Lindsey Clarke reports on fishing on the River Drowes for the last week.
The river ran at low levels all week with the gauge hovering in and around 0.48 metres. This did not seem to unduly worry the salmon and fish were caught on every day but Saturday (2 hooked and lost). On Monday, Joe Carey recorded an 8lb salmon caught on a fly from the Mill Pool.
Joe Carey with his 8lbs salmon
On Tuesday, Jackie McArlain reported an 8½lb salmon caught on prawn from Briney’s and Robert Downing accounted for a 7lb salmon caught on fly from the Mill Pool. On Wednesday, Michael Kruse recorded an 11½lb salmon caught on fly from Briney’s.
Michael Kruse with a lovely 11.5lbs salmon
On Thursday, Michael McGiver reported an 8lb salmon caught on prawn from the Washstones. On Friday, Eunan O’Connor logged a 7lb salmon caught on fly from The Terrace. On Sunday, Phillip Hart reported an 8½lb salmon caught on a fly from the Island Pool and Patrick O’Malley accounted for an 8lb salmon caught on prawn from the Mill Pool.
Patrick O’Malley with his 8lbs Drowes salmon
Prospects for the coming week look very good once again
The Rossinver Fishery on Lough Melvin is also producing some nice fish at the moment, and is well worth a visit.
Stephen Kennedy with a 10lbs salmon off the Rossinver Fishery
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.
A treble shot of specimens! Owen Trill, Paddy O'Farrell and Stuart Regan had a triple hook-up and this was the result!
Skipper John Fleming reports on a red letter day for anglers aboard his boat, Brazen Hussy II.
“On Saturday last we had an unbelievable day. We set out to target spurs and we certainly reaped the rewards.
We had 21 spurdog for the the day and 16 of these were Irish specimens!
Alan Kelly with a specimen spurdog from Galway Bay
I was absolutely ecstatic… Alan Kelly claimed 5 specimens for the day while John Paul Kelly had 4 specimens, Stuart Regan with 3, Owen Trill with 1 specimen, Paddy O’Farrell my crew man had 1 specimen and I also had one.
Skipper John Fleming with a specimen spurdog from Galway Bay
Smallest fish for the day was 103 cm and the largest was 116cm.
Spurdog are one of the species for which length-based specimens can be claimed. A clear photo on a measuring mat, like these ones available from Inland Fisheries Ireland, is perfect.
A brilliant day.
A treble shot of specimens! Owen Trill, Paddy O’Farrell and Stuart Regan had a triple hook-up and this was the result!
We have some availability left to target the spurdog so don’t hesitate to get in contact.
Go fishing…
To book fishing with John aboard the Brazen Hussy II, give him a call on 087 7571320
A regular day is between 9am- 6pm from either Rossaveal, Spiddal or Galway depending on species being sought after. Fishing on the inshore reefs for pollock, cod, ling, wrasse, conger eel and mackerel can be reached in 10 minutes from departure, while our offshore reef marks are within 45 minutes of departure. Our ground fishing for tope, spurdog, ray, bullhuss, turbot, plaice and the giant common skate can all be reached within the hour which ensures the most amount of time is spent fishing.
The shark season usually starts at the end of June and runs into late October, this is the ultimate angling adrenaline rush with these hard fighting blue and porbeagle sharks all being tagged and released safely.
Package deals available
Robert Devitt and pal Mick Curtin with Robert's 10lbs Feale salmon
Paddy Halpin reports on salmon fishnig on the Feale, which picked up over the last week.
We had 8 salmon reported caught for the week on the Feale, with the best going to Tim Martin Murphy, who had a good fish of 12.5lbs on the spinner. Robert Devitt had a nice fish of 10lbs on the fly from the North Kerry Anglers waters. Steven Moroney had a nice fish of 9lbs, also on spinner, Aidan Moran from Laois landed his first of the season, a fish of 8lbs, and Tom Sparling landed his first fish on worm, from the Killocrim/Finuge waters.
Robert Devitt and pal Mick Curtin with Robert’s 10lbs Feale salmon
Water levels at the moment are dropping nicely for the fly, but it is still very cold and with rain and milder temperatures forecast fishing should be good again for the weekend.
Malcolm Patrick with a nice trout during duckfly season 2018
Reports from Corrib are that the duckfly have been hatching off well for the past week, although cold easterly winds have meant the hatch has been localised, with some areas faring better than others. For those not aware of the duckfly, this is a large chironomid midge that hatches in huge numbers at this time of year, ans is the first major hatch on the lakes.
They can be imitated using buzzer nymph patterns, which imitate the sub-aquatic nymph form, buzzer emergers, which imitate the hatching insect in the surface film, or adult buzzers – dry fly patterns imitating the adult fly on the water surface.
Headford angler Conor Ledwith kindly sent us in a short clip of a buzzer nymph that he “rescued” from a trout he caught this week on Corrib – anglers and flytiers may be very interested to see the insect their buzzers are trying to imitate.
Adult Duck Fly
Angling guide and B&B host Larry McCarthy, from Corrib View Lodge www.corribangling.com, reports good fishing since Wednesday last. Saturday was the best day with 10 trout to the boat, although he forecast more challenging fishing this week with the change in weather.
Malcolm Patrick with a nice trout during duckfly season 2018
Basil Shiels from Ardnasillagh Lodge (tel. 091 552550) was out on Tuesday, and despite Arctic conditions in a biting easterly, his client landed 8 trout to 6lbs on dry buzzer – a fine achievement in those conditions!
A well-fed Corrib wild brown trout caught this week (C&R, photo Larry McCarthy)
Elsewhere, Galway angler and well-known flytier Robbie Pitman landed a cracking trout of 63cm on buzzer from Corrib on Easter Monday, estimated at 6lbs+. The fish put up a great fight on light fluorocarbon tippet, and Robbie showed his skill to land the fish. Conor Ledwith landed 3 fish on dabblers on Wednesday in a nice wave suitable for wetfly (2 returned). Conor was very happy with his short (3 hour) outing, considering he could see snow on Nephin in the distance and it was freezing cold on the lake!
Robbie Pitman’s 63cm Corrib Trout
With a rise in temperatures forecast for the weekend, I would anticipate a lot more anglers being out, and I hope to have a lot more sport to report next week. Saturday and Sunday are set to be a lot milder, with light variable winds making for perfect conditions for buzzer and dry fly fishing.
Eileen Carroll from our Macroom office reports on salmon catches from West Cork and Killarney:
Week Ending Sunday 1st of April
River Bandon
There was a 9lb salmon reported from the Bandon river last week. The fish was caught on tidal water. The river is running high at the moment and there is more rain forecast so conditions remain good for the week ahead.
River Lee
9 salmon landed for the week, two of these were caught at Inniscarra Dam. Best fish was 13lbs.
Killarney Lakes and River Laune
1 salmon weighing 8.5lbs landed on the River Laune at Beaufort by a Tralee angler spinning. Water levels high.
Kevin Lyons reports on some nice pike fishing for a couple of regular guests in Co. Longford.
John Grace and friend Wayne Kenny from Kildare were once again up to Melview Fishing Lodge in Longford for a spot of Pike fishing, John and Wayne are regular visitors to Melview Lodge and know the waters well. Kevin said, the weather was not perfect with a Easterly wind blowing up between 25 -29 kmh and a water temperature of 5 degrees. Dead baiting was the order of the day using various baits, it was Wayne’s first cast of the day using Mackerel that produced the best Pike of 106cm.
Thanks again for a great weekend guys, see you in a couple of weeks.
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.
Seamus O'Neil releases his 7.5lbs Kylemore springer
A late report, as I missed the communique from fishery manager Nigel Rush while I was away at the London Fly Fishing Show. Sorry Nigel!
Nigel reports that the 24th was a nice mild day with good water, and two salmon were taken at Tullywee Bridge Pool on the Upper Dawros.
Ronnie Counihan with his 7.25lbs Kylemore Salmon
The first fish was landed by Ronnie Counihan, a lovely springer of 7.25lbs, while regular visitor Seamus O’Neil landed the second, a sparkling fresh fish of 7.5lbs
Seamus O’Neil releases his 7.5lbs Kylemore springer
Since then low water and cold temperatures have been a feature, but with a rise in water levels today Nigel is optimistic for the next few days.
To book fishing at Kylemore Abbey, contact Nigel on 087 9580702, and for latest news check the website at www.kylemorefishery.ie
Hidden away between the mountains of Connemara and the Atlantic ocean, the Kylemore Abbey fishery is a wild and beautiful place. Kylemore Abbey Fishery consists of the Kylemore Middle and Castle lakes, as well as part of the Upper Lough, with the five and a half kilometres of the Dawros river which enters the sea in Ballynakill bay. Salmon and sea-trout run for a good proportion of the year to provide first class fishing on uncrowded waters.
The open panoramas of the lakes contrast with the intimacy of the river to give a variety of fishing combined with stunning scenery unrivalled anywhere in Ireland. Although offering an excellent chance of a fish for most of the season, you will find the real meaning of “a fish is a bonus” at Kylemore.
28/3/18 All Lough Currane’s action comes from renowned Kilkenny Angler Mr. Tommy Duggan and his Gillie Mr. Dominic McGillicuddy of www.fishingwithdom.com who were in great form this morning in the trolling department and finished his trip off with a cracker of a 12 lbs. Salmon and returned another. They also caught a good few Kelts and for the rest of My Noble anglers they looked on with envy! Wind was all over the place light to calm all day with good cloud cover with hale showers. Yesterday’s weather, amount of rainfall,1.1mm Maximum air temperature 11.4c.
29/3/18 There was some fine action on the Big Lake this day so straight to the action and we start on the North Shore, local angler Mr Robert Elson of http://thecrescentwaterville.ie/ was in flying form, while fishing with his Gillie Mr. Dominic McGillicuddy of www.fishingwithdom.com caught a cracker of a 11 lbs. Salmon on the troll and staying with the North Shore we head for the Bungalow, Mr. Michael Roden of Dublin and Waterville, caught a fine 8.75 lbs. while trolling with his Gillie Mr. Tom O’Shea of www.flyfishingatloughcurrane.com Now we head across the Big Lake to the South side and the hired out boat department of www.lakelandshouse.com German anglers Mr. Heinz Hilderbrand and Mr. Heiner Aldebert, caught a fine 10 lbs. Salmon on the troll and that wraps up todays fine action. Wind was all over the place, light to calm with hail showers at times and very cold out on the Lake. Yesterdays weather, amount of rainfall 4.7mm. Maximum air temperature 9.3c
30/3/18 The Lough Wild Atlantic Salmon were celebrating this Good Friday because for the first time in 90 years one could celebrate with a pint legally after ones days fishing so on this historical day we start at Waterville boats and at [email protected] Local Gillie Mr. Eric Jouen, caught a fine 10 lbs. Salmon on the troll this morning and by all accounts had a good battle and in the words of Mr. Eric Jouen “I gave him the Butt and now I can go home to my Family and celebrate Easter in style” and there’s no argument to that. Staying in the trolling department, Local Gillie Mr. Sion Brain also caught a fine 8lbs. Salmon, while trolling. Wind ENE light with reasonable cloud cover with showers. Yesterdays weather, amount of rainfall, 3.0mm.Maximum air temperature 8.6c.
31/3/18 It certainly was a Good Friday and I can say without any fear of contradiction Easter Saturday was all quiet on the SW front in all departments and with bright sunshine all day, at least My Noble Anglers had a bonafide excuse for their slack lines. Wind ENE light as you can see by the photos of Lough Currane’s Famous Fishing Family Vincent O’Sullivan. Yesterdays weather, amount of rainfall 0.1mm. Maximum air temperature 8.0c.
1/4/18 All the action comes from the Bungalow, Mr. Nick Kennedy, while fishing with his Gillie Mr. Neil O’Shea www.oshealoughcurrane.com caught a fine 7 lbs. Salmon on the troll. Just for the record it was wild out there with a strong SE wind blowing with heavy rain at times and in fact it was that rough only three boats ventured out this Easter Sunday. Yesterdays weather, amount of rainfall 0.3mm.Maximum air temperature 9.6c.
2/4/18 All Wild Atlantic Salmon headlines come from South side and at www.lakelandshouse.com French Angler Chioe Duperat, caught a fine 9 lbs. Salmon on the troll, while fishing with her Gillie Mr. Frank Donnelly of www.lakelandshouse.com and for the rest of the pros and amateur’s alike, it was all quiet on the SW front. Wind SE light and overcast. Yesterdays weather, amount of rainfall 3.4mm. Maximum air temperature 6.9c. Total amount of rainfall for March 130.6mm.
Andrew Wishart with his 10lbs Currane salmon
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. Yesterdays weather, amount of rainfall 3.3mm. Maximum air temperature 12.8c
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.
After a glorious Easter weekend Monday reverted to the usual wind and torrential rain which tends to visit us at this time of year. We are amazed to report that despite the gales an mountainous waves, one of the ghillies ventured out with his client and still managed to catch another spring salmon!
The run of these well conditioned two sea winter fish has continued and the numbers caught, since the salmon season opened on Currane in January, is currently equalling the 2015 season, which itself was the best in recent years. This is of course measured against a series of poor returns since 2010, but nevertheless it does engender some optimism.
The Trust is naturally disappointed that none of the ‘Fin Clipped’ fish from their Salmon Conservation Programme has yet shown up in the anglers catches, so we urge all anglers to look out for and report any ‘fin clipped’ fish caught in the next few weeks.
It has been reported that numbers of brown trout and salmon and sea trout parr have been taking advantage of the continuing massive hatches of ‘Duckfly’ on Currane. On the lake this morning there were vast clouds of the insects in the air above the boat landings. We recently checked some of the salmon scales from our Scale reading programme and it is interesting to see the obvious accelerated growth of these parr immediately before they run into the tide. Undoubtedly assisted by these massive duck fly hatches!
Duck Fly
The Trust’s representative attended the Annual Rivers Trust Conference, which this year was held in Dublin. There were over 250 delegates from Rivers Trusts all across the British Isles and it was a great opportunity to share help and information. Our very young Rivers Trust was well recognized for the conservation work we are undertaking and we received much encouragement from the more established Trusts across both Ireland and the UK.
These next two weeks sees the Trust co-hosting, with the our local Sea Synergy organization, some EU Erasmus students from southern France, who have come to learn about the ecology of our inshore and fresh waters. We are pleased to extend our support to this important programme.
We are still anxiously awaiting our first sea trout of the year on Lough Currane – lets hope it is a good one!
Lough Derriana this morning looked more like an Arctic lake than a Kerry one! A dull slate gray and bitter wind. No sign of duck flies here yet! A spell of much needed milder weather would certainly bring them on up here and with them the fine trout for which Lough Derriana is renowned!
Lough Derriana
We were also very interested to hear of the capture and release of a ‘well mended’ hen kelt, which was originally ‘fin clipped’ at our conservation hatchery in the autumn of 2015! Clearly a fish which had returned and spawned in the wild. Lets hope she fares well in the North Atlantic again and returns to spawn a second time next year!
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
John O’Connell with a fine 14.5 lbs Moy spring salmon
Billy Thornton reports from Ballina on fishing on the Moy up to April 1st
Moy System WE 1st April 2018.
Despite the weather turning bitterly cold towards the end of the week, anglers on the Moy enjoyed another good week, with 26 salmon reported caught.
Fish were reported from the Lower, Middle and Upper Moy as well as L. Conn.
On the Ballina Salmon anglers water David McLoughlin had a nice springer of 10lbs on worm. The Armstrong Fishery had a good start to the season with 3 salmon reported, the best of which went to Dublin angler Cormac Farrell at 13.5 lbs on worm. Upstream of Foxford on the Foxford Salmon Anglers water John O’Connell improved on his 9lbs fish of last week, with a fine 14.5 lbs fish. On the Cloongee Fishery Northern Ireland angler Andrew Donnelly had a fish of 8.5lbs on worm.
John O’Connell with a fine 14.5 lbs Moy spring salmon
Pat Foran reports on a recent pike fishing session on a Midland river.
With the bank holiday last weekend, Martin Lynch and I took the opportunity to target some pike on the mighty River Shannon.
Weather conditions were mild and overcast in the early morning but as the afternoon approached we were faced with scattered showers and high winds.
Martin is a well-known angler throughout the Midlands and has a good reputation as an adroit lure angler. Martin has a fine collection of lures of every colour and size and has the confidence in this technique which many other pike anglers haven’t yet picked up on.
We started fishing around midday and found the fishing was difficult with no action for the first hour. I choose to fish a roach dead bait in the sink and draw fashion while Martin fished a smelt dead bait fished at 5ft under a float on one rod and fished a selection of lures on his second rod.
We worked our way along the river and eventually came across the first pike of the day. It was a lovely fish of about 7lb and came to one of Martin’s bright green lures. After this fish had a quick photo and was carefully released Martin continued to catch another two pike within two casts in the same spot.
One of Martin’s River Shannon pike
This turned out the be the pattern of the day as the pike showed up to be tightly packed in little pockets scattered along the river. By the end of the session, Martin had a wonderful catch of 11 pike on the lures and his biggest fish of around 9lb had come to the smelt dead baits.
Another of Martin’s River Shannon pike
The average fish was around 4lb with many of the fish in the 6lb brackets. Unfortunately, there were no big doubles landed on the day but there was great sport to be had with the jacks and by the end of the day Martin had an impressive weight of 70lb of pike for his efforts. I had a pair of jacks in the 4lb brackets all on the dead baits.
One of Martin’s succesful lures
We did unfortunately come across a pike with visual signs of Lymphosarcoma. This is a viral disease that affects pike of spawning age. It is unfortunately highly contagious for the pike and usually leads to fatality within one year. I have researched it further and found that the virus is believed to be spread through direct skin contact during spawning. In later stages of the disease, the liver, spleen, and kidneys of fish deteriorate. It is not contagious to humans, but anglers are asked to wash their hands immediately and disinfect there tackle after use as a safety precaution.
This poor fish displays a Lymphosarcoma tumor
A date for your Diary:
Lough Ree International Pike Classic will be held on 23rd and 24th of June 2018.
