Ian Powell - Blackwater Lodge

23, 22, 21, 20, 19 .............. Countdown to Opening Day This was the Blackwater at 10.30 this morning. Down to 1.04m on the Ballyduff gauge & clearing beautifully. The upstream gauge readings have still not been updated since the 4th. Our Opening Day celebration is now fully subscribed only a couple of days after it was announced in our December 30th. newsletter. We offered free fishing ending with a bowl of hot stew for everybody at the fishing hut on Upper Kilmurry at 4.00pm. Hopefully, we'll have a springer or two to report. See Blackwater Lodge Fishing Report page: http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net/Fish...shingreport.htm See Ian Powell Facebook page: http://on.fb.me/dYddlZ See Blackwater Lodge & Salmon Fishery Facebook page: http://on.fb.me/gsGQLt Follow our Tweets. http://twitter.com/#!/blackwaterlodge

25, 24, 23, 22, 21 .............. Countdown to Opening Day As usual, in the run-up to the Opening Day, I am graphing the rainfall and river height & posting it daily on my Fishing Report page on: http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net/Fish...shingreport.htm Unfortunately, the upstream gauges have not been functioning since 09.15 on the 4th. January The river has been very high for the last month & a half. It is just settling after the latest flood & was at 1.30m this morning - down over a metre since yesterday. It has had such a good flushout that as soon as it drops it clears very quickly. The clarity this morning was beautiful at ~ 3 feet. The next week looks comparatively dry but the following week from Jan. 14 looks wetter again. Hopefully it will be in good order for February 1st.

Season Extension Confirmed IFI confirmed today that the Minister has signed off on the proposed extension to the salmon season on Ireland's Cork Blackwater river. The official announcement on all the 2012 regulations will be posted on the IFI website at midnight tonight (December 23rd.). The season is extended on the Blackwater to October 12th., on a fly-only catch & release basis. Great News just before Christmas!

Best Day & Best Fish of the 2011 Season - September 20th. This superb 13 pounder was taken by Graham Reynolds from Wicklow on spinner on Lower Kilmurry on the 20th. This superbly fresh 5 pounder was one of five taken by Ken Tucker (Carlow) on fly on Killavullen - 26 miles upriver from the Lodge on the 21st. Availability Rods are available for the last week of the season as are ensuite B&B rooms & some self-catering accommodation. Best Day & Best Fish this year! On September 20th., twenty-two fish to 16.3lb were landed. Seven were double figure fish & five were 13lb. or more. Two upper beats recorded 6 fish each, including a couple of 10 pounders. All but one were released. Local rod Mick Kennedy landed six fish to over 16lb. On the lower river where clarity was better at ~4 feet, seven fish to 8lb. were caught. One rod had 3 on fly, and another one had one on spinner & landed another & lost 2 all on fly as well. Current Conditions A couple of small floods have really got things moving! The river is now fining off into perfect order, & some excellent catches have been recorded in the last one & a half weeks. After yet more rain, the upper river rose 20cm @ Millstreet & 10cm @ Kanturk on Wednesday night but it is now falling again. The lower river rose 3cm last night but is falling away again slowly. The clarity is very good @ ~ 4-5 feet throughout. The Last Two Weeks Since my last newsletter on the 8th., we have had an excellent fortnight. For the 2 weeks, we have taken 161 fish to 16.3lb. Sept. 12: Fourteen fish to 10lb. taken. 8 from the lower river & 6 from the upper beats. Seven fell to fly, including a 10 pounder & six from one lower beat to 3 rods. Sept. 13: Eighteen fish to 14lb. taken. Fourteen fell to fly, including a 14 pounder & 5 to one rod on the upper river. Sept. 14: Eighteen fish including sixteen on fly. Sept. 15: Six fish to 9.3lb., including 2 on fly. Sept. 16: Six fish to 12lb., including 2 on fly. Sept. 17: Thirteen fish to 101b. including nine on fly for two rods on the lower river. Sept. 18: Six fish to 8lb. Sept. 19: No fish as river in flood, but hearing reports of fish caught upriver where one rod took 6 in the afternoon. Sept. 20: Best Day & Best Fish of Season! Twenty-two fish to 16.3lb. Sept. 21: Fourteen fish to 14lb. Sept. 22: Fifteen fish to 9.5lb. Sept. 23: Nine fish to 8lb. Prospects There is some more rain forecast for Sat/Sunday which could liven things up even more. It could be a dinger of a last week!

Rain at Last! A narrow band of heavy rain swept across the whole catchment yesterday (Sunday 4th.). 12mm fell in Ballyduff. The upper river rose 35cm to 0.55m @ Millstreet this morning peaking at 10.00. It has fallen back to 0.47m by 15.00. At Kanturk it has risen 27cm to 0.24m by 16.00, & is still rising. The level is holding at Ballyduff. The fresh has stirred the fish up on the upper river with 4 caught & 2 lost (including a double figure fish) by 2 rods on one beat by 4pm today (5th.)! With more rain forecast, the prospects for the coming days look superb. Availability Rods are available for the remaining weeks, & also accommodation apart from self-catering in the third week which is full. Staff Wanted We could still require a couple of people to work in the Lodge from now until the end of September. Duties include preparation of breakfast/packed lunches & housekeeping. Opportunity to fish as well of course. See Blackwater Lodge Fishing Report page: http://bit.ly/fzavCh See Ian Powell page: http://on.fb.me/dYddlZ Follow our Tweets. http://twitter.com/#!/blackwaterlodge

Another Excellent Week & Three Firsts for three young brothers! Not withstanding low water and less than half a dozen rods per day fishing, we have taken 36 fish for the week to August 11th. During this week, Mark Allsop (UK) caught - and released - 7 grilse for 3 days fishing, Daniel Mueller (Switzerland) also caught 7, & Franco Brustio (Italy) had 11 to 10.3lb. Daily catches were as follows: Aug. 5: 3 grilse including 2 for one rod. Aug. 6: 3 fish including two of 7.5 & 8.2lb for one rod. Aug. 7: 3 fish including 2 for one rod to 10.3lb. Aug. 8: 7 grilse, including 2 each for 2 anglers. Aug. 9: 5 grilse including 2 for one rod plus a First Ever! Aug. 10: Second Best Day of Season. 9 fish including 3 each for 2 anglers (one of whom had fish of 6.3, 7.4 & 8.2lb). Aug. 11: 6 fish to 6.5lb. including 3 First Ever salmon. The three Firsts on the 11th. was a remarkable story. Pat Casey brought his 3 young sons - Tom (9), Rory (11) & Jamie (13yrs) - none of whom had ever fished in fresh water before - for a half guided day with Glenda. All three caught their First Ever salmon & Jamie caught two. At one point, two of the lads were both playing fish at the same time! The July total was 71. For August, we have already taken 42 to the 11th., and the season total to date is 231. Prospects With a little fresh on the river, fish have livened up, and a lot more grilse are now running. Rods and accommodation are available in the coming weeks. Staff Wanted We're looking for a couple of people to work in the Lodge from now until the end of September. Duties include preparation of breakfast/packed lunches & houskeeping. Opportunity to fish as well of course. For all the latest info, see also: http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net/Fish...shingreport.htm http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000222088579 or follow us on http://twitter.com/blackwaterlodge

Big fish still running hard! Three grilse were caught on Saturday on the lower river. Today (Sunday) - five fish were caught. One grilse on the lower river, 3 grilse on the upper river where I also released this superb 13 pounder that the sea-lice had only just fallen off of. The July total is now 60 & the season total 178. The river will be in superb order this week as there is no rain forecast.

Grilse run gives a major improvement! July had been ticking along quite steadily, with fish caught most days. There were only 4 blank days which were all at the beginning of the month. The last flood on July 18th. got the grilse moving in good numbers, and we have seen good runs of fish going through both the lower & upper beats. The river has fined off beautifully with clarity now about 4 feet. So far for July, 54 fish to 14lb have been caught. Of these, 24 have been caught in the last 3 days where the daily count is 10, 5 & 8 fish respectively. Fly, spinner & worm have all caught almost exactly the same number of fish. The 20th was the Best Day of the Season with 10 fish caught as reported below. On the 21st., 5 to 10lb. were caught - and no less than 3 were First Ever salmon. Husband & wife Jake & Jess Hiltz (USA) both caught their first guided by Glenda on the upper river, & Marino Bellini (Italy) took his first also on the upper river. Yesterday (22nd.) nine were taken (7 grilse & salmon of 10 & 11½lb.) including another First Ever, with more now being caught on the lower river as it fines off. This picture says it all! Seven year old Tommy Quinlivan with his First Ever Salmon! 4lb. sea-liced. Taken on worms on the Island Stream on Lower Kilmurry With the forecast dry for the coming week, prospects for sport are superb! Rods and accommodation are available for the coming weeks.

A Cracker to start July! This 14lb. fish was caught today (July 1) by Gary Pickett using a prawn on Beat 10 on the upper river. It is the Second Biggest Fish of the Season. June went out with a bang with six fish caught yesterday (30th) - all between 8 & 11lb. as reported yesterday. This was the Third Best Day of the Season so far. The fish above weighed in at 11.1lb. & was taken by Willie Kett (Dungarvan) on Beat 3 on the lower river. It has been the best month of June since 2005. The average weight of the fish for the month is the third highest since 1988 at 7.1lb., beaten only by 2008 & 2009. The total catch for June was 61 of which 38 were caught on the upper beats. The season total to date is 119. For June, just 15 grilse in the class up to 5lb were caught - averaging 3.4lb. In the class from 5-10lb., 29 fish averaging 6.7lb were caught. In the 10-15lb. class, 17 fish averaging 11.1lb have been landed. The forecast is still for dry weather up to Tuesday, when there is a break due.

The river continues to fine off well from last Saturday's flood. We had five fish caught yesterday. Four were taken on spinner on the upper river & one on fly on the lower river. There's a great mixture of fish running - mainly grilse in the 5-7lb. bracket, but there are still double figure fish running (heard of at least 3 to 16lb caught on other beats on Tuesday) plus some smaller grilse around 3lb. - Great sport. With dry weather continuing, the river is fining off into cracking fly order.

Joint Second Best Day of the Season The river continues to fine off slowly - the upper river held the same level all day whilst the lower river dropped just 2cm since morning. The clarity is improving slowly but steadily. Good runs of fish were seen going through the lower beats & Fermoy weir especially in the evening, & through the upper beats mainly in the morning. Seven fish were caught for the day which was our joint Second best of Season. There was a (not-so-fresh) 5lb from our top beat (No. 14) just below Mallow, a sea-liced 3lb grilse from Castletownroche - Beat 8 (both on spinner) & very fresh fish of 3 & 8lb. for one rod who only went to Beat 10 above Castletownroche after 6.00pm. On the lower river, Lower Kilmurry yielded 3 fish - one sea-liced 6lb. on spinner, & 2 very chunky 5lb. long-tail sea-liced grilse for one rod who only went out after 6.00pm. June total catch is now 50 & season to date is 107. With the forecast continuing to look dry through the weekend, the prospects of sport are super.

100th. Salmon of the Season! The river was slow enough to clear after the last flood, but was coming back into order on the upper beats yesterday. The fish were caught on Beats 9 & 10. Two fish about 10lb. - one sea-liced and a sea-liced grilse on fly. This brings our catches to 43 for June & 100 for the season so far! Plenty of fish seen running the upper river - mostly in the 6-7lb class, but there's obviously both smaller grilse & double-figure fish running with them. With the forecast dry for the remainder of the week, prospects for sport are superb! Rods and accommodation are available for the coming weeks. See Blackwater Lodge Fishing Report page: http://bit.ly/fzavCh See Ian Powell Facebook page: http://on.fb.me/dYddlZ See Blackwater Lodge & Salmon Fishery Facebook page (http://on.fb.me/gsGQLt) Follow our Tweets. http://twitter.com/#!/blackwaterlodge

Yet another good Flood! There was plenty of rain throughout the catchment yesterday (Friday). We had 30mm here at Ballyduff. The upper river peaked at 01.00 this morning (Saturday) at Millstreet at 1.80m & is back to 0.80m at 12.00. The word from the top of the river is that it should be fishable up there tomorrow - certainly with spinner even if a bit high for the fly. The lower river is still rising. It was 1.20m @ 09.00 & 1.44m @ 12.00 here at Ballyduff. The clarity is not as bad as could have been expected. That siltiness that usually fines off quickly. Clarity is around 1 foot today. Superb Prospects for Next Week! This is the biggest flood we've had since mid-February, so with the run of fish that we already had before the flood, plus grilse now appearing in good numbers well down the West coast, we should see a bumper run of fish as this flood fines off. Next week could be an absolute humdinger with both big fish & grilse running as the river fines off. The clarity of the water was reasonably good at the beginning of the week when 16 fish to 13lb. were caught - all on the upper river. Wednesday & Thursday were out due to coloured water, but even though the clarity of the water wasn't great yesterday (Friday), 5 fish all around 6-7lb were taken on spinner on the upper beats, including several with sea-lice. The lower beats haven't been fishing well as the fish are all running hard to the upper river. There is no problem for availability of accommodation & fishing in the coming weeks. See Blackwater Lodge Fishing Report page: http://bit.ly/fzavCh See Ian Powell Facebook page: http://on.fb.me/dYddlZ See Blackwater Lodge & Salmon Fishery Facebook page (http://on.fb.me/gsGQLt) Follow our Tweets. http://twitter.com/#!/blackwaterlodge

Another small dirty Flood hits the River! This was the river below the Lodge at 3pm this afternoon (23rd.) Gauge Height 0.38m There were some more scattered heavy showers falling intermittently across the catchment yesterday and there is more rain for tomorrow (Friday) night. The upper river rose yet again last night & peaked at Millstreet (90km up) with another 30 rise at 08.00 today (Thurs). At Kanturk (70km up) it rose 13cm peaking at 15.00. Clarity was poor in the Mallow/Killavullen area - barely spinnable this morning - but it was starting to clear down at Lombardstown by late afternoon. The lower river was falling still this morning. Clarity moderate @ 1½ feet & peaty in the morning but degrading by evening. There were plenty of big double-figure fish running the upper river on Wednesday evening and yesterday. The upper beats should be in reasonable fishable order by tomorrow (Friday) but the lower river will probably still have the coloured water running down from above. Prospects look very good for the upper beats tomorrow & probably for the lower beats on Saturday. All will depend on how much rain falls tomorrow night. There is no problem for availability of accommodation & fishing in the coming weeks. See Blackwater Lodge Fishing Report page: http://bit.ly/fzavCh See Ian Powell Facebook page: http://on.fb.me/dYddlZ See Blackwater Lodge & Salmon Fishery Facebook page (http://on.fb.me/gsGQLt) Follow our Tweets. http://twitter.com/#!/blackwaterlodge

June 21 - Third Best Day of the Season. The run of big fish continues, with most of the fish being taken on our upper 8 beats (Nos 7-14) from 17 to 28 miles upstream of the Lodge. Six fish were caught in total yesterday. Mick Kennedy (again!) caught 3 on Beat 11 - a 7 & two 10 pounders all on spinner - & lost three fish all about 14/15lb as well. Beat 9 produced the best fish of the day - an 11.3 pounder on prawn. On the lower river, one grilse (4lb) was released on fly & 16 year old Jack Kadlubowski (UK) sportingly released the First Ever salmon he had caught - a 6 1/2 pounder on spinner from Beat 5. There are plenty of reports of (mainly) double-figure fish running right through to the upper beats. There was heavy rain yesterday afternoon in the upper catchment, & the upper river rose 40cm & peaked at midnight. This morning it was already down 30cm but the clarity was very poor on our top beat. The upper beats (which have been fishing best in the last week) will be out of order today & the lower river (which was coming into good order in the last 2 days) is going out of order @ 3pm this afternoon & is up 20cm to 0.54m & pretty coloured. Hopefully the upper river will already start to fine off tomorrow & be some way fishable as the forecast is now dry up to the weekend. There is no problem for availability of accommodation & fishing in the coming weeks. See Blackwater Lodge Fishing Report page: http://bit.ly/fzavCh See Ian Powell Facebook page: http://on.fb.me/dYddlZ See Blackwater Lodge & Salmon Fishery Facebook page (http://on.fb.me/gsGQLt) Follow our Tweets. http://twitter.com/#!/blackwaterlodge

Best Day of the Season & Third Best Fish - June 19th. On Sunday, June 19, we yet again recorded the Best Day of the Season so far. It was remarkable as the river had only just come back into order after the last small dirty flood. Even more remarkable was the fact that all the fish fell to just three rods on one beat on the upper river. Mick Kennedy & Billy Jewitt fished Beat 8 - Bridgetown Priory & landed four fish in the morning & another in the early afternoon. Billy had 2 grilse on spinner to 6lb. and Mick had two on spinner & one on fly - best 13.3lb (see picture) which was the Third Best Fish so far this Season. They were joined in the evening by Kieran Conlon who had a magic half hour that evening. He landed three fish - all with long-tailed sea-lice - a grilse of 4lb. & two 10 pounders - all on the fly. Kieran went to the Lodge's top beat 28 miles upriver yesterday (20th.) & released two more fish of 6 & 7lb. on fly Monster Lost! Mick was fishing Beat 9 a little further upriver yesterday. He lost the biggest fish he'd ever hooked - reckoned to be well into the twenties of pounds - on spinner. Superb Prospects! The river should be in perfect order for the rest of the week, as there is little or no rain forecast and the rise is only small & clear. It is extremely encouraging to see such good quality sea-liced fish running right through to the upper beats. Already today (Tuesday), I have a report of a 12 pounder taken from Beat 9 on the upper river. There is no problem for availability of accommodation & fishing in the coming weeks. See Blackwater Lodge Fishing Report page: http://bit.ly/fzavCh See Ian Powell Facebook page: http://on.fb.me/dYddlZ See Blackwater Lodge & Salmon Fishery Facebook page (http://on.fb.me/gsGQLt) Follow our Tweets. http://twitter.com/#!/blackwaterlodge

This 8 pounder was released on fly on Beat 9 on the upper river yesterday. It had been rather quiet for the last few days, but I just had a reliable report of half a dozen fish from a private beat on the lower river yesterday, & 3 caught below Fermoy this morning. I also had another report of fish (both grilse & salmon) moving through late yesterday evening at Castletownroche & a silver 10-12 pounder lost on fly there. Looks as if fish are running now the river has settled well after the last spate.

The widespread band of rain that went right across the catchment this morning didn't produce the very heavy rain that was expected. It appears to have been heavier in the lower catchment. We had 16mm by nightfall since early this morning. The upper river has only risen 20cm & has already peaked by 19.00. Hopefully this will produce a (small) fresh without imparting too much colour or peatiness. There were only a few rods out today. A very fresh 10.8 pounder was caught on worms on the upper river on Beat 10 by Mossie McElligott from Tralee and a grilse on fly on the same beat in the evening for Conor Arnold. Grilse were seeing running the river in the Killavullen area this afternoon. Donie Curtin from Castletownroche lost a fine double figure fish on spinner on Beat 2 on the lower river.

Third Best Day & Fourth Best Fish - June 11th. Yesterday, we recorded the joint Third Best Day of the Season so far. Four fish were taken for just 10 rod days. Three very fresh fish came from the upper river despite low water - the Ballyduff gauge went from 0.31m in the morning down to 0.28m by evening. There was one sea-liced fish from the lower river. We have now taken 13 so far for June & 70 in total for the season. Willie Kett caught this fine 13 pounder from the Lodge's very top beat (No.14) which is over 28 miles upstream from the Lodge. A bit further down, our daughter Anna caught this lovely grilse on worms (ably gillied by mother Glenda) from Beat 10 over 20 miles upstream. Just below that on Beat 9, Paul Veale took this sparkling 7 pounder from Beat 9 Mike Whelan was fly-fishing with Paul and hooked a fine double-figure fish on Beat 9. Too much time was spent playing the fish for the camera - it was just about to be landed & fell off! Donie Curtin took this sea-liced fish on spinner on Beat 2 on the lower river close to the Lodge. Prospects This was the radar picture at 6.00am this morning with a band of rain extending across the whole catchment. 11mm rain fell here in Ballyduff. We will know later in the day how much effect it will have on the river, which is up about 10cm so far on the upper river. It will certainly produce a reasonable fresh, & with dry weather forecast for the rest of the week, prospects look very promising. Although not a lot of fish are showing, they still seem to be running hard through to the upper beats, which are producing the best sport at the moment. There are rods & accommodation available in the coming weeks.

Even though the clarity was only about a foot due to very heavy peat stain, Christopher Whelan from Dungarvan caught this sea-liced 10.9 pounder on spinner on Beat 2. Paul Veale fishing with him lost another fine fish a few minutes later so they're moving through! Clarity was improving to 1½-2 feet late this evening & gauge height is 0.36m so it should be excellent condition even for the fly tomorrow.

Super Conditions & Prospects this Weekend! This is the Blackwater at 10.00 this morning. It has been dry here for the last 24 hours, but there were some showers in the upper catchment. The upper river @ Millstreet peaked @ 21.00 yesterday (Weds. 8th.) having risen over 80cm. It is already down 37cm by 10.00 today (9th.). It peaked at Kanturk @ 02.00 this morning & is down 18cm by 10.00. The clarity on the upper river is reported to be moderate - certainly fishable with spinner & worms. The gauge is up to 0.64m @ 10.00 @ Ballyduff, and may rise slightly further. The clarity is approx. 2-3 feet, so it is very well fishable with spin/bait & might even be worth a cast with the fly by evening. It will certainly by in fly order for tomorrow. Prospects for sport look superb coming into the weekend, especially on the upper beats. A number of grilse were reported caught yesterday evening just below Mallow, so they're already on the move. Rods & accommodation are available in the coming days/weeks.

Flood peaks upriver! The flood has peaked at Millstreet (90km upstream) @ 21.00 with a total rise of 85cm (over 2 feet). The good news is that it didn’t get very coloured & the word from upriver is that it’ll be fishable tomorrow. It has started to rise at Ballyduff & was @ 0.47m @ 22.00 – a rise of 25cm so far. Prospects Should be in good fishable order even from tomorrow if there is no appreciable amount of rain this evening. The rise on the upper river will probably bring the Ballyduff gauge up to ~0.60m. The forecast is dry for the remainder of the week until Sunday when there could be heavier rain, certainly in the southern part of the catchment. For all the very latest information please see:- Blackwater Lodge Fishing Report page on : http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.ne...hingreport.htm Facebook Page (Ian Powell): http://on.fb.me/dYddlZ Facebook Page (Blackwater Lodge: http://on.fb.me/gsGQLt or follow us on http://twitter.com/blackwaterlodge

Fresh Salmon on the upper beats! Report for June 6th. This fine 9.2 pounder was taken on fly on Beat 9 on the upper river on Saturday by Ronan Brennan from Wicklow With little or no rain in the last couple of weeks, plus high temperatures & strong winds, the river level has fallen quickly. This has slowed up the run of fish, but some very fresh (even large) fish are getting through to the upper beats. Beat 9 - where the fish above was caught - is over 20 miles upstream of the Lodge in the Castletownroche area. There were also a couple of grilse lost on fly yesterday at Beat 7 - Ballyhooly Bridge yesterday afternoon, & a sea-liced grilse from beat 3 on the lower river this morning. Water temperature had risen to 13.5ºC during the hot weather last week when air temps. maxed @ 26ºC! This week is going to be cooler (12-15ºC) & broken weather with some rain especially next weekend. In the last 10 days, we have caught 15 salmon & grilse to 13lb. with only 2 blank days, including 4 fish from the upper river which should probably have been fished harder. A good flood is what is really needed to get the fish moving (especially the larger ones), but at least the change in the weather should encourage them more than the very hot very windy weather of last week. Rods & accommodation are available in the coming weeks. For all the very latest information please see:- Blackwater Lodge Fishing Report page on : http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net/Fish...shingreport.htm Facebook Page (Ian Powell): http://on.fb.me/dYddlZ Facebook Page (Blackwater Lodge: http://on.fb.me/gsGQLt or follow us on http://twitter.com/blackwaterlodge Another Flood on the Way! A series of heavy showers particularly in the upper catchment yesterday (Tuesday) has brought a moderate flood on the upper river already. It has risen 63cm at Millstreet by 11.00 this morning, & is up 6cm to 0.28m at Ballyduff. Catches In spite of low water in the last 12 days and low fishing effort, we have only had 2 blank days. May 28: 2 fish of 11 & 13.1lb. May 29: 6 fish of 6 & 7.6lb. May 30: 2 fish of 5.1 & 8.4lb May 31: 2 fish of 6.4 &10lb June 1: 2 fish of 5.5 & 12.8lb June 2: 1 fish of 4lb. June 4: 2 fish of 3 & 9.2lb. June 6: 1 fish of 4lb. June 7: 2 fish of 10.3 & 12.5lb This next rise in the water should encourage more grilse & double figure fish to run which promises good sport for later in the week.

A Cracking Start to June! Mike O'Driscoll from Cork caught this beautiful sea-liced 12.8 pounder on spinner on the Island Stream on Beat 5 - Lower Kilmurry today. We have caught 11 fish to 13.1lb in the last 5 days. The total for May was 45 fish to 14.5lb. and the season total to date is 59. The river is fining off well, at a perfect fly height with clarity about 5 feet. Prospects from the remainder of the week look very good as there is a steady run of both larger salmon and good-sized grilse (4-6lb.)

How about that for a First Ever Salmon? Clive Gronow from Wales had never been fishing before. His first experience was a guided day with Glenda with 3 friends yesterday. Today, under Glenda's watchful eye he caught a magnificent sea-liced 13.1 pounder on worms on the Island Stream on Lower Kilmurry. As we say - it's all downhill from here! Prospects for the coming days are superb with sea-liced fish of this quality being caught on the lower & upper river.