The Owenea received a big flood on Monday (0.58m) which gave lovely river levels on Tuesday (0.30m). Thereafter the river dropped until a minor flood on Saturday (0.22m). The gauge average for the week read 0.24 metres. Despite some lovely water levels, only 11 visiting rods fished for the week, mostly during the low water periods! To date, we have 4 salmon recorded for the week.
On Monday, Alan Mooney recorded a 10lb salmon caught on a fly from beat 9. On Wednesday, Davy Arbuckle reported an 11lb salmon caught on a fly from beat 9. On Thursday, Billy Blair recorded a 6lb grilse caught on fly from beat 8 and John Ward accounted for an 8lb salmon caught on a spinner from beat 9.
Given some rain, prospects are looking rosy for the coming week given the increasing tide sizes up to big spring tides at the weekend. The forecast is for very warm weather towards the end of the week and hopefully this will bring some heavy showers.
Make a booking
For info/bookings etc on the Owenea Fishery –
Tel: 074 9551141. (9am to 1pm April to May & 7am to 1pm June to Sept).
Lough Melvin remained fairly quiet again this week with few boats out after salmon. The Mayfly have started to hatch with fly reported in Kinlough Bay and rods reported good sport with Sonaghan pursuing hatching mayfly.
The trout fishing will pick up well now as mayfly hatches increase and given the forecast for warm weather for the next number of days, it will be well worth setting afloat with wet & dry mayfly patterns.
For info/Guides/boat hire on Lough Melvin contact Sean Maguire’s Tackle Shop, Main Street, Garrison. Tel: 0044 7871443304
For bookings/guides etc on the Rossinver Fishery contact Bill McNeary, Tel: 071 9854930 or Jim Hoye, Tel: 0831197428
For info see http://www.rossinverfishery.com/
On Saturday, Julian Ciconte reported an 8lb salmon caught on a spinner from Corry
Monday 15th to Sunday 21st May 2017.
Water levels were fair on the Drowes at the beginning of the week but with the sunny, warm & dry conditions, the river continued to fall over the week. The river fished well given the challenging conditions and the grilse started to appear in good numbers.
On Monday, Brian McEvoy recorded a 9lb salmon caught on a spinner from Briney’s. On Tuesday, Billy Grimes reported a 4lb grilse caught on prawn from Rooney’s Turn. On Wednesday, Julian Ciconte caught and released 2 grilse weighing 3 to 4lb on a spinner below the Four Masters Bridge. On Friday, Urs Mardot recorded a 7½lb salmon caught on a fly from the Eel Weir.
On Saturday, Julian Ciconte reported an 8lb salmon caught on a spinner from Corry
On Saturday, Julian Ciconte reported an 8lb salmon caught on a spinner from Corry. French visitor Antoine logged a 4lb grilse caught on a Rapala lure from Red Roof. Simon Harris registered a 6lb grilse caught on fly from Corry and A. Carty accounted for 2 fish weighing 5 & 8lb caught on a spinner from Corry with the smaller of these being released again. On Sunday, William Marshall recorded a 10lb salmon caught on prawn from the Sea Pools and Nial Kennedy accounted for a 7lb salmon caught on prawn from The Washstones.
At present the ‘sun is splitting the stones’ here and salmon angling conditions are very poor but thundery showers are forecast towards the weekend and these may equate to better water levels in the river.
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
Stefan Martin from Killybegs Mariners SAC with more fishing adventures to make us all a little jealous…
A silver surfer. 30 points and back she goes
20 May: Great conditions of a clean surf and a calm balmy May evening at the Mariners League outing last night and some lovely fish early on with flounders and turbot and trout on the feed early doors caught and released and after that things got quieter but the banter and craic was in full flow. Most points and longest fish (34cm flounder) cash prizes all went to Michael McGettigan at the end peg with a great fishing. Well done to all.
From the rocks
22 May: Roving the shores of Donegal Bay chucking in lures to tempt the frantic pollack and coleys and casting baits for some lovely turbot and other flatties.
turbot and other flatties from the sand
Some great fish caught and released but just being on the bay taking in all the changes of the seasons and the different species and how their actions change with the climate makes for a very enjoyable time indeed. Everything is in bloom now.
Pollack in the dark
23 May: A lovely pollack whilst fishing the beach for John last night measuring 57cm. Meanwhile the Summer League standings after 3 outings and the new grand prix scoring system is as follows
Michael 7
Christy 7
Pat 6
Jonny 6
John 5
Stefan 5
Teams
John/Johnny 29
Gerry/Michael 28
Darren/Christy 24
Dessi/Pat 24
Frank/Stefan 22
Brian/JM 17
Go fishing…
Join the club
Killybegs Mariners sea angling club, Co Donegal runs a shore league, boat competitions and angling trips around Ireland doing the sport we love.
Osgur Grieve reports that after being plagued by low water in recent weeks, a bit of rain last week brought decent fishing conditions to the Erriff, with a flood of 1.86m on the 15th. When the flood did come it was very dirty.
By Wednesday 17th the river had cleared nicely and was reading 1.06m in the morning. Regular visitors Stephen and Philippa Sayer (UK) along with their son Christopher fished the afternoon and Philippa was rewarded with her first ever salmon; the ranched springer weighed 8lbs 1oz and was caught on a Cascade. It gave her a great fight in the Bridge Pool. Interestingly she caught her fish on the same date that her husband Stephen caught a springer last year at the Falls.
By Saturday 20th the river had dropped to 0.76m, visiting angler Jamie McStay fished with us for the day and caught a fresh ranched salmon of 8lbs 12oz on a Conehead Cascade from the Sea Pool.
On Sunday 21st it was visiting angler and ghillie Simon Pont (UK) who was into action, catching a fresh ranched salmon of 7lbs from the Upper Garden Pool on a claret coloured shrimp fly. Well done to all our anglers and we hope to see all our anglers back on the Erriff for a great season during 2017.
Some rain is forecast over the weekend, with heavy thundery showers about which may bring a rise in water level and provide further sport. The Erriff is offering reduced rates for fishing in 2017, with rods available currently for €70 per day (€45 half day) or €350 per week (6 days). For July and August, prime grilse season, the daily rate is just €75. Contact Osgur at [email protected] for further details or to book a beat.
The grilse are in. That’s the latest news from the Galway Fishery, where grilse have arrived in good numbers in the last couple of days, providing anglers with a welcome boost, and 30 fish landed for the week.
French visitors Remy Gateau and P. Schmitt had a grilse each, both caught on shrimp, and local angler Michael Leonard had a fine 11lbs fish on the fly. Dublin angler Dave O’Reilly had a brace of fish of 4 and 9.5lbs, both on fly, while John Anderson from Moycullen had a 4.5lbs grilse. Regular angler James Dunne had a lovely 9.5lbs fish on shrimp, Brian O’Rourke had a 4.5lbs fish on fly, and John McCarthy took a brace of grilse to 4.5lbs on fly. Laois man Frank O’Hara had 2 fish to 6lbs on fly, Clare angler Michael Griffin had a grilse on shrimp, and Tipperary man John Ryan took a 5lbs grilse on fly. Clifden native Louis Mathews had a 10lbs springer on fly, while there were grilse for Clare man Gerry Kelly, Kilkenny’s Jim Delahunty, and French visitor Jean le Moal. Tuam man Louis Brennan had a 4.5lbs grilse on shrimp, while Laois angler Ray Drennan had the best fish of the week, a cracking 12lbs spring salmon caught on the fly.
Fellow Laois man Billy Moylan took a 7.5lbs fish on fly, while UK angler Steve Turner and Longford man Sean Kenny both had a grilse each on shrimp. German visitor R. Gehringer had 2 grilse to 6lbs on shrimp, while his compatriots M. Pfetzing and L. Friesenhauser had a salmon each, including a 9-pounder on fly. Finally, Eddie Corry from Limerick enjoyed his day today, landing 3 grilse to 5lbs on the fly.
Dublin angler Dave O’Reilly with a fine 9.5lbs salmon from Galway
I had a look over the bridge today and saw a good head of grilse holding in the clear water. With fresh fish coming in in better numbers now, and water conditions perfect, fishing prospects look good for the coming weeks.
The mayfly - this little fly has a lot to answer for!
Ronan Cusack reports a busy week on Mask this week, as the mayfly gets into full swing. Reports indicate that fly hatches are sparse in most areas, yet trout are actively seeking food close to the surface.
Mike and John from Scotland had a day fishing wet flies with Ronan on Saturday last and finished with 6 trout over the limit, plus numerous undersize (best fish 2lbs, all returned). Howard Smith and fishing buddy Mike from the UK also fished with Ronan for two days this week in rough conditions and finished with 19, all on wet flies. The lads also returned as many more undersize (best fish 3lbs). Regular visitor to Mask Jim Connell fished with Kevin Egan on Monday last and they had 4 on wets (best fish 2lbs, all returned). Eddy Gibbons and Simon Hughes from Tourmakeady had 6 for a day on wets in the Gortmore area (best fish 4.5lbs). Kevin Sheridan guided for Michael Kingdom and Antoine Bellanger on Monday of this week and boated 19 trout, with 12 exceeding the limit (best fish 3.5lbs). Kevin fished for a few hours every day this week and reported good fishing most days.
The mayfly – this little fly has a lot to answer for!
HF McCloy was in touch to report some good fishing also, very dependent on conditions. One outing in the sunshine produced 5 good fish around the 2lbs mark, in contrast a good wave and a dull day brought 14 good fish to the boat – best fish 2.5lb. Their best fishing was from the Caher Bay and Saints Island areas. HF also reports he is getting married this week, so Mask anglers should watch out for some good fishing tackle going cheap soon!
Overall Mask is fishing well and worth a visit.
A nicely marked trout from Lough Mask (Photo HF McCloy)
Maria Elena Torrero with a lovely Corrib trout caught on her annual trip to Oughterard.
Declan Gibbons reports that anglers, guides and other service providers are reporting very mixed fishing for the past week on Corrib, with some having excellent sport and others reporting patchy or poor fishing. Two notable themes are emerging from speaking with anglers; firstly the large number of small/undersize fish which is very encouraging to see and bodes well for the future, however the care with which these fish are being handled is poor at times with fish welfare being mentioned in angling circles. Please wet your hands before handling any fish, unhook gently and quickly, and get the fish back in the water as soon as possible. Secondly, the number of anglers out on the lake without lifejackets or personal flotation devices – there have been a number of fatal accidents on the lake in recent years, and a lifejacket may have prevented some of these. Please take care and remember your lifejacket – it’s also the law! A bit of peer pressure is sometimes a good thing – people are more inclined to listen to their friends and family, and heed their advice.
Over the week there were reports of excellent mayfly hatches in most areas when weather conditions were conducive to hatching, and fishing to match it. There were long periods of little fly life, however, and the fishing has been patchy overall.
Ger Carrig with a superb Corrib trout caught on a buzzer pattern, and sportingly released
In the Oughterard area Basil Shields (091-552550) reports that guests had mixed fortunes, catching fish on buzzer and mayfly. Larry Kelly, Dublin and John Jacks, Scotland had 42 fish for 10 days, 8 of which were caught on buzzer – one over 6lbs, all the rest caught on mayfly with the best of those estimated at 3.5lbs (all 42 fish were sportingly released). Colin Wright from Belfast had 4 fish for one day’s fishing on mayfly with the best fish 3.25lbs, all released. Shannon anglers Glen O’Connell and Ger Carrig had 3 fish on buzzer for one day with the best fish being 4.75lbs, all fish sportingly released. Donegal duo Milton Matthews and Lindsey Clarke had 6 fish for 2 days fishing, including 5 on buzzer and 1 on a dry mayfly, all sportingly released and the best fish 5.25lbs.
Glen O’Connell with a fine Corrib trout caught and released on buzzer.
Andrew Clay, Dublin and Colman Counihan, Gort had 6 fish on buzzer to 4.75lbs, all released. UK angler William Bickerstaff had 6 fish on buzzer for his visit to Lough Corrib – best fish 5.9lbs, all released. USA angler Warner Stort had 7 fish, all on buzzer with 3 fish over 5lbs, best fish 5lbs 10oz and all released. David and Daniel Dobbs Dublin had 21 fish for 3 days on mayfly with 2 fish over 3lbs. Victor Chalmers had 11 fish for 2 days on mayfly, all released.
Deirdre Forde from Camillaun Lodge hosted the Ferrero/Torrero party of 4 rods from Italy on their annual visit to Lough Corrib, led by Eduardo Ferrero who was on the victorious Italian team which won the FIPS Mouche Masters World Championship in Galway last year. For 5 days fishing they boated 71 trout, all on mayfly patterns. These were the most successful anglers in the week. Other anglers found dapping more successful than wetfly patterns but the hatches of fly were patchy. Deirdre says find the flies and you find the fish feeding!
Maria Elena Torrero with a lovely Corrib trout caught on her annual trip to Oughterard.
A party of Dublin anglers enjoyed good fishing, with Rory McCabe landing 5 fish from 43cm to 53cm, Richard Burgess 3 fish to 44cm ,Shane Cullen a fish of 36cm and Robert Lawlor 2 fish to 36cm, all caught on buzzer and sportingly released.
Kevin Molloy (087-9604170) of Baurisheen Bay Guiding, Boat Hire & Self Catering hosted Harry Couch and family, 6 rods for 8 days landing 80 trout (all dapping), with fish averaging 1.25lbs and the best being 4lbs. Paul McShane from Dublin and friend had 6 fish on Sunday last on wetfly – best fish 4.5lbs. Dave Gordon and Gordon Harrop had 50 fish for 8 days, all released and all caught on wet and dry fly. Ian Banks from the UK had 5 fish for his recent visit to Lough Corrib for one day. Gerry Molloy (www.loughcorriboughterard.com) reports mixed fishing in the area with some guests having excellent fishing on wets and dapping.
In the Cornamona area Tom Doc Sullivan (www.tomdoc.com) was guiding Steve Carew and Ray Hickey from the Fulling Mill Tackle company for 3 days and they landed 16 trout – best fish 2lbs and had many more small fish. Tom himself and Mike Keady fished on Saturday last in the area and had 5 fish on wet fly patterns.
A fine plump trout from Corrib
In the Cong area Frank Costello of Ashford Bay Boat Hire, Guiding & Self Catering (www.ashfordoldschoolhouse.ie) reports of visiting French anglers Remy Gateaux and Pascal Schmitt enjoying excellent fishing in the area, catching plenty of trout for their stay, including one fish over 4lbs on dry mayfly. Jim Connell, an Irishman now residing in Manchester had a trout of 4lbs on Saturday last on a wet mayfly in the Cong area.
Ted Wherry from Mayfly Lodge, Ballynalty (087-4305957) hosted Jason James from England, who caught 12 fish for 3 days last week, and Ted fished with Richard Robinson for the remainder of the week and had 23 fish between them on wet and dry may fly patterns.
On Sunday last The Annaghdown angling club hosted The Paddy Fahy Cup (Boat Competition) with 22 anglers participating and catching 32 fish. In 1st place were Michael Dillon & Micheal Flaherty, with 8 fish for 9kgs. 2nd place went to Adrian Lynch & James Sexton, with 8 fish for 6.05kgs. John Reidy & Gene Haran were 3rd, with 5 fish for 4.75kgs. The heaviest fish went to Michael Dillon with a fish weighing 1.8kgs.
The Mayfly Cup was fished out of Greenfields, with poor fishing reported, and just one boat weighing in fish. The winners were brothers Robert and Richard Reilly.
A short heatwave is due for tomorrow, let’s hope this isn’t the annual Irish summer! The humid weather is due to last until the weekend, with the outlook for breezy, fresher conditions next week, which may prolong mayfly hatches in some areas.
Robert & Richard Reilly, winners of the Mayfly Cup fished out of Greenfields
Trout fishing on Lough Arrow received a damper with blustery showers and strong winds impacting at times. However, some mayflies were hatching in sheltered areas allowing for some good spent fishing.
Phill Siddal, UK, had 3 trout (all returned) to 1.5 lbs. on a Grey Wulff, while Gerry Martin caught 4 fish to 3 lbs. on dry mayflies. Ken Murray and Gerry Kelly had 6 trout over the weekend on wets. Lady angler, Sarah Maxwell, boated 2 trout at 3 lbs. 12 oz. & 2 lbs. 10 oz. on the dap.
Michael Dix, Cork, with his best Ridge Pool salmon weighing 13.75 lbs.
The Moy system produced over 200 salmon for the week bringing the yearly total, so far, to 571. It was the best week of the year so far and good catches were reported throughout the system with the Moy Fishery beats and the middle reaches fishing best.
On the Ridge Pool, Michael Dix, Cork, had 3 salmon on fly (2 released), best at 13.75 lbs. The Weir Pool produced 2 salmon for fly angler John McKinley, Athlone, while Gerhard Linder, Norway, landed a nice brace (8 lbs. & 9.5 lbs.) on the Cathedral Beat also on fly.
Norwegian visitor, Gerhard Linder, with his two Cathedral Beat salmonMichael Dix, Cork, with his best Ridge Pool salmon weighing 13.75 lbs.
On Mt. Falcon, Jim Wilson had a ten pounder on fly, while Willie Sheppard caught the first three fish of the season on Coolcronan. Swiss visitor, Jurg Gasser, did well on Gannon’s where he landed an 8 lbs. fish on prawn. The Foxford Fishery also did well during the week with Quentin Condo, Canada, catching a 6 lbs. salmon on fly.
Further up river on Cloongee, a group of 4 French anglers guided by Tierry Coulm enjoyed good sport landing a total of 10 salmon on spinner and bubble & fly. Garrett McMorrow, Northern Ireland, had a fine 11 lbs. salmon on worm fishing East Mayo.
