17 May: Tuesday and Wednesday we had fish running from both tides. On Tuesday we had 8 trout ranging from 1/2 lb to 3 lbs. On Wednesday we fished the early tide and had 5 trout to two rods the biggest being about 2 1/2 lbs. We saw some fine fish travelling through but the sun came out at 12 o clock and that finished the fishing from that on. Heavy Showers forecast for Thursday with more continuous rain on Friday which should see some good fishing for the week end. Now that we can get the boats out on to the lake they would be well worth fishing from now on.
There are approximately five miles of fly fishing along the main part of the Owenmore River in Kerry, with 33 named pools and an additional 180 acres of lake fishing in this Kerry beauty spot. The salmon, grilse and sea trout begin to run in April. The runs continue through spring and summer into early October.
Billy Downes reports that as of Monday 15th of May the Laune is rising towards 1M on the gauge at the Laune Bridge after a prolonged dry spell. Despite the low water there were two good fish landed for the week one 11 lbs the other 15 lbs, both spinning. Angling effort was low but the few anglers who did venture out at least had the pleasure of seeing a fish. It is always encouraging to at least know that there is a fish or tow there to fish for. Sea trout fishing was slow there was a good brown trout rise in the fine evenings.
One would hope that there should be an improvement now that we have fresh water and the level is going to keep rising for the next day or so. It should go over the 1m and should be topped up during the week at least giving ideal angling conditions for all methods for the foreseeable future.
Herve with nice brown trout, returned
Prospects: Improved now with the rise in water but with the commercial nets in operation Tuesday to Friday, it’s anybody’s guess how many will be left for local and visiting anglers. But there is always a chance if you venture out.
Billy Downes, Secretary Laune Salmon and Trout Anglers’ Association
Go fishing…
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: billydownes@hotmail.com
Lough Melvin remained low again last week and with the bright weather there was little angling taking place. Most of the trout fishermen are busy with the mayfly on Lough Erne and it seems there were few rods out after salmon. Consequently, there is little to report.
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/
The dry, sunny weather continued this week and once again, the river ran at very low levels. Angler attendance was low and the fishery was quiet. William Rainey recorded 3 salmon caught on Sunday however with 2 of these returned again. The fish weighed 8, 5 & 6lb and were caught on prawn from the Old Sea Pool and The Meadow. There was a also a couple of other salmon caught on Sunday of which, we await details.
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
‘Fleeting ephemeral creatures who live out their whole lives in the course of a single day’
Carl Sagan
Very early on this week I was reliably informed that mayfly had been spotted down at Crover – one or two, so every evening subsequently I made a point of walking the shoreline from Crover House Hotel and down into Captains Bay looking for these large and beautiful insects. It wasn’t until mid-week that I finally struck gold and witnessed myself the first of these long awaited magical flies. Mayflies of course can emerge at any time from April through to the autumn but the principal hatches here are from mid-May into mid-June depending on the weather. The reason why the name doesn’t coincide accurately with the month is because they were named before the Pope changed the calendar and at that time May was a couple of weeks later in the year.
Joe Featherstone, Dublin with ‘a touch of gold’ from Sheelin
This week’s daytime weather was dominated by bright sunshine and temperatures rising above 20 degrees, making trout fishing conditions far from ideal. Fish have no eyelids so if they come up near the surface on a bright sunny day the sun is shining straight into their unprotected eyes, which is as unpleasant to fish as it is to humans. There are many reasons why trout do not rise in spells of hot sunshine but it is mainly because the natural ‘flies’ do not like or emerge in sunshine, for these kind of days it is best either to fish nymph or buzzer deep or better still to restrict your fishing times to the evening from 7pm onwards. That’s not to say that you will never catch a trout on a sunny day, it’s just less likely.
The Hatches
Sheelin Mayfly – hanging out
Buzzer fishing particularly on dry buzzer patterns saved the day or rather the evening and well into the night and were really the only catches right up until Thursday afternoon/evening when the weather pattern changed.
‘Simply the best’ Mick Kelly, Dublin with his first trout on the mayfly – May 12th
Buzzer fishing has been good on Sheelin over the past few weeks, with dry Buzzer patterns taking a lead on the wets and epoxy patterns. Anglers who were willing to fish through the darkness were in general rewarded for their nocturnal perseverance with fish of 4lb upwards, with one Dublin angler taking in an impressive two 5 pounders on the one night.
Lough Sheelin’s magical mayfly gets a fly over from a Hawthorn Fly
But this is May and May for trout anglers is synonymous for mayfly so although it has been actually buzzer fishing that the Sheelin angler should have been concentrating on for the bulk of this week many anglers took their eye off the buzzer ball and somewhat lacked focus as their minds seemed to be locked in to when the mayfly would kick off on this lake.
‘Release’ Christopher Defillon on Sheelin
Last Friday instinct told you that it was going to finally start, soft muggy temperatures, cloudy conditions and the odd mizzle of rain boded well for the appearance of Ephermera dancia. We had two types of heat this week, there was the harsh sunshine heat edged with an easterly wind (coming down from Greenland) and then a much more desirable warm soft sluggish type where you could almost see the grass growth and could visual hordes of mayfly setting forth. The old timers are of unmovable belief that the may blossom or hawthorn falls in tandem with the mayfly and that when this blossom is at full stretch then so too will be the mayfly hatches.
The Catches
A happy angler participating in the solicitors competition on Sheelin (guided by D.C Angling)
Angling numbers increased dramatically at the tail end of the week and into the weekend but the Irish weather had no mercy on the mayfly hopefuls and treated us to some heavy rain and blustery winds on Saturday and again into Sunday restricting fishing areas on the lake and affecting the tentative start to Lough Sheelin’s mayfly season.
Paul Lunney, Derrylin with his beautiful ‘mayfly’ trout caught on a wet mayfly.
On Saturday I had the joy and honour of witnessing a phenomenon, often recounted to me but one which I had never actually witnessed – late in the afternoon there was a particularly heavy shower and then directly afterwards, as if to compensate for the drenching I had received, the water, certainly where I was, at the back of Church Island, literally erupted with trout, this displayed only lasted around twenty minutes but gave me an insight into the magical and inexplicable world of Lough Sheelin’s brown trout.
‘Saturday’s downpour’
May fly hatches came in fits and starts with reports of great hatches then lots of gaps when nothing was seen again. It was all weather dependent and the deluges of rain didn’t help matters, ideal conditions are cloudy, a southerly wind with a soft wave – hopefully Poseidon, the god of weather is listening…….
Kevin Murphy, Louth
We are just at the cusp of the season here on Lough Sheelin, the jewel in Ireland’s angling crown is on the verge of sparkling.
This week the total number of trout reported to the office was 89 – a big leap forward from the previous week. The heaviest fish for this week was a trout of over 6lbs caught by Dublin angler Mick Kelly using one of his own dry Mayfly patterns on May 11th.
Selection of Catches
Pauric Coughlan, Tralee – 2 trout at 2 and 4lbs both on brown wet mays.
Brendan Corr, Belfast – 2 trout at 3 ½ lbs each on a dry green mayfly pattern and a spent.
Donal Ryan, Meath – 1 trout at 2 ½ lbs on a Spent Gnat pattern..
Paul Lunney, Derrylin – 2 trout at 3 ½ and 4lbs both caught on a Green Mayfly.
Thady McAleese, Meath – 1 trout at 3lbs on a French Partridge.
Finbar Foley, Kildare – 1 trout at 5lbs on a Dry Buzzer at 12pm.
Brendan Considine, Kildare – 2 trout at 3 & 5lbs on a Dry Buzzer, late night fishing.
Aaron Considine, Kildare – 1 trout at 4lbs on a Claret Bumble fishing in the late afternoon.
Joe Power, Ardee – 1 trout at 3lbs on a small Grey Wulff.
Vradislov Skorokodov, Balbriggan – 1 trout at 4lbs on lures.
Larry Tierney, Stradone, Cavan – 1 trout at 2 ½ lbs on a wet Green Mayfly pattern.
Vincent Clarke, Knockbride – 1 trout at 4lbs on a wet Green Mayfly pattern.
Bill Chapman, Antrim – 1 trout at 4 ½ lbs on a Grey Wulff.
Barry Fox, Rathoath – 6 trout on May 12th , 3lb plus, 3 on spent.
D.C Angling – 22 trout up to 4lbs
Peter McArdle, Dundalk – 5 trout over the weekend, 3lbs upwards, biggest at 54cm, all caught on Buzzer and Mayfly patterns.
Guided by D.C Angling
The Flies
It was all buzzer and mayfly patterns for this week with dry buzzers and wet mayfly patterns topping the pole. Goslings, Mosley May, French Partridge and a hundred and one versions of the Mayfly both wet and dry were the flavor certainly for the later part of the week with Claret Bumbles, Bibios, Klinkhammers, dry Buzzers and Wulffs featuring in the catches as well.
A catch & release policy is actively encouraged on the lake at all times
All anglers are required to have a Fishery Permit to fish Lough Sheelin which must be purchased before going out on the lake.
Please remember anglers to abide by BYE-LAW 790 which strictly prohibits
All trolling on the lake from March 1st to April 30th (inclusive).
From May 1st to June 15th – no trolling between 7pm –6am and no trolling under engine between 6am – 7pm and
June 16th – October 12th – no trolling under engine between 7pm – 6am.
No trout less than 14 inches should be taken from the lake
Catch and Release
Join the Club…
For anyone interested in joining Lough Sheelin’s Angling Club – The Lough Sheelin Trout Protection Association please contact Thomas Lynch @ 087 9132033.
We would implore anglers and all other users to wear life jackets for their own safety as well as it being the law.
Getting it right – Caoimhe & Oisin Sheridan
Life jackets are required by law – SI No 921 of 2005 – Pleasure Craft (Personal Flotation Devices and Operation) (Safety) Regulations 2005.Water rarely gives second chances and a life jacket is just that – it saves your life.
Please put on and keep on that life jacket until you are back on dry land.
15th May 2017: Apart from a few wet days we have had hardly any rain since last November which is a record in West Kerry. The Bogs dried up so much it was like walking on tarmac. It will take a lot of rain for them to soften to hold water.
The Estuary is full of fish even the dolphins were having a go at them for a while. When they were chasing them some great trout were jumping to escape them, some of them looked like grilse even though it is a bit early for grilse yet.
We have an orange rain alert at the moment I hope it will last for at least a week. This will freshen up the system and there will be a good run of fish.
There are approximately five miles of fly fishing along the main part of the Owenmore River in Kerry, with 33 named pools and an additional 180 acres of lake fishing in this Kerry beauty spot. The salmon, grilse and sea trout begin to run in April. The runs continue through spring and summer into early October.
The Game Angling Instructors Association is holding an Open Day on Saturday 20th May in Foxford, Co. Mayo.
Demonstrations will will take place below the bridge in Foxford from 10am.
Everyone is welcome to come along and watch some of the best instructors from Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and England cover everything from single hand, skagit, underhand, spey casting, entomology and fly tying.
Beginners to advanced casters and anglers are sure to find the day of interest. There will be plenty of opportunities to get pointers on your cast, take part in casting clinics and avail of advanced instruction.
Demos on the day will be from Willie Holmes, Philip White, Ally Bremner, Keith McDonnell, Pat O’Toole, Brian Mohally and Kevin Sheridan.
Scotsman Vaughn Ruckley visited Corrib revently and enjoyed some great fishing on buzzer, including this fish.
Rain dances have been the order of the day everywhere this week, with the possible exception of sea anglers. Rivers and lakes are at extremely low levels this week, following a prolonged dry spell that has followed a dry winter and spring. Water tables are low, soil moisture deficits are giving farmers headaches, and we need a lot of rain to top things up. In the low water, salmon runs have been impacted, and there are few reports from salmon fisheries this wee, although there were some nice fish caught in Galway, and some lovely springers off the Suir recently too.
The very bright sunshine and calm conditions have also had an impact on mayfly hatches, with Duffer’s Fortnight on hold until the weather changes. Some mayfly have been hatching on the big trout lakes, but conditions have not been great for wet fly or dapping, although some decent spent fishing is expected in the evenings. Buzzer fishing has provided great sport on Corrib.
Sea anglers, on the other hand, are enjoying this fine calm weather, which has provided boat anglers with perfect conditions, and some great reef fishing is reported from Killala and elsewhere. That man has done it again, however – skipper Luke Aston of the Clare Dragoon knows just where to find the big fish, and this week he has outdone himself, with a sixgill shark estimated at 1,500lbs weight to the boat! The fish, which was caught by Ben Bond, is our Catch of the Week.
The coarse fishing festival season is in full swing, and we have reports from the 4 day Killeshandra Festival, and an update after Day 2 of the Fermanagh Classic. Good pike fishing is reported from various fisheries around the country also.
The weather is changing today, with rain forecast to spread to most areas later, and a further band of rain from the southwest tomorrow. The flat calm conditions of late will give way to southwesterly winds, fresh and gusty at times, which will be music to the ears of mayfly anglers, but make sure to take care and check the forecast before going fishing.
Anglers are being asked to help in recording some of our rarest fish. Ireland has 4 species of lamprey – the sea lamprey, river lamprey, brook lamprey, and the dwarf sea lamprey – a landlocked and smaller version that is found in some of our lakes. Inland Fisheries Ireland and University College Dublin are collaborating on a research project on these species, and your help is needed!
See the information below – if you see lampreys or evidence of lampreys, please let us know by emailing your report to rarefishreporter@gmail.com. More info on the species and how you can get involved is available at www.ucd.ie/rarefishreporter
Many anglers have already been helpful, and a big thank you to the organisers and anglers at the major pike competition on Lough Derg recently, who were very interested in the project.
Dave O'Reilly from Dublin with his 9lbs Galway salmon caught on the fly
I have been working beside the Galway Fishery for 13 years now, and in that time I’ve seen the weir with half a gate open on a handful of occasions, usually in August/September after a long dry summer. Never have I seen water levels so low in May, but that is the reality this week, with rocks showing in places many anglers would never have seen them.
Despite the low water, very bright sunshine and air temperatures over 20C on most days, a few salmon have been caught this week. Dave O’Reilly from Dublin tempted fate by teasing local expert Sean O’Toole, but managed to land a 9lbs fish on fly.
Dave O’Reilly from Dublin with his 9lbs Galway salmon caught on the fly
Clare man Michael Brown took an 8.5lbs fish on shrimp, while Athenry angler Declan Tuffy had a 6lbs grilse on fly. Dublin visitor Paul Wymes landed an 8.5lbs salmon on the shrimp, while Athlone man Seamus Nee had a 9.5lbs fish on fly, which he released. German angler Werner Meckle, who has been visiting the fishery for many years, landed a fine 11.5lbs fish on the fly. Local man Fergal Cormican had a 4lbs grilse on shrmp, while Gort angler Colman Counihan landed a near 10lbs fish on the fly.
Paul Wymes with a fine 8.5lbs salmon taken on shrimp
Some rain is forecast for the weekend, but whether it will be enough to raise water levels remains to be seen. Imagine complaining about low water in Galway in May!
Declan Tuffy with a 6lbs grilse caught on fly from the Galway Fishery
Grey Duster Guiding
