Salmon Fishing Reports from Ireland's Cork Blackwater river

[Ian Powell - Blackwater Lodge]

The rain that came across Ireland on the weekend seems to have missed the Blackwater catchment altogether.

The river is still at 0.08m at Ballyduff and there has been no rise at all on the upper river.

On a brighter note, the Metcheck forecast for Cork is giving 13mm rain on Thursday & 17mm on Friday night.

This seems to be borne out by the Bbc.co.uk forecast as well.

 

There were three grilse caught for 1½ rod days yesterday, which makes a total of 10 fish for 8½ rod days

in the last 4 days which is superb in the current conditions.

 

For all the very latest information please see the Blackwater Lodge Fishing Report page on :

Blackwater Lodge Salmon Fishery - Daily Updated Salmon Fishing Report page

[Ian Powell - Blackwater Lodge]

Best Day of the Season so far - plus Best Catch from One Beat in One Day

 

The river dropped to a lovely height on July 13.

In the morning it was 0.23 & fell to 0.20m by nightfall. Clarity 2-2½ feet.

 

There was an excellent run of fish coming through the entire system right though to the top beats.

 

A total of 20 fish were caught for 11 rod days for the day.

 

Beat 3 (1 mile up from the Lodge): 4 caught. 1 on fly. Best 9.7 & 11lb.

Beat 7 (5 miles up from the Lodge): 4 caught. All on fly. Best 6.5lb.

Beat 8 (15 miles up from the Lodge): 1 caught. 4lb.

Beat 9 (20 miles up from the Lodge): 8 caught. 6 on fly & all released. Best 6lb.

Beat 16 (26 miles up from the Lodge): 3 caught. 1 on fly. Best 6lb.

 

Two rods caught eight fish today at Bridgetown Abbey.

- mostly grilse around the 3lb. mark.

Six were caught on fly & two on spinner.

All eight fish were released alive.

Mick Kennedy caught 5 (best ~6lb.) & Billy Jewitt caught three.

Seven of the fish were caught in a 2 hour "moment of madness".

 

Prospects looking very good with fresh fish being taken right through to the top of the fishery.

Still more rain coming in the next 2 days which should top up the height.

 

For all the very latest information please see the Blackwater Lodge Fishing Report page on :

Blackwater Lodge Salmon Fishery - Daily Updated Salmon Fishing Report page

 

 

Here's the latest picture on river levels at 18.30 this evening (Sunday 17th.).

The river is dropping quite quickly. On the lower river the clarity is extremely poor - virtually unfishable.

It is clearing down quite well from the top of the river & fish were caught today

on a couple of our beats on the upper river between Castletownroche and Mallow.

Connie gillied two guests on our very top beat and the party had 5 fish for the day including fish of 11, 5, 5, 4 & 3lb.

Only a couple the grilse were kept - the other 3, including the 11 pounder were released.

All were taken on spinner, but Connie reckoned it would be have been fly-fishable at the end of the day.

Two were sea-liced and the beat is 28 miles upstream of the Lodge!

One other grilse reported so far from the middle of the upper river as well.

 

For all the very latest information please see the Blackwater Lodge Fishing Report page on :

www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net/FishingReport/fishingreport.htm

[Ian Powell - Blackwater Lodge]

The Best Ever July Catch

in terms of Fish Caught per Rod Day

 

On Sunday, July 25th., Mossy McElligott (Tralee) caught the Best Fish of the Season

with a 12.4lb on fly on Ballinaroone & his fishing partner Tim Quinlivan also had two on fly of 11.9 & 9.1lb.

Tim's largest was also the second heaviest weighed fish this year.

 

The month of July produced 169 salmon for a total of only 183 rod days.

This is the sixth best total for the month since I took over the Lodge at the beginning of 1986.

It is the best catch for the month since the year 2000, when 263 were caught for 750 rod days.

It also includes the two Best Fish of the Season which were both caught on fly on the same day

on Beat 3 - Ballinaroone by Mossy McElligott (12.4lb) & Tim Quinlivan (11.9lb).

There have also been at least four very large fish lost in the second half of the month.

 

The table below shows the figures for the six best months of July.

Only the all-time record year of 1992 (when 1511 fish were taken) has a comparable catch per rod day!

 

 

Total catch for the season to date is 212.

 

Take me home, Mum! Our seven year old son Ian heads away

after an afternoon on the river with his famous mum Glenda on July 18!

 

Current Situation

The river is still fining off slowly from the small floods on July 19 & 23.

It is now @ 0.18m on the gauge with ~5 feet clarity.

 

Once again there is a huge buildup of fresh fish in the tidal reaches & a good number are running into the main river.

Some of the lower beat - in particular Kents & Lower Kilmurry - are hold a good head of fish.

 

Prospects

With predominantly dry weather for the coming week, the river remain at summer level.

There are plenty of fish running - both hefty grilse & larger summer salmon.

 

For all the very latest information please see the Blackwater Lodge Fishing Report page on :

http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net/Fish...shingreport.htm

[Ian Powell - Blackwater Lodge]

Biggest Fish of 2010 caught on Saturday, August 7th. - on fly!

 

Gavin Wishart (Newcastle, Co. Down) caught a slightly coloured May fish

on a small gold shrimp pattern on the Lug Pool on Lower Kilmurry gillied by Connie Corcoran.

Connie estimated the fish @ 14-15lb. and it was quickly released.

Gavin & Connie caught five fish for the day, releasing four.

 

There were eleven fish caught for 10 rod days yesterday - the best day so far for August.

Martin Heffer (UK) caught his first ever salmon and it was on fly on a guided day with Glenda.

 

Total for the month is 31 fish for 41 rod days.

Gauge height is 0.15m & clarity around 5 feet.

Plenty of fish showing in the pools on the lower river and some fish running every day.

[Ian Powell - Blackwater Lodge]

Since the very good day we had last Saturday, fishing has been moderately good & quite consistent.

In the last 6 days we have had 25 fish caught - between 3-5 per day with no blanks days.

An average of just over 6 rods/day have been fishing.

Fishing is quite hard, with catches below what one would expect for the number of fresh & resident fish being seen.

As someone said "The only thing they're taking is no notice!"

Persistence is the name of the game. Most successful method was fly,

but very small flies & very long leaders are the name of the game.

Total for August to the 13th. is 56 for 106 rod days.

Total for the season is 266 for 719 rod days.

The river is once again very low, but some fresh fish are still running in.

With the huge numbers of fish waiting in the estuary & out at sea, the first flood we get should produce spectacular results for the river.

[Ian Powell - Blackwater Lodge]

Sept. 19: 19 fish for 16 rod days. 12 released. Best fish 10½lb.

6 on fly, of which 5 came from Beat 1 including 3 sea-liced 8 pounders.

 

Sept. 20: 13 fish for 17 rod days. 12 released. Best fish 8lb. 6 on fly.

 

Sept. 21:Best Day of the Season, joint Biggest Fish & probably the Best Ever Catch for One Rod in a Day

26 fish for 17 rod days. 24 released, but 14 were fresh. Best fish ~16lb. released.

Only 3 on fly. 15 taken on shrimp, of which 11 were caught by one rod on an upper beat - all were released even though 7 were fresh.

 

There are a number of fresh fish being caught on the upper beats, even though these have only been very lightly fished.

119 fish have been caught in the last week for 11 rod days.

Total for September is now 225 & for the season is 541.

 

Current Conditions

The upper river rose 50cm & peaked at 10.00am this morning. It's dropped 20 cm by 6pm.

The gauge at Ballyduff was up 2cm to 0.12m at 3pm, but there is a fair dirty flood on the Funcheon which may bring it up rather more.

prospects looking very good for the last week.

Rods are fully booked for Thursday & Friday, but there are some available

from Saturday 25th. to the 30th.

[Ian Powell - Blackwater Lodge]

Finally, I have completed a report on the 2010 Season on Blackwater Lodge Salmon Fishery. This can be found on:

www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net/FishingReport/Old/2010/2010season.htm

 

For more detailed reports by Month please go to:

www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net/FishingReport/Old/2010/2010monthly.htm

 

2010 Season Highlights

 

...............................Season Total: 652 for 1,342 rod days (0.49 fish/rod day).

....................................July Total: 168 for 183 rod days.

........................................................(The Best July since 2000 when 263 were caught for 750 rod days)

...............Best Day of the Season: September 26 - 26 fish to 16lb.

...............Best Catch for One Rod: Eleven fish on September 21st.

......Number of First Ever Salmon: Thirty-five in total for the season.

Proportion of Fish Caught on Fly: Second Highest Ever for the Total 2011 Season.

........................................................Highest Ever for the months of May & June.

........................................................Second Highest for the month of September.

........................................................Fifth Highest for August.

........................................................Eighth Highest for July.

 

 

 

The Draft Proposals for the Wild Salmon & Seatrout Tagging Scheme Regulations for the 2011 Season

were issued on Friday, November 19.

 

The quota for the Blackwater has been raised to 5,859 from the 2010 quota which was 5,054.

 

The number of tags for the spring (February 1 to May 11) has not been confirmed yet.

Last year, it was one tag for the Blackwater but this was only announced in a Byelaw issued on December 17, 2009

so we are still waiting to hear if it will be one or three tags.

 

The Huge Run of Fish continues

 

I was talking to Fishery Board staff at the excellent Irish Fly Fair in Galway last weekend

& got the latest on the runs of fish into the Blackwater.

There were reports of 7,500 fish that had run into the river in the 8 days from October 27.

 

Just before the Fair on the weekend of November 13/14, this figure had jumped to over 15,000....................!

 

This bodes well for our future stocks of salmon.

[Ian Powell - Blackwater Lodge]

Recession Busting Syndicate Offer

 

For 2011, Blackwater Lodge is proposing a great opportunity to get fishing at a reduced rate for 2011 on Blackwater Lodge Salmon Fishery. There are two options on offer:

 

Full Season: €1,500

Spring Season: € 500 (February to May incl.)

 

There are a limited number of places available which will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis.

 

More details on this can be found on this Syndication link:

http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net/Fish...ndicate2011.htm

 

 

This was the Blackwater below the Lodge at 4pm yesterday – December 6. The temperature never rose above -2°C all day.

Hopefully the weather will be kinder in the run-up to the Opening Day of the 2011 Season on February 1st.

[Ian Powell - Blackwater Lodge]

It was the coldest December on record in Ireland, and for the first time since 1601 the Blackwater froze over completely at both Fermoy & Cappoquin.

 

This was the front page of the local newspaper on December 23rd.

 

Here's some pictures taken over the last week or so.

 

Looking upstream from the bridge at Ballyduff on December 16.

 

Looking downstream from the bridge at Ballyduff on December 16.

 

The river below the Lodge on December 16.

 

Looking upstream on the tidal reaches towards the railway bridge at Cappoquin on Christmas Day.

 

Looking downstream on the tidal reaches from the bridge to the town of Cappoquin on Christmas Day.

 

Looking upstream on the tidal reaches from the bridge at Cappoquin on Christmas Day.

 

Looking upstream on the tidal reaches at the Kitchen Hole at Cappoquin on Christmas Day.

 

Looking downstream on the tidal reaches at the Kitchen Hole at Cappoquin on Christmas Day.

 

Thank goodness, the Big Freeze is finally over now. This was the river below the Lodge on December 28.

[Ian Powell - Blackwater Lodge]

Following the very cold spell in December, conditions are now much milder with air temperatures of +8-10C.

The river was quite low for the time of year at the beginning of January,

but we have just had a well-timed flood which has brought the water temperature and level up.

This bodes well for the Opening Day on February 1st as it will help to encourage early springers to run.

 

The graph below shows the rainfall and river level so far for January.

 

To keep up to date with all the latest info, look at our Fishing Report Page

which is updated daily at http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net/Fish...shingreport.htm