Angling Reports
Markus Müller reports
Week ending 30 August, 2009
River Moy
Fishing on the River Moy was hampered by extremely high water levels for the third week in a row. As a consequence, fly fishing was not really possible and most fish were caught spinning. However, the Moy produced a reported catch of 299 salmon for the week bringing the total for the season, so far, to 5,944. The tidal beats of the Moy Fishery were unfishable for the entire week. However, on the Freshwater Beat, 12 salmon were caught. Amongst the successful anglers were: Brian Harvey, UK, (2 salmon), David Callen, Northern Ireland (3 salmon, 2 of which were released) and Alan Jackson, also Northern Ireland (3 salmon, one of which was released). The best angling on the river was again on the Ballina Salmon Anglers’ water, with most fish taken on Flying Cs and worm. On the Mount Falcon Fishery, John Price, UK, had 5 salmon on worm for 3 days, best at 8 lbs., while Alan Dunlop, Northern Ireland, landed a 5 lbs. grilse on the Coolcronan Fishery. Anthony Murphy, Dublin, had a 9 lbs. salmon on Rinanney and Eamon Nolan, Northern Ireland, caught & released 2 fish at 9 lbs. & 10 lbs. on the Foxford Salmon Anglers’ water above Foxford Town. Cloongee produced eight salmon for the week, including 3 for David White, Dublin, 2 for Bernard Lionel, France and one salmon for Roscommon angler, Brian Ingram. Fergal Smith, Dublin and Aengus O’Marchaigh had two fish each on the East Mayo anglers Association stretch.
Easkey River
Angling on the Easkey River’s Fortland Fishery was good over the week with 24 salmon reported, 7 of which were released. Fly angler, Jose Fernandez, Spain, had 6 salmon over 3 days!
Owenmore River
The excellent salmon fishing continued on the Owenmore River for the third week in a row. This was helped by high water levels throughout the week. Again a good average size of salmon was recorded, with many in the 6 – 8 lbs. size range and a couple of double figure fish also. On the Bangor Angling club stretch, Mark Mason, Northern Ireland, enjoyed a memorable week with a total of 6 fish (3 returned), while Jimmy Doran, Carlow, had 5 salmon, most of them caught in “Conmy’s Pool”. Local angler, John Maughan, was successful on the “Rocky Pool” where he landed two salmon at 6 lbs. and 8 lbs. With suitable water levels remaining prospects for the last month of the season are excellent. At this point anglers are reminded that a daily bag limit of 1 salmon is in place until the end of the fishing season.
Newport River
Angling was still slow on the Newport River during the week, with only two salmon reported. Paul Hayes, UK, caught a small grilse, while Frank Rothwell, also UK, had a 7 lbs. salmon.
Ballin Lough
Ballin Lough produced a total of 27 rainbow trout (18 released) for the week. Notable catches came from Irla Reilly and boat partner, who caught 3 trout (2 returned), best at 3.25 lbs. and Emmet Stagg, TD, with 5 trout (3 returned), best at 3 lbs. The best bag of the week was caught by Peter Gray & Mark Foley, Castlebar. The two anglers boated 12 rainbows (9 released), best at 3 lbs. Most successful flies included Black Zulu, Olives & Montana Nymph. Angling on Ballin Lough will continue until 30 October following which it will close for the winter months.
Ballysadare River
The salmon run on the Ballysadare system is coming to an end for the year. Few fish were caught last week.
Lough Arrow
Angling picked up on Lough Arrow during the week with wet fly fishing being the most productive method. Paul Ferris, Northern Ireland, had a 2 lbs. trout, while Roger Fowler, Dublin, caught 5 fish between 1.5 lbs. and 2 lbs., all of which were returned. Local angler, Peter Dunne, did particularly well with 8 trout (6 returned), also between 1.5 lbs. and 2 lbs.
Photo: Alain Kunz from Switzerland with a fine Lough Arrow brown trout
Prospects for the Inter Provincial Fly Fishing Competition (Saturday, 19 September) hosted by Lough Arrow Fish Preservation & District Angling Club are looking good.
Week ending 23 August, 2009
River Moy
The Moy system yielded 284 salmon for the week with the best of the fishing, again, in the middle reaches of the Moy between Ballina & Foxford. The unseasonal high rainfall yet again impacted on angling on the tidal beats of the Moy Fishery and made fly fishing nearly impossible.
While angling on the Moy Fishery was slow, a number of anglers enjoyed success including James Doherty, Donegal, Conor O’Hara, Waterford, and local angler, Simon McHale, as well as Peter Duffy, James Kirk & Jim McCooey, all from Northern Ireland. Mount Falcon continued to fish well with the Bill Whitewell party of four from the UK catching 19 salmon over 4 days. Also on Mt. Falcon, novice lady angler, Margret Pye, UK, caught her first ever salmon! On the Coolcronan Fishery, Ollie Brown, UK and Reg Tyrell, Dublin had a grilse each, while James Cornally, Offaly, landed a 10 pounder on Gannon’s. Up river, on the Cloongee Fishery, Brian Heraty and Liam Burke, Meath, had 2 fish each, best at 7.8 lbs. Other successful anglers included Bill O’Regan (2 salmon), Michael Conway (1 salmon) and Michael Rigney (1 salmon), all from Dublin. All salmon were caught on worm. On the East Mayo Anglers’ water, Angus O’Marchaigh had 3 salmon on spinner, two of which he released.
Easkey River
The Fortland Fishery had its best week of the season, so far. Forty-three salmon were reported, 12 of which were released. Most fish were taken on fly and spinner. The Pritchard party of 4 anglers had a total of 24 salmon and some fine sea trout, with Lee Pritchard catching the best fish of the week, a fine 8.5 lbs. salmon.
Owenmore River
Yet, another excellent week for anglers on the Owenmore River! Very good numbers of grilse were running the river and water levels were suitable all week, although a little bit on the high side. On the Bangor Angling club water, a total of 28 salmon were reported, 9 of which were released. Brendan McGhee had a 10 pounder, while Dermot O’Hora, Roscommon caught two fish including the heaviest fish of the week, a fine 13 lbs. salmon. Mark Mason, Joe Hutton and local angler, Larry Mitchell all had bags of 3 with most fish released. The recent rain kept water levels well up and therefore prospects for the coming week are excellent.
Newport River & Lough Beltra
There was little angling activity on the Newport River during the week. However, Eamon Kennedy, Newport and John Paul Hayes, caught and released a 10 lbs. salmon each.
The sea trout fishing picked up on Lough Beltra with good bags of sea trout reported. On the Glenisland CoOp (Lough Beltra East) side of the lake, Jack Deffley enjoyed good sport with a 4.5 lbs. grilse and 20 sea trout, all of which were returned. Other successful anglers included Pat Burns with a 4 lbs. grilse, Seamus O’Neill with a 3 lbs. sea trout, Aiden Byrne (8 sea trout), Phil Byrne (4 sea trout) and Kevin Byrne (3 sea trout). All sea trout were sportingly returned. On Lough Beltra West, David Edis, UK, had 4 sea trout, best a cracking 4 pounder, on a Peter Ross.
Ballin Lough
The Ballin Lough Fishery accounted for a total of 23 rainbow trout for the week, 12 of which were released. Mr. Broughton, Ballinrobe, had the best bag of the week with 10 trout (6 released), best at 5 lbs. Kevin Beattie also did well with 7 fish (3 released), heaviest at 4 lbs., while Emmet Stagg caught two rainbows averaging 2.5 lbs. Best flies included Prince Nymph and Green Peter.
Ballysadare River & other Sligo/Leitrim Fisheries
Angling on the Ballysadare Fishery was slow despite suitable water levels for most part of the week. In total 13 salmon were caught, 7 of which were released. The best fish of the week, a 7 lbs. salmon, was caught and released by local fly angler J. Trotter.
Fishing on Lough Doon continued to be good, with Ray Measley, Northern Ireland, catching 8 trout (4 released) averaging 1 lbs. Daddys and sedge patterns worked best.
With suitable water levels fishing on the Drumcliff River picked up during the week. Amongst the successful anglers was John Loughney with an 8 lbs. salmon caught in the Lurgan area.
Sea Angling
Belmullet
On Saturday, 22 August, & Sunday 23 August, Belmullet Sea Angling Club in conjunction with Broadhaven Bay Hotel held a 2 day open boat competition as part of the 38th Belmullet Sea Angling Festival.
Forty anglers from Ireland & the UK participated in the event. Conditions were very poor on both days with very strong and gusty north westerly winds. Despite the extremely difficult conditions a wide variety of different species was caught including pollack, coalfish, dogfish, ballan wrasse, cuckoo wrasse, red gurnard, grey gurnard, tub gurnard, whiting, dab, flounder, ling, thornback ray, John dory and cod.
Results were as follows:
1st Greatest Variety over 2 days: Tony Lally, Belmullet SAC
2nd Greatest Variety over 2 days: Peter Coyne, Belmullet SAC
3rd Greatest Variety over 2 days: Arthur Thurratt, Belmullet SAC
Greatest Variety over 2 days Out of State: Peter Ross, Carrickfergus SAC
1st Greatest Variety over 2 days Junior: Conol Gilmore, Donegal
Heaviest Fish Saturday: Kevin Walsh, Belmullet SAC
Heaviest fish Sunday: Arthur Thurratt, Belmullet SAC
Week ending 16 August, 2009
River Moy
The Moy system had a reported catch of 337 salmon for the week. Unsettled weather conditions and changing water levels again impacted on the fishing during the early part of the week. However, a rise in water levels towards the end of the week resulted in improved angling conditions, with most upstream fisheries reporting Saturday and Sunday as the best days while the high water conditions at Ballina over the weekend again made fly fishing very difficult on the Moy Fishery waters.
The Moy Fishery yielded 47 salmon for the week. The best fish of the week, an 8.43 lbs. salmon, was caught on the Ridge Pool by fly angler, James Hewson from Ballina. On the Cathedral Beat, Daniel Barry, Northern Ireland, had two grilse on fly, while Ronan Walsh, Dublin, caught an eight pounder on spinner.
The North Western Regional Fisheries Board, in association with Recreational Angling Ireland, hosted a juvenile angling event on the Moy Fishery on Monday, 10 August. All participants got a chance to fish the Cathedral Beat during the day with specialist fly casting tuition provided by resident Ghillie, Declan Hughes and well know casting instructor, Paddy McDonnell. Although the day failed to produce any salmon, it was attended by 50 juvenile anglers with over 20 travelling from the Leitrim area and proved to be an enjoyable occasion nonetheless. It is one of many events which are held throughout the region as part of the Board’s policy to promote angling for young people.
Yet again, the Spring Wells beat produced some fine salmon catches. Kevin Clayton, Kilkenny, enjoyed excellent sport on the fly with 6 grilse (5 released) for two days, while Sam Allison, Northern Ireland had one fish on the fly.
On Coolcronan, Mark Walsh, Wicklow, had 2 grilse on spinner, while the Foxford Fishery produced 2 salmon for Ciaran Sudway and his son. On the Foxford Anglers’ Rinanney stretch, Paddy Monaghan, Meath, landed a fine 11.5 lbs. salmon on worm and Cloongee produced a fine grilse for visiting German angler, Alfred Weigand. Good fly fishing was reported form the East Mayo Anglers Association water. Amongst the successful anglers were: Arthur May, UK, with a 10 lbs. salmon, Cecil Allen, Northern Ireland, with an eight pounder and Rene Königs, Germany, who had a fine grilse.
Easkey River
The Fortland Fishery reported a total of 9 salmon for the week, all of which were caught on spinner.
NWRFB & RAI juvenile angling day on the Cathedral Beat, Ballina
Youngsters, tutors, NWRFB & RAI staff
Owenmore River
With perfect water levels and the grilse run in full swing, angling was excellent on the Owenmore River during the week. Twenty-seven salmon and some fine sea trout were reported from the Bangor Angling Club stretch. Most fish were in the 4 lbs. to 6 lbs. range, with the odd 8 pounder also being caught. Fishery Manager, Seamus Henry, enjoyed a nice day’s fishing with 3 salmon averaging 5.5 lbs. Other notable catches included an eight pounder for Ronnie Mayock and a 7 lbs. salmon for Peter Maguire, Dublin. With suitable water levels continuing, prospects for the remainder of the season are looking good.
Ballin Lough
Angling was somewhat slower this past week on Ballin Lough. However, anglers reported a total of 26 rainbow trout (8 released) up to 4.5 lbs. Most successful flies included Green Peter and various nymph patterns.
Fishing on Ballin Lough is from boats only and can be arranged by contacting Mrs. Gill at 098 26128.
Loughs Bilberry & Lannagh
Bilberry Lannagh Angling Club held their second junior event on Saturday, 15 August. Twenty-two young anglers participated in the competition. The under 10 section was won by Joe Sweeney with 4 trout weighing in at 4.59 lbs and second place went to Aoife Gray with one fish at 1.79 lbs. In the under 18 section, Tokian Dolan won first place with 3 trout for 3.69 lbs. Runner up was Niall Bryne with one fish at 1.65 lbs.
Ballysadare River
The run of salmon into Ballysadare has started to tail off over the past week. In total, 17 salmon were caught, 7 of which were returned to the river. Local angler, Hubert Henry, had a grilse fishing an Allie’s shrimp fly which he very sportingly returned to the river. Michael Martin, Northern Ireland, also caught & released a grilse on an Allie’s shrimp, while Michael Gillean, Dundalk, had a 5 lbs. salmon on a Garry Dog.
Lough Doon
This small wild trout fishery has fished well for the last week or so with good numbers of, generally, small trout being caught. Amongst the successful anglers were local anglers, Paul Flanagan, who caught 6 trout (4 released) and Pat Devaney who had 3 trout (2 released). Best flies for the week were Green Olive and Green Peter.
Lough Doon is a Board managed, fly only fishery. For permits and boat hire anglers should contact The Blue Devon, Dromahair, Co. Leitrim, on 071-9164134.
Week ending 9 August, 2009
River Moy
Despite a fair show of grilse throughout the system catches were somewhat down this week. The fluctuating water levels and unsettled weather conditions again impacted on the fishing. However, the Moy system yielded a reported catch of 342 salmon for the week, bringing the yearly total, so far, to 5,024, which is on par with the 2008 season.
The Moy Fishery accounted for 51 salmon, 33 of which were caught on the Ridge Pool. James Scotson, Monaghan, had 3 salmon on spinner, best at 6.99 lbs., Padge Reilly, Louth, also had 3 fish on spinner, while Bill Campbell, Scotland, took two grilse on worm, best at 5.53 lbs. Other successful anglers on the Ridge Pool included Monaghan anglers Gordon Sweetman and Peader Duffy, Paul Ainley, England and fly angler, Ivan McClathey, Northern Ireland. On the Cathedral Beat, Kevin Tonge, Dublin, had 2 salmon on spinner, best at 6 lbs., while Rory & Barney Lawn, both Northern Ireland, caught a grilse each. Phelim Donohoe, Cavan, was successful on the Spring Wells and Ash Tree beats where he caught 2 salmon on fly. Also on the Ash Tree Pool, Patsy Smith, Cavan, took a grilse fishing the fly.
The Ballina Salmon Anglers’ water also enjoyed good fishing, with 52 salmon caught, 5 of which were released. Ballina Salmon Anglers hosted a juvenile competition during the week with 20 youngsters participating. The event was won by Reece Moore, with Shane Egan in 2nd place. On Mount Falcon, Roger Morris and friend had 10 salmon over 2 days, while the Simon Adams party of 3 anglers accounted for 15 fish over 3 days including a fine 10.8 lbs. salmon for Tim Richards. On Coolcronan, Paddy Lynch from Northern Ireland caught his first ever salmon and Mick Dennany, Longford, had two fish on spinner. The Foxford Fishery produced 2 grilse for Carlow angler, Jack McDonnell, while Chris Butler, Offaly, had a fine 11 lbs. salmon on worm on the Foxford Anglers’ Rinanney stretch. Upstream of Foxford, Patricia White, Dublin, caught her 2nd ever salmon on a spinner.
Up river, Cloongee produced 3 salmon (best at 7 lbs.) for UK angler, Keith Purvis. On the East Mayo Association water, Alan Jones, Wales, had an 8 pounder on spinner while John Little, Northern Ireland, enjoyed good sport on the fly. John caught and released 3 grilse.
Easkey River
The Easkey Fortland Fishery accounted for 14 salmon, 5 of which were released. Amongst the successful anglers was David Cahill who caught and released a 7 lbs. salmon.
Owenmore River
The Bangor Erris Angling Club stretch of the Owenmore River produced 10 salmon for the week. Peter Maguire, Dublin had 3 grilse, 2 of which were released, while John Ryan, Tipperary, landed two salmon weighing in at 5 lbs. & 8 lbs. Rory Murray and his son Michael, Dublin, also scored on the Bangor Club stretch - they caught two fish, best at 11 lbs. Other successful anglers included Cathal Gallagher, Central Fisheries Board, Toby Gibbons, Westport and Jack Smyth. With increasing numbers of salmon running the Owenmore system and suitable water levels prospects for the coming week are looking good.
Newport River & Burrishoole Fishery
Fishing on the Newport River was rather slow this week with only one salmon reported. Jas Laffin, England, was the lucky angler with a 5 pound grilse and a nice sea trout. On the Burrishoole Fishery, Stephen Sweetman from the Isle of Man landed a 5 lbs. grilse, while the Devery party, UK, caught and released 4 sea trout averaging 1.5 lbs.
Ballin Lough
The lake fished well for the week and 21 rods caught a total of 29 rainbow trout (19 released) with some good fish up to 3.75 lbs. having been landed.
Michael King and Dermot Adam had 7 rainbows up to 3.75 lbs, all of which were released. Willie Scully and Dave Jackson had a bag of 8 trout (4 released), best at 3.5 lbs. and UK angler, Brent Vinall caught 2 trout, heaviest at 2.75 lbs. Best flies for the week were Zulu, Mayfly-Muddler and Hare’s Ear.
Loughs Bilberry & Lannagh
A Charity Competition was held by Bilberry & Lannagh Angling Club, Islandeady on Loughs Bilberry & Lannagh on Sunday, 9 August. Results were as follows:
1st: Ollie Dorrington with 2 fish at 2.66 lbs.
2nd: Mat Fahey with 2 fish at 2.64 lbs.
3rd: Peter Byrne with 2 fish at 2.40 lbs.
Ballysadare River
Water levels were up again and there are still a good number of grilse entering the system. The Ballysadare Fishery produced 59 salmon for the week, 38 of which were released Local novice angler, Joan Bowen Walsh had a 5 lbs. grilse on worm, while John Murray caught 2 grilse on fly, both of which he released.
Week ending 02 August, 2009
River Moy
The Moy had a reported catch of 501 salmon for the week. Angling continued to be difficult due to fluctuating water levels which persisted for most part of the week. However, reasonable numbers of fresh grilse were caught throughout the system.
The Moy Fishery accounted for a total of 58 salmon for the week. On the Ridge Pool, David Marron, Monaghan, had a 5.61 lbs. salmon on spinner, while Edward Kelly, Cavan landed 2 fish also on spinner, best at 6.14 lbs. Peter Boote, UK, also had two grilse on spinner, while Phil Gittins, Wales, had one on fly. On the Cathedral Beat, Joe Wylie, Northern Ireland, and Seamus McEleny, Donegal, had a grilse each, while Peter Boote and David Marron both added one grilse to their account. All fish were caught on spinner. The Spring Wells Beat enjoyed very good fishing during the week, with a total of 16 salmon being caught. Amongst the successful anglers were Donegal anglers: George Heuston (one grilse), Kenny Doyle (3 grilse), Andrew Morrison (2 grilse), Pat Kane (2 grilse) and Chris McLaughlin (one grilse). On the Freshwater Beat, George Britwell, UK, had a small grilse on spinner.
Mount Falcon enjoyed a good week with 60 salmon caught, 18 of which were released. David Hunt, UK, got a fine 12.5 lbs. salmon on worm, while the John Miller party of 4 anglers had 18 salmon for 5 days. On Coolcroonan, UK anglers, Peter Taylor and Annie Taylor had two and one grilse respectively, while Philip Fussell, also UK, had 2 grilse on fly on the Foxford Fishery. Rinanney produced a nice 8 pounder for German lady angler, Caroline Elbas. Caroline was fishing the worm.
Up river, on the Cloongee Fishery, Keith Purvis, UK, had a 6.5 lbs. salmon on spinner. Also on Cloongee, John Mulligan, Damien Quigley and Owen Browne, all Laois, had two salmon each, best at 6 lbs. All six fish were taken on worm. On East Mayo, David & Patrick Corre, France, caught 4 salmon, three of which were released, best at 9 lbs., while Denise Flanaghan, Kildare, landed a fine 14 pounder also on spinner.
Easkey River
A rise in water levels resulted in good salmon fishing on the Easkey River. The Fortland Fishery reported 24 salmon for the week, 8 of which were released. The best fish of the week was caught and released by Henry Smith. Henry’s cracking 15 pounder took a size 6 Orange Flamethrower. Other successful anglers included Gerald Roe, Wicklow with an 11.5 lbs. salmon also on fly and Wayne Oatfield with 3 salmon on worm.
Owenmore River
High water levels and strong winds impacted on the angling during the week. However, the Bangor Erris Angling Club stretch of the Owenmore River produced some fine grilse. Local angler, Gerard Coyle, caught the best fish of the week – a fine 8 lbs. salmon, while Rory Murray had 3 grilse between 5 lbs. and 6.5 lbs. Neville Thomson, Dublin, and James McNulty, Donegal, also did well on the Owenmore River. Both had had 2 grilse each.
Newport River
Angling was somewhat slower on the Newport River with only 3 salmon reported for the week. Anthony Hamilton had one grilse at 5 lbs., while Ray Waters landed two fish at 3.5 lbs. and 9.5 lbs.
Ballin Lough
On the Ballin Lough Fishery, Mark Devereux, France & Ireland, had 4 rainbow trout, best at 2 lbs. Other successful anglers included John Summerville, Galway, and Robbie Williamson, Scotland. Best flies for the week were Green Peter and Zulu. For booking and boat hire, contact Mrs. Gill at the lake (098 26128).
Ballysadare River & other Sligo/Leitrim Fisheries
The run of grilse into the Ballysadare River remained good during the past week. The Ballysadare Fishery reported a total of 68 salmon, thirty of which were released. Alexander Mills, Northern Ireland, had the best fish of the week with a 9 lbs. salmon, while David McCann caught and released a 7 pounder which fell to a Gary Dog.
There was also good salmon fishing reported from the River Bonet. Ian Patterson, Northern Ireland, and Kevin McDonnell had two salmon each. Most salmon were caught on worm or on Flying “C”. On the Garavogue River, young Kieran Kennedy had a 6 lbs. salmon at Kelly’s Bridge.
Lough Arrow
The Green Peter fishing remained steady on Lough Arrow. Gerry Martin had 4 fish, heaviest at 3 lbs., David Gray landed 3 trout, best at 3.5 lbs., while Mary Gunning caught a fine 4 pounder. Elsewhere, Paddy Ward boated 5 trout between 1 & 1.75 lbs. on wet flies.