Salmon Fishing Blog
Old Wives Tales or Great Fishing Pointers?
I was just looking at an interesting thread on the Salmon Fishing Forum about good salmon taking indicators. I thought I'd share some of the highlights with you.
The most popular theory is fishing within a few yards of where high tension wires cross the river. This is definitely one I would subscribe to. Maybe it's the magnetic field that stirs the fish or maybe it's just that others are afraid to fish with overhead wires, but whatever it is, you could do worse than to check it out when you have a chance. Needless to say, be very careful with overhead HT wires and roll cast if you can.
Other theories include fishing when swallows are swooping down, when the temperature changes, when it begins to rain, and even where otter tracks enter the river! Whether or not you buy into any of these, it wouldn't do any harm to keep an eye out for them when you're next on the river. You never know when your luck could change.
You can read the rest of the thread at the Salmon Fishing Forum : Reading Mother Nature.
Atlantic Salmon Research Results Eagerly Awaited
For the past four years the Salmon and Trout Research Centre at East Stoke, in Dorset, has been tagging young salmon before they head out to sea. This April it is hoped that the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust's staff will be able to start collecting and analyzing data from this research effort. The ultimate hope is that the data will help shed some light on why our Atlantic salmon stocks have dwindled by 70% over the past decade or so.
As most anglers know, there are heated debates as to why our stocks are in such a predicament. Some of the reasons given are pollution, climate change, legal netting at sea and in the estuaries, poaching, angling pressure and the destruction of spawning grounds. In truth, the likelihood is that it's all of the above and its going to take a concerted effort on many fronts to arrest the alarming decline. Hopefully this research will add more hard data so that each of these battles can be fought more effectively.
The laboratory staff operating on the River Frome has tagged 10,000 fish in each of the last four years, with Passive Integrated Transmitters (PIT) tags. Before they are released, each fish's vital data is recorded, using the tag to match the data to each individual fish. When (or if) those fish return from the sea, the researchers can start to answer questions such as, how does their size just prior to migration, affect their chances of survival. With a bit of luck we'll get answers to a whole variety of questions, which will ultimately help us save our salmon stocks.
For more details on the research visit the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust.
Spring Salmon Fishing Needs Water!
Finally springtime in Ireland has started to warm up but despite that we still await a decent run of water. The spring salmon fishing has been slow thus far, with a few exceptions such as Michael Mc Cormack's 10.2lber from the Green Bank on the Munster Blackwater's Upper Kilmurry stretch (see photo). On St Patrick's Day, Michael had another fish to make it four in total for the Blackwater Lodge beats, while the first Fort William fish (of 7lb) was landed on the spinner by Connie Corcoran on Saturday.
In the South West 2 fish were taken on the Killarney lakes and Lough Leane by trolling, but the Laune, Bandon and Flesk all drew blanks. Three fish were taken on the Lee over the course of the week. The story was similar on Lough Currane where only one fish was reported from the rod of Tony Sullivan from Caherciveen, but a nice 3.5lb sea trout was also caught and released by John Buckley of Killarney.
In the Shannon region both the Feale and Smearlagh drew blanks but at least they have the prospect of some rain over the next few days! Moving North West the Moy's Ridge pool is still free, which means that the first salmon has yet to be landed. The Ballina Salmon Anglers water has produced another 4 fish, with Tommy Egan Snr and Mark Beattie each landing fish of 11lbs. The Cloongee Fishery produced its first fish on Monday the 15th in the form of an 8.5 lber caught by Jim Murray.
The Drowes has been lightly fished due to the low water but Ryan McKnight reported a salmon caught on a yellow shrimp fly from the Island Pool (on Tuesday), with Derek Glynn banking a 7lber on Saturday. The Mourne really needs some water before any action is likely.
Well, fingers crossed from some decent rainfall this weekend!
Hywel Morgan Coming To Loughs Agency Fair
Hywel Morgan is one of fishing's best known characters. Those of you fortunate enough to have already seen one of his casting demonstrations will know what I mean! A joker and expert caster in equal measures :) You'll enjoy his demonstration immensely.
Hywel hails from Wales and he grew up along side the Teifi and Ystwyth rivers, both famous for their sea trout. He has produced many fishing DVDs over the years and you can find out more on his website.
If you have time, go and see him at the Loughs Agency fair. It will be well worth the trip. You can find out more about the fair on the Loughs Agency blog.
Weather Plays Havoc With Irish Spring Fishing
Conditions haven't been favourable for the springers thus far, and returns have been poor. The prolonged cold weather, coupled with low water conditions makes it very difficult to judge how many spring fish have entered our rivers, and after last year fishermen are keen to see a recovery.
This week there were a few fish taken on Lough Currane, mostly on the troll, including the fine 8lber by Michael O' Sullivan (see photo). On the Feale and Smearlagh there haven't been any recent reports of fish with the water very low for this time of the year. On the Clare River it was a similar story with only kelts being taken and returned.
On the River Moy, Declan Gannon took a nice 12lber on the Ballina Salmon Anglers stretch (on the worm). No fish have been taken on the Ridge Pool so far so fishing is still free there until the first fish of the season is caught. You can book by contacting the Moy Fishery Office on +353 962 1323 or email info@moyfishery.ie. On Lough Gill they've had three salmon thus far (on the troll) with the best of them weighing in at 11lbs.
Blackwater Lodge has just reported its second fish of the season, whilst on the Drowes fishing has been light with just a couple of 10lbers taken on Saturday last. On the River Mourne there were unconfirmed reports on one fish being taken but conditions are very poor and a really good flood is required.
It looks like we're all going to have to sit tight and wait on some precious water!
Google Street View Hits Northern Ireland
A few years ago Google introduced a feature whereby users could view their maps right down to the street level. Its taken a while but since yesterday this feature is now available for Northern Ireland. What it means is you'll be able to see some of the river crossings on our best Salmon rivers!
Ever wondered what the Moyola looks like at Castldawson? What about the Roe at Dungiven or the Faughan at Campsie?
The only downside is that these pictures are static so you wont be able to get an idea of fishing conditions, but still most images give you an idea of the characteristics of the river, and that's really valuable for visiting angers. Roll on the day when Google get their (river) webcams in place :)
Just before I sign off I'll link to a couple more. Here is the Clady at the Waterwall Bar (near the fishing club) and the Mourne at Victoria Bridge. And finally here's one for you to Guess!
River Status Changes For 2010
There have been a few river status changes for 2010, some perhaps more interesting than others. My personal favourite is the re-opening of the River Clady (Letterkenny District), which is now catch & release for 2010, after being closed for this past few years. The Eske has also been re-opened to catch & release for 2010. I'm still looking forward to the re-opening of the Lackagh but we'll have to wait for another year as it remains closed for 2010.
In the Waterford District the Nore is now open after it was catch & release in 2009. The same is true in the Ballinakill District, where the Culfin is now an open fishery. In the Cork District, the Glengarriff has been closed for 2010. In Kerry, the Kerry Blackwater has been closed, whilst the Ferta (previously closed), the Maine (previously c & r) and the Croanshagh (previously c & r), are all now open fisheries.
You can get the full list of river status' from the Central Fisheries Board website.
March Brown On The Decline!
One for all you trout fishermen out there! The March brown (Rhithrogena Germanica) is declining across Europe and the Ephemeroptera Recording Scheme (ERS) is running a survey this year to establish the distribution of this iconic mayfly in the UK and Ireland.
The March brown 'season' is almost upon us and Craig Macadam of the ERS would be grateful if fishermen all over the UK and Ireland could distribute this March Brown Survey Sheet far and wide, so that the ERS receive as many records as possible. Please also have a look for this distinctive species on your local river and feel free to send digital images of specimens if you would like confirmation of your identification.
For further information contact Craig Macadam at the Ephemeroptera Recording Scheme (www.ephemeroptera.org.uk). Tel: +44 7786 631369.
First Springer Of The Season At Blackwater Lodge
The first springer of the season on the Blackwater Lodge beats was bagged on the 6th of March by Newcastle (Co Down) native, Gavin Wishart. It was double glee for Gavin as he celebrated his 40th birthday the same weekend.
The salmon was tempted by a Flying C at Cloonbeg. The fish would have been released but for some bleeding from its gills, so it had to be kept. Gavin had previously connected with a fish before landing his fine springer. Let's hope its a sign of things to come for the season in terms of getting a good run of fish. Conditions throughout February have been harsh in Ireland, which would account for the small numbers of fishermen and of fish.
You can see more fishing reports from the Blackwater Lodge here.
Picture by Ian Powell.
2010 Loughs Agency Fair
The Loughs Agency has announced that the 2010 angling fair will be held at a riverside location in Newtonstewart, County Tyrone. The venue has been selected because of its central location within the Foyle catchment area, and its proximity to the rivers Strule and Owenkillew.
The fair will take place on the 17th and 18th of April and will feature a wide range of trade stands, fly tying demonstrations, casting demonstrations, competitions, and as usual a fantastic collection of fly tiers from all over the world.
This year the international fly tiers include names such as, Marvin Nolte (USA), Johan Put (Holland), Ad Swier (Holland), Riny Sluiter (Holland), Sacha Putz (Germany), and Skuli Kristinsson (Iceland). The Irish fly tiers on display will include, Peter Kealy, Peter Dunne, Declan Tuffy, Andrew McGall, Ryan Houston, Joe McDonald, Stevie Munn, and Roy Christie.
You can keep up to date with the latest news at the Loughs Agency Angling Fair blog.
