Mick Flanagan reports on the trout fishing on Lough Ennell…
We had a few trout from Lough Ennell on opening day, and I believe some readers had to wipe their eyes when reading this report. Ennell is a tough Lake to crack on the trout angling scene, and it’s heart warming to get more reports of fish coming from Ennell.This time around we have the photograph evidence to prove it’s producing a few trout. J. J. Flanagan on Ennell
It will be interesting to see if any anglers are out on Ennell next weekend, and if you are let us know how you get on. Lilliput Boat Hire will sort you out for Boat, Engines etc. Give Pete a bell on 087-6492866. Michael Flanagan Midland Angling
Make a booking
Midlands Angling provide a top class Guiding service covering many of the top coarse and game waters across the Midlands. Visiting fly anglers have landed some fine trout while out with Midland Angling Guides, pike anglers also recorded some net bursting catches including many pike over 20lbs. Top waters include Lough Ree, Ennell, Owel, Lene, Mount Dalton, and Glore Lake just to mention a few. Michael Flanagan Midland Angling
Pike and Trout angling guide. Telephone: +353 (0)44 9348969 or +353 (0)87 2797270 Fax: +353 (0)44 9342781 Email:[email protected]Web:www.midlandangling.com
Mikie kelly and Tommy kelly with Lene Cup and winning trout
Mick Flanagan reports on the trout fishing on Lough Lene…
LEGAN ANGLERS.
Last week on Lough Lene we bumped into Legan anglers Paddy Donnelly and T.J.Keenan. The lads are members of Inny Anglers, and really love their fishing. I regularly meet them at pike competitions, and they were on Derravaragh recently for the Finian Darby Memorial Trophy.
Legan anglers on lene. Paddy Donnelly and T.J. Keenan.
Opening day of the trout season they ventured to Lough Gowna, but unfortunally it was bit colored and they had no luck on opening day. Gowna and the Erne system is huge, and heavy rainfall can often discolor the water for a few days. It regularly produces some huge trout, and we might give it a lash some of these days.
LOUGH LENE CUP.
Last Sunday we lashed out across Lough Lene and fished the first trout competition of the 2017 season. If you remember back to Saturday night, it was blowing a gale, but was forecasted to settle early morning. There was a good turn out of anglers, and we were greeted with strong winds, and a few heavy showers, but it settled before lunch. The Lough Lene Cup was all methods fly, trolling, and spinning and even in such brutal condition it was great to see many young anglers out on Lene.
Mikie kelly and Tommy kelly with Lene Cup and winning trout
On the day my Nephew Mikey Kelly of Newtown Lawns topped the day with a cracking brown trout of 1.70kg, Pat Browne competition captain of Lene anglers finished 2nd with another fine trout of 1.64kg, and J.J. Flanagan was 3rd in the senior section with 1.62kg.
Eleven years old Aaron O’Brien from Mullinganstown in Delvin topped the Junior section with another brown trout of 1.44kg. Aaron had a great day out with dad Brendan and I am sure we will here from the deadly Devin duo in the coming season. Satanta Gavigan finished 2nd in the Junior section with 1.08kg, and Caoimhe Byrne was 3rd with 1.00kg.
Tom Fagan Chairman of Lene anglers thanked all who supported the competition, and the next trout competition is on Sunday 9th April. Once again 11am-6pm, and top prize in this fly only trout competition is the Peadar Caffrey Cup.
Midlands Angling provide a top class Guiding service covering many of the top coarse and game waters across the Midlands. Visiting fly anglers have landed some fine trout while out with Midland Angling Guides, pike anglers also recorded some net bursting catches including many pike over 20lbs. Top waters include Lough Ree, Ennell, Owel, Lene, Mount Dalton, and Glore Lake just to mention a few. Michael Flanagan Midland Angling
Pike and Trout angling guide.
Trim anglers on owel. John Gantly and Henry Sheridan.
Mick Flanagan reports on the trout fishing on Lough Owel…
Trim Anglers
I am nearly sure we featured these two Trim anglers some years back coming from Sheelin after landing a few nice fish on the dap during the May Fly. The lads told me the photograph was printed onto their Mugs for the old cup of tea. Well this time around the deadly duo from Trim Henry Sheridan and John Gantly were enjoying a day on Owel last Saturday.
Trim anglers on owel. John Gantly and Henry Sheridan.
It was a beautiful day, not unlike a July or August day with brilliant sunshine and flat calm conditions. Not ideal conditions for trout fishing, but some lovely fish were caught and a huge number of fish were showing on the surface. John Gantly and Henry Sheridan had two lovely Owel fish the best well over 2lbs. I also had a bit of luck and boated a nice fish, and the photograph just shows what conditions were like. News of Owel producing such quality fishing will surely have had many anglers out this St. Patrick’s weekend. Lough Owel Trout Preservation Association is open for membership, and if you drop into David O’Malley in Dominick Street he will sort out all you need for Owel, including what flies and lures are working.
OWEL TROUT
Lough Owel Trout Preservation Association recently presented Mullingar angler Philip Keena with a study grant. Philip is well known on the angling scene, and is doing his 4th year in GMIT studying marine and freshwater biology. In the past few season Philip has taken scale samples from trout on Owel and Lene, and has learned a lot about growth rate in wild fish, and also the how stocked fish settle into our lakes.
L.O.T.P.A. Chairman Andy Boyle presents Philip Keena with Study Grant.
On Owel he identified some wild brown trout, the oldest at 5 years old. Also his research on stocked rainbows on Lene, and brown trout from Owel was interesting, and having taken samples from fifty-four fish found some were reaching the 4 years old mark. Philip reckons this is a good sign that these fish are over wintering. Philip told Angling Focus that one of the main reasons he wanted to do this research is because there is no monitoring like this taking place regularly on Irish lakes and I think if done regularly on a larger scale we could learn a lot more about the fish we are stocking into the lakes and how they are adapting to the lakes [Ed:Inland Fisheries Ireland does conduct similar research during its National Research Survey Programme in which over 300 lakes, rivers and estuaries are surveyed to establish their ecological status for the WFD reporting cycle. Although the focus is often on wild fisheries and wild fish populations, surveys have been conducted on both Lough Lene and Lough Owel every three years since 2007: Lough Lene was surveyed in 2007, 2010, 2013, and Lough Owel was surveyed in 2008, 2011, 2014 and 2015. Scale samples are taken from trout as well as other species for ageing and back-calculation of growth rates, and there are breakdowns of brown trout age structure in these reports. Results can be found here:www.wfdfish.ie] . This is a very interesting study on our trout stocks on Owel and Lene, and we will be keeping in touch with Philip and wish his all the best on his 4th year in GMIT.
Midlands Angling provide a top class Guiding service covering many of the top coarse and game waters across the Midlands. Visiting fly anglers have landed some fine trout while out with Midland Angling Guides, pike anglers also recorded some net bursting catches including many pike over 20lbs. Top waters include Lough Ree, Ennell, Owel, Lene, Mount Dalton, and Glore Lake just to mention a few. Michael Flanagan Midland Angling
Pike and Trout angling guide.
Dermot Page reports on the Rathcon Winter League final, fished at the weekend…
The winter league final was fished on 19 March with 14 anglers participating. It was a great days fishing with 78 fish landed and a lot more lost. The wind was gusty which made for tricky casting and difficult nymphing so lures were the most productive method.
Karl Owens with one of the brownies from toda
Everyone was limited to 3 fish per peg and Noel Shiels got off to a great start with 3 on the 1st peg. A lot of fish were in the shallows and Roger Fowler and Martin McGorian both got their 3 fish limit on peg 7 by the reedbed. Dave Mcbride landed a lovely 64cm fish which was the biggest of the day and there were plenty of browns caught in the 50cm bracket.
The finish was very tight with about 7 anglers all in contention. Many thanks to all the stewards who helped on the day and to Southside angling for sponsoring a prize.
Rathcon Lake is 8.5 acres and is stocked with top quality rainbow trout. The lake is fly fishing only and designed to allow maximum fishing so that 90% of the water can be covered. The average depth is 10ft with deep holes of up to 20ft in places. The fishery is open all year round and is home to a wide range of fly life, in particular buzzers, sedges, hawthorn and daddylonglegs, all providing excellent dry fly fishing, especially in the summer evenings.
Jason Nash from the Bandon Angling Association reports on the river’s first salmon of the season which was caught last week…
22 March: No springers to report caught on the Bandon since our last update. Current water levels are conducive to good fishing and I’m sure news of the next salmon landed is just around the corner. With big tides due next week, we are hoping this will result in more positive news.
Below are a couple of lovely photos sent into us by a club member from a recent trip out on the river bank. Photos and reports are always welcome!
Angler’s shelter on the Bandonspring sunshine…
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/
Newport Sea Angling Club’s youngest participant Cian Moran, waiting patiently for his first fish of the day during the 2016 National Junior Competition / Daniel Peacock Memorial which was supported by Inland Fisheries Ireland.
Inland Fisheries Ireland announces 79 angling initiatives to receive funding
Angling initiatives which drive participation rates and benefit local economies receive support through Sponsorship Scheme
Inland Fisheries Ireland has announced the recipients of its 2017 Sponsorship Scheme which supports angling events and initiatives across the country. The scheme will support 79 initiatives to the overall tune of €30,000 with a focus on those which help grow Ireland’s angling tourism product and support novice anglers.
This year, Inland Fisheries Ireland Sponsorship Scheme will support:
19 international angling events which will be held in Ireland
15 Irish angling teams travelling overseas to international angling events
28 Coaching/ Juvenile events aimed at novice and young anglers
16 national angling events held in Ireland for domestic participants
1 seminar which will help the exchange of information, ideas and practical experiences on fisheries management
The angling groups, located in 19 counties across the country, will be supported through financial aid and where possible, through resource support from Inland Fisheries Ireland staff members. The Sponsorship Scheme was announced in December with applications invited from anglers, angling clubs and organisations nationwide. In total, there were over 100 applications to this year’s fund.
Newport Sea Angling Club’s youngest participant Cian Moran, waiting patiently for his first fish of the day during the 2016 National Junior Competition / Daniel Peacock Memorial which was supported by Inland Fisheries Ireland Sponsorship Scheme.
Suzanne Campion, Head of Business Development at Inland Fisheries Ireland said: “We have a unique opportunity in Ireland when it comes to angling as a result of our beautiful landscapes and wild fish populations. This is coupled with a large number of engaged angling groups across the country. We are committed to supporting those groups in helping to increase participation in angling and to position Ireland as a premier national and international angling destination. This will grow the recreational availability and contribution of angling to communities across Ireland and will also support businesses and jobs in rural communities. ”
‘Fishing….it makes us participants in nature instead of spectators. A crucial distinction because participants tend to become passionate and protective and spectators tend to become indifferent’
Jerry Dennis, The River Home
Lough Sheelin – moody
Weather conditions for this week were for this month, March, predictably unsettled with highs of 14 degrees and lows of 4. The water temperature remained at a chilly 3 degrees and the lake levels have risen a good 2-3ft due to the recent weeks of rain. January and February were uncharacteristically dry months and then with the influx of rain in March, the fresh and cold water seems to have driven our Sheelin trout down deep. Tuesday and Wednesday were the warmest and therefore correspondingly the two best fishing days of the week.
Christopher Defillon with his Sheelin trout, March 13th.
On St Patrick’s day weather produced what could be termed as ‘hostile’ fishing conditions where blustery and cold south westerly winds scudded across grey uninviting waters accompanied by deluges of rain to complete a fairly bleak fishing picture.
Specially for St. Patrick’s Day a Lough Sheelin Jealous George
A few anglers ventured out for a short while in the morning, some attempting to be patriotic by bringing with them some green flies especially tied for the day that was in it, my favourite being the vividly green Jealous George. Despite the only to be admired enthusiasm there were no success on that particular day.
St Patrick’s Day – Sailors Garden, Lough Sheelin
The Hatches
Duck fly pupa
During the warmer days of the week gone by there were small chironomid hatches in the sheltered bays and inlets of the lake and a mere dusting of duck fly but once there is fly activity of any sorts the trout will start coming up and then those artificial advocates will be in a familiar comfort zone of matching the hatch.
Freshwater shrimp – not a hatch, but trout feed on them in the shallows
The Catches
A beautiful Sheelin trout caught and released by Navan angler Christopher Defillon
The total number of trout recorded this week was 35. This increase in trout catches was mainly down to the lure anglers, from those using replicas of minnow and baitfish on fast sinking lines doing the business. The weather undoubtedly this week has made things tough particularly for those staunch supporters of the traditional Sheelin flies like the Sooty Olives, Claret & Mallard, Watsons Fancy, Black Pennells, Dabblers (particularly Fiery Brown, Peter Ross and Silver), Bibios and Butchers. Doggedly these groups kept to the shallows and shelters of the lake, using sink tips and intermediate lines and although movement of fish was seen with some takes it was tricky and difficult with poor enough success.
‘Great few days at paradise’ Ben Mackay, Scotland with one of his Sheelin trout
Because of the cold fresh surface water, the trout are lying deep so the majority of the catches were caught in 15 – 20ft of water which isn’t really in keeping with the usual for this time of the season, when a large number of trout would be feeding in the shallows but this is a completely different year, completely different weather and therefore a completely different set of rules. The best areas for fishing were Chambers Bay & Kilnahard, the middle of the lake, at the back of Church Island, Inchacup Island round to Rusheen Bay and Merry Pt.
Christopher Defillon with his Sheelin trout (released)
The heaviest fish for this week was a trout of 6 lbs caught by Navan angler Christopher Defillon.
Selection of Catches
Ned Clinton – 3 trout heaviest at 1½ lbs using Fiery Browns.
Andrew Brown, Dublin – 1 trout at 3.5lbs using a Claret Dabbler, March 13th.
Ben MacKay, Scotland – 8 trout for the week, heaviest at 4 ½lbs
Joe Kearney, Dublin – 2 trout averaging 1 ½ lbs
Pat Brady, Cavan – 2 trout averaging 2lbs using Claret Dabblers.
Antons Mostiks, Dublin – 2 trout at 2 ½ and 4lbs on lures, at Church Island.
Olivers Kalnozolins, Dublin – 4 trout heaviest at 5lbs using Minkies and Snakes, fishing mid lake.
Dzordzs Lielvards, Dublin – fishing Sunday March 19th, 3 trout heaviest at 5lbs.
Aleksandrs Mezjanis, Dublin – 4 trout heaviest at 6 lbs fishing around Curry pt on lures.
Dzons Gultinieks, Dublin – Sunday March 19th, 2 trout 4 and 4½ lbs on lures.
Svens Ezernieks, Dublin – 4 trout heavies at 5lbs using lures, fishing mid lake.
Thomas Lynch with one of three trout on his first 2017 outing on Sheelin
The Flies
Trout flies for Lough Sheelin
Lough Sheelin is a managed wild brown trout fishery and because of this it feels somehow that the traditional fly techniques might be seen as more in keeping on this beautiful stretch of unspoilt limestone water so because of this I nearly feel like apologizing when talking about those large seemingly tasteless almost vulgar lures but to be fair this is what’s working now on Sheelin so I need to talk about the elephant in the room. Trout are cold blooded (meaning their body temperature is not internally regulated) so with low water temperatures they will expend as little energy as possible, their metabolisms will be sluggish. A good lure either imitates the natural forage of the water being fished or will provoke a strike because of its action in the water. It isn’t always about food either as trout will hit lures out of aggression or reflex.
Ghost Hair Streamer fly
The successful streamers being used on Sheelin now fascinate me particular the Ghost, long wisps of grey and white, eyes and a suction type mouth, looking more like something out of a science fiction film than what would catch a 6lb plus trout on a Cavan lake but these crazy lures work and they work well. The lateral line on a trout is a long, thin canal that runs horizontally on each side of its body, from just behind the gills to the base of the tail. This lateral line is filled with sensory organs with which the fish is able to detect low frequency sounds and changes in temperature, pressure and water current. Fish also possess an inner ear, and numerous pits on the skin containing nerve endings which detect touch. All this makes for a very vibration – sensitive creature. My ghost streamer creates a vibration in the water that taps into these inbuilt sensitivities and produces strike and the rest is history in the form of a photograph of a beautiful Sheelin trout (for this report).
The Black Zonker
Winds churned up the water, making visibility poor so therefore an artificial must have something bright to draw the trout’s attention and then with the lure brigade shiny lures for poor water visibility and a softer ‘mother of pearl’ effect and perhaps the use of streamers for clearer water would be more suitable. Those using minkies, humungous and zonkers are using di5s and di7s. Nothing is easy early season here and even fishing the big lures is hard work and can be an exhausting day out for any angler.
Anglers fishing Lough Sheelin must remember that there is a different rule for a different day and nothing is constant.
As a consolation to the Sheelin fly anglers, lure fishing is really only an early season thing and as we progress into April, even my lure fishermen convert to flies.
Andrew Brown, Dublin with his 3.5 lb trout using a Claret Dabbler
The most successful flies & lures for this week were the Humungus, Minkies in Grey and Black, Snake flies, Zonkers, Golden Olive Bumble, the Hare’s Ear, the Silver Dabbler, the Fiery Brown Dabbler, the Claret Dabbler, the Claret Bumble, Bibios, the Silver Invicta, the Connemara Black, Black Pennell and the Sooty Olive.
‘Measuring up’ another Sheelin classic
Competition results
On Sunday March 19th the local angling club – the LSTPA hosted their first competition of the season – The Kilroy Cup with a starting and finishing point at Kilnahard Pier. Despite persistent morning rain this event attracted 48 members. Many anglers see this competition as their first debut of the new season on to this lake. Conditions were tough with Stephan Preiss taking the cup with a lovely fish of 3.98 lbs.
Stephan Preiss receiving the Kilroy Cup from LSTPA chairman Kenneth O’Keefe
This competition is in memory of Richard Anthony Kilroy, who lived close to Lough Sheelin all his life and was somewhat of an icon in that he was secretary of the Lough Sheelin Protection Association from the 1920’s to late 1960’s , he was a fanatical trout fisherman and a devotee of this lake.
Lost and Found
An expensive spinning rod and reel were found on Kilnahard pier on Saturday March 18th, the owner can have these back by contacting me on 087 2141500
Ben Mackay, Scotland enjoying one of the warmer days on Sheelin
For anyone interested in joining Lough Sheelin’s Angling Club – The Lough Sheelin Trout Protection Association please contact Thomas Lynch @ 087 9132033.
Gerry Seck, Chairman Ballina Salmon Anglers, with the first salmon of the season from the River Moy
The first fish of the season was caught on St. Patrick’s Day by Gerry Seck, Crossmolina, on the Ballina Salmon Anglers’ water just upstream of the Weir in Ballina. Gerry’s fish weighed 5 lbs. 1 oz. and was caught on worm.
Garry Piggott, Ridge Pool Tackle Shop, presented a prize to Mr. Seck who in turn presented the fish to the Ballina Manor Hotel who made a substantial donation to the River Moy Search & Rescue Club.
Gerry Seck, Chairman Ballina Salmon Anglers, with the first salmon of the season from the River Moy
At Pontoon Bridge, local angler Shane Gainley had a nice eight pounder on prawn.
Shane Gainley with a nice 8lbs. salmon
With water levels dropping, prospects for the coming weeks look good and it is hoped that more spring fish will be reported in the coming days.
Team Ireland 2017 fundraiser competition in conjunction with Cobh SAC. This will be an Open competition with plenty of prizes. Proceed to the Team Ireland Home Nations Boat squad heading to Scrabster later in the year.
Grey Duster Guiding
