Water levels were very high all week in Galway, with 6 sluice gates open on the weir, only dropping on Tuesday afternoon when 4 gates were closed. Conditions are now much improved for angling. There are great numbers of salmon running the river at the moment, with many heading on upstream, and there are reports of great fishing from tributaries upstream of Lough Corrib.
Despite the high water, there were 40 salmon landed this week, with many taken on fly in the heavy water. Gerry Hartigan from Limerick landed 3 fish on shrimp, while Eoin Warner from Dublin had 2 fish, one on fly and one on shrimp. French visitor Marc de Veletian had a nice grilse on fly, as did Philip Clifford from Limerick and Galway man Tony Kavanagh. Shay Dolan from Dublin had a 5lbs fish on shrimp. Father and son duo Tom and Robert Falconer, from Dublin had 3 fish between them, all taken on shrimp, best fish 6lbs, while Manfred Wilke from Germany landed 3 fish to 8.5lbs on shrimp. Fellow German Wolfram Hoppe took a nice grilse on fly, as did Oughterard angler Lal Faherty, and Spanish visitor Miguel Gomez was top rod this week, landing 6 fish for his visit, including 3 on fly, several of which were released. The best fish of the week was taken by Dublin man Andy Smyth, a fine salmon of 12.5lbs, but our catch of the week goes to young Ivor Trimble from Northern Ireland, who caught his first ever salmon on his first trip to Galway.
With water levels more conducive to fly angling, and so many fish coming in on every tide, fishing prospects for the next week are excellent.
