Eileen Carroll Murphy from the Macroom office reports that six salmon landed for the season so far from the Anglers Rest to the Graveyard.
Go fishing…
The River Lee drains a catchment of 484 square miles of which much is taken up by two large reservoirs. Salmon Angling is confined to an 8 mile stretch from Inniscarra dam to Cork city.
Lee Salmon Anglers Club
The Lee Salmon Anglers club was established in 1967. It was formed by a group of anglers interested in protecting and promoting the sport of salmon and trout angling on the river Lee. Day tickets available: http://www.leesalmonanglers.ie/
Inniscarra Fishery
This salmon fishery is located between Cork City and the dam at Inniscarra (9 miles). The fishery is run by the ESB (Electricity Supply Board) and an ESB permit is required. There is a fair run of fish with a very good grilse run dependent on water. Permits can be purchased on site from Dan O’Riordan, ESB Inniscarra; 087-9983879.
David McEvoy reports from the Delphi Fishery where fishing is getting back to normal following the Beast from the East…
07 March: Our fishing is back up and running as the Beast from the East has hopefully run out of steam and this week’s anglers finally managed to arrive a couple of days late. The initial thaw did not amount to much, so the river rose from 10 to 15 on Monday. Yesterday it was much the same, but we got 17mms of rain last night which meant that the river was at 45 this morning, which as you all know is near perfect.
It was indeed a great opportunity for our experienced German anglers to shine and they did not disappoint. Werner had a nice fish of approx. 7lbs from the Waterfall Pool this morning on a Nightstar. He had risen a fish just before this, possibly the same one. Rudi Groener who normally has his one and only visit early in the season then managed to hook and land a lovely fish of 8lbs 8ozs in the Waterfall Pool again, just before lunch. The fish was taken on one of Rudi’s favourite patterns, the Willie Gunn.
There were two more fish risen and two lost, which hopefully bodes well for the next few days. Present indications are that we are going to get some rain over the next week, which would sustain water levels at a good height and temperatures are due to rise to more normal values.
As it stands we have 1 rod available Tuesday, 4 Wednesday and Thursday and 3 Friday, so if anyone is interested please contact the office on +353 (0)95 42222 or email to [email protected].
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.
Robert Buick reports on the final match in East Belfast Coarse Angling ClubWinter League. This well attended league, largely fished on the River Bann, provided for feeder, pole and whip tactics with larger weights in the early rounds, finishing in much tougher conditions…
The last match in this years EBCAC winter league took place on the Lower Bann on Sunday. Despite the snow, ice and east wind, the intrepid rump of keen members were determined to complete this league.
However rather than Portglenone the match took place at Newferry in an attempt to get some better fishing to that at Portglenone in recent weeks. Unfortunately it was not to be and it seems that when the Bann goes off it goes off all over.
John Taggart
Some small roach were caught and all to feeder tactics. On the day Bo Donaldson had around 20 fish for 1.830 kg pipping Mike Perry whose 12 fish totalled 1.220 kg. Derek Buckley filled the daily places with 1.150 kg.
John Taggart, who has dominated this league especially on feeder tactics, was the well deserved winner of the league with a best 8 match score of 28 points well ahead of Mark Alcock on 46 points. Third and fourth places were decided on weight with Paul Hutchman pipping Ron Jordan both on 48 points. Davy Hamilton completed the top five with 56 points.
East Belfast Coarse Angling Clubare affiliated to the National Coarse Fishing Federation of Ireland and are members of the Angling Council the National Governing Body for coarse and predator angling. www.ncffi.ie
Vincent Appleby has an update from Lough Currane where the snow and ice put a stop to salmon fishing for a few days…
Ice on the Ring of Kerry
1/3/18 Anglers decline the battle of the freezing conditions this day and who could blame them with the temperature at minus 1 down by the Lake and if one takes into account wind chill, it felt like minus 8 and as you can see by the photo there was ice on the shoreline and parts of the Inny was also frozen. So on this Red warning day we will give the anglers the thumbs up on their decline to catch a wild Atlantic Salmon. Staying with the weather, snow started to fall in Caherdaniel 7.45 pm this evening. Yesterdays weather, maximum air temperature 2.0 c A word of warning the Red Alert has been extended to 6pm Friday.
Mr. Liam Higgins
2/3/18 Lough Currane Anglers Frozen out again today, so we will head down stream to the World famous Butler Pool and at www.watervillegolflinks.iewhere Pro Golfer Mr. Liam Higgins put his fly skills to the test but sadly My Noble Salmon kept their heads down as you can see by the picture taken by Liam’s Daughter Lynda, it wasn’t exactly warm. Wind NNE fresh with snow falling all day. Yesterdays weather, amount of rainfall, 0.3mm. Maxi
mum air temperature 0.7c.
3/3/18 Lough Currane was all quiet on the SW front and for good reason, my Noble Anglers are still frozen in time, even though the thaw has set in and floods are forecasted. It will be interesting to see what next week produces, so lets hope there will be a few notes of the tails of the unexpected. Wind ENE and overcast with light rain at times. Yesterdays weather, amount of rainfall 8.4mm. Maximum air temperature 1.5c
4/3/18 Slightly warmer this day and 3 boats took to the water with enthusiasm and hoping to procure a wild Atlantic Salmon, but sadly with all their efforts all my Noble Anglers caught was a touch of frostbite. Wind NE light with reasonable cloud cover . Yesterdays weather, amount of rainfall, 1.4mm. Maximum air temperature 3.4c
The Snow still lingers on high ground
5/3/18 Well the week started on a slack lines note, as my Noble anglers are still defrosting after the Beast from the East and to be fair that goes for the Lake as well and a good flood wouldn’t do any harm. Wind E light and variable with good cloud cover. Yesterdays weather, amount of rainfall 0.2mm. Maximum air temperature 5.3c
6/3/18 Temperatures rising, water level is falling and sadly my Noble Salmon isn’t calling, in other words the fishing conditions are rather appalling! Just for the record Local Angler Mr, Robert Elson of http://thecrescentwaterville.ie/ reported that he caught a few kelts in the last couple of days. Wind NE light with good cloud cover. Yesterdays weather, amount of rainfall 0.3mm. Maximum air temperature 7.8c.
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
There were 11 boats competing for the recently fished Edward Shiels Memorial on Lough Gowna organised by the Lough Gowna and Upper Erne Anglers Association.
The heaviest pike was caught by Trevor Simpson weighing 13lb 5ozs but this was not enough to secure first place which was taken by Timmy Fitzpatrick.
Trevor Simpson had the biggest pike on the day
1st. Timmy Fitzpatrick
2nd. Jason Corr
3rd. John Boyle
5th. Gabriel Madden.
Timmy Fitzpatrick Winner & Kieran Lee Organiser
Join the club…
Lough Gowna and Upper Erne Anglers Association has the following objective’s-
To promote the sport of all rod angling disciplines.
To preserve, protect and conserve all species of fish and their habitat.
To offer good’s and services to club members.
To co-operate with and assist statutory bodies in the protection, conservation of angling and waterways.
To organise and run any competitions the club considers appropriate.
Water levels were lovely over the week. The gauge read 0.62m at the start of Monday and the river gradually fell to read 0.52m by the end of Sunday. The fishery was fairly quiet with only a few rods fishing over the week as cold conditions set in and storm Emma hit over Thursday & Friday and Red Warnings were issued for the whole country. Strangely enough, we saw very little snow but few people traveled and only the very hardy fished.
Chris McGovern had this salmon on a worm
On Saturday, Chris McGovern caught the 4th salmon of the season on the Drowes. This was a 7½ lb salmon caught on worm from the Mill Pool.
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
Spring salmon form the Munster Blackwater. #CPRsavesfish
Noel Fitzmaurice had another fine spring salmon from the Blackwater Salmon Fishery beats yesterday. Not bad considering that the whole are was like the north pole on Saturday! The fresh run salmon was sealiced and after a quick photo was carefully returned.
Spring salmon form the Munster Blackwater. #CPRsavesfish
Fishing in March costs €25 per person each day at Blackwater Salmon Fishery. Please contact glenda@glendapowellguiding.com or phone 00353 (0) 872351260 for information or to book.
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
Eamon Conway of Tain Fly Rods was out on the Fane over the weekend. He spared himself a blank on each occasion but said the the fishing was by no means easy as the trout were not taking well in the freezing conditions.
Eamon with an early season brown trout #CPRsavesfish
For anyone looking at getting out at this time of year Eamon has put together a great video describing good early season methods…
Make a booking…
Eamonn Conway is one of the country’s top angling guides and a qualified APGAI Ireland Fly Casting Instructor. If you fancy a days guided fishing with Eamonn why not drop him an email at [email protected] or give him a call at 086 1242966.
Nicky Moore with an opening day River Liffey brown trout which wins him Catch of the Week. #CPRsavesfish
North Kildare Trout and Salmon Anglers Association chairman Nicky Moore braved the cold conditions that marked the opening day for trout angling on the River Liffey. Against a snowscape that looked positively polar Nicky was rewarded with a fine Liffey Trout of over a pound. The fish took a nymph but the news from the river yesterday was that there was a hatch of Dark Olives in the early afternoon, and the trout responded well with a bit of a rise. Secretary John Higgins said he wouldn’t have believed it if he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes!
Nicky Moore with an opening day brown trout. #CPRsavesfish
This Bandon angler stayed on for one last cast... beware!
This Bandon angler stayed on for one last cast… beware!
Spring salmon fishing in Ireland has taken off, even with the cold weather we had in the lead up to the arrival of the “Beast from the East” and the freezing conditions and snow it brought with it. Big pike and decent coarse fish catches were also recorded over the weekend but apart from a bit of shore angling the sea has not been so productive…
The River Moy had its first salmon of the season last Friday in Ballina. The fish was caught by Noel Maloney with his very first cast of the year. Since then we have reports of 3 more salmon caught on fly and worm in the Ballina Salmon Anglers water and East Mayo Anglers water. On the Munster Blackwater some lovely springers were caught and released on the Blackwater Salmon Fishery and the Ballyduff Bridge Salmon Fishery beats. Of the 3 fish at Ballyduff Bridge, Connie Corcoran had the best, a lovely salmon of about 14lb. There’s not many sea liced salmon get released this time of year so Catch of the Week goes to both Jason and Connie Corcoran of Ballyduff Bridge Salmon Fishery. A couple of springers were also taken on Lough Currane. One novice had a 10lber on fly on his first try at salmon fishing, while another, more experienced rod, had a smashing fish of 17lb – probably the biggest salmon in Ireland so far this season. The Laune Anglers are still waiting for a salmon on the river, but fish have been reported from further up the system. There were no more fish to report from the Bandon, Delphi or Drowes but the Lackagh opened its account for the year with a 10lb salmon caught and released by John McLoughlin on Wednesday last week.
Connie with his first salmon of the year. #CPRsaves fish. Catch and Release
Five Munster clubs started the Munster Council‘s Team of Four league in chilly conditions on Inniscarra Lake on Sunday. It wasn’t easy going by any means and the top weight of 7.1kg by Duncan Lennox goes to show what home advantage can overcome. The Sheemore Anglers also had some luck in beating the odds and in their Wednesday match last week they recorded weightes to 17lb. Round nine of the Erne Angler’s Winter League took place on Sunday, on a freezing River Erne. In the bitter winds some sections blanked but Lyndon Reid came out on top at Bellanaleck with an excellent 9.900kg. Staying in the North the Monavagher Canal was once again the venue of choice for the Lower Bann CAA league. Fish were nicely spread amongst the pegs and Slawek Siembida had a great match win with 7.150kg of roach on the pole.
The Ray Gill perpetual competition was fished by 17 boats from Lanesborough at the weekend. In the bitter conditions only a few boats caught any pike. In the IFPAC Go-Hire qualifier fished on the Erne, 32 anglers caught 19 pike to 12lb 8oz. Newbridge and District anglers fished the Winder Cup at a venue in the North East. There were just 11 pike caught and released but the biggest was 22lb 10oz and there were 3 other doubles weighed in. The East Clare lakes produced a couple of double figure pike too last week, but the fishing was described as difficult. Finally, Sean Traynor and his son braved the Baltic conditions of the weekend and were both rewarded with new PBs. Sean had a beauty that weighed in at 32lb 10oz and his son Cillian caught a super fish of 18lb 10oz.
Sean Traynor with his 32lb 10oz pike #CPRsavesfish
In Donegal the Killybegs Mariners fished the latest round of their league on a dark night or bitter winds. Flounder, whiting and sea trout were on the feed and an enjoyable, if cold, night was had.
As today is World Book Day we compiled a short list of favourite angling books to mark the occssion – you can check it out here: World Book Day: An Angling List for A-fish-ionados!
And so to the weather. There is a national RED WARNING in place. Blizzard conditions will develop from the south this afternoon and evening as heavy snow and strong easterly winds bring snow drifts northwards over the country. Eastern and southern coastal counties will be worst affected. Further heavy snow showers tomorrow will bring accumulations of significant levels with all areas at risk. The temperatures over the weekend will be down to -5C and there’ll be a mix of snow, sleet and rain in the south with further snow showers along eastern and northern coasts. There’ll be breaks in the weather but it will remain rather cloudy. On Sunday and Monday there’ll be rain, sleet and snow showers along eastern and northeastern coasts with temperatures still very low for the time of year as the easterly regime persists. The winds will gradually ease, becoming light by Monday. The further outlook in to next week is for the cold conditions to persist with light to moderate east to northeast winds and isolated wintry showers. Road conditions in many parts are treacherous and the advice is to stay indoors until things improve. Don’t take any chances – you can always go fishing next weekend instead…
