From the Central &
Regional Fisheries Boards

 23 May 2007

Editor: Paul Bourke, Angling Information Officer

E-mail: paul.bourke@cfb.ie

 Website: www.cfb.ie

 Webmaster: Myles Kelly

      Phone: 00 353 (0)1 8842600

     Fax: 00 353  (0)1 8360060

 

 

·       
More specimen Sea Trout up to 9.5
lbs. reported from Lough Currane this week in a great
specimen Sea Trout season so
far.

 

·       
Mayfly fishing season is nearly over on most our Trout
lakes although there is still good trout fishing reported nationwide.

 

·       
Michael Flanagan reviews Peter O’Reilly’s new 4th
edition of the “Loughs of
Ireland” Book.

 

·       
Regular English visitor, Bill Holmes from Derbyshire
caught and released a fine Brown Trout of 7 lbs. 10 oz. on Lough Ree on a
Mayfly emerger and wins our catch of the week award.

 

·       
183 Salmon reported from the River Moy.

 

·       
Good Coarse fishing reported from the River Shannon at
Mohill and from several venues in Co. Longford including some nice Tench to 6
lbs.

 

·       
Pike up to 34 lbs. reported from the International Fishing
Centre at Belturbet.

 

·       
Strong winds this week seriously hamper Sea Angling and
there were no reports this week.

 

 

 

GAME ANGLING

 

South Western Region: Web: http://www.swrfb.com

                                 E Mail: swrfb@swrfb.ie

Berni Kelleher reports:

FOR WEEKENDING SUNDAY THE 20th OF MAY 2007

 

RIVER LAUNE BEATS 1 AND 2

No returns due
to low water levels.

 

KILLARNEY LAKES

No returns due
to low water levels.

 

RIVER ILEN

1 fish reported
caught on the Ilen River weighing 9 lbs.

 

RIVER BANDON

1 fish reported
caught last Friday on Bandon Anglers Club Waters on a worm weighing 8 lbs.

 

LAUNE ANGLERS WATERS

 

Water levels falling again.  Not a lot of
fishing effort and no fish to report but for a couple of small Sea Trout taken
on worms during the week.  We need a serious flood to clean up high levels
of algae in the shallows, to freshen the river and to bring a few fish.

                   
_________________________________________

 

From
Eureka Lodge, Caherdaniel, angling guide Vincent
Appleby
reports on the past week’s fishing trends on the LOUGH CURRANE system:

 

Email: salmonandseatrout@eircom.net

Website: http://www.salmonandseatrout.com/

 

14/5/07
There was a fine Salmon caught on the fly in Copal by Mr David Bailey fishing
with his Gillie Mr Sylvester Donnelly and just for the record Mr Bailey was
fishing out of
www.lakelandshouse.com
and on the Sea Trout front
www.loughcurrane.com
is reporting some fine Sea Trout catches. Wind NW light to fresh and overcast
all day with light rain in the evening.

15/5/07
it was a good day in the Sea Trout department with well known local Gillie Mr
Bob Priestly catching and releasing a fine 6.5 lbs. Sea Trout out at the Black
Rocks and finished the day off with a fine Sea Trout in the 2.5 lbs. class. Also
in good form was a guest fishing with Mr Neil O’Shea of
www.oshealoughcurrane.com
who caught a fine Sea Trout in the 3 lbs. class. Wind NW light to fresh and
overcast. I was reading on
www.loughcurrane.com  the upper Lakes have been producing some good
catches and these are as follows: On Lough Derriana there was some good Sea
Trout and Brown Trout taken in the 3 lbs. class and on Lough Cloonaughlin, Mr
McCauliffe caught four Sea Trout up to 2.5 lbs. which he sportingly returned
all, and last but not least Mr Chris Fogarty caught a fine 13 lbs. Salmon which
he also sportingly put back followed by a C & R of a Sea Trout in the 3
lbs. class.                          16/5/07 there was some good Sea Trout
fishing on Lough Currane today and I will leave the best to last, first in the
striking zone was Mr Kevin Mc Gillicudy of Waterville and the UK who caught a
fine Sea Trout of 3 lbs. and as usual Kevin was fishing with his Gillie Mr Mike
O’Dwyer and now for today’s Specimen hunters, Mr Bob Priestly was in good form
again out at the Black Rocks when he struck a fine Sea Trout of 6.5 lbs. which
he sportingly put back, but fish of the day goes to Mr Arthur White of the UK
who caught a fine 9.5 lbs Sea Trout on the fly also out at the Black Rocks and
what a fight he had for approximately 30 minutes. Congratulations to Arthur and
his Gillie Mr Michael O’Sullivan of Waterville Boats – contact
www.lobsterb@iol.ie and just for the record Mr Arthur White
is the Hon. Treasurer of the European Federation of Sea Anglers. Mr John Murphy
the Manager of the W.F.D.G. of
www.loughcurrane.com
reported to me today that Lough Derriana produced some good Brown Trout up to 2
lbs. today. Wind W fresh all day and overcast with light drizzle for most of
the day.

17/5/07
there were a few Sea Trout caught but nothing that would hit the head lines, my
noble Specimen Sea Trout were taking a day off or put it another way we Anglers
failed in our duties. Wind W light to fresh with light Drizzle at times and
overcast but very humid.

18/5/07
only two boats out because it was a wild day with storm force SW gales and just
for the record they drew a blank so the least said the soonest mended.

19/5/07
there were a few Sea trout caught but no real big rod
benders and with a cold NW wind blowing that is not surprising and with the odd
shower, even though there was plenty of sun breaking through.

20/5/07
all quiet on the SW front and with very slack NNW blowing there wasn’t much
encouragement in the Sea trout department or the Salmon department either. As I
said Wind NNW light all day with bright sunshine. Well that is all the news
from your Gillie and the
Waterville
fishery. No Spin no Fly’s just Facts.

 

Shannon Region: Web: http://www.shannon-fishery-board.ie/

                        E
Mail:
info@shannon-fishery-board.ie

 

Brian
McManus
reports:

 

http://www.shannon-fishery-board.ie/guides/game/fishing-reports.htm

 

May 23rd, 2007  

 

UPPER SHANNON

 

LOUGH SHEELIN

Weather wise it was a difficult week on Sheelin
with blustery winds which kept many anglers at bay. This spoiled the evening
gnat fishing. There were a few good fish reported though caught mainly on
buzzer and mourrough sedge. Thomas Lynch L.S.T.P.A. had a fish of 4.5 lbs.  Frank Kelly L.S.T.P.A. had a fish of over 4 lbs.
 Gene Brady had a fish of 5 lbs 2 ozs.

Contact Thomas Lynch L.S.T.P.A. Mobile: 087 9132033
or logon to the L.S.T.P.A website http://www.loughsheelinanglers.ie/ for
information on local competitions and other upcoming news.

For
local updates contact Mr Sean Gurhy, Assistant Fisheries Inspector Lough
Sheelin Tel: 049 4336144 

LOUGH O’FLYNN &
UPPER RIVER SUCK

The weather had an adverse effect on trout angling
on O’Flynn with a strong blustery wind which kept many anglers away.  The
Mayfly season is reaching an end on O’Flynn and the upper Suck system at time
of writing. However as is usual for this fishery sporadic hatches of fly are
likely to continue for the coming weeks. On one of the more suitable days two
youth anglers John Gaffey and Ronan Baggot did very well with a catch of 19
fish on mayfly variants, best fish was 2.5 lbs, they released 8 fish. John
Connolly Castelrea had 2 fish for 2.5 lbs. Anthony Baggot had 2 fish in an
afternoon session.

For updates contact John
Ryan,  Assistant Fisheries Inspector Co Roscommon at 087 2536064

MID SHANNON AREA

LOUGH ENNELL

There are still some good hatches of Buzzer on the
lake but the fish seem to be losing interest in them. There’s very little
Mayfly activity which is very disappointing and the Button hatch did not
attract the trout’s attention. Conor Lynch, Tullamore had one fish of 3 lb 6 ozs.
Andy Duncan, Mullingar had 2 fish on buzzer at 5 lbs and 3 lbs 6 ozs.

For
updates contact Pat Mc Donnell, Fisheries Officer Shannon Regional
Fisheries Board Mullingar Office Tel: 044 9348769 mornings

LOUGH OWEL

There
is little or angling news from Lough Owel this week.

For updates contact Pat Mc Donnell,
Fishery Officer Shannon Regional Fisheries Board Mullingar Office
Tel: 044 48769

Mick
Flanagan, Angling Correspondent for the Westmeath Topic and Sunday World Newspaper
Tel: 087 2797270:
mick@midlandangling.com
reports on
Midland
Lakes

& Rivers.

LOUGHS
OF
IRELAND

Last week my friendly postman delivered the most
recent book of that master angler and fly tier Peter O’ Reilly. Peter is as
well known as the fish species themselves and he recently launched his 4th
edition of Loughs of Ireland. Published by Merlin Unwin Books, this 4th edition
of the Loughs of Ireland is certainly a must for all, trout, sea trout and salmon
anglers. The book has being updated with new contact numbers, e-mail address
and mobile numbers so information is simply at the press of a few buttons.
Waters with disabled facilities is well covered in Peters 4th edition, which is
great to see. The book covers the whole of
Ireland,
naturally including our Midland Loughs. The Loughs of Ireland is available in
Mullingar at the moment in Just Books and other leading book shops.

COMPETITIONS
ON LINE….

Next Sunday May 27th local angling clubs Ennell and
Derravaragh are in action. On Ennell trout anglers will be fishing for the
Jimmy Nea Cup. Hopefully may fly hatches will be peaking and some good Ennell
trout will come on the feed. The lake is proving quite difficult during day
time fishing conditions, and evening fishing is proving the most successful at
present. Start and finish for the Ennell competition is
Whitebridge
Bay
.
Boat and Engine hire contact Myles & Eileen Hope on 044-93 40807. or
Lilliput boat hire Peter Ganly on 087-6492866. Also next Sunday May 27th
Derravaragh anglers will be in action. On the day the Stonehall / Delamer
trophies will be fished for. Derravaragh produced some fine trout at the
previous competition and with enough anglers fishing the lake some cracking
trout should be caught on the day. Start and finish is Donor shore. Boat and
engine hire Paul Smith 0868230363. or Sally Meehan 044-93- 71154.

COARSE
& GAME ANGLING INFO..

Now that the tourism season is really starting to
kick in, the Mullingar Tourism office has reopened for the summer months.
I dropped in last week to Market House just beside Canton Casey’s Bar &
Lounge at the
Market
Square
and checked out what’s
happening on the tourism trail. Well it was heart warming to see angling
topping the shelves and there are some great information brochures for both
game and coarse anglers alike. Both brochures cover plenty of fishy news items
including Locations, fish species, hints on pre-baiting, tackle tips, and of
coarse licences and permits. Another very useful part of the guides are the
accommodation choices, be it simple B & B or top class Hotels. A lot of the
contents are geared for visiting anglers, but local
clubs or individuals will also find the brochures quite useful. When planning
an angling trip. If any locals have friends or relations coming over in the
coming months call into Mullingar Tourism office and check out the wonderful
information stands. Call into Market House and check it out. Caroline Cole is
the charming Tourism Lady who will help you out or call direct 044-93- 48650.

LOUGH REE MAYFLY UPDATE

Mayfly fishing has quietened down considerably
since last week, but there is still plenty of spent to go out and this will
happen if we get suitable weather conditions. Peter Foy,
Newtown
had a good fish of 5 lbs 7 ozs on wet flies. Bernie Scott, Moate (87 years
young) also had a good fish of 5.5 lbs. Cormac Doyle, Athlone had 4 fish up to
4 lbs. 10 ozs.  Joe McGeehan, Athlone had
2 fish of 5 lbs. 3 ozs. and 2 lbs 7 ozs.  Newtowncashel Anglers held a
competition on Sunday 20th May. The winner was Mark Craven,
Athlone with a fine fish of 6 lbs 8 ozs.  2nd Oliver Fallon,
Athlone with fish of 2 lbs 9 ozs  Midland Trout anglers competition was
won by Cormac Doyle 2nd Padraig Hanniffy, Athlone with fish of 2 lbs
6 ozs, 1 lb 9 ozs. and 1 lb 8 ozs. This week will see the end of the Mayfly
season on Ree and while some good fishing was had at times, generally it was a
patchy season overall and not as good as in previous years.

For updates contact Pat Mc Donnell,
Fishery Officer Shannon Regional Fisheries Board Mullingar Office
Tel: 044 48769

Catch of the
Week 24th May – see photo on front page of our website at
www.cfb.ie

This
week’s catch of the week comes from Lough Ree, Co. Westmeath. Regular English
visitor, Bill Holmes from Derbyshire has landed his third catch of the week in
the past year and half. He caught and released an fine Brown Trout of 7 lbs. 10
oz. while fishing with angling guide Mark O’Regan from Trim. Bill’s fish was
taken on a may fly emerger. Bill is our first treble winner of the Catch of the
week this year. Earlier He caught another fine Trout on Lough Ree and a fine
Pike in Lough Gowna to win catch of the week awards. If you catch a big fish in
the next few weeks and have a good photograph of your catch, please submit it
to
Paul
Bourke

at 01 8842674 or e-mail
paul.bourke@cfb.ie  
Want to see more?
Visit the Catch of
the Week Archive
.

ATHLONE ANGLERS ASSOCIATION NEWS
report courtesy of Eamon Cunningham P.R.O. Athlone Anglers Association
Phone
Mob: 087 – 2340815

THE
BARRA FLYNN MEMORIAL CUP TROUT COMPETITION….

The Barra Flynn Memorial Cup, the final of our
three Dapp/Fly competitions, took place last Sunday and as with the previous
two weeks the fishing was patchy. However there was one man, Michael Ganly, who
had a great days fishing but he may have had a little bit of help from above.
As everyone knows Michael used to fish with the late Barra and on one occasion
he was given some of his favourite flies by Barra and it was with one of these
flies that Michael caught the winning fish. 
This was a home and away competition however nobody went away, surely a
great testament to Lough Ree that while it may not be fishing well at the
moment it still offers the best chance for a good days fishing.  The weigh in and presentation of prizes took
place that evening in the Bounty Bar and when the scales came down it was
Michael Ganly and Joseph Crompton who, for the second year in a row, claimed
the magnificent Barra Flynn Memorial Cup for their trout which was head and
dorsal fin above the rest.  The fight for
the next three prizes was very close with only three ounces separating second
to fourth place and second place went to Richie Fallon who, along with Owen
Murphy, had opted to have his fish weighed and released earlier in the day, and
his trout was thirteen ounces lighter than the winning fish. Noel Monaghan
claimed third place for a trout which was only two ounces lighter. The fourth
and final prize went to John Killion whose trout was beaten by only one ounce.  The competition was sponsored by Ross and
Patrick Flynn and we would like to thank them along with their mum Kate for
their continued generosity and support. We would also like to thank Geraldine
Rohan and Eamon Cunningham who acted as Captains of the Day.

THE DONOVAN CUP….

This is a new addition to our list of competitions
and is being sponsored by Paul and Timmy Donovan who are well known in angling
circles in Athlone as well as being the proprietors of Sean’s Bar. We would
like to thank them for the beautiful new cup which they have commissioned as
well as the generous sponsorship provided for this competition.  The competition itself will take place on
Lough Ree and will be a standard competition i.e. anglers may troll as well as
Dapp/Fly. The start will be Gallagher’s Boat Shed at
10.30am and the
weigh in and presentation of prizes will take place in Sean’s Bar with the
scales down at
9 pm
sharp.  The normal monthly competitions
have now started and are as follows, The Genoa Cup will be awarded to the
heaviest trout caught over the three competition Sundays. The Monday to
Saturday competition will start on Monday 7th May and will finish on Saturday
2nd June. The Athlone Anglers Association Cup will be awarded for the heaviest
tout caught during this period, excluding Sundays. There will also be another
competition over this period and will cost €15 to enter, all money taken in
will be given out to the top three fish weighed in the order of 50% for first
place, 30% for second place and 20% for third place. This competition also excludes
the Sundays and you must register your entry before going fishing, you can do
this by ringing Eamon Cunningham on 087-2340815 before
11 am on the day
you start fishing or on the shoreline on Sunday mornings. The scales will be
left in the Lough Ree Inn and anglers can use this to record their catch. Text
Messages detailing the heaviest fish caught during the Dapp will be sent at
regular intervals to inform anglers of the weights of the trout weighed in.
This will help ensure that trout are not needlessly brought in for weighing and
can be returned unharmed to the lake should you wish.

FOR YOUR DIARY…

The following is the schedule of competitions that
it is proposed to hold over the next few weeks. Please note this list may
change due to unforeseen circumstances, however the details of each competition
will be published in the local newspaper, on the posters, the www.athlone.ie website and sent out to
members by text message in the week prior to each competition.

  • May 27th – The
    Donovan Cup, Lough Ree – Trout.

FRIENDS
OF
LOCH
AN DOCHAIS…

 

Friends of Loch
an Dochais held their Annual all
Ireland
trout angling match for anglers with disabilities at
Loch
an Dochais, Kilcormac, Co Offaly on
Sunday 13th May 2007.  16
anglers from 7 counties took part in this competition representing Carlow,
Clare,
Cork,
Laois, Offaly,
Tipperary
and Westmeath.

This is the 11th year of the competition and the
anglers were fishing for the Mary Robinson Perpetual Trophy. With the lake
in good condition the weather however was mixed with cool strong winds at times
but the rain held off. 21 trout were landed. The results of the match were as
follows

  • 1st Place: Sean
    Hogan, Tullamore, Co Offaly with a catch of 4 trout for 1 kg 800g
  • 2nd Place: Anthony
    Cunningham, Co
    Tipperary with 4
    trout  for 1 kg 700g
  • 3rd
    Place
    : Jason
    Wheatley,
    Tipperary with 4
    trout for 1 kg 550g

Chairman of Offaly Co Council Mr Ger Killooley
presented the prizes at St Josephs Community Centre, Kilcormac.

In the junior angling match also held at
Kilcormac’s
Loch
an Dochais run by Friends of Loch an Dochais and the Shannon Regional Fisheries
Board was won by David Smith of Tullamore with 3 trout for 1 kg 500g.  Great thanks are due to Marcus Mac Mahon and
Marie Mortell who presented the prizes and supplied all the anglers with
Fisheries Board literature and assisted with angling and safety tips to all who
took part. For further information contact Mr Denis O’Driscoll, KDA Secretary,
Kilcormac, Co Offaly Tel: 057 9135328

LOUGH ACALLA CO GALWAY

12 anglers fished the lake recently with a few
decent fish reported caught. Best flies were Golden and Green Olives, Brown
Hedgehog. Two anglers Michael Bradley and Matrin Cauley had their bag limit
with fish up to 3 lbs.

For updates contact John Devaney,
Assistant Fisheries Inspector, Roscommon 087 2266735

LOWER
SHANNON
AREA

MAYFLY UPDATE ON LOUGH DERG

The mayfly season is now over on Lough Derg with
very few fish reported last week.

TJ
O’Brien,
TJ’s ANGLING
CENTRE KILLALOE
Tel: 061 376009 Mob 087 8108225 reports for the
Lower
Shannon
, Lough Derg

There was
very little angling or fish reported over recent evenings on Derg in the
Killaloe area.  Some days were very
blustery.

ShRFB reports
for the RIVER FEALE CO KERRY

A badly needed flood arrived on the River Feale on
Thursday, although a bigger flood would have been needed to flush the river
properly. It was late on Friday before conditions were suitable for fishing and
Sunday before it was suitable for fly.  A good number of anglers were out
after the long spell of dry weather. 9 fish were reported caught over the
weekend. Jerdie Sheehy, Abbeyfeale, Co
Limerick
had the best reported fish of the week at 11 lbs. caught on Friday on fly.
David Enright, Abbeyfeale, Co
Limerick
had a 9 lbs. fish. Other lucky anglers were Stephen Moroney, Listowel, Tony
Stack, Listowel, and Jack Murphy Abbeyfeale. Dee Dennison and Mark Enright both
Abbeyfeale anglers had fish.

NB:
Anglers please note the new Salmon & Sea Trout Bye Laws for the
River Feale for 2007. See

SHANNON FISHERIES REGION (River
Feale) CONSERVATION OF SALMON AND SEA TROUT BYE LAW NO 816, 2007

This Bye-Law provides for a bag
limit of 4 fish (being either salmon or sea trout over 40 cm) from 1 March to
12 May subject to a daily bag limit of 1 fish during the period.  The
Bye-law also incorporates the provisions of the existing Bye-law i.e. an
overall annual bag limit of 10 fish for 2007, a daily bag limit of 3 fish from
13 May to 31 August and a daily bag limit of 1 fish from 1 September to the end
of the season. The Bye-law also provides for the use of single hooks and
prohibits the use of worms as bait once the specified number of fish have been
caught in the specified periods.

For up to date fishing reports contact
the local Assistant Fisheries Inspector Mr Paddy Halpin Mobile: 087 7729126

ShRFB
reports for Castleroberts Fishery
RIVER MAIGUE.

For angling updates on Castleroberts
contact Mob: 087 9810817

Western Region: Web: http://www.wrfb.ie/

                       E Mail: kcrowley@wrfb.ie

 

Kevin Crowley reports:

 

GALWAY
WEIR

There
were 10 salmon landed at the Weir this week, with half of these released again.
On the 16th Welsh visitor Rhys Thomas landed a fine 12 lbs fish on
shrimp, and Laois man Pat Campion also had a 12-pounder on fly, this fish
released alive. The following day Niall Tonge from
Dublin had a 5 lbs. grilse on fly, and Phil
Mackie from
Bristol caught and released a 12 lbs fish. On
the 18th Liam Gilsenan from Westmeath landed a fine 13.5 lbs. salmon
on fly, followed by Tom Noonan and Tony Kavanagh, both with 9-pounders, and
both released. The following day Andrew Hegarty had a nice 11.5 lbs fish on
fly, and on the 21st and 22nd Peter Taylor from
England had fish of 9.75 lbs and 10 lbs
approx., both on fly. Water conditions at
Galway are perfect, and with good spring
salmon and a few grilse arriving in the river, prospects

About the author

Paul Bourke

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