Regular contributor Mick Flanagan was in touch to report on fishing in the Midlands.
OWEL PLEASURE ANGLERS.
We met a few great Mullingar angling character’s last week Out & About on Owel. Charlie Greville and angling pal John Dooner had some nice fish on the troll, but it was Johns Granddaughter Lauren Deacey who shone on the day. Lauren was enjoying a day on Owel during the Easter School holidays, and I am sure we will here more on this young angler as we settle into the 2018 season.
John Dooner, Lauran Deacy and Charlie Greville on Lough Owel
Lauran Deacy with a nice Owel trout.
Danny Cole and Tony English also braved the chilly waters on Owel, and were rewarded with some beautiful catches. Tony had a trout over the 3lbs mark, and the fish was in mint conditions. Quite a few Owel anglers are starting to put out their boats at Tullaghan, and its looking good for the up and coming first competition of the season hosted by Lough Owel Trout Preservation Association. The Ace Cup fly-fishing competition is penciled in for April 15th, more on this in next weeks angling report. L.O.T.P.A is open for membership, and new members are more than welcome to jump on board.
Tony English and 3lbs Owel trout
DERRAVARAGH / ABBOTT CUP.
Lough Derravaragh Angling Association hosted the first trout fly-fishing of the 2018 season last weekend on Easter Sunday. Conditions were good for fly fishing, but their was a sharp old breeze crossing Derravaragh, and little or no fly life on the lake surface. Still the Derravaragh angler’s dug deep and the few anglers that competed produced 5 trout. Multyfarnham “Hot Shot” Christy Cox teamed up with Derravaragh Chairman Liam Gilsenan and produced the winning trout of 2lbs 4oz.
Christy Cox and the winning Derravaragh trout
I hooked up with Ciaran Newman of Lynn Cross here in Mullingar and Ciaran boated two fish, taking 2nd place with 1lbs 14oz.
Ciaran Newman returns his catch to Derravaragh
Keith Fleming traveled down from the North of Ireland and finished 3rd with 1lbs 2oz. Presentation took place at Donore shore and Liam Gilsenan Chairman of Derravaragh Angling Association thanked all who fished the first fly competition of the season. Derravaragh Angling club is open for membership, and this season membership is set at 25 Euro for senior anglers.
Kieran Evans presents Christy Cox with the Abbott Cup
LENE NEWS.
This coming Sunday April 8th Lough Lene Angling Association host the Peadar Caffrey Memorial Cup. This fly only competition will be fished from 11am-6pm from Fagan Point and is sponsored by Topline Murphy, Castlepollard. Lene is producing some lovely rainbows, and last week Lene Vice Chairman Frank McKeown had a cracking brown trout of 3lbs 7oz.
Lene Vice Chairman Frank McKeown and 3lbs 7oz brown trout
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.
Martin McKenna has been in touch to update us on fishing at Emy Lough, Co. Monaghan.
Despite weather conditions, reports are coming in of excellent rainbows being caught on Emy. Once again a delivery of great quality trout was delivered earlier in the season . The stock has settled in well and fish are being caught in all ares of the lake – one angler has reported a catch of an overwintered rainbow just shy of 4lbs.
Emy and District Anglers welcome new members, and permits/membership are available from the outlet below. If possible please call in advance ………tight lines and safe fishing all!
Go fishing…
Emy & District Anglers are a strictly a fly only club with simple rule to keep the lake, 400 acres, top quality trout fly fishing.
Day tickets may be obtained from either of the following businesses.
Paul Gormley
“GORMLEYS SHOP”
North Main Street,
Emyvale.
Tel: 047-87573
Mob:087- 6128259
Dick Kiernan,
Venture Sports,
71 Glaslough St
Monaghan
Tel: 047- 81495
Mob: 086-8351378.
Anglers become members of the club for insurance purposes on the issue of a day ticket or a season permit. Applications for Season Permits to Dick Kiernan Venture Sports. Issue is subject to committee approval.
Peadar McAvinney with a trout caught on a Humungus
Lough Sheelin Angling Report
By Brenda Montgomery, IFI
March 19th 2018 – April 1st 2018
‘When all the world appears to be in a tumult, and nature itself is feeling the assault of climate change, the seasons retain their essential rhythm. Winter, will be forced to relent, once again, to the new beginnings of soft greens, longer light, and the sweet air of spring.’Madeleine M. Kunin
‘March is always fierce tough going on the water’ I was assured at the weekend but now touching on April there is an impatience to shake off the shackles of winter, and a restlessness among many to go fishing. The polar cold, nightly frosts and wind chills have all contributed in keeping the trout lethargic and inactive and fishing here over the past week has been slow and difficult with Sheelin taking no prisoners and making its anglers work hard for their rewards.
In early season it is the cold winds in particular that are the enemy especially when from the north or east which was the case on most days. A cold north or east wind will kill off any potential hatches as it chills down the surface film, sending any emerging nymphs back down to wait another day. Earlier in the week Lough Corrib broadcasted that their duck fly had finally arrived but Lough Sheelin being that bit further north cannot as yet boast of this progression into fly life. There were a few late afternoons when a false heat prevailed which led to a dusting of chironomid and duck fly hatches but not enough to spark the interest of the trout. The fishing is still hampered by this tenacious wintry weather, but the water clarity here is gradually clearing from that previous dark ominous colour, this welcome clearness being most evident in the shallows and the shelters of bays and inlets depending on the prevailing wind.
Fishing numbers rarely made the double figures during the week but the bank holiday weekend saw a predictable increase in angling activity with, despite the cold, the LSTPA’s Kilroy Cup on Saturday March 31st attracting 32 anglers with 6 fish being recorded at over 3lbs, the winner being Monaghan angler Brian McAvinney with a lovely silvery trout of 4.24 lbs, 2nd was Kenneth O’Keeffe, Cavan with a 3.89 lb fish and Martin Kearney came in at 3rd with a fish weighing in at 3.78 lbs.
Brian McAvinney, Monaghan winner of the LSTPA’s Kilroy Cup held on Lough Sheelin on Saturday March 31st. Brian’s fish weighed in at a respectable 4.24lb
Deividas Firsovas, March 25th “Go&Catch”
On Sunday March 25th Lithuanian Fishing Club “Go&Catch” ran the second leg of their lure fishing ‘Spar Energy’ Cup competition on Lough Sheelin. The bitter cold and extensive discolouration of the water didn’t make things easy for the 16 hardy competitors but their extensive knowledge of Sheelin helped them considerably and 17 trout of over 30cm were caught. The top winners were:
Giedrius Paskevicius 3 trout 142cm
Arunas Sinkevicius 3 trout 124cm
Zydrunas Ausra 3 trout 111cm
Longest trout was caught by Valdas Sankauskas at 67cm.
It is thanks to the sponsors Spark Energy and Deeper that this league has been able to run successfully.
Arvydas Mencinskas
I find all fishing clubs a fairly responsible and environmentally caring group of people but for me Go&Catch have perhaps the edge on them all because of my recollection of a few years ago when this club, precedng one of their competitions here, spent a number of hours collecting and bagging up huge amounts of litter which had been dumped over the years at Sailors Garden and which everyone else had just turned a blind eye to. Continuing on from this, this club have never deviated from their very obvious appreciation and care of this lake seeing it as ‘a gift of nature’ and being impressively tuned in to Lough Sheelin’s fragile status.
Lithuanian Fishing Club in Ireland “Go&Catch’ at Sailors Garden, Lough Sheelin on the 2nd leg of their lure fishing championship
My cousin the M.D of the Ford Garage in Cavan and an avid fan of catch and release, died suddenly and tragically in the earlier part of this week and in memory of these two aspects of his life and complementing Sheelin’s fishing over the past weeks I will paraphrase a famous quote from Henry Ford ‘ you can have any colour as long as it’s black’ . Ford believed that if something was good then you stuck with it and was against ‘monkeying around’ with styles. This is very sound advice for Lough Sheelin and the flies and lures necessary for good fishing not just for March but throughout the season. Early season here has been all about fishing lures and traditional wet flies and it just so happens that the colour black dominates – black Humungus, black Minkie’s, black Snakes, Black Buzzers, Black Blobs, Black Hoppers, Black Pennels, Connemara Black, dark coloured Dabblers and Sooty Olives.
The Dabblers made their mark on Sheelin particularly in the past week with Silver, Pearly, Green , Sooty, Hare’s Ear and Fiery Brown being the most popular. A size 6 Claret Dabbler fished as a top dropper using a di3 or di5 can be good for taking early season feeders here. The Fiery Brown Dabbler is a very versatile fly representing freshwater shrimp in early season, duck fly in Spring and sedge for the summer.
Claret Ross Dabbler
The other flies and lures that brought trout to the boat and into the landing net were the Black & Silver Minkies, Black Humungus, Rainbow Humungus (with abit of red mixed through the black marabou tail), Glister Ollie, Bibios, Black Pennels, Diawl Bachs, Sooty Olives and Golden Olive Bumbles.
Diawl Bachs – welsh for little Devil, this classical pattern imitates an emerging buzzer, typically a point fly, a good combination would be a Bibio size 10 on the dropper with a size 10 Diawl Bach on the point.
The Red Arrow, originating in Ireland is a pattern used on Sheelin some 20 years ago and which has made an appearance again this season. Much like the popular Black Pennell with a red throat the combination of the black and red work well on this lake.
The areas that produced the results were the shallows – bays, inlets and around islands which made sense as trout usually voracious after the long winter and keen to put weight on feed on the
Shrimp and Water louse that are abundant in these areas. Best areas for this week were Stony Island, at the back of Church Island, Merry Pt, Inchacup, Chambers Bay and from Kilnahard down to Crover.
The thing to remember is that for early season trout fishing everything is fairly simple and basic, anglers can forget the ‘match the hatch’ theory as there isn’t that much movement of fly or any stages of their lifecycles (courtesy of the Arctic weather) and trout are not that picky so its just a question of presenting them with something that gives the impression of a food source that they are used to. Anglers who know the lake know where the fish are so for the novices, for this difficult early season fishing a guide would be highly recommended (www.loughsheelinguidingservices.com)
A trout caught on a Sooty Dabbler in Chambers by Andrew Brown, Dublin
Peadar McAvinney with a trout caught on a Humungus
David McEvoy reports from the Delphi Fishery where they had a strong finish to the month of March…
30 March: Well, we have thirteen more Springers landed here at Delphi since my last update. Paddy’s day brought a Grand Slam and the Mini Beast from the East. Our fishing as I had said previously really started to improve.
Despite bitterly cold conditions one of our Swedish party, Goran Kaslsson managed to land a nice fish of 9lbs1oz from the Kings Pool on a Tosh Tube on Paddy’s day. On the 18ththere were three landed. Asa Andersson had one of 6lbs11ozs from the Kings Pool on a Thea. Tomas Tholin had one from the Grilse Pool on a Banana Fly of 6lbs2ozs and Tomas Tholin had a second of approx 7lbs from the Deadman’s, again on a Banana Fly.
Conditions became a little more difficult then as the water dropped off and fish were hard to tempt for a few days, but we had heavy rain again on Thursday the 22nd. Water levels were well up on Friday with the river running at 60. Ryan McGoldrick from Sligo had a lovely fish of 8lbs13ozs from Morrisons on a Cascade Tube. Despite lovely water on Saturday and a team of very experienced anglers, no fish were taken. Sunday saw the return of an experienced group from Bavaria and they duly delivered.
Can Sozcu on his first visit to Delphi had a nice fish of 9lbs15ozs off Finlough on a non descript. Bob Colson from the US had a fish of approx. 7lbs from the Grilse Pool on a Gasbay Shadow. On Monday Werner had a fish of approx. 9lbs from the Schoolhouse on a Delphi Collie. He followed this up on Tuesday with one of approx. 9lbs from Duck Run on a Night Star. He was again successful the following morning with a lovely fish from the Rock Pool of 10lbs12ozs on a Black and Yellow Tube. This was followed up two hours later when Yvonne landed a fish of 9lbs8ozs, again in the Rock Pool on a Night Star. Yesterday the 29th, Holger Peres had a lovely fish of 9lbs10ozs from the Rock Pool on a Delphi Collie, having lost a fish just beforehand. Finally, Werner had another fish of approx. 8lbs from Morrisons on a Delphi Collie.
With the temperatures down slightly today, we had nothing by lunchtime. With a day and a half left, our total for the month is 24. With big tides over the next few days and the river running at 40, I would be hopeful that we would add another one or two before close of play tomorrow.
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.
Diarmuid Beagley holding the fish. On his right is his fishing buddy Maurice McEllIgott and on his left is Tommy Quinlivan
Paddy Halpin reports from the Feale where cold conditions continue but good water levels saw a lot of anglers on the river …
We had a good lot of anglers out during the week in good fishing water and we had 7 Salmon reported for the week. James Allman had his second for the year weighing 8 lbs caught in the North Kerry Anglers waters. Brendan Joy got his season off to a start with a nice fresh fish of 6 lbs caught in the Killocrim/Finuge anglers stretch, as did Diarmuid O Suilleabhain who had his first of the season with a fish of 6 lbs. Dave Kearney got his first of the year on the spinner a good fish of 8 lbs. Diarmuid Begly had a great fish late in the evening weighing in at 9 lbs. Maurice McElligott had a nice fish of 6 lbs and Val Leeson had a good fish of 8 lbs while fishing the North Kerry anglers waters.
Diarmuid Beagley holding the fish. On his right is his fishing buddy Maurice McEllIgott and on his left is Tommy Quinlivan
Water levels at the moment are good for both spinning and Fly but the water temp is staying very low and with the showers of snow we are having at the moment temperatures are set to drop further. James Allman is pictured with his fish and in the other picture with Diarmuid Beagley who is holding the fish on his right is his fishing buddy Maurice McEllIgott and on his left is Tommy Quinlivan.
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 0818 34 74 24
It was another cool enough week but spring is certainly doing its best to catch up on itself. There is so much birdsong to be heard when your out and when the sun shines at all you can feel it warm your bones. The Duck Fly was a little late this year, but it is up now, and that extra hour in the day will become really useful when you’re on the water…
#CPRsavesfish – A salmon goes back on Lough Currane
There were a couple of more salmon from the Munster Blackwater last week, six from the Lee and one from the Bandon. The Laune and Killarney Lakes reported no fish, but Lough Currane did well and it was great to see more of the fish there being released. The Moy had a good week and 25 salmon were reported on a mix of methods. Lough Beltra had a couple of springers on Sunday, a great start to the season there. The Drowes had another good week and 18 salmon were caught. The outlook for Easter is very encouraging, with most fisheries reporting good water levels and fish moving.
There was good fishing on the Suir at the weekend. Sunday’s sunny weather didn’t bring the fish up but they were keen enough on nymphs. In the midlands there was good fishing reported on Lough Owel and Lough Lene. Trout anglers on Corrib were relieved to hear that the first Duck Fly were up and some boats have been getting some decent fishing already. Better late than never! Catch of the Week goes to another big trout caught and released by a pike angler. This time the fish was caught on the River Erne but the lure looks very similar to the last big Catch of the Week trout.
80cm trout on a pike lure from the River Erne wins Catch of the Week
The annual Waterways Ireland Open at St. Mullins got off to a slow start but in the end produced some top weights of dace for the winning anglers as all enjoyed their river fishing on the tidal section of the River Barrow. The Sheemore Anglers reported some tough days in Leitrim on both canal and lake venues as the cool conditions did little to improve the fishing there. Meanwhile on the Shannon at Portumna nets to 14lb were weighed in at the final of the Munster Coarse Anglers Winter League.
Kit Dunne is back amongst the specimens this year as the bigger spurdog return to the Wicklow area. John Fleming’s anglers on Galway Bay continue to enjoy good sport with pollack to double figures on light gear. The Killybeg Mariners are back again with reports of good coalies and flounders during a night session kicked off by a glorious sunset and crowned with a display of shooting stars.
And now the weather..
Cool tomorrow with occasional showers, more frequent across eastern coastal counties. Good spells of sunshine over Connacht and west Ulster. Highs of 6 to 9C in fresh NE winds. Lots of dry and bright weather on Saturday with sunny spells and just isolated showers, these most likely in eastern coastal counties. Brisk northeasterly winds will ease during the day. Top temperatures of 6 to 9 degrees. Sunday will begin largely dry with sunny intervals and isolated showers. However, cloud is expected to build from the south during the day with rain extending to southern coastal counties during the afternoon. Maximum temperatures of 5 to 8 degrees in freshening easterly winds. The rain will extend gradually a bit further northwards on Sunday night. Minimum temperatures of -1 to +3 degrees. Monday is set to be a cold day in strong and gusty east or northeast winds with maximum temperatures of just 3 to 7 degrees. Details uncertain at this stage but there is the risk of wet weather becoming more widespread with some wintry falls in parts. Tuesday and Wednesday look much te same at this time. That’s what you get for having Easter so early I suppose…
Stefan Martin from Killybegs Mariners SAC reports on the fishing around Donegal Bay…
24 March: Another glorious evening on the Donegal shores for the penultimate winter league outing. A stunning crimson sunset set the mood with some flounders mid 20s early on and then the shooting stars started streaking across the cloudless night sky and flounders over 30cm mostly at a distance out were caught for measure and release. A seal pup even crawled up the beach to see what all the fuss was about. Most of the flounders were quite thin and alot under the 23cm minimum size which is normal for the time of year. In the end another great fishing for Michael McGettigan winning most points cash and also longest fish cash with a 35cm flounder. 2nd place cash prize was won by Stefan Martin. 11 anglers fished. Well done to all.
Flounder
25 March: Travelling west and taking in the vista with the car windows down we could hear the waves roaring at the foot of the mountains. A beautiful spring day with blue sky’s and golden sands it was very enjoyable sitting back on the beach and watching the rod tips (which didn’t move very much) and watching the wild geese and cormorants patrol the sky’s and the seal keeping an eye on us and the fish below. Still pretty cool which keeps the fish a bit deeper but good to breathe it all in again
Next outing
The final winter league outing will take place this Friday evening on Fintra beach fishing 20.00pm – 00.00am. Everyone welcome come along and fish with great cash prizes on offer on the night, nothing too serious
Mariners sea angling club Killybegs Co Donegal. The club runs a shore league and boat comps and angling trips around Ireland doing the sport we love. Get in touch at www.facebook.com/mariner.sac
Kit Dunne of Wicklow Boat Charters reports that the spurdog are back in Wicklow Bay…
26 March: Beautiful day at sea, with some beautiful people from Wicklow Bay Sea Angling Club and two gentlemen from Cork. Fishing was slow enough but the lads still managed 4 Irish specimen spur dog and a few smaller ones. Hopefully this is the start of a great season in Wicklow.
Spurdog
The day was topped off with a fine specimen Spurdog for VIP Tom Lynch. Well done Tom, you well deserved the Wicklow Boat Charters wooly hat.
Go fishing…
Angling Charters are offered on a full-day, half-day and evening trip basis and can be tailored to suit your needs. Two boats available – Lisin and Castle Maiden. All levels of anglers are catered for. Anglers will benefit from your skipper’s angling experience and local knowledge with advice and guidance on-hand at all times.
SPECIALIST ANGLING CHARTERS
Specialist Angling Charters are offered for those who wish to target specific species, specimen fish or try new methods of angling.
ANGLING COACHING
Whether you’re a Club, Individual, School or Junior you can have an angling coaching session or programme tailored to suit your needs.
John Fleming was back out on the sea again this weekend and had some enjoyable lure fishing for pollack…
Last Sunday I had a group for Dublin who wanted to target big Pollack over the reefs in Galway. We had a slow start with not much happening until the turn of the tide around lunch time, and then like a switch it all changed and the Pollack came on the feed.
PollackPollackWhiting
Our biggest was about 11lbs and we had plenty of double figure fish. We also had coalies, whiting, and a couple of surprise herring.
Spaces available this weekend as well with our first trip for spurdogs on Saturday.
John Fleming
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 Rosaveel, 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 addrenaline rush with these hard fighting blue and porbeagle sharks all being tagged and release safely.
Package deals available
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.
27/3/18 Lough Currane was all quiet on the SW front, the only bit of action was in the Kelt department where local Angler Mr. Robert Elson of the http://thecrescentwaterville.ie/ and his good friend Mr. Brod O’Sullivan, caught 3 Kelts on the troll. Brod was telling me “As you know Vince, I have 70 years experience out there and the Kelts this year are the biggest I’ve ever seen and you have to look twice just in case it’s the right fella, but I ain’t been fooled yet but”. As I said, you can’t beat experience. Wind NNE light variable with reasonable cloud. Yesterday’s weather, amount of rainfall 8.5mm. Maximum air temperature 11.7c.
26/3/18 All today’s headlines go to renowned Kilkenny angler Mr. Tommy Duggan, while fishing with his Gillie Mr. Dominic McGillicuddy of www.fishingwithdom.com caught a cracker of an 11 lbs. Salmon on the fly, off the point of Grassy Island and there is a good bit of history to this fish. It is 40 years to be precise in catching his first Salmon off Grassy, even though Tommy has caught many Salmon on the fly all over the Lake the Grassy always got the better of him. Well Tommy you put that long spell to rest and everything comes to those who wait. Not satisfied with his fine Salmon caught on the fly, Tommy and his Gillie put their trolling rods out and finished their day off with a fine 8 lbs. Salmon. SSW light and overcast with misty rain. Yesterday’s weather, maximum air temperature 10.9c.
Neil releases the salmon #CPRsavesfish
25/3/18 There was some good action in the catching and releasing today. We start in C&R department. Mr. Paul Saunders of Glengarriff caught and released a fine lightening fresh Wild Atlantic 10lbs. Salmon, while fishing with his Gillie Mr. Neil O’Shea of www.oshealoughcurrane.com. Staying in the trolling department, local Gillie Mr. Bob Priestley, while manipulating his lures also caught a lightening fresh 10lbs. salmon and Bob’s quote of the day was “8 bloody weeks to catch that Salmon, Cheers!” Wind WNW light and variable and bright and sunny all day. Yesterday’s weather, amount of rainfall 0.4mm. Maximum air temperature 10.2c.
Thorsten releases his 9lb salmon #CPRsavesfish
24/3/18 Straight to the C&R department. Mr. Thorsten Weigand of Germany was the toast of Lough Currane and for good reason. While Fishing/trolling with his Gillie Mr. Neil O’Shea of www.oshealoughcurrane.com he caught two Salmon. His first strike of the day was a 11lbs. Salmon, and they finished their day off with a 9 lbs Salmon which they sportingly put back. Wind N light to calm and bright. Yesterday’s weather, amount of rainfall 8.4mm. Maximum air temperature 8.2.
23/3/18 There was some good action on Lough Currane today so straight to the action. Fish of the day and that goes to Master Joshua Clarke of the UK and of Waterville, Co Kerry and Bailieborough, Co Cavan, you can say Joshua is an all round Ireland angler after catching a cracker of a 11 lbs. Salmon on the troll while fishing with Gillie and his Uncle Tham and just for the record that was Joshua’s first ever Salmon and may it be the first of many. Now we head for the Bungalow, Wexford angler, Mr. Michael McCormack, caught a fine 8 ¼ lbs. Salmon on the troll while fishing with his Gillie Mr. Tom O’Shea of www.flyfishingatloughcurrane.com I will finish today’s notes on a cracker of a 20 lbs. Salmon that got away during the week, thanks to Canadian and Bahrain Angler John Ghazzawi of Canada who sportingly put it back while trolling and best of all the release was all caught on video. Staying with the one that got away I would like to Thank David of Dooleys Restaurant for his great support for Waterville angling because if it wasn’t for David I wouldn’t be linking you all with the one that got away! Wind E light and overcast with rain at times. Yesterday’s weather, amount of rainfall 19.7mm. Maximum air temperature 11.0c.
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.
This last week has seen some very changeable weather on the Waterville Lakes, from blue sky days with flat calms to mist, fog and rain. Nevertheless the conditions seem to have suited the Anglers and the Salmon alike! The modest run of fine multi sea winter fish has continued with several fish caught during the week and by all accounts the fish have continued to be in excellent condition. They have obviously found good feeding in the North Atlantic this last couple of years. These spring salmon are magnificent creatures and well worth our protection! The Waterville Lakes & Rivers Trust is a keen proponent of CPR – Catch Photograph and Release- and it was good to see a visiting angler, this last week, releasing a fine Salmon back into Lough Currane!
#CPRsavesfish
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!
Duck Fly
We have reached the vernal equinox and the water temperature is rising and the lakes are coming back to life again. The salmon and sea trout parr, which dropped out of the small streams in the winter to find greater security in the lakes, are now met with their first feeding bonanza of the year – the vast hatches of the Black Chironomid anglers know as the ‘Duck Fly’. Our scale reading programme has shown us that the advanced parr in the lakes in the early spring have a spurt of growth before they smolt and run to sea. Undoubtedly the Currane Duck Fly hatch contributes greatly to this observed growth. Although it is the vast clouds of these adult flies in the air above the lake shore which attract our attention, it is the subsurface pupal stage which attracts the attention of the trout and parr!
There are vast numbers of different species of Midges hatching out in the lakes at different times of the year but the hatching of these black midges at this time of the year, coinciding as it does with the outward migration of our salmonids, it is surely one of natures special events! Yet another example of the synergy in The Waterville Lakes ecosystem!
In the next few days we should hopefully be seeing the beginning of the early run of the large ‘specimen’ sea trout for which Lough Currane is famous. We urge anglers to show restraint when contemplating killing these magnificent fish. Although not the most fecund of the sea trout population they nevertheless contribute immeasurably to the gene pool. In view of the year on year decline in the runs of these very special fish, which we are experiencing, the more of them which survive to spawn, the more we help our environment!
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
