Angling Reports
Bryan Ward reports
week ending 15 March 2010
River Moy
Water levels on the Moy have continued to drop slightly over the past week. The river is now very suitable for fly fishing and anglers are reminded that fishing on the famous Ridge Pool beat remains free of charge until the first salmon is captured there.
The Ballina Salmon Anglers water remained productive, with a further four salmon being caught for the week. Tommy Egan Snr. and Mark Beattie both had nice fish of 11lbs captured on the worm. Fergal McHale was also successful with a salmon of 9lbs as was Gerry Seck who caught one at 6.5lbs. Both of these fish were also caught on the worm. The Cloongee Fishery produced its first salmon of the season on Monday 15th March, a fine 8.5lbs salmon was caught by Jim Murray while spinning. Anglers are reminded that numerous kelts are moving downstream at present and care should be taken while angling, if a kelt is hooked it should be released as quickly and as stress free as possible.
Bryan Ward reports
week ending 7 March 2010
With the days finally lengthening and warming and the Spring Equinox just around the corner, anglers all over the country are preparing for the spring season to begin in earnest.
River Moy
Water levels on the Moy system are perfect at present for angling. The first spring salmon of the 2010 season was caught on the 25th February by local angler Martin Conroy. The fish which weighed in at an impressive 14.6lbs was taken with the worm and was caught upstream of the Moy Weir. Despite some technical difficulties with the reel, experience paid off and Martin landed this perfect example of a fine spring salmon. Thursday 27th saw the second fish come off the same waters, a 7lbs salmon also caught on the worm by Albert Bradley. Another 7lbs fish was caught by Kevin Langdon on Tuesday the 2nd March with and a fine 12lbs salmon was caught by Declan Gannon on Sunday 7th. Both salmon were caught with the worm on Ballina Salmon Anglers water.
Lough Gill
Lough Gill has produced three salmon to date. The Garavogue/Lough Gill system which had previously been operated on a strict catch and release basis is now open with a small quota of spring salmon allowed to be taken this season. The first fish within the North Western Region was caught by Brendan Gordon on the 24th January. The fish weighed 6lbs 6oz and was caught off Castle Point on a trolled Silver Dace lure. Keith Trotter also had luck on Lough Gill with a fine 11lbs salmon caught on the 20th of February as did Barry Lyons who caught his 7lb fish trolling off Innishfree with a Toby Salmo lure on the 6th March.
NWRFB Fisheries
Just a reminder to anglers that all Board managed fisheries will all be open soon for angling. Lough Doon opened for angling on the 1st March, with Lough Bo opening on the 15th and Ballin Lough opening on the 1st April. Day and evening tickets are available for all Board managed fisheries. Free fishing continues on the famed Ridge Pool, in Ballina, until the first fish of the season is caught on the beat and water conditions at present are ideal. For more information on booking contact the Moy Fishery Office on 09621323 or email info@moyfishery.ie.
Pike Fishing
Water levels in all our local lakes are relatively low at the moment, due to the absence of any significant rain since the start of the year. Increasing daytime temperatures are helping to warm local waters enticing pike to move and feed. There have been reports of some good pike fishing in local waters, in particular Derryhick Lake where numerous pike have been taken recently both on dead-baits and on the fly.
Bryan Ward reports
week ending 1 November 2009
Ballin Lough
Despite the time of year, unpredictable weather and quickly decreasing day length, Ballin Lough continued to fish brilliantly for those who have ventured out. The fishery closed for angling on the 31st October but, during the previous week, the fishery produced 65 rainbow trout for the 11 rods which fished it. A total of 46 of these trout were safely released. Andy Young, Dublin and K McGing had a total of twenty rainbows, eighteen of these being released with the best fish at 3.5lbs while Martin Walsh and Paddy Blaney, Westport, had a total of 18 trout, all safely released with the best fish weighing in at 4lbs. Finally a Mr Freestone, Crossmolina had a total of eight trout with his best at 3lbs. The best flies for the week on Ballin Lough were again the Bibio, Daddies, Olives and Buzzers.
Action from a juvenile anglers’ competition on Ballin Lough earlier in the season.
Bryan Ward reports
week ending 25 October 2009
Ballin Lough
Ballin Lough continued to fish well despite the worsening weather conditions experienced towards the end of the week. A total of twenty two rods fished the lough, accounting for a total of 87 rainbow trout, 51 of these being safely released.
Successful anglers included Jimmy Gibson, Westport who landed seven trout all of which were released including his best fish at 4lbs. Ian Wise also had seven rainbow, five of which were released, the best of his fish weighing in at 2.5lbs. Ronan Gibbons, Galway also had a successful trip, with five trout caught, three released and his best fish a 5lb rainbow. Finally John Warren and friend had seven trout, with four being released and the biggest being 3.5lbs. The most successful flies on Ballin Lough again include the Bibio, Minkies, Nymphs and the Peter Ross.
The season on Ballin Lough ends on 31 October and the lake will reopen in Spring, 2010.
Bryan Ward reports
week ending 18 October 2009
Ballin Lough
Angling at Ballin Lough remained steady over the week which is not surprising as it is the only game fishery in the region available at this time of year. Twenty three rods on the lough for the week accounted for 58 rainbow trout with 48 of those being released. Ronan Gibbons, Galway, had seven trout, the best at 5lbs while Dave Tucker had three fish, two released with his best at 3lbs. Frank Rigney and party, Galway, fishing ten rods had a total of 18 trout, all of which were released with the best of these weighing 5lbs.
The Black Pennel and Butcher have been taking fish but the best fly for the lough still appears to be the Bibio which has been accounting for the majority of fish caught.
Ballin Lough remains open until the 31st October.
Bryan Ward reports
week ending 11 October 2009
I would like to remind all anglers that angling for trout/sea trout ceased on the 12th of October. However, rainbow trout can still be pursued on Ballin Lough which has reported a very busy week’s fishing for all who ventured out and remains open until October 31.
Ballin Lough
The angling on Ballin Lough proved very successful, with a total of twenty eight rods catching a total of 64 rainbow trout, the best of these weighing 5lbs. On Saturday the 10th October the final of the Newport Anglers junior angling competition was held. A number of junior anglers took part in the competition with the top prize of the day going to Ciaran Murry.
Pictured above are Joseph Chambers, Ciaran Murray competition winner,
Martin Hughes and presenting the trophy is Eamon Kennedy, Club Chairman.
Some action from the Newport Anglers Junior Angling competition,
with Mark Hughes waiting for the strike!
Sunday the 11th of October also saw intense competition on Ballin Lough with the Ballina Anglers taking to the water to determine who would bring home the Vincent Beattie Memorial Perpetual cup. The cup was donated by friends and associates of Vincent’s in memory of a renowned angling enthusiast, who was involved in the Ballina Salmon Anglers Committee for some time and also in the setting up and running of the Ballina Community Beat. The competition for the award was stiff, with Mark Beattie, Ballina and friend boating 15 trout with the best at 5lbs, Michael Swartz and G. McLoughlin catching 7 trout and the Quinn Brothers, Loughrea Co.Galway catching a total of 10 rainbow trout, the best of which was 5lbs caught by Joe Quinn.
Mark Beattie and Declan Hennigan came out on top however to claim the Perpetual cup.
The presentation night was attended by members of Vincent’s family, with his wife Martina presenting the trophy to the winners.
Successful flies over the week were the Montana nymph, Gold headed nymph and the Green Peter.
Anglers taking part in the Vincent Beattie Memorial Perpetual cup
competition held on Ballin Lough 11/10/09.
The Vincent Beattie Memorial Perpetual cup winners,
Mark Beattie and Declan Hennigan
with cup being presented by Martina Beattie.
Pike Fishing
October is regarded by many as the start of the best pike fishing, as water temperature begins to drop quickly and those large elusive pike begin to feed in earnest. Derryhick Lough, Levally Lake, Manulla, Washpool and Carrowmore Lough all contain good quality pike. For further information on pike fishing in the region see www.northwestfisheries.ie/fishing.
Foxford based pike angling guide Kenny Sloan enjoyed good sport last week while guiding two French tourists on some of our local lakes. Tomas and Henry Deveaux over the space of two days enjoyed some great battles, catching and releasing two fish at 1meter in length, two at 94cm and six others at between 70cm and 85cm. Anyone who would like to try their hand at winter piking, be they novice or experienced can get more information from angling Guide Kenny Sloan on (00353)879670310 or (00353)949256501.
Tomas and Henry Deveaux with a fine October pike.
Bryan Ward reports
week ending 4 October 2009
River Moy
With the salmon angling season ceasing on the 30th September, the reported catch for the final days was 123 salmon. This brings the total reported catch for the Moy system to 7310 for 2009, which is on par with the 2008 catch. Ballina Salon Anglers’ water yielded over 30 salmon while at Mount Falcon 8 salmon were landed, with all being safely released. The Knockmore water reported five salmon captured while at Coolcronan eight salmon fell, including one for Mick Dennany, Longford, taken on the worm. Byrne’s fishery reported a catch of 4 salmon and at Armstrong’s twelve salmon were caught with six of these being released. Gannon’s produced five salmon while the Foxford Fishery had a reported catch of six.
The Foxford Salmon Anglers’ waters produced over 17 salmon, at least nine of these being taken on the Rinanney water. At Cloongee, John Walsh, Kilkenny, had a fine salmon of 7lbs, taken on the worm. The East Mayo Anglers’ water produced some fine fishing, with a total of 15 salmon reported, including two for Lothar Deeg, Germany who hooked into two salmon on the fly, the best at 9lbs. Fellow German angler Matchais Engles also landed two on the fly with his best at 7lbs, while Dave Bachelor, England, also had a pair on the fly. Ian Holohan, Galway, had great success with the worm, capturing a fine fish of 12lbs.
As the season is now closed I would like to remind all anglers to forward their angling return log books to the Fisheries Board at Ardnaree House, Abbey Street, Ballina Co. Mayo by Monday, 19th October. We would like to thank all Fisheries Managers, Guides and Gillies for their efforts over the season and for supplying the much appreciated information which makes this weekly report possible!
Ballin Lough
Catches on the lough remained steady throughout the week, with twenty three rods accounting for over thirty rainbow trout, the best of which weighed in at 4lbs.
Garrett Mc Guinness and Richard Hines enjoyed some success catching a total of six trout, all but one of these being released. Mattie Foley and friend also enjoyed some great fishing, catching twelve rainbow trout with the majority of these being released.
The Westport Trout Anglers held a competition during the week for the Fitzgerald Cup, with twenty one members taking part and twenty three trout being caught, the best of these was a rainbow at 3.5lbs.
Bryan Ward reports
week ending 27 September 2009
River Moy
The Moy system yielded a reported catch of 389 salmon for the week, a considerable increase on last week’s reported catch possibly reflecting the increased effort as the season draws to a close. The total reported catch for the season now stands at an impressive 7,153 salmon.
The Moy Fishery produced a total of 16 salmon for the week with the Ridge Pool yielding 3 salmon including one for Mark Corps at 6.5lb on the fly which was released and one salmon fell to Roustand Christophe, France, at 3.56lbs caught on the bubble and fly. The Cathedral Beat produced one salmon at 8.5lbs for Ben Carvosso, Dublin, caught on the spinner while the Freshwater Beat had four salmon reported including one for N.I. angler David Kidd who landed a salmon at 3lb on the fly.
Photographed below is French lady angler Renate Sieber with her first ever salmon which weighed in at 7lb. The salmon was captured on the Ballina Salmon Anglers’ Canal Beat, just upstream of the Freshwater Beat on the 26th of September on the worm. Pictured with Renate is her local guide for the day Kenny Sloan.
Renate Sieber with her 7lb salmon
and local Guide, Kenny Sloan
The Ballina Salmon Anglers’ water fished very well for the week where a total of 91 salmon were reported, with at least 11 of these being released. The Mount Falcon Fishery recorded a total of 54 salmon for the week, 39 of which were released. Among those to score at Mount Falcon was Staurt Price who caught and released a fine salmon of 12+lbs which was taken on the fly. The Knockmore Club water reported at least seven salmon for the week while Attymass had a reported catch of at least 6 salmon. The Coolcronan Fishery had a total of 22 for the week, with Alan Caughey, Northern Ireland netting a nice salmon of 14lb which was taken on the prawn.
Armstrong’s, Gannon’s and the Foxford Fisheries all had increased catches for the week, with Armstrong’s producing at least 25 salmon, 15 of which were released. Gannon’s yielded over 30 salmon for the week, with Pierman Bouchard of Switzerland landing a fish of 10lb on the prawn while the Foxford Fishery produced 23 salmon, with Trevor Greene of Northern Ireland having a successful trip, capturing and releasing three salmon all of which fell to the fly. At Rinanney a total of 64 salmon were reported with Thomas Murtagh, Germany, landing one salmon at 10lb, caught on the prawn and Dave Hawley, England, landing and releasing one salmon at 11lb also taken on the prawn.
The Cloongee Fishery produced five salmon, with Beat 1 producing two fish for Johnathon Sykes, England, including one at 12lb, both taken on the fly and released. Beat 2 also produced two fish for Francis Higginbotham, Northern Ireland. A reported catch of at least 18 salmon was recorded from the East Mayo Anglers’ water, with Paddy McDonnell, Swinford, hooking three fish on the fly, two grilse and the third weighing in at 8lb. Lothar Deeg, Germany also banked a fish at 8.5lb on the fly.
Lough Conn
The fishing on Lough Conn was disappointing, despite temperatures being up slightly and water levels continuing to drop to near normal levels.
Pontoon Bridge Hotel had a few boats out over the week, with visiting anglers enjoying some success. Amanda Wills, London, had one trout on the Daddy Long-legs, while Kevin Mc Greevy, Leeds had a trout of 1.5lbs and Gary Flynn, Surry, boated two trout on the Bibio. Jack Mellet had some success on the dry flies, netting two trout totaling 3lbs.
Saturday the 26th also saw the annual Pontoon Bridge Hotel End of Season Competition take place, with thirty boats participating and 59 anglers competing. The competition as ever was run on a‘catch and release’ basis. The spoils were shared by Mike Shanks of the Irish Angler Magazine (three trout for a total of 103cm) who came in first and his boat partner Castlebar man Peter Byrne who took second place (three trout for a total of 102cm). The Derek Wills Cup for best visiting angler was awarded to Julian Makin, UK, who had two fish.
The Boatman Cup was awarded to Ronnie Mayock, Monaghan and Foxford, who boated the 1st and 2nd place winners in the competition, netting a total of 6 trout.
Only a few anglers ventured out from Murphy’s boat hire over the week, where Ronnie Chambers, Belfast, and partner had two trout for the day, the heaviest weighing in at 2lbs.
Kelly’s Boat hire, Cloghans had a few anglers on the Lough, one of whom had three trout for 5lbs all of which fell to the Green Peter. Dermot Dunn, Offaly, and Brendan Levins, Dublin, had four trout between them for a days fishing, while Lou Valgrooton and Paul Vangrotoon, both of Belgium, had a total of four trout for the week, with the best weighing in at 4lbs.
Owenmore River and Carrowmore Lake
Carrowmore Lake produced some good fishing for salmon and sea trout over the past week, with Martin Rouland, Belmullet and Martin McDonnell, Glenamoy having a combined catch of fifteen sea trout and four salmon ranging between 5lbs and 7lbs. The Slattery party, Loughrea Co. Galway also enjoyed good sport on Carrowmore, with a total of 20 sea trout reported and five salmon between 4lbs and 6lbs, with all trout and one salmon being returned.
The Owenmore River fished well with twenty one salmon reported in total. The Pound Pool fished very well where John Long, Dublin, Jim Mills, Bangor Erris and John Reynolds, Belmullet all had salmon. Larry Mitchell had success on Conmy’s and Maggie’s Pools with a total of three salmon, while Eddie Murphy had a 5lbs salmon from the Rocky Pool. Three salmon were caught by Mervin Corway, two of which were successfully returned.
Lough Beltra
Lough Beltra West proved successful for some visiting anglers this week, with Jonathan Smalley, England catching a nice salmon at 7.5lbs plus two sea trout. Flies which proved successful included shrimp patterns, the Beltra Badger and the Green Peter. At Glenisland Co Op, Beltra East Jackie Diffley had a fine salmon at 10lbs.
Ballin Lough
Once again Ballin Lough produced good angling for those who ventured out. Twenty one anglers fished the Lough and reported a total of 48 rainbow trout. Mattie Foley and party had fifteen trout, eight of which were released. Michael Szapag and friend, Switzerland had a total of 12 trout (seven released) while Peter Gray and Timmy Deasy, Castlebar landed five trout, with four of these being returned. The biggest fish for the week weighed in at 4lbs with Olives, Bibios, Damsels and Minkies proving the most successful flies.
Lough Bo
The Lough Bo juvenile angling competition took place on Saturday the 26th and was hosted by the Riverstown A.C. A mix of species was landed on the day and all were counted towards the total bag weight. The winners were as follows: 1st place winning the Joe Mc Gann Cup was Seamus Hailstones with a total bag weight of 3lb 1oz, 2nd place winning the Cheoltas Shield was Connor Gordon and 3rd was Stephen Meehan. Congratulations to all the juvenile anglers who took part in the competition.
Markus Müller reports
Week ending 20 September, 2009
River Moy
The Moy system yielded a reported catch of 263 salmon for the week, bringing the yearly total, so far, to 6,764, which is almost on par with the previous season. Water levels continued to drop further during the week and an increase in rod numbers towards the weekend resulted in reasonable catches mostly in the middle reaches of the river.
Fishing on the tidal beats was still impacted by high water levels with only eight salmon reported from the Moy Fishery including a grilse from the Ridge Pool for Louth angler Padge Reilly. On the Freshwater Beat, Jim McCooey, Northern Ireland, had a grilse on worm, while Melvin Hughes from England caught one on fly. The Ballina Salmon Anglers’ water fished very well, as did Mount Falcon, where 34 salmon (26 released) were reported. Coolcronan reported a very good 26 salmon (15 released) including a 9 pounder for Swiss angler, Joseph Wolfinger, while Rupert Banks, Scotland, had 3 salmon between 7 & 10 lbs. on the Foxford Fishery. Rinanney produced a 9 lbs. salmon for Frank Bastian, Germany, and an 8.50 lbs. fish for visiting French angler, Philipe Tinois. Up river, on the East Mayo Association water, Martin Curley, Galway, landed an 8 pounder on spinner, while local angler, Conor Walsh and John Quinn, Galway, had a fish each on fly.
Easkey River
The Fortland Fishery continued to fish well despite the low water conditions and accounted for a total of 12 salmon for the week. Amongst the successful anglers were Stuart Forester, England, and Paddy McGowen, Northern Ireland who both caught their first ever salmon.
Owenmore River & Carrowmore Lake
Despite the fine, dry weather and low water levels a few fish were caught on the Bangor Club water. Eddie Nixon, UK, did very well with 3 grilse (2 released), averaging 5 lbs, while Geoff Downing, also UK, caught a fine 6 pounder in the Rocky Pool. There is still a good show of fish in the Owenmore River and prospects for the final week of the season are looking good as the recent rain has helped to bring water levels up again.
There was also some angling activity on Carrowmore Lake during the week. A total of 5 salmon were caught and released. Local angler, Denis Somers, had the best bag with 2 fish at 6 & 8 lbs.
Lough Conn
Angling on the lake improved further during the week. While high water levels still hampered the fishing somewhat at the beginning of the week, the fine warm weather resulted in fair to good conditions towards the weekend.
From Pontoon Bridge Hotel most anglers enjoyed good sport. Amongst the successful anglers were: Hanna Goodland, UK and Patrick & John Wills, also UK. Kelly’s Boat Hire, Cloghans, also reported good fishing: Daniel Edwards and his brother from Wales enjoyed a fantastic and memorable day on the lake. Together they caught and released over 35 trout and also lost a salmon! From Cloonamoyne Fishery, Crossmolina, Gary Crossley had a nice 2 lbs. trout, while John & Alex Corcoran caught 2 fish for 3 lbs. Elsewhere, Joe Quinn enjoyed good sport with 11 tout for a day’s fishing. Joe was fishing in the Cuilkillew area near Massbrook.
Most successful flies included Daddy Long Legs, Green Peter, Olive Dabbler, Octopus, Olive Bumble and Bibio.
During the week, the annual “Kieran Lynn Memorial Cup” was fished out of Murphy’s Boat Hire, Massbrook. Thirty-eight anglers took part and the event was won by John Burke, Foxford with 3 trout. Second place went to Michael Noone, Lahardane (2 trout) and Gary Binley finished in 3rd place.
Lough Arrow
The I.T.F.F.A. Inter Provincial Fly Fishing Competition was fished on Lough Arrow on Saturday, 19 September. A total of 72 anglers participated in this “Catch & Release” event which was won by the Ulster Team. The Connaught team finished in 2nd place with the team from Munster in 3rd place. Angling conditions were only fair due to the bright and sunny weather and most fish were caught on wet flies. Frank Kelly, Ulster, was the best individual angler with Barry Fox, Connaught, catching the best fish, a fine 52cm brownie.
Ballin Lough
Angling on Ballin Lough remained steady during the week with 16 anglers fishing and 35 rainbow trout caught (23 released). M. Foley and party of three anglers had 11 fish (8 released), best at 4 lbs., while Peter Gray, Castlebar, boated 9 trout, best a 4.5 lbs fish. Successful flies for the week were Sedge patterns and Dial Bach Nymph.
This prolific rainbow trout fishery remains open until the end of October. To book a boat on Ballin Lough, anglers should contact Mrs. Gill, beside the lake, on 098-26128.
Week ending 13 September, 2009
River Moy
Due to the fine dry weather water levels on the River Moy fell steadily in the middle and upper reaches over the course of the week. Consistent angling was reported from the Ballina Salmon Anglers’ & Mount Falcon waters. However, water levels on the tidal beats of the Moy Fishery remained very high and as a consequence angling was still slow on the Ridge Pool and Cathedral Beat.
Fly angler, Terry McDermott, Northern Ireland, had a grilse on the Ridge Pool, while John Harmon, Louth, landed one on spinner on the Cathedral Beat. The Ballina Salmon Anglers’ water once again was the most productive stretch of the river and the catch included some fresh fish with sea lice. Mount Falcon also had a very good week with lady angler, Maeve Davidson, Northern Ireland, catching 3 salmon (2 released) on spinner. Ben Price was also successful on Mt. Falcon. The UK angler landed 8 salmon for the week. On the Coolcronan Fishery, Sean Harrison, Northern Ireland, banked a 6 lbs. grilse on spinner while Dan O’Riordan, Dublin, had a grilse on Gannon’s also on spinner. Up river, on the East Mayo Anglers’ water, Roy Wilson and John Little, both Northern Ireland, had two salmon each on fly, while Fergal Smith, Dublin, caught a fine 11 pounder on spinner.
Easkey River
The Fortland Fishery accounted for a total of 11 salmon (2 released) for the week. Roy and Sue Howell, UK, caught one fish each on fly, while Ciaran Sudway from Longford landed his first ever fly caught salmon.
Owenmore River
The Owenmore River continued to fish well for the week with 10 salmon reported caught from the Bangor Angling Club stretch. All the fish were over 5 lbs. Amongst the successful anglers was Diarmaid Maguire who caught and released two fish averaging 6 lbs. The heaviest fish for the week was caught by Castlebar angler, Michael Cunningham in Maggie’s Pool and weighed in at 13.5 lbs.
Loughs Bilberry & Lannagh
On Saturday, 12 September the now annual “Cross Border Cup” was fished on Loughs Bilberry & Lannagh. The local team competed with a team from Larne & District Game Angling Association. Honours this year went to Bilberry & Lannagh Angling Club by 2oz with both teams having 5 fish each. The “Kennedy Cup” was also fished on Loughs Bilberry & Lannagh during the week. First prize went to Peter Gray with 2 fish for 2.5 lbs. Runner up was Keith Hopkins with 2 trout at 2.2 lbs. and Alan Browne came in third.
Ballin Lough
Eight anglers fished Ballin Lough for the week and some fine rainbow trout were caught. The best fish of the week was landed by David Eddis and weighed in at 5 lbs. Most successful flies included Minkie and buzzer patterns. Angling on Ballin Lough will continue until 30 October following which it will close for the winter months.
Week ending 06 September, 2009
River Moy
The Moy system had a reported catch of 298 salmon for the week, with the best of the fishing, again, in the middle reaches of the Moy between Ballina & Foxford. While angling on the tidal beats of the Moy Fishery was not possible due to high water levels a few anglers enjoyed success on the Freshwater Beat including Sean Maye, Sligo, with a 6 lbs. salmon on spinner and Mark Stone, UK, who caught his first ever salmon also on spinner. For the second week in a row the best fishing was on the Ballina Salmon Anglers’ water, with most fisheries reporting Wednesday and Saturday as the best days. Mount Falcon also enjoyed good sport. Amongst the successful anglers was Andrew Pearson, UK, with 5 salmon (4 released) on spinner. On the Knockmore water, Thiery Colum, France, caught a cracking 15 pounder on spinner, while Jim Barry, Dublin and Dickie Harte, Northern Ireland, scored on Coolcronan. Also on Coolcronan, Ronnie Douglas and Eric Lowrey, both Northern Ireland, each caught their first ever salmon. The Foxford Fishery produced 3 salmon for John Fogarty’s party from Arklow, while Jim Martin, Northern Ireland, had an 8.5 lbs. salmon on Rinanney. Up river, on East Mayo, Paul Kelly, Sligo, caught a 7 pounder on spinner and Michael Fitzpatrick, Westmeath, landed an 8.5 lbs. fish also on spinner. With water levels dropping gradually and an improvement in the weather, prospects for the tidal beats look a little bit brighter than in previous weeks.
Easkey River
The Easkey River continued to fish well during the week. The Fortland Fishery reported 34 salmon, 8 of which were released. Robert Rountree and party of 3 from Northern Ireland had 16 fish (6 released) mainly on fly.
Lough Conn & Lough Cullin
Extreme rain and floods have hampered the fishing on Lough Conn and Lough Cullin. Water levels rose about 4ft in the last few weeks and are now at winter level. As a consequence, angling was slow during the week. However, some anglers braved the elements and were rewarded with some nice catches.
At Pontoon Bridge Hotel, Mike Murray, Dublin, had 2 trout for 5 lbs., while Trevor Shreve, UK, boated 3 fish averaging 1 lbs. Adrian and Chris Geary, Dublin, had 3 trout, best at 1.5 lbs. From Cloghans, Stephen Browne caught 2 trout for 3 lbs outside Sandy Bay for an evening’s fishing. Most productive flies included: Daddy Long Legs, Gosling and Green Peter.
Lough Conn & Cullin Anglers held the annual “Paddy McDonald Cup” on Lough Conn on Sunday, 6 September. Twenty anglers participated and the event was won by Jackie Coyne, Galway. Runner up was Stephen Browne, Brackwansha and third place went to Joe Quinn, Cloghans.
Owenmore River
Despite a good show of salmon and suitable water levels angling was somewhat slower this week. For some reason salmon didn’t seem to be in “taking mood”.
Photo:
A nice Owenmore salmon goes back.
However, eleven salmon (7 released) were reported from the Bangor Angling Club stretch. Mark Mason, Northern Ireland, had the best bag of the week with 4 salmon, all of which he returned. The “Pound Pool” produced most fish including a nice 6 lbs. grilse for local angler, Michael Noone. There are still good numbers of salmon running the Owenmore system and water levels should also remain at perfect “fly level”.
Lough Arrow
The good fishing continued on Lough Arrow with several anglers reporting fine catches, mostly on wet flies. Local angler, Peter Dunne, had a very good week with a total of 9 trout (all released), between 1.5 lbs. and 3 lbs. Visiting Swiss anglers, Alain Kunz & Sandro Wiki, who were guests of Arrow Rock Hostel also enjoyed great sport on the lake. They caught 6 trout (4 released) averaging 2.5 lbs. including a fine 4 pounder!
Fisheries Awareness Week 2009
On Saturday, 29 August Newport Angling Cub & Westport Trout Anglers in association with the North Western Regional Fisheries Board hosted a Juvenile Angling Day on the Ballin Lough Fishery near Westport, Co. Mayo.
Photo: Cathal Hoban with his 2 lbs. rainbow trout from Ballin Lough.
Twelve keen youngsters participated in the event which included instruction on fly casting by John Fahy, NWRFB, who is a qualified angling coach. After the casting training, the young anglers ventured out on the lake to put their training into practice. Good numbers of trout were seen and some of the novice anglers rose and hooked fish. However, Cathal Hoban was the only angler to land a trout. Cathal’s rainbow weighed in at 2 lbs! The day ended with refreshments at the lake shore and every participant was presented with a badge to remember the day.
Another successful “Fisheries Awareness Week” event was hosted by Bilberry & Lannagh Angling Club, Castlebar. The Club held their annual “Under 18 Fly Casting Day” on Saturday, 6 September also on the Ballin Lough Fishery. The competition was well attended and Bernard Kennedy won first prize with 3 rainbow trout weighing in at 7.5 lbs. The prize for heaviest fish went to Edward Kennedy. Edward caught a stunning 4 lbs. rainbow trout. Other category winners on the day included: Cathal Hoban, Niall Walsh, Dean Carney and Edward Moran.
