moy System to 13th May 2018…
The Moy continued to fish well over the past week with 115 salmon reported caught. Heavy rain towards the end of the week resulted in a slight rise in water levels but it ran through very quickly. As with the previous week the majority of fish were caught upstream and just downstream of Foxford.
Jim Bradley with a nice fish off the Foxford Fishery
Among the lucky anglers were Michael Clarke Athlone 11 lbs on worm – Armstrongs fishery, Jim Bradley Dublin [Photo] 12.5 lbs on worm –Foxford Fishery, Jean Ryder Foxford [Photo] 8 lbs – Foxford Salmon Anglers, Paddy McDonnell Swinford 7+8 lbs released on fly and Freddie Duncalf Wales 9 lbs on fly – East Mayo Anglers water.
Jean Ryder with her 8lbs salmon off Foxford Salmon Anglers club water
With water levels continuing to drop and good weather forecast prospects are good for the week.
How’s the river doing? Check the Ridge Pool Webcam
Fisheries Officers in Cork have removed 757 dead carp from The Lough and collected 207 from Belvelly Lake as of 14th May. Just under 3.8 tonnes of fish have been destroyed to date.
Inniscarra and Carrigadrohid reservoirs remain closed for all angling until mortalities at the Lough and Belvelly cease. This measure has been taken to minimise the risk of Carp Edema Virus (CEV), detected in the carp samples taken from The Lough and Belvelly, spreading to the reservoirs.
Anglers are advised to stay away from the waters and IFI protection officers are patrolling the area to enforce the restrictions.
We would remind all anglers to continue to follow appropriate disinfection procedures for all gear and to comply with local notices and bio-security measures.
Paddy Halpin reports from the Feale, where not many anglers were out over the past week due to the very fine weather we had over the weekend. Water levels are very low and not suiting a lot of anglers. We had a couple of Salmon reported caught for the week and a few released also. Among the lucky anglers for the past week are Derry Buckley who had 2 fish for the week – the best was a fish of 12lbs got on the fly, and Derry also released another, some guys have all the luck!
Also lucky for the week was Benny Loughnane of Listowel he had a nice fish on the worm weighing in at 9lbs. Dara O’Connell had a nice fish on the fly as well this week and fair play to Dara he released it back to carry on its journey hopefully to the spawning grounds. Water levels at the moment are still low and best suiting the fly fishermen.
Dara about to release his fish #cprsavesfish
Go fishing…
More about the Feale
The River Feale is among the outstanding salmon and sea trout rivers of Ireland. The River rises in the mountain district of North Co Cork and flows westerly for 75 km (46 miles) through the county towns of Abbeyfeale and Listowel and enters the sea south of Ballybunion. For the final 10 kms (6 miles) of its course, it is known as the Cashen River. Throughout its meandering journey to the sea it flows through a picturesque landscape of heather bog land, fertile valleys and rolling hills. Its main tributaries, flowing from both North and South, combine to add in excess of 160 kms (100 miles) of fishable waters.
About 50% of the main River Feale and the Smearlagh River is controlled by 5 angling clubs. These clubs are some of the best angling waters and each club offers day tickets for visiting anglers.
North Kerry Anglers Association issues daily & weekly permits for fishing on 9 miles of the Feale & Smearlagh rivers. Web: www.northkerryanglers.com
Killocrim/Finuge Angling Club
Killocrim/Finuge Angling Club control approximately 6.5 kms (4 miles) of water downstream of Listowel. Web:killocrimfinugefishingclub.com
Brosna / Mountcollins Angling Club
Brosna / Mountcollins Angling Club control about 13 kms (8 miles) of double bank fishing from below the Owveg River confluence, up past Mountcollins, to within a short distance of Ahuan Bridge.
Permits are available from Brendan Danagher on +353 (0)64 663 6267
For any angling query please contact the Limerick office at [email protected] or by phone 061-300238.
Brown tags
Brown tag fishery: Under the salmon tagging regulations, this year the River Feale is designated as a brown tag fishery.Anglers must affix a brown tag along with a blue tag to any salmon which is retained. This means that salmon retained on the River Feale will have two tags attached. All brown tags (including 1st tag) will be issued from IFI officers ONLY . Please ring 087-7639236 to arrange to receive your first brown tag prior to commencing fishing
Additional brown tags will only be issued by IFI staff, they may be contacted at 087-7639236 and they will arrange to meet and issue an additional tag upon verification that the previous brown tag has been used, i.e. a fish has been caught and recorded in the logbook.
1 brown tag will be issued at a time to each angler.
If you acquired a 1 day or 21 day licence which has expired, or you have finished fishing for the season, and you have not used the brown tag then this must be surrendered to an IFI officer prior to departure by phoning 087-7639236. IFI would like to thank you for your co-operation with this.
If an angler has used his brown tag or doesn’t have a brown tag in his possession to use then he must fish catch and release methods, i.e.single barbless hook and no worms.
Brown tags will continue to be issued until the angling quota is reached.
To report a suspected pollution or poaching activity please contact the 24 hour hotline on 1890 34 24 7
Mick Flanagan reports on fishing in the Midlands lakes.
Pierre and Pike
Our good pal Pierre Henneron is back over from Paris, and once again pike fishing on Lough Ree. Pierre has been coming to Westmeath for over 20 years with his wife, and has featured in our angling slots over the years. Pierre loves trolling lures in the deep water on Ree, as you never know what’s going to latch onto your bait. Over the May weekend Pierre had some nice pike, no Ree Monsters, but good fish pushing double figures. I hope to catch up with Pierre before he heads back, and hopefully see what lures are working best on Ree.
Pierre Henneron with a nice Lough Ree pike
Ree Cracker
On Bank Holiday Monday I had a savage take on drifted deadbait, while fishing on Ree with Pierre Henneron. The pike was in mint condition, and really tested my gear.The powerful runs before landing was unbelievable. It was a lucky catch as we only had a few pike that day. Maybe the new lucky Cap by Geoff Anderson caught the pikes eye. Check out the new range of Geoff Anderson Flexfit & Snapback Caps, they are a wonderful fit and come in some amazing colors. If not available in your local tackle shop, check out www.geoffanderson.com.
Midlands Angling provide a top class Guiding service covering many of the top coarse and game waters across the Midlands. Visiting fly anglers have landed some fine trout while out with Midland Angling Guides, pike anglers also recorded some net bursting catches including many pike over 20lbs. Top waters include Lough Ree, Ennell, Owel, Lene, Mount Dalton, and Glore Lake just to mention a few. Michael Flanagan Midland Angling
Pike and Trout angling guide.
A glorious weekend for some was followed by changeable weather for the early days of this week. With the improvement in temperatures has come an increase in angling activity, and more reports coming in – great to see!
Salmon fishing is really picking up now, with several fisheries reporting their first salmon, including the Erriff and Inagh fisheries, while the Moy continues to produce good numbers of spring fish. Delphi is having a great season so far, with 44 fish landed for April, well ahead of their average and the best since 2011.
Alan Coles with the first spring salmon from the Erriff
Mayfly hatches are only really starting now on most of the lakes, and it will be next week at least before the main hatch is in full swing. An old observation said that the mayfly came with the whitethorn blossom, and the whitethorn tree outside my window still looks very green! Olive hatches and buzzer fishing in the meantime have provided good sport, with some lovely fish off Sheelin and Corrib in particular.
A quick picture before being released for Matthew Griffith
Sea angling has produced some nice pollack and coalfish this week, with the Catch of the Week a rare megrim from the Killybegs Mariners on a boat trip in Donegal Bay.
The rare megrim, which wins our Catch of the Week
Pike fishing has been excellent on Lough Derg recently, with many fish to over 1 metre recorded by guides and their clients, while Mick Flanagan also reports good piking on Lough Ree. The festival season is in full swing now in the coarse angling scene, and good bags were reported from the 3-day Suck Valley Festival which was won by Rory Dunne with 32.300kgs. The All-Ireland Canal Championships also saw some good bags from the Grand Canal, with Fint Brennan taking the honours with 13.95kg.
Cha Guillaune from France had 9 with 106cm personal best.
On a sad note, the Lough in Cork City experienced a significant fish kill, with many of the large carp in the lake dead or dying in recent days. Dead carp have also been reported from Belvelly Lake in Cobh. While laboratory tests are ongoing to ascertain the cause of the fish kill, these and other fisheries have closed in order to prevent the spread of disease. We would remind all anglers and, in particular, those who may have fished the affected waters in the last number of weeks, to follow appropriate disinfection procedures for all gear and to comply with local notices and bio-security measures.
And now the weather…
It’s back to wet and windy weather tomorrow, with heavy rain and gales forecast. Small boat warnings are in effect so sea anglers in particular should not be on the water. With the rain clearing later tomorrow, cool and showery weather is forecast for the weekend, but more settled weather and a recovery to normal temperatures will follow early next week. Wherever you’re planning to fish, pack your rain gear and stay safe!
Scientists at the Fish Health Unit at the Irish Marine Institute have advised that the sample carp taken from The Lough and Belvelly Lake in Cork have all tested positive for carp edema virus (CEV).
CEV is a poxvirus which causes a disease known as ‘koi sleepy disease’ in both koi and common carp. At present, while tests are ongoing and further tests are carried out on the CEV detected, …this is being treated as a ‘suspect positive’ and is not confirmed as the causative agent of the mortalities until all tests have been completed.
Inland Fisheries Ireland recommends that stringent biosecurity protocols continue to be implemented. All mortalities continue to be removed and disposed of in a bio-secure manner.
Angling remains suspended at both locations as well as Inniscarra and Carrigadrohid Reservoirs.
Grey Duster Guiding
