Kevin Grimes was guiding for TJs Angling Centre on Sunday and the fishing was good…
Lough Derg continues to fish well for Pike. The photos below indicate that spawning has not finished.
110cm pike – spawning already completed
A couple of very good fish; 110cm (post spawn) and 103cm (pre spawn), were caught by French couple Nicholas and Steecy who were on their first fishing trip to Ireland.
103cm pike – not yet spawned
On 27 April for Sylvain and Jerome Fabre from Toulouse had 5 pike to around 1m. Ted Rice from New Hampshire enjoyed a few hours on Lough Derg with TJ on 25th of April and was rewarded with his first pike and his first wild brownie, both fish caught on a spro pikefighter jointed, and both fish swam away happily. The day before NW winds put a nice chop on the lake making a welcome change from the calm mirror like quality of the previous few day’s. The fish seemed to like it and Trioux Damien and friend Mercier Jerome took full advantage boating 7 fish. The biggest was caught by Trioux at 106cm and just beat Mercier who had a fish of 105cm.
Trioux big pike was 106cm
Go fishing…
Kevin Grimes
tel: 087 6784539
TJ’s Angling centre
TJ’s Angling centre arranges trips and offers support to anglers visiting the Lough Derg area. All our guides are local anglers with a detailed knowledge of Lough Derg and its surrounds. All equipment needed can be supplied or if you prefer to use your own, our guides will be happy to offer advice on methods and baits to use, full or half day trips are available, contact us for prices and available dates.
DO YOUR LOCAL STREAMS, RIVERS AND LAKES MATTER TO YOU?
The Waters and Communities Office are hosting public meetings within the coming weeks to discuss the natural waters of county Monaghan…
If you are interested in water quality, angling, heritage, biodiversity, amenity use or issues affecting your local waterways then this is an opportunity to share your views.
We will present information on the latest draft River Basin Management Plan for Ireland 2018 – 2021 along with details on how you can input into the final plan. The Waters & Communities office aims to get local communities more involved in valuing and protecting our local waters and these meetings provide an opportunity to have your say.
Gretta McCarron, Community Water Officer for Monaghan will present this information and facilitate a discussion on the issues raised. There will be refreshments after the meeting and opportunities to network. The times, dates and venues of the meetings are set out below. For further information contact Gretta on 085 808 5756 or [email protected]. Visit www.watersandcommunities.ie and like us on Facebook.
Location
Date
Time
YWCA North Road Monaghan
Tuesday 25th April
7.30 – 8.30 pm
Ulster Canal Stores, Clones
Wednesday 3rd May
7.30 – 8.30 pm
The Workhouse, Carrickmacross
Tuesday 9th May
7.30 – 8.30 pm
DO YOUR LOCAL STREAMS, RIVERS AND LAKES MATTER TO YOU?
Grace O’ Reilly with her father Padraig were out on Derry Lough, Killeshandra, Co, Cavan on Monday, May 1st. The weather was very sunny and calm with fish jumping from all directions. Grace landed five Rainbow trout herself and between herself and her dad they had 19 rainbows and two pike to the boat. After a quick photo all fish were released.
Grace had 5 rainbows on Derry Lough
Go fishing…
The lake is locally known as Creenagh and is run by the Killeshandra Trout Angling Club. Both members and non-members can fish it using the boats supplied by the club.
You can contact the Chairperson Paul O Dowd on 0876537575 or Kellys Bar, Killeshandra on 0861970626 to organise permits or enquire about membership.
Kevin Lyons reports on the catches from a group of German anglers in Longford…
Hans landing a nice Pike
Hans, Fred, Wolfi and Joseph from Germany enjoyed a week’s Pike fishing at Melview Fishing Lodge, with the exception of Joseph they are no strangers to Ireland. Fishing both hard and soft baits along with some dead baiting produced a good few Pike however a lot of smaller Pike seemed to be in the feeding mood, a couple of big Pike were hooked but managed to avoid capture.
Joseph with one of his first Irish Pike.
This never bothered the guys as they were always in good humour and just looked forward to the next day’s fishing, for Joseph it was his first time to Ireland as a treat for his 60th birthday. Kevin said, the guys were always on a high and it was a pleasure to have them stay. See you next year guys and thanks for some great company.
Kevin has over 30 years experience of fishing in Ireland and is happy to offer a guided tour on your arrival, and to advise where the on-form waters in the area are. We can arrange your bait order so it’s here when you arrive. Melview offers free use of 17ft lake boats with engines to our guests (pay fuel only) and Kevin is happy to assist with any pre-baiting requests. Maps and other information regarding fishing are also available
‘In the spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside 24 hours’ Mark Twain
Christopher Defillon with his magnificently marked trout caught on a team of buzzers, April 24th
I’m very conscious of a quote by Oscar Wilde which goes ‘conversation about the weather is the last refuge of the unimaginative’. While not wanting to be classed as without imagination I still find it a bit of a struggle not to write about the weather particularly as it is one of the determining factors as to how Lough Sheelin fishes, so briefly here it is. Right up until mid-week, fishing on this lake was poor due to crippling North Westerly and Easterly winds which whipped the surface water touching even the most sheltered areas of this lake with its bitterly cold tongue. On Tuesday, along with sharp North easterly winds we were treated to a number of showers of ‘golf ball’ hail stones which effectively killed off any fly hatches and drove the trout down deep (2 metres or more).
A moody and mercurial Sheelin
A reprieve came, thankfully, on Thursday with a rise in day time temperatures coupled with a smur of rain which produced some serious buzzer hatches along shorelines and bays, particularly around the Bog Bay area. Friday again was very cold which affected the buzzer hatches but when things became a little milder around 8pm that evening the fish returned to surface feed.
Danny Murray, Dublin guided by Lough Sheelin Guiding Services
The Hatches
Sheelin was a good place to be this week but only when those temperatures rose to a reasonable degree, at least over 10 which a lot of the time was a bit of a struggle. Some trout were taking olives but really it was buzzer fishing that ran solo for the past seven days here. There were huge hatches of these tiny insects – buzzers – chironomids – non biting midges whatever you want to call them, particularly around Goreport/Corru area, all the way along Bog Bay and into the Sailor’s Garden and better still the Sheelin trout had put them on their menu – as a main course – and were finding them irresistible.
A Sheelin Olive
There is a vast array of buzzer patterns out there but in order to know what to use, the angler must find out at what depth the fish are feeding at and the easiest way of doing this is to study the rise forms. A rough knowledge of the life cycle of this small aquatic insect is useful and nearly vital for the angler in order to choose the right fly pattern and colour.
Sheelin adult male Duck fly
Briefly the adult midge lays around 3000 eggs which sink to the bottom and hatch after a week or so. When the adults land on the surface to lay their eggs they become food for the trout and splashy rises indicate surface feeding trout so maybe a single buzzer or a team of three. Balling buzzer patterns worked well for some anglers in greys and browns.
Trout food – An Olive and a Buzzer shuck
Because buzzers are such tiny insects, size 14 upwards is best with black, white and grey being the most effective colours. From eggs to larvae and then on to the buzzer pupae which is supposedly the most appealing stage to trout. The pupae head for the surface, swimming actively and enticingly as they go and because of that gas bubble there are a few up and down sessions before this little comma look alike stage reaches the surface and ones get there without being snaffled by a trout wriggle about as they attempt to break out of their pupal skin and punch through the surface film to hatch into the adult buzzer. It can anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours for a pupal buzzer to get from the bottom of the lake to the air. When these migrations and hatches occur the trout rise to take the emergers, or tail or break the surface with their fins in an attempt to take the emergers trying to make it to the top. Good emerger patterns are Suspender Buzzers, Shuttlecock and Shipman’s Buzzers. Fish that are feeding a foot or so below the surface with show dorsal and tails breaking the surface because they don’t have breaks so have to turn and go back down, hence the show of fins.
Good surface hatches when temperatures rose
Softer, swirly rises with little splashing suggest the trout are taking buzzers further down, or maybe on their way to the top. If there are no rise patterns at all, this is suggestive that our trout were feeding at deeper levels on pupae and larvae so Epoxy Buzzer patterns worked well and there were some trout over the 4lbs mark caught on this sparse colourful shanked patterns this week.
The Catches
David Connor getting into his stride on Sheelin with this beauty
The heaviest fish for this week was a trout of 6 ¾ lbs caught by Andrew McClennand, Antrim using a team of buzzers in Derrahorn. Total number of trout recorded: 38
Smashing Sheelin Trout
The best fishing areas on the lake were again weather dependent. Sheltered areas, behind coves and island and down along the Western shore were good. Buzzer fishing was best from Sailors Garden, Derrahorn and down into Corru Bay but again this was depended on wind direction. Most days had good spots, even Friday where anglers had to persist till evening time when the cold deflated a little and from 8pm there was a rise of fish to match the rise in temperature. Both Saturday and Sunday were difficult with the strong South Easterly winds making access from Kilnahard and Chambers and down by Crover difficult.
Selection of Catches
Paul Lunney, Derrylin – April 27th 1 trout at 2 ½ lbs on a Buzzer pattern.
Owen Jacob, Dublin – 2 trout on April 26th heaviest at 2lbs.
David Creely, Wexford – April 27th in Corru Bay, 2 trout heaviest at 3lbs on a team of Buzzers.
Pat Gallagher – 1 trout at 1 ½ lbs on April 28th.
Gavin Rogan, Belfast – 1 trout of 4lb on Friday evening, April 28th on a Buzzer pattern at Derrahorn.
Davy Kidd – 2 trout at 2 ½ and 3lbs off Sally Island on Buzzers, April 28th.
Ivars Eglitis, Dublin – 2 trout at 4 and 3lbs on fly lures.
Juris Berzins, Dublin – 1 trout at 5lbs using lures.
Valdis Balodis, Navan – 2 trout at 4 and 6lbs using lures fishing mid lake.
The Flies
Shipman’s Buzzer, Kevin Sheridan
The most successful flies this week were the teams of wets, predominantly Buzzer imitations on di 3, intermediate and in some cases floating lines with a sink tip. A size 12 – 14 dry Buzzer pattern proved successful as well as suspended Buzzers, CDC Buzzers Shipman’s and Shuttlecock and Klinkhammers.
Assassin Buzzer, Kevin Sheridan
Other good flies were the Silver Dabbler, the Fiery Brown Dabbler, the Claret Dabbler, the Claret Bumble, Bibios, the Silver Invicta, the Connemara Black, Black Pennell, the Cock Robin and the Sooty Olive.
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.
A Catch and Release policy is strongly encouraged at all times.
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.
Friends of Loch an Dochais will host the Annual All Ireland Trout Angling Competition on Sunday 28th of May 2017. The competition will take place at Loch an Dochais, Kilcormac, Co. Offaly from 11am to 2.45pm.
Anglers with special needs are invited to attend and compete for the Mary Robinson Perpetual Trophy.
Loch an Dochais
Angling Competition Rules:
Entry Fee – €10 (payable at the lake shore)
Bag limit 4 trout per angler
All legitimate angling methods allowed
No keep nets allowed
The presentation of prizes will take place immediately after at St. Joseph’s Community Centre, Kilcormac at 3:30p.m. This competition is sponsored by Inland Fisheries Ireland, Kilcormac Development Association, Lough Boora Discovery Park and Bord na Móna.
Anyone looking for further information should contact Mr. Denis O’Driscoll, Secretary, Friends of Loch An Dochais, Kilcormac, Co. Offaly. Tel: 057 91 35328.
Gormanston and District Anglers Club has been in touch to let us know that the club is running an open fly fishing competition on behalf of Barrett Boys EDS fund on Sunday 14th May from 11am – 4pm. The fundraising competition is open to members and non-members and all details can be found at the link below.
Ian O'Shea with the first specimen skate (185lb) on Radiance this year
Ian O’Shea, who guides for Bellavisa Angling Centre in Cobh, took a day out to go fishing in West Cork…
Ian with a good huss, about 13lb
We had a trip with Kieran Collins last week out of Baltimore. We had some very nice huss all over 13lb. Dave Quirke had one just over 14lb.
Dave had a huss of 14lb
I got a run first skate on, but the fish dropped it. Then, about 20 minutes after going back down I was hooked up again. It took awhile to get him off the bottom but when I did he came up slowly and with a lot of hard work. When we got onboard and measured, it was 210cm long 160cm wide.
Ian O’Shea with the first specimen skate (185lb) on Radiance this year
Not long after Kevin McG hooked a fish it ran like hell. When we got him up it looked like a shark had bitten its tail off a while back.
29 April: David Forde was a successful angler this morning with this spanking springer weighing just over 9lb on the fly. Well done David!
David Forde had this fish on Saturday morning
At the moment, the Bandon is very low with the river and fish badly needing an injection of fresh water. We are due rain tomorrow and hopefully this will result in an appreciable rise.
Other recent catches include a beauty of 8.5-10lbs for John Morehead on the evening of 21 April. John’s fish was taken on fly.
John Morehead’s salmon
The day before I was delighted to open my account with this springer of about 6lb taken on a worm.
Jason Nash’s first salmon of the season
Go Fishing…
For the new year, Bandon Angling Association have set up a new website which you can view here. A new guiding service has been launched 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. Web: https://bandonangling.com/
Stefan Martin from Killybegs Mariners SAC reports on their last couple of trips to the water’s edge…
Turbot brings a smile to any angler’s face
25 April: Polar airs didn’t deter us from venturing for a short stint over the turn of the tide and we came on a shoal of turbot feeding on the edges in close as gannets dived from above into the sandeel shoals being driven ashore by pelagic fish.
Plenty of turbot were caught, all were released
Some lovely turbot were landed, the longest was 37cm, and all released back for another day, great to be on the bay watching it all kick into life again a great feeling.
You have to work through a lot of smaller fish to meet with the better pollack
29 April: Another great day out wandering the home turf of Donegal’s shores taking in the wonderful vista’s and battling some lovely fish to admire and release again back to the rich waters. Flounders and trout at distance from the rock mark and then the lure rods casting soft plastics out onto the sand and reeled slowly back the pollack would be waiting for sandeels coming in off the sand onto their kelp territory and latch on it was hold on tight as some fine fish crash dived, fantastic stuff.
Sea trout were equally eager to get their share of the sandeels
Most weed patches in Donegal throw up plenty of pollack, you might get over 10 fish weighing a couple of pounds for every 6 to 10 pounder good sport.
No shortage of beautiful coves and secluded beaches in Donegal
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.
Grey Duster Guiding
