Photo: Shane Lancaster of Ballina with the largest trout caught on a fly on Lough Derg this Mayfly season. The magnificent fish of 9lbs 2ozs was hooked on Monday night, May 24, off Parker’s Point, near Castlelough.

FEMALE ANGLER CAPTURES LARGE TROUT ON LOUGH DERG ....

The Mayfly season on Lough Derg is slowly petering out, but there is still some fishing to be had at the deeper southern end of the lake.

There could yet be a few days of decent spent gnat fishing if the weather proves favourable as there was a heavy presence of spinners in the Castlelough area over the past weekend. Yet, the end of Ephemera Dancia for another year is nigh, judging by the catch latest returns.

Two of the main weigh-in stations on the lake are Ciss Ryan’s and Larkin's pub in Garrykennedy where not a single fish was weighed in on either Saturday or Sunday last.

But the fisher who hit the jackpot last Friday was Síle Corish who had a wonderful trout of 5lbs 10ozs on the grant while fishing just off the shoreline at Garrykennedy. Síle, who usually catches more fish than the majority of male anglers, spotted the trout rising for fly. She tracked the fish’s rise pattern for a couple of hours before lobby her fly under his nose and nabbing her quarry, which had two lamprey eels attached to it.

Well done to Sheila who now looks set to recapture her title as Fisherwoman of the Year in the Garrykennedy Club. Indeed, angling is a sport I would encourage other women to take up as the few I know who are involved on Lough Derg are very good anglers and are as good, if not better, than many of the men. Indeed, some of the best fishers and fly casters in the world are women.

Meanwhile, Darrin Gardiner and Shane Lancaster also had some good fishing last weekend on the southern end of the lake. Darrin had fish of 1lbs 12ozs and 1lbs 15ozs on Saturday and one of 2lbs 2ozs on Sunday. Shane had fish of 2lbs 1ozs and 1lb 8ozs on Saturday. All these trout were got on the spent gnat.

As the Mayfly season on Derg draws to a close for another year the focus has now switched to the prize presentations for those anglers lucky enough to have landed the heaviest fish over the last six weeks or so. The prize giving for the Ciss Ryan’s Pub competition in Garrykennedy will be held this Friday night in the pub at 9pm and a buffet supper will be served. Two prizes of €300 will be presented, one for the heaviest trout caught in the first half of May and the second for the heaviest trout caught in the second half of May. There will also be a prize of €150 for the heaviest trout caught in April. The Garrykennedy Fishing Club’s own prize presentation night will be held in the same pub on Saturday, June 12.


SHANNON REGIONAL FISHERIES BOARD LAUNCH A RESTORATION PLAN FOR WILD SALMON ON THE SHANNON

A plan to restore wild salmon stocks in Lough Derg and the upper lakes of the Shannon and their tributaries was launched on Thursday of last week by the Shannon Regional Fisheries Board.

The construction of dams on the river over the last century or so as well as deterioration in water quality have contributed to the decimation of wild salmon in the upper Shannon, but now the fishery board has introduced its “Shannon Salmon Restoration Plan” to restore stocks to sustainable levels.

The plan sets out a road map for addressing fish passage issues, habitat restoration and water quality concerns. The board said its plan has been developed over several years and sets out a series of concrete initiatives which together seek in the short and medium term to achieve its objective of restoring wild salmon. This launch follows an eighteen-month consultative period with all stakeholders.

Board CEO Eamon Cusack told those attending a conference in Limerick last week, organized by the board to mark Fisheries Awareness Week, that assessing obstacles to fish passage and looking at engineering solutions to aid fish migrations are core objectives of the Plan.

“This involves international experts in a review of best practice elsewhere. Hydro-acoustic surveys will be carried out to assess the passage of salmon past major dams and navigation weirs on the Shannon,” said Mr Cusack.

Under the Atlantic ARC Project, funded under the EU Interreg programme, genetic typing of River Shannon salmon will be carried out. A review of current hatchery programmes will be carried out with a strategic approach to the selection of rivers for the establishment of satellite populations of salmon in the Upper Shannon catchment.


Last Thursday’s conference staged by the board also focused on a number of initiatives already underway to restore and enhance Irish fisheries, and this column in the coming weeks will contain lots of other angling issues which were raised at the event.

FISHING FOR KIDS ...

A series of summer courses to introduce children to fishing will begin in Killaloe on June 15. “Fishing for Kids” offers a one-day and three-day course for young people to learn about angling in a friendly and safe environment. The courses are being organised by Noel Bugler of Ballina.

As part of the courses participants will be taught how to operate a standard spinning road and select various baits and lures. They will be taught how to catch a fish and unhook it and release it unharmed back into the water. For all details contact Noel Bugler at Fishing for Kids on 086-3919472 or email him at Info@fishingforkids.ie. Details can be seen on www.fishingforkids.ie