LOUGH OWEL

There is little or no 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.

LOUGH 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 Lough 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 disable 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 Donoor 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 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 5lbs 7ozs on wet flies. Bernie Scott, Moate ( 87 years young ) also had a good fish of 5.5lbs. Cormac Doyle, Athlone had 4 fish up to 4lbs 10ozs. Joe McGeehan, Athlone had 2 fish of 5lbs 3ozs and 2lbs7ozs.  Newtowncashel Anglers held a competition on Sunday 20^th May. The winner was  Mark Craven, Athlone with a fine fish of 6lbs 8ozs.  2^nd Oliver Fallon, Athlone with fish of 2lbs 9ozs  Midland Trout anglers competition was won by Cormac Doyle 2^nd Padraig Hanniffy, Athlone with fish of 2lbs 6ozs, 1lb 9ozs, 1lb 8ozs. 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.

 

Photo: 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 a fine Brown Trout of 7lbs. 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. Source CFB

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

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

 

Photo: Michael Ganly accepts the Barra Flynn Memorial Cup from Ross and Kate Flynn while Joseph Crompton looks on after the recent Athlone Anglers Association competition. - photo courtesy of Athlone Anglers Association.

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 9pm 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 11am 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 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...

 

Photo: courtesy of Pat Cleary photographer Birr

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 1kg 800g

• 2nd Place: Anthony Cunningham, Co Tipperary with 4 trout  for 1 kg 700g

• 3rd Place: Jason Wheatley, Tipperary with 4 trout for 1kg 550g

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

 

Photo: courtesy of Pat Cleary photographer Birr

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 is 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 DERRAVARAGH,

No report received this period.

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

PALLAS LAKE CO OFFALY

No report received this period.

For updates contact  Dinny Coyne Chairperson of the Pallas Lake Angling Club Tel: 087 2974306.

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 3lbs.

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