Marty King had an 8lb salmon on prawn at the Wash Stones
Water levels were constant over the week on the Drowes with the gauge reading a nice level of around 0.51 metres. The week brought some lovely sunny spring days and the fishery was a little busier. To date 3 salmon have been recorded along with 3 fresh salmon hooked and lost at the weekend.
Marty King had an 8lb salmon on prawn at the Wash Stones
On Wednesday, Marty King recorded an 8lb salmon caught on prawn from The Wash Stones.
On Saturday, Brett McKee reported a 9lb salmon caught on worm from the Mill Pool and Joe Broderick accounted for a 6lb salmon caught on prawn from The Meadow.
With the increasing salmon run, prospects look good for the coming week.
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
09 March: The River Laune is currently is great order for fishing and fish are being met and seen. Last Sunday club Secretary Danny Joy landed and released a beautiful 9lb sealiced springer on the fly at Beat 3. On the same day after landing 2 kelts Kevin Walker hooked a good fresh fish on the fly, sadly after taking him to the backing the fish broke his leader going out the tail of the pool.
Fish were also seen traveling the river throughout the week but there was no reports of other fish landed. Angling efforts have still very light and catches would certainly be up it more anglers were out.
The water level is currently at 1.3m on the gauge and is slowly rising due to recent rain and snow melt. However, the river should remain in good order for the weekend.
Day permits are the same as last year €25 to the end of July and €35 for the months of August and September. For Beat 3 Permit costs click on: Beat 3 Permit Prices 2017
Be sure to display your permit on the dash of your car with the date and permit number visible and have the other part with you because you will be asked by members to identify yourself as a legitimate ‘One Day Member’ / Permit Holder. Web:www.launeanglersfishing.com Facebook:Facebook Laune Anglers Email: [email protected]
Eddie Doherty and his 15lb salmon. The first from Clongee this year
Billy Thornton reports from the Moy where the Clongee Fishery has produced its first fish of the season…
Ballina angler Eddie Doherty lands the first Cloongee salmon of 2018. The fish weighed 15 lbs and was caught on Bubble and Fly. Eddie had earlier released a fish of approximately 7 lbs.
Eddie Doherty and his 15lb salmon. The first from Clongee this year
The Cloongee Fishery
The Cloongee Fishery is one of the most prolific fisheries on the River Moy with historical catches up to 800 salmon per season. It is also well known as a fishery that performs well early in the season. It is managed by Inland Fisheries Ireland-Ballina and offers a variety of quality Angling. The Fishery consists of over 3 miles of both double and single bank stretches. It is situated 1.5 miles South of Foxford off the N58 Foxford to Castlebar Road. Permits are available from the 1 February with Multiple Day permits available form the 16th April to the end of season. *½ Day permits are available for the period 16 April to 31 July only. [½ Day 6am to 2pm or 2pm to dark] Permits must be purchased before attending to fish and are available from Tiernan Brothers Tackle Shop, Main St. Foxford.Tel:094-9256731. Email:[email protected]
In the run up to the North West Angling Fair the Oaks Fishery in association with the Irish Ladies Fly-Fishing Association is offering a two day taster event for women interested in learning how to fly-fish. The event will be held on the 24th and 25th March at the Oaks Fishery, 14 Judges Road, Enagh, Derry/Londonderry BT47 6LN telephone 02871860916
Give fly fishing a try…
The programme will include learning how to stay save when fly-fishing, assembling fly-fishing tackle, basic casting techniques, what fish eat and fly imitations and how to catch and land a fish properly.
The course is open to women who have never fished before and those who have fished but who wish to improve their skills.
The course programme will be provided by professionally qualified instructors: Ian Gamble, Oaks Fishery (APAGI, FFI), Packie Trotter (APAGI, FFI) and Pauline McClenaghan, (APAGI, ILFA).
Rods and tackle will be available at the event for those who need them.
If you are interested in taking part or would like to learn more about the event, please contact:
For more information on these events or to join the ILFA please visit www.irishladiesflyfishing.com or ring Julie Gerry (ROI) 087 2055094, Pauline McClenaghan (NI) 07841 573089 or email us on [email protected]
On a cold Monday afternoon, 5th March 2018, while most of the country was still struggling with the severe weather, Mr. James Allman caught the first salmon on the River Feale in Listowel. Weighing in at 9 1/2 lbs, Mr. Allman caught this fresh bar of silver ‘on the fly’.
The season commenced on the 1st March 2018 amid the ‘Beast from the East’ snowfall and the Storm Emma weather alert. The local Inland Fisheries Ireland Assistant Inspector, Paddy Halpin, commented that not many anglers were fishing due to the conditions, but that it was encouraging to see that salmon were already moving up to the system.
Photo: James Allman proudly shows off the first River Feale salmon catch
Amanda Mooney, the local Director of Inland Fisheries Ireland, hoped that with an early salmon catch on the River Feale it might encourage more anglers out to the river banks and may augur well for a good season ahead.
The River Feale operates a brown tag system, which can be obtained from the local fisheries staff.
Inland Fisheries Ireland would also like to ask the general public to report any suspicion of potential poaching or pollution to their confidential 24 hour hotline on 0818 34 74 24. All reports are treated in the strictest of confidentiality.
Speakers at the event on Thursday were: (Back row, l-r) Sean Langan (Corrib Navigation), Niall O’Maher (Corrib Mask Rescue), Chris McDonagh (Coastguard), Brendan Qualter (Civil Defence), Pat Egan (Corrib Mask Rescue), Michael Kane (LAWCO) Front, l-r: Anthony Trill (Corrib Angling Federation), Tom Egan (Irish Water Safety), Insp. Kevin Gately (An Garda Síochána) and Mike Swan (RNLI).
The Corrib Angling Federation are holding a series of Water Safety Awareness events at the moment, with the latest one held in Campbells. Cloughanover on Thursday night. Speakers from An Garda Síochána, the Irish Coastguard, Corrib-Mask-Carra Search & Rescue, RNLI, Civil Defence, Irish Water Safety, Corrib Navigation Trustees and Mullion Lifejackets all gave brief presentations on the roles and responsibilities of the emergency services, as well as practical advice on boat handling, launching, safety equipment and more.
Over 40 people with an interest in angling, boating and watersports attended and by far the most popular talk was that of Tony Brown from Mullion, who gave a practical demonstration of several lifejacket models. He stressed the importance of testing and servicing lifejackets every year. Other speakers spoke about additional safety equipment, including first aid kits, flares, and the mantra “It’s better to be looking at it than for it” was a constant theme.
There will be a third and final Water Safety Night on Thursday 15th March in the Commercial Boat Club, Woodquay, Galway. This is a very worthy initiative and it is well worth attending for anyone interested in staying safe while afloat. No matter how experienced we are and how safe we think we are, there are always tips that may remind us better how to stay safe on the water.
Well done to the Corrib Angling Federation and particularly Anthony Trill for organising the events which will be of great assistance to anglers attending.
Speakers at the event on Thursday were: (Back row, l-r) Sean Langan (Corrib Navigation), Niall O’Maher (Corrib Mask Rescue), Chris McDonagh (Coastguard), Brendan Qualter (Civil Defence), Pat Egan (Corrib Mask Rescue), Michael Kane (LAWCO) Front, l-r: Anthony Trill (Corrib Angling Federation), Tom Egan (Irish Water Safety), Insp. Kevin Gately (An Garda Síochána) and Mike Swan (RNLI).
Entry Form below, including joining details if you wish to become a member of the Association and fish with us either socially or competively (to qualify for the Irish Team for 2019).
Closing date for entries is 13.4.18. Minimum age is 18.
For more information on these events or to join the ILFA please visit www.irishladiesflyfishing.com or ring Julie Gerry (ROI) 087 2055094, Pauline McClenaghan (NI) 07841 573089 or email us on [email protected]
Most of the country was shut down by snow and ice following the arrival of the Beast from the East and Storm Emma last week. There were incredible scenes in the media of snow drifts and icescapes that looked like scenery from Life in the Freezer. It’s not surprising that with so many anglers housebound there is little to report this week. But, of course, there’s always one or two hardy souls who are in just the right place to get out, and there were parts of the country where hardly any snow fell at all…
When the thaw set in on Sunday Noel Fitzmaurice made the most of his opportunity to throw a line on the Munster Blackwater and was rewarded with a lovely spring salmon, which was released. There are reports of 6 salmon from the River Lee last week. The Bandon has had no further fish since opening day and the Laune has been very quiet as water levels are low. Lough Currane, the Butler’s Pool and River Inny were frozen in places so the anglers there took it as a sign to rest their rods, though now and then there was the odd visitor to the water. There were two springers from Delphi in the last couple of days as the snow melted away which, along with some rain, made for perfect water levels on the river. The Drowes also reported good water levels in the last week. The fishery saw less snow than many other parts of the country, but angler numbers were down and just one fish was reported.
Nicky Moore with an opening day River Liffey brown trout which wins him Catch of the Week. #CPRsavesfish
A number of trout rivers opened on March 1st. Most saw little or no action but, despite the snow, Nicky Moore was out on the Liffey to catch and release a few brownies. Nicky wins Catch of the Week for his efforts. John Higgins reports hatches of Dark Olives on the river in recent days and the trout were moving to them. There were anglers out on the Fane too already this season. The conditions were tough as snow melt made for very cold water and sluggish trout, though blanks were avoided so far.
Before the weather turned bad, the Lough Gowna and Upper Erne Anglers Association fished the Edward Shiels Memorial on Lough Gowna. Trevor Simpson had the biggest pike weighing 13lb 5ozs, but Timmy Fitzpatrick was winner on the day.
Congratulations to John Taggart for winning the East Belfast CAC Winter League for the second year running. This well attended league was largely fished on the River Bann where some super fishing was had in the early rounds, but the conditions became harder towards the end.
There will be a frosty start to tomorrow but the outlook from Met Eireann is for temperatures rising to normal or above normal values this weekend. It will be cold on Friday night with sleet over Ulster and heavy rain elsewhere. Saturday and Sunday may see temperatures rise to 12C, but it will get a bit cooler again in the early part of next week. Whatever you’re into, it sounds like a good weekend to go fishing…
Eileen Carroll Murphy reports that there were no salmon reported for the last two weeks 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
