Mayfly starting on Melvin, trout fishing to pick up
Lough Melvin remained fairly quiet again this week from the 15th until the 21st of May with few boats out after salmon. The Mayfly have started to hatch with fly reported in Kinlough Bay and rods reported good sport with Sonaghan pursuing hatching mayfly.
The trout fishing will pick up well now as mayfly hatches increase and given the forecast for warm weather for the next number of days, it will be well worth setting afloat with wet & dry mayfly patterns.
Go fishing…
For info/boat hire/bookings etc on Lough Melvin see http://www.drowessalmonfishery.com/ or tel.: 0+353 (0)71 – 9841 055.
For info/Guides/boat hire on Lough Melvin contact Sean Maguire’s Tackle Shop, Main Street, Garrison. Tel: +44 7871443304
For bookings/guides etc. on the Rossinver Fishery contact Bill McNeary, tel.: +353 (0)71 – 9854 930 or Jim Hoye, tel.: +353 (0)83 – 1197 428.
For info see http://www.rossinverfishery.com/
By Lindsey Clarke
Mask fishing well, mayfly in full swing, worth a visit
Ronan Cusack reports a busy week on Mask this week, as the mayfly gets into full swing. Reports indicate that fly hatches are sparse in most areas, yet trout are actively seeking food close to the surface.
Mike and John from Scotland had a day fishing wet flies with Ronan on Saturday last and finished with 6 trout over the limit, plus numerous undersize (best fish 2lbs, all returned). Howard Smith and fishing buddy Mike from the UK also fished with Ronan for two days this week in rough conditions and finished with 19, all on wet flies. The lads also returned as many more undersize (best fish 3lbs). Regular visitor to Mask Jim Connell fished with Kevin Egan on Monday last and they had 4 on wets (best fish 2lbs, all returned). Eddy Gibbons and Simon Hughes from Tourmakeady had 6 for a day on wets in the Gortmore area (best fish 4.5lbs). Kevin Sheridan guided for Michael Kingdom and Antoine Bellanger on Monday of this week and boated 19 trout, with 12 exceeding the limit (best fish 3.5lbs). Kevin fished for a few hours every day this week and reported good fishing most days.
HF McCloy was in touch to report some good fishing also, very dependent on conditions. One outing in the sunshine produced 5 good fish around the 2lbs mark, in contrast a good wave and a dull day brought 14 good fish to the boat – best fish 2.5lb. Their best fishing was from the Caher Bay and Saints Island areas. HF also reports he is getting married this week, so Mask anglers should watch out for some good fishing tackle going cheap soon! Overall Mask is fishing well and worth a visit.
Mixed fishing on Corrib but plenty of small trout showing
Declan Gibbons reports that anglers, guides and other service providers are reporting very mixed fishing for the past week on Corrib, with some having excellent sport and others reporting patchy or poor fishing. Two notable themes are emerging from speaking with anglers; firstly the large number of small/undersize fish which is very encouraging to see and bodes well for the future, however the care with which these fish are being handled is poor at times with fish welfare being mentioned in angling circles.
Please wet your hands before handling any fish, unhook gently and quickly, and get the fish back in the water as soon as possible. Secondly, the number of anglers out on the lake without lifejackets or personal flotation devices – there have been a number of fatal accidents on the lake in recent years, and a lifejacket may have prevented some of these. Please take care and remember your lifejacket – it’s also the law! A bit of peer pressure is sometimes a good thing – people are more inclined to listen to their friends and family, and heed their advice. Over the week there were reports of excellent mayfly hatches in most areas when weather conditions were conducive to hatching, and fishing to match it. There were long periods of little fly life, however, and the fishing has been patchy overall.
In the Oughterard area Basil Shields (091-552550) reports that guests had mixed fortunes, catching fish on buzzer and mayfly. Larry Kelly, Dublin and John Jacks, Scotland had 42 fish for 10 days, 8 of which were caught on buzzer – one over 6lbs, all the rest caught on mayfly with the best of those estimated at 3.5lbs (all 42 fish were sportingly released). Colin Wright from Belfast had 4 fish for one day’s fishing on mayfly with the best fish 3.25lbs, all released. Shannon anglers Glen O’Connell and Ger Carrig had 3 fish on buzzer for one day with the best fish being 4.75lbs, all fish sportingly released. Donegal duo Milton Matthews and Lindsey Clarke had 6 fish for 2 days fishing, including 5 on buzzer and 1 on a dry mayfly, all sportingly released and the best fish 5.25lbs.
Andrew Clay, Dublin and Colman Counihan, Gort had 6 fish on buzzer to 4.75lbs, all released. UK angler William Bickerstaff had 6 fish on buzzer for his visit to Lough Corrib – best fish 5.9lbs, all released. USA angler Warner Stort had 7 fish, all on buzzer with 3 fish over 5lbs, best fish 5lbs 10oz and all released. David and Daniel Dobbs Dublin had 21 fish for 3 days on mayfly with 2 fish over 3lbs. Victor Chalmers had 11 fish for 2 days on mayfly, all released.
Deirdre Forde from Camillaun Lodge hosted the Ferrero/Torrero party of 4 rods from Italy on their annual visit to Lough Corrib, led by Eduardo Ferrero who was on the victorious Italian team which won the FIPS Mouche Masters World Championship in Galway last year. For 5 days fishing they boated 71 trout, all on mayfly patterns. These were the most successful anglers in the week. Other anglers found dapping more successful than wetfly patterns but the hatches of fly were patchy. Deirdre says find the flies and you find the fish feeding!
Read the full report here.
Trout fishing on Lough Arrow received a slight damper
Trout fishing on Lough Arrow received a damper with blustery showers and strong winds impacting at times. However, some mayflies were hatching in sheltered areas allowing for some good spent fishing.
Phill Siddal, UK, had 3 trout (all returned) to 1.5 lbs. on a Grey Wulff, while Gerry Martin caught 4 fish to 3 lbs. on dry mayflies. Ken Murray and Gerry Kelly had 6 trout over the weekend on wets. Lady angler, Sarah Maxwell, boated 2 trout at 3 lbs. 12 oz. & 2 lbs. 10 oz. on the dap.