10 April: Well done to Anthony Buckley on catching this beautiful, sea liced springer of 9lbs today. Anthony puts the effort in at this time of year and usually gets his reward! Another fish was also lost at the net by another angler fishing the fly. The river is in wonderful condition so hopefully we see a few more caught in the coming days.
Anthony Buckley had a beautiful, sea liced springer of 9lbs
Meanwhile Eileen Carroll Murphy has the news from the last week of fishing. There were no salmon reported, but having said that, angling pressure was very light despite perfect conditions. The river is running high and clean at the moment so prospects are good as April is always a good month on the Bandon.
Go Fishing…
Bandon Angling Association have set up a guiding service in conjunction with Jason Nash, Peter Aspinwall and Phil Dewey. Details of the guiding service are provided on the website and they are looking forward to making memories and enhancing people’s fishing experiences on the river Bandon. Day tickets and club membership are also available. Web: https://bandonangling.com/
Kilcoleman Fishery, Enniskeane, is renowned for its hospitality. The owners David and Patricia Lamb make a particular effort to make their guests feel at home. Past visitors have described the atmosphere as ‘laid back’ and the accommodations as ‘cosy’. Kilcoleman is “fly only” throughout the entire season. However, in certain water conditions, spinning is permitted for salmon. Trout angling is “fly only” at all times. web:http://flyfishing-ireland.com
Richie Ryan of Eire Bass sent us a quick report about his recent mullet forays…
Ok , I know for sure that some of my British friends are getting really peeved seeing photos of mullet on the fly from Irish marks on my Facebook page. As some of you may be aware we are fortunate to encounter them much earlier here in Southern Ireland than they do in the UK.
Well worth the effort – fly caught mullet
The great thing about fly fishing for mullet this early in the year is the lack of weed which is a big problem in the summer months. Weed on a fly doesn’t help presentation to a seriously spooky fish. Recently one of my favourite marks was teeming with mullet. Thanks to a tip off by West Cork Bass Guide David Norman both myself and my son Cian Ryan had brilliant fun hooking landing and losing mullet.
Mullet on fly
Something I neglected to advise here before is that an indicator is a must for this type of angling. I also try to strip strike , loosing less fish as a result. And I know I’m repeating myself here but prepare to be frustrated. I generally don’t guide for mullet for that very reason!
Make a booking…
Why not try fishing from the first licensed saltwater fly-fishing boat in Ireland in the second largest natural harbour in the world? Your guide, Commander Richie Ryan, Retd, has built up a huge knowledge of bass fishing, over the last 30 years. With a purpose built boat for this sport he is insured to carry up to 3 anglers, ideal for small parties therefore and cheaper than the larger boats to charter. Bass and pollack are the main target species on the fly. Young and old are welcome and if you have no knowledge of fly-fishing, other methods for a variety of species can be organised. All equipment will be supplied if required.
09 April: Well, I did say in my last update that I hoped we would add another one or two before the end of March and we did in fact land two, which brought the total for the month to 26, which is well above our 10 year average. The final two fish of March were taken by Yvonne, who had a lovely fish of approx. 9lbs from the Rock Pool on a Night Star. This was followed up a couple of hours later by Malte Willhoeft and on his first ever salmon fishing trip he landed a lovely sea liced 8lbs fish from Morrisons on a Willie Gunn. Well done Malte!
Malte Willhoeft had his first ever salmon at Delphi
Last week saw the return of some longstanding syndicate members, with some other guests also. It was a difficult week from a weather perspective. Water fell to 20 by Tuesday but we also NNE gales and Finlough was unfishable at times and both water and air temperatures dropped again making it bitterly cold. After some rain on Tuesday night the river rose to 50 on Wednesday and Willie Cotter duly delivered with a fish of 9lbs 11ozs from the Waterfall on an Appache Shrimp Tube. This was followed up on Thursday when Keith Pilkington also had a fish from the Waterfall on a Cascade of 10lbs 2ozs. This means that Keith reclaims the trophy that he and his eternal fishing partner, Peter Morrison have battled over for the last 25 years at Delphi.
Keith Pilkington had a salmon of 10lb 2oz
Thursday night and Friday we had some serious rain with a total of 52mms (2”) falling. Driven also by SE gales and the heavy rain the river rose to 80 on Friday, but during a slight lull in the middle of the day Joe Saxby Soffe (son of Nigel, who held the record for the biggest fish of the modern era for nearly 30 years) landed his first ever salmon in the Whin Pool on a Park Shrimp Conehead. The fish weighed in at 6lbs 10ozs and while Joe was happy, Nigel was over the moon.
Jim Wilson and Bill Bullick also struck silver
Conditions on Saturday, although bright were perfect, with the river at 60. Despite a Crack Team of Anglers who shall all remain nameless, we blanked, even though fish being seen. Yesterday morning the river was at 50 and David Allcutt got off to a flying start with a fish of 8lbs 8ozs from the Rock Pool on a Delphi Collie. Jim Wilson from Mount Falcon and his fishing partner Bill Bullick landed a fish each in the morning. Jim’s weighed in at 8lbs 1oz and was taken in the Rock Pool on a Willie Gunn. Bill’s came from the Whin Pool also on a Willie Gunn and weighed in at 9lbs 3ozs.
The river is still at 45 this morning, so I would be hopeful that more fish will be landed in the coming days. With the trickle down effect of the lakes the river should hold at a nice height for most of the week anyway.
New for 2018/2019
We are delighted to announce an opportunity to purchase prime Irish Salmon Fishing
with accommodation in a country cottage. Each new member will have the option
of a one week stay, a four day stay or a three day stay fixed for five years. For more information see https://delphilodge.ie/2018/04/10/the-new-delphi-salmon-club-and-syndicate-connemara/
At Delphi Lodge, with many years of experience with the timing of the best runs of fish, we have in place a price system that offers both great value fishing and lets our anglers know when they have the best chance to catch a fresh run spring salmon or a summer grilse or Delphi sea trout.
Water Levels on the Munster Blackwater for the last week
Waterlevels on the Munster Blackwater jumped nearly 3m last week following heavy rains. The river has come down a good bit now and a lot of the colour has dropped out of it, but there are no reports of salmon or anglers on the river yet.
Water Levels on the Munster Blackwater for the last week. Courtesy of OPW – http://waterlevel.ie
While there are no reports of salmon from the river, which is no surprise, we do have a bit of video that gives an idea of what shape the river was in on Friday (from the Ballyduff Bridge Fishery).
As long as the rain holds off in the upper catchment the river should be fishable before the end of the week.
Go Fishing…
Blackwater Salmon Fishery
Blackwater Salmon Fishery has 3 beats downstream of the weir and 2 upstream of the weir. Blackwater Salmon Fishery offers fishing on approximately 5 miles of the river Blackwater. The fishing is spread throughout the middle section of the river to offer good sport throughout the fishing season. Due to the location of the beats, fishing can still usually be offered in low or high water. Contact Glenda Powell: Lismore, Co Waterford, Email:[email protected] Mobile: +353 (0) 872351260 Telephone: +353 (0) 5853929 Web: www.blackwatersalmonfishery.com
Ballyduff Bridge Salmon Fishery
Ballyduff Bridge fisheries control a number of beats of the Munster Blackwater. The Ballyduff Bridge beat is almost a mile long offering a huge variety of water and is particularly suited to fly fishing. Upstream near the village of Ballyhooley (a few miles outside the town of Fermoy, Cork) we have two beats. The Ballincurrig Beat is one of the most beautiful locations along the river and has an excellent piece of fly water flowing into a deep pool. Just downstream on the opposite bank we have a short but productive beat, called Magners. This beat fishes also well in high water.
Fortwilliam Fishery offers two miles of double bank salmon and trout fishing over five beats on the river Blackwater.
Our salmon include – Springers, May Salmon, Grilse, Back End Salmon, and in Summer sea trout.
Our beats provide a wide variety of water, suitable for both beginners and the more experienced fishermen.
Fortwilliam Fishery, Glencairn, Lismore, Co. Waterford, Ireland Web: www.fortwilliamfishing.ieEmail: [email protected] Tel: (00353) 87 8292077 or 058 75299
3/4/18 Mr. Andrew Wishart of Northern Ireland takes all the Salmon headlines, while fishing with his Gillie Mr. Dominic McGillicuddy of www.fishingwithdom.com caught a cracker of a 10.1bs. Salmon on the troll. And the other anglers that were manipulating lures and flies sadly it was all quiet in all departments. Wind SSE fresh with good cloud cover with rain at times. Amount of rainfall 11.9mm. Maximum air temperature 11.4c.
4/4/18 Lough Currane was all quiet on the SW Front and with a fresh Northeast wind blowing. So it’s not that surprising that their lines were slack, but as Hands once said to a Gillie many years ago, East wind very good for fishing and the Gillie replied I’m a Gillie and I’m Telling you East wind no good for Fishing, well, Gillie or no Gillie I have 18 lbs. Salmon in one hand and 8 lbs. Salmon in the other hand and what do you say to that, ahh East wind very good, so the moral to the story is East wind or not you can catch the old Gentlemen if you’re out there. Wind as already stated with reasonable cloud cover, with light rain this morning. Rainfall 0.2mm, maximum air temperature 9.3c.
5/4/18 Lough Currane anglers headed out this morning hoping to catch My Noble Gentlemen, the Salmon, before the yellow weather warning came in and luckily or sadly the luck was on the side of the Lough Currane Salmon, because come 1.30pm all boats were blown off and two anglers, Mr. Peter Rall and Brother Mr. Bernard Rall of Germany, had their days lake fishing interrupted so headed off down Stream with their Gillie Mr. Michael O’Sullivan of Waterville Boats and at [email protected] to the World famous Butler Pool and of www.watervillegolflinks.ie and I can tell you it wasn’t long before Mr. Peter Rall had his fly rod bent double into a fine 9 lbs. Salmon and I can tell you the conditions were terrible but I’m sure Peter and Bernard are well satisfied with their day’s fishing. Wind SSE fresh to strong and overcast with heavy rain this evening. Rain 16.8mm and maximum air temperature 10.9c.
Big flood on the River Inny
6/4/18 Strong winds and heavy showers were the order of the day. First the wind was South then veered SW and with all the elements against my Noble Anglers this didn’t deter them heading out to the South side where one could get a bit of shelter but with all their efforts they couldn’t register a Wild Atlantic Salmon, but to be fair there was an almighty flood this morning and you can say without any fear of contradiction the elements were against them and in my opinion they did well to get out there and as you can see by the photos of the flood coming down the Inny, it gives you a fair idea how big the flood was. Rainfall 26.8mm. Maximum air temperature 12.3.
7/4/18 Lough Currane was settling down this day after the big flood so it wasn’t surprising that the Currane anglers drew a blank but saying that the Lough Currane binocular man did see one boat lose a reasonably good fish, but losses sadly don’t count. Wind SW light to calm and variable at times, with reasonable cloud cover. Rainfall 1.6mm. Maximum 13.9c.
8/4/18 All Salmon headlines go to UK and Waterville angler Mr. Ken Towner, while fly fishing with his Gillie Mr. Dominic McGillicuddy of www.fishingwithdom.com caught a fine 9 lbs. Salmon on the fly. Ken was telling me that he had a good battle with his Wid Atlantic 9lbs. Salmon. Wind SE then veered N light to calm all day. Rainfall 9.0mm. Maximum air temperature 12.9c.
9/4/18 Sadly my Noble Anglers weren’t in tone with the Wild Atlantic Salmon today on Lough Currane and in the words of renowned local Gillie Mr. Vincent O’Sullivan, we caught nothing, we rose noting and it was dam cold out there and to top it all I’m soaking wet, well I think that sums up today’s manipulations. Wind SSE then veered E plus there was very good cloud cover with heavy rain. Rainfall 15.3mm. Maximum air temperature 10.1c
10/4/18 A very cold NE wind takes control over My Noble fly anglers, because they were anticipating a change of wind, but sadly this wasn’t the case, all the fly anglers caught by the end of the day was a touch of rawhide and the same goes for the lure manipulators. Just for the record there was another flood last night which didn’t help either. Wind as all ready stated.
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.
Our hatchery manager tells us that all the eggs we took from the salmon catch up at Christmas are now hatched and the alevins are doing well. It is interesting to note that we have been finding a distinct time difference, over the last few years, in the readiness of our caught up fish to spawn.
In some of the years this difference in spawning time has extended up to four weeks. This last two years we have been keeping the two classes in separate tanks so that we can see if there is any difference in subsequent growth rate. Last year we found that the later spawned group never caught up with the earlier ones, despite identical feeding regimes. All the grown on parr are released at the end of November into the upper Cummeragh System and it was noticeable, at that point, that the later group were five grams lighter on average. We have found in previous years that the released parr move into the deeper pools on the rivers with the majority rapidly dropping down into Lough Currane. This coming autumn we are planning to try and mark the two classes differently so that we can monitor the relative return rate of mature fish.
With the problem that these fish face, when they get to sea, we need to be able to give them every assistance we can!
This week the Trust has been co-hosting, with Sea Synergy, some French students from the Erasmus project. They are studying both marine and freshwater ecology and the Trust has been introducing them to our stream management programme and invertebrate sampling methods. They will also spend time this coming week, studying the data from our conservation work at the hatchery.
It’s worth noting again that the Waterville Lakes & Rivers Trust manages the Angling access, on behalf of the owners, to the Upper Lakes, Loughs Derriana, Cloonaghlin and Namona, together with several river beats on the Cummeragh and Inny. Tickets for these fisheries are readily available from the Mace Store in Waterville and can be booked in advance on 066 947 5243.
Every Euro collected from this Ticketing goes into the Trust’s Conservation Fund.
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
Rod Robinson from the the Waterville Lakes and Trus reports on the trout fishing in the Upper lakes… 10 April: The duckfly hatch this year continues on Currane and is now considered to be the heaviest for some years. Innumerable trout, fry and parr have been seen on the surface taking advantage of the bonanza! A lough Namona trout from yesterday
The Upper Lakes, understandably given the near arctic conditions up there, have not attracted much angling effort over the last few weeks. Despite very cold conditions yesterday, one of the visiting Erasmus students decided he needed to do some ‘fishing research’! On Lough Namona the ‘research’ produced some fine Brown Trout and it indicated yet again the ability of these high level lakes to produce high quality wild trout fishing even in difficult conditions. He also had the pleasure of sharing the Lough with one of the Sea Eagles, a very rare sight for him! Lough Namona on a brighter day
It’s worth noting again that the Waterville Lakes & Rivers Trust manages the angling access, on behalf of the owners, to the Upper Lakes, Loughs Derriana, Cloonaghlin and Namona, together with several river beats on the Cummeragh and Inny. Tickets for these fisheries are readily available from the Mace Store in Waterville and can be booked in advance on 066 947 5243.
Every Euro collected from this Ticketing goes into the Trust’s Conservation Fund. Rod Robinson Waterville Lakes & Rivers Trust
Go fishing…
Waterville Lakes and Rivers Trust
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.
Find out more and how you can contribute at
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
The Tidy Towns 2018 Waters and Communities Award, co-sponsored by Inland Fisheries Ireland, is now open for applications.
The Waters and Communities Award award aims to recognise communities who are taking positive steps towards raising awareness and appreciation of their local streams, rivers, lakes, canals, wells and coast. Community groups can play a vital role in the protection and improvement of our natural water environment. Together, we can protect our waters for future generations to enjoy.
Last year, Emyvale Tidy Towns, Co. Monaghan, won the inaugural Waters and Communities Award category for their wonderful project on Emy Lough. In addition, four Regional Award Winners, each won €1,000: Dodder Action Group (Midlands & East), Emyvale TidyTowns themselves (North West & West), The Friends of St. John’s River (South East) and Glounthaune TidyTowns (South & Midwest).
There were also four Regional Runner-Up Award Winners last year (€500 each): Baltrasna Boreen Biodiversity Group (Midlands & East), Culdaff River Community Angling Club (North West & West), Cheekpoint & Faithlegg Development Group (South East), and Castletownroche TidyTowns Committee (South & Midwest).
Emyvale won an additional prize of €1,000 for being the overall winner of the four regions.
The deadline for applications deadline for 2018 is May 23rd.
You can read more and download the application form at:
Billy Thornton reports from Ballina on fishing on the Moy…
09 April: Angling effort was down over the past week and after heavy rain on Thursday, Friday saw a rise in water levels disrupting angling over the weekend. Despite this 19 salmon were reported. 4 salmon were reported from Ballina Salmon Anglers water, with the rest coming from upstream of Foxford on Cloongee, East Mayo Anglers, Pontoon and L. Conn.
Aiden Sheridan
East Mayo Anglers had their best week so far this season with 7 salmon reported caught. Castlebar angler Tom Kavanagh had a fine 15 lb springer on the worm, Foxford angler David Drury had a 9 lb fish at Ballylahan Bridge also on worm. Aiden Sheridan Kiltimagh took a nice 10.5 lb fish on fly.
Water levels have already dropped back so the week ahead is looking good.
How’s the river doing? Check the Ridge Pool Webcam
You may have heard in recent weeks about the Government launching a €300 million loan scheme for Irish companies to offset the potential impacts of Brexit.
This new scheme will be delivered by the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) and is offered in partnership with the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
It has now been clarified that tourism businesses are included within the loan scheme.
A total of €300m is available to eligible businesses with up to 499 employees at an interest rate of 4% or less with loans available through Bank of Ireland, Ulster Bank and AIB. It seems the loans will commence from June.
Terms of any loan and how to apply can be seen at at https://sbci.gov.ie/brexit-loan-scheme and loans range from €25k to €1.5m per eligible enterprise and are to fund “innovation, change or adaptation of the business to mitigate the impact of Brexit”.
With many tourism and hospitality businesses overly-exposed to the British or Northern Irish market this loan scheme may be of use to help them diversify to new source markets.
A treble shot of specimens! Owen Trill, Paddy O'Farrell and Stuart Regan had a triple hook-up and this was the result!
Laethanta na bo riabhacha is an old Irish “piseog”, or saying, translating as the days of the brindled cow, and relating to the first week of April. It refers to hard winters, that continue on well into spring. Traditionally, cattle would have been out in the fields by now, enjoying the first flush of nutritious new grass, but the legend goes that the brindled cow, feeling peeved at the long winter, grumbled so much to her bovine friends that March took grave offence, and borrowed a few days off April to finish off the brindled cow with more cold weather and no new grass. Well this week certainly felt like that, with cold easterly winds and night frosts lending more of a feel of winter to the air.
Despite the Arctic chill, fish were doing their best to provide entertainment, and there is a lot of good sport to report.
Duckfly hatches have been getting going on Lough Corrib, where some fine trout have been reported. Trout fishing has also improved on Sheelin, with good fishing reported from the Midland lakes of Owel, Lene and Derravaragh. Milder weather forecast from tomorrow should bring hatches on further and bring more anglers back to the water.
A well-fed Corrib wild brown trout caught this week (C&R, photo Larry McCarthy)
Spring salmon continue to run the Drowes in good numbers, with fish caught almost every day, while salmon fishing on the Moy was very good, with some fine fish caught by anglers. Lough Currane continues to produce springers, although the first sea trout have yet to appear, and some nice fish were taken on the River Feale also.
John O’Connell with a fine 14.5 lbs Moy spring salmon
Some nice pike are coming off the Shannon too, with deadbaits and lures working.
Wayne Kenny with his 106cm Longford pike
John Fleming’s crew had a spectacular day of specimen spurdog fishing on Saturday, with 16 specimen fish recorded (all measured released), and sea anglers are gearing up at the moment for warmer days and the return of many species to our waters.
A treble shot of specimens! Owen Trill, Paddy O’Farrell and Stuart Regan had a triple hook-up and this was the result!
And now the weather..
We are currently experiencing heavy rain around the country, which will impact on most rivers, but the weather is set to improve from Saturday, with sunny spells and showers and milder temperatures of 11 to 14 degrees in light breezes. It sounds positively spring-like!
The early days of next week continue the milder trend, with air temps of 9-14C, which should see things improve significantly over recent weeks. And hopefully the brindled cow has survived!
