LOUGH DERG

TJ O'Brien, TJ's ANGLING CENTRE KILLALOE Tel: 061 376009 Mob 087 8108225 reports on the Mayfly fishing on Lough Derg

'HOOKED ON FISH' BY PETER GLEESON CORRESPONDENT FOR THE NENAGH GUARDIAN NEWSPAPER Mob: 087-6564662
 

LOUGH DERG ...

Meanwhile , trolling is still proving the be the most productive fishing method for trout on Lough Derg this week, but hopefully the warmer weather will bring some fish to the fly soon.

There were two trout trolling competitions in Ballina/Killaloe on Sunday (March 21). The winner of the Ballina/Killaloe Anglers Club competition, sponsored by Rita and Mike Kelly, was Michael Conroy with a fish of 2 lb 9 oz. Paul Hanly and Mike Quinlivan had the heaviest bag, 4 lb 1 oz. Johnny Mowat and John Travers had the second heaviest fish and the juvenile winners were Rory and Anthony Kennedy.

Saint Flannan’s Fishing Club also had a trolling competition, kindly sponsored by the Anchor Bar. The winner there was Pat Riordan with a trout of 2lb 5oz. Jimmy Ryan was second and Ger Hickey was third. The club also has a competition on Sunday, March 28th, sponsored by Walsh’s’ Bar. The weigh-in will be at 6.30pm.

Garrykennedy Fishing Club members are back on the lake this Sunday (March 28) for a trout fishing competition. The vast majority of members will be trolling as there are still no reports of the trout coming to the fly on Derg.

NENAGH RIVER ...

Angler Anthony Fitzpatrick tells me he spotted four lamprey eels while wading the Nenagh River 200 metres downstream of the Ballyartella Weir at the weekend. Lampreys have become the bane of the trout angler’s life here in the Lough Derg catchment.

There appears to be a surge in reports in recent years of trout and pike being caught in the lake with these eels attached, leach-like, to flesh of the fish by their sucker mouths. The big problem for anglers is that many of the fish with eels attached to them are in emaciated or poor condition. It seems the eels are literally sucking the life blood from the fish.

A study on lampreys by freshwater biologist Dr Fran Igoe has been taking place on the lake over the last couple of years, funded under the Lough Derg Native Fish Biodiversity Project.

Fran, who now works with the Southern Fisheries Board, gave a very interesting talk on the subject in the Hibernian Inn in Nenagh on Thursday of last week (March 18). Initial identification of the sample lamprey given to Fran by local anglers have shown that these are a sea lamprey.

Fran, lead scientist and co-ordinator of the biodiversity project, said there is speculation that the lamprey found in the lake is a landlocked species. “If this is really the case then this would be of great significance. There are only a handful of such cases throughout the world,” said Fran.

Anglers who catch pike or trout with lamprey stuck to them are urged to forward the eels to the project team. Photographs of the mark left by the lamprey on the fish you caught are also required, so bring your camera in the boat with you. The project team also want you to record the length of the fish and weight and details of where the fish was caught, and if you have a fish finder please provide details of the depth the fish was caught at. Eels for analysis can be put in a deep freeze until collected by a member of the project team. The angling co-ordinator of the project is Kevin Grimes of St Flannan’s Fishing Club in Killaloe who will be happy to organise for the collection of eels and recorded statistics. Kevin can be contacted on 087-6784539.

As one of the many anglers in the Lough Derg area and throughout Ireland who have had their outboard engines stolen from his boat in recent years (Oh, my lovely new 15hp Yahama!), a story of a court case published in last week’s Connacht Tribune caught my eye. A Polish man who was involved in the theft of six outboard engines around Oughterard , and which were immediately shipped abroad, was sentenced to 20 months in prison when he appeared at a recent sitting of Galway District Court.
The court heard that the theft matters involving Adam Syrowski (40) spanned a period of two years, and involved a range engines and other goods to the value of €12,000. Half the items stolen by the accused and his gang of co-conspirators were recovered but all the outboard engines taken from different parts of Oughterard had been shipped by courier to Lithuania within two days of being stolen. The court heard that the “main player” of the gang would be appearing in court at a later date.

Reports from the Corrib and the Mask and the Midland lakes is that trout fishing remains relatively poor even for those trolling. Don’t worry, things will now pick up with the arrival of kinder weather.