A faulty pump at the Vartry Reservoir Treatment Plant was responsible for leaking lime into the Vartry River which resulted in a number of fish kills on Tuesday, February 21. The contamination was contained to a 500 metre stretch of the river. In a statement, Irish Water said they were working alongside Wicklow County Council and Dublin City Council to establish in what circumstances lime leaked into the river… Wicklow People, 04/03/17. Read the full article ‘Lime leak leads to fish kill in the Vartry‘.
The first salmon of 2017 has been caught in the Careysville Fishery on the Munster Blackwater on the opening day of the river, according to Inland Fisheries Ireland. Navan angler Ronan O’Connor caught a fresh run salmon on Wednesday, February 1 in Fermoy, Co. Cork. The salmon, which weighed 7lbs, was confirmed as the first salmon caught in 2017 by Inland Fisheries Ireland… Leitrim Observer, 05/03/17. Read the full article ‘THE LAST CAST: First salmon caught in Cork‘.
Minister puts spotlight on pike threat to pearl mussel
The presence of pike on the water systems in North Connemara may be indirectly damaging an endangered species, freshwater pearl mussel, a Government Minister has said. Heather Humphreys, who is responsible for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, has confirmed that the release of pike in some lakes upstream of Lough Corrib may be negatively impacting on freshwater pearl mussel. Minister Humphreys said it was regrettable that pike fish were released into the Owenriff… Connacht Tribune, 02/03/17. Read the full article ‘Minister puts spotlight on pike threat to pearl mussel‘.
Minister puts spotlight on pike threat to pearl mussel
It was another windy, blustery, stormy, wet week for Irish anglers and many saw their weekend’s activities cancelled. All branches of the sport were impacted by the conditions and reports were few and far between, but that’s not to say there weren’t any that wouldn’t inspire you…
Anglers did their best on Lough Currane but they were beaten by the conditions on most days out of the last 7 as the lake was whipped by strong winds. High tides this week had hopes up on many rivers around the country but very few salmon were forthcoming and we had no reports of catches from either the Bandon, Laune or Blackwater. One river that did perform was the Drowes where 3 salmon were caught last week and rods reported seeing a number of fresh fish running the river.
There were less anglers out on Lough Corrib due to the inclement weather but those that made the effort were rewarded and some decent fishing was reported. Hopefully the forecast of milder weather later next week will keep the Ducky fly on track. Staying the west, Lough Conn provided good sport for at least on angler on opening day as Sean Goulding had fish to 4lb 6oz on a Silver Dabbler. Lough Lene at the top of the Boyne opened on Wednesday and there was a good number of anglers out on the lake. Nearly all met fish and some lovely rainbows and browns were landed. One angler with the distinction of representing his country reckoned it was one of the best opening day’s he ever had. As the wild fisheries open, thoughts of working out the kinks enter many anglers’ heads. The ESB angling club were at Courtlough over the weekend to get a bit of timely instruction and enjoyed catching some good fish while they were at it. Carrigavantry and Knockaderry are also fishing well and there are still a few places available in the Nadine Cancer Battle Fund competition on Knockaderry this Saturday.
In the calm before the storm, Derravaragh and the River Inny produced the goods for pike anglers out with Michael Flanagan. One fisherman played the pied piper to good effect and on that day they had 9 pike in the boat.
Oisin plays the tin whistle crossing Derravaragh, the setting for Irish myth the Children of Lir
Many anglers had to restrict themselves to shore angling the during this period of windy weather. This doesn’t mean the fishing has to suffer though. Two groups of anglers in Longford, fishing with Melview Lodge, managed some fine pike into double figures and the Newbridge and District Pike Angling Club saw anglers competing for the Winder Cup land 9 doubles to over 19lb. John Burns fishing near Banagher earlier in the month had 5 pike to around 20lb on deadbaits.
Steo Sheridan wins Catch of the Week for his 19.04lb pike that helped him take the Winder Cup
Sea trout provided excitement and inspiration for the Killybegs Mariners on their most recent outings to Donegal Bay. They found the silver surfers racing through the waves, gorging on sandeel and many were caught at extreme short range.
There is a rainfall warning today for Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Sligo, Clare and Kerry and a small craft warning for most of our coastal areas. You can expect the cold and very unsettled weather to continue right over the weekend. There will periods of heavy rain, with some severe downpours at times, especially in southwestern, western and northwestern counties with spot flooding. Some falls of sleet and snow at times there also. Now it won’t be all bad as part of the south and south west can expect brighter conditions for a time on Saturday and Sunday shouldn’t be awful. After Monday the weather is expected to become a bit milder with temperatures climbing into the teens.
Water levels fell steadily on the Drowes until the 23rd when the river started to slowly rise again due to decent rainfall in the catchment. As February ended the river was in fine fettle reading just over 0.6 metres on the gauge at the Four Masters Bridge.
Patrick O’Malley landed an 8½lb salmon
Four salmon were caught over the fortnight with another hooked and lost and rods reported seeing a number of fresh fish running the river.
On the 17th, Paul McDonagher recorded a 6lb salmon caught and released on a fly from the Eel Weir.
Marty King accounted for a 9lb salmon
On the 22nd, Patrick O’Malley reported an 8½lb salmon caught on prawn from the Mill Pool.
Martin McCarron recorded a 10lb salmon
Last Saturday, the 25th, Martin McCarron recorded a 10lb salmon caught on a Rapala lure from The Grazing’s and Marty King accounted for a 9lb salmon caught on prawn from the Blackwater.
Prospects are distinctly brighter for next week than they have been all season and present rainfall will ensure good water levels for the coming week
Make a booking
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
Lough Melvin
Lough Melvin was very quiet over the fortnight due in great part to unfavourable weather conditions but also maybe, due to a lack of fish reported from the Drowes. As such, we have no reports of the first salmon of the season caught on Lough Melvin. When news filters down of the salmon caught on the Drowes, I think we will see a few boats venturing out this coming week (weather permitting!).
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/
Vincent Appleby reports on another windy week in the Kingdom of Kerry where best efforts on Currane did not meet with success…
23 Feb: Storm Doris takes the headlines as anglers were left stranded on the shoreline as they looked up towards the Waterville Lake Hotel that was, yes you have it, sadly it was demolished.
The Southern Lake hotel, fado, fado
24 Feb: With all the excitement of the falling or knocking down of the Waterville Lake Hotel, my Noble Anglers are still gobsmacked by the Rise and fall of the Waterville Lake. Going by their performance today if my noble Anglers were on site and performed as they are doing on the Lake they would be sacked.
25 Feb: here were 3 boats manipulating in calmer waters today with a nice breeze coming from the West and overcast with heavy showers. Now for the action or the lack of I should say, the only angler to see a bit of action was Kildare and Waterville Angler Mr. Noel Clancy and in his own words and I quote, “5 small Kelts to my rod and all caught on the troll, all put back safe and sound.”
Now to the other two boats, I can say without any fear of contradiction there was no comment and I wonder why, its simple they failed miserably in their duties in all departments.
26 Feb: Lough Currane was on a Orange weather warning alert today as storm force South Westerly winds battered down the Lake, so you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know Lough Currane anglers were fruitless, as all fishing satiation’s were closed and if a boat did venture out? you could say the angler in question was a Cadbury fruit and Nut Case!!
27 Feb: There were 3 boats manipulating this cold day while temperatures were just above freezing and with a brisk and gusty wind from the West which made it feel even colder and to make things worse there were wintery showers throughout the day and all my Noble Anglers got for their efforts were chilblains and cold cramps, come evening all they could talk about in the Bar was about the one that got away, mind you it was a different story after a few jars!
28 Feb: Lough Currane again was on the wild side with a strong and squally North wind with the odd wintry shower. Now for Angling News, the least said the soonest mended and for good reason the anglers that did venture out failed miserably in their duties.
01 March: The pen is mightier than the sword, but in this case the wild Atlantic Salmon is mightier than the angler again yes you have it fellow readers, those so called professionals failed miserably in their duties, that may well be true said one Gillie, you must take into consideration it turned out to be a wild and windy day and talking of the wind and weather, calm this morning but come afternoon there was a wild gale force NW wind with wintery heavy down pours. Amount of rainfall for February 138.7 mm.
That is your ration from the last week on Lough Currane, from your Gillie and the Waterville Fishery, no spin no fly’s just facts. Vincent Appleby
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
Costly work needed on banks of River Nore near Coolrain
Serious damage has been done to River Nore near Coolrain which, if not tackled now will require substantial and costly work down the road. While Laois County Council noted the problem, councillors for the area believe the damage has not been tackled and there is not enough cash to prevent damage happening to the river banks. Cllr Brendan Phelan raised problems at Derryduff, Coolrain at the Municipal meeting for the area… Leinster Express, 01/03/17. Read the full article ‘Costly work needed on banks of River Nore near Coolrain‘.
Costly work needed on banks of River Nore near Coolrain
Lough Lene in Westmeath open yesterday and michael Flanagan was there to sample the first trout of the season. He met up with a lot of local and visiting anglers and all reported catching trout on a mix of fly and trolled lure. Gerry Heaslip, who has fished for Ireland told Michael he had one of his best opening day’s on the lake in a long time and caught some great trout on the fly.
Gerry HeaslipThe bould Michael Flanagan
Lough Lene Angling Association
It is for it’s fly fishing that Lough Lene is probably most famous. The season really kicks off with large hatches of Duckfly in April,( though some hardy fly fishers can be seen on the lake from the 1st March ).After the duckfly there are prolific hatches of olives giving rise to some exceptional buzzer fishing. During the day in July and August Mayfly can be seen hatching and as the sun sets the large sedges ( Green Peters & Murroughs) that Lough Lene is famous for begin to hatch. If you are in the right place an the right time you can have spectaculor flyfishing with fish of 5lbs not uncommon.
There is public access to the lake at “The Cut”. Fishing permits and information on boat hire are available in the local Gala store in Collinstown.
Finally, to join our angling club, you don’t have to be a good angler!, you don’t have to be able to swim!, you don’t even have to be good looking! but You must wear a life jacket at all times when on the water. Web:http://www.loughleneanglingassociation.com/
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.
Mick Flanagan reports on the pike fishing on Lough Derravaragh
MEATH ANGLERS
Oisin Farry
I had the pleasure of hooking up once again with Paul Dempsey of Athboy, and his angling pal Oisin Farry of Trim. The lads love their fishing, and we had cracking day fishing the River Inny and Derravaragh. Paul had a personal best pike well into double figures, and the Oisin lad was also in the thick of the action catching pike on lures and dead baits.
Paul Dempsey
We finished up with 9 lovely pike, and Oisin crossed the lake playing us a few tunes on his Tin whistle. Mighty stuff and you never know we might have an old session some time on one of our Islands, and just might charm the fish into taking our lures.
RICKARDS BACK IN TOWN
Dominic Rickhards.
Dominic Richards’ was back over in Dublin last week, doing some work up in Guinness Brewery and managed to get away for a days fishing. Dominic from Brighton has a soft spot for the Midlands as he has caught some nice fish over the years on Westmeath waters. The Dominic lad is a fanatic lure angler, and we decided to hit Derravaragh, and if the lake got choppy we could head down the river Inny for shelter. Storm Doris was on its way but we got a few hours fishing, in what they call the calm before the Storm. No big pike came on line but Dominic was surprised with the size of lure some of the small pike latched onto.
GALWAY ANGLERS WINS FINIAN DARBY MEMORIAL SHIELD
The planned Midland Pike Anglers competition on Derravaragh looked in hot water last weekend, as another blast of story weather was forecasted for the Midlands. The competition was fished in at times blustery conditions, and we also had a few savage heavy showers of rain.
Kevin McGourty and Eoin McQuinn.
The top prize was the Finian Darby Memorial Shield, and Galway angler Kevin McGourty boated a cracking pike of 20lbs 2oz to win the first memorial competition for the late Finian.Kevin was fishing with fellow Galway angler Eoin McQuinn. I had chat with Kevin back in Murtaghs Lounge where the presentation took place, and back in the eighties he actually worked for a while in St. Lomans Hospital here in Mullingar and also St. Peters in Castlepollard.Pat Healy of Rooskey took second place with another fine pike of 16lbs 12oz, and young Jack Darby put a lot of us older piker’s in our place by taking 3rd place with a pike of 8lbs 20z. Jack is a grandson of the late Finian. Also on the day their was a guess the weight of the winning pike, and we had 4 winners with Eddie O, Donnell Of Mullingar getting it right along with Michael McKeown, Mick Courtney, and Shannon McDermott. Midland Pike Anglers would like to thank Boyle & District Anglers, Conor and Suzanne Murtagh of Murtaghs Lounge in Multyfarnham, Gerry Dooner of Ardagh who carved the beautiful shield, and Joe McDermott who sponsored the bronzed work. The club has a few more competition in the pipeline for 2017 and new members are welcome to join.
GLORE ANGLERS
Glore Angler will run a club pike competition this coming Sunday March 5th with a starting time of 11am, and finish up at 3pm.The Glore River will have risen with the recent rain fall and access should be ok at the club facilities. The club members and I.F.I. staff have done some fantastic work in recent years on Glore, and the club is open for membership.
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.
Kevin Lyons from Melview Lodge reports on the weekend’s fishing for a Wexford crew out in Longford…
John, James, Shay and Cormac from Wexford were up again for a long weekend’s Pike fishing. Once again bad weather hampered things, only allowing limited fishing from the boats. They managed a couple good fish, but after a short time had to return to the shore.
Shay with a fish on dead bait.
The guys would not let the weather put them off and opted to fish from the bank. All managed to net some nice Pike and James had a surprise when he caught a good trout on deadbait.
John with a cracking Pike.James with a bonus Trout on Dead bait.
They are back again soon so here’s hoping the weather conditions improve for them.
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.
