Opening Weekend on Lough Corrib

The season kicked off last Friday on Lough Corrib, with mild spring-like conditions welcoming anglers back to the lake. While some locals and visitors took to the lake with serious intent on opening their account for the season, many more went out in a more relaxed way, with fishing possible secondary to the social aspect of the day. Lunch on an island is a large component of opening day, and given the time of year, I'm sure many cups of tea and maybe something a little stronger were had!

Jacek Gorny’s magnificent 21lbs trout from opening day on Corrib, Friday 15 February 2013.

Fly anglers tend not to do well until a few weeks into the season, and as ever, it was the troll that brought in most fish. Over the weekend Harold and Kenny O'Toole, fishing with Stephen Greaney, landed 8 trout for 12lbs on the troll and wetfly. PJ McGauley from Oughterard landed 2 trout, including one of 5lbs, on the troll. Sarah Mollor had 3 trout for 4lbs while trolling, while Cork angler Gavin Henshaw landed 5 for 8lbs over 2 days trolling. David Cox, Patrick Molloy and Padraic Fahy fished for one day and landed 6 fish for 12lbs.

In Greenfields, 12 anglers ventured out on opening day, recording 5 trout. Paul Dignam from Ennis took a 2lbs trout on a Kate McClaren fly. Ciaran Reilly (Loughrea) had a 1.5lbs trout on a Fiery Brown, and Declan Gibbons from Cong had a trout of 1.25lbs on a Pearly Dabbler. 2 visiting anglers from Co. Offaly landed 2 trout while trolling as well.

On Sunday the Collinamuck & District Angling Club held the Langan Cup competition. Winners for the third year in a row were the team of John and Frank Butler, with a catch of 6 trout for a total weight of 16.5lbs. They also had the heaviest fish, a trout of 5lbs. Second place went to Daragh Noone and Sergei Davoran, who had 4 trout for 7.8lbs, and in third were Pat Mc Donagh and Phil Donaghy with 2 trout for 7.6lbs.

Donal Connolly from Nonaim Lodge, west of Oughterard, reported on mixed fishing for his guests on opening day, with some blanks recorded, but Ernie Deacy had a lovely 4lbs trout, while Taylor Vard had 2 trout for about 2 lbs which were released. All enjoyed being back on the water after the long winter break. For more information on accommodation and boat hire/guiding with Donal, check their website at www.fishingcorrib.com

Tomi Kurman and Jacek Gorny (aka the Corrib Predatore Team) have been guiding anglers on Corrib for a few years now, specialising in ferox trout and pike fishing, and their guests have taken many specimen fish in that time. Jacek himself, however, had an opening day to remember last week, when he caught his own personal best trout from Corrib, a magnificent ferox of 93cm, that weighed 21lbs. The fish was photographed before being carefully released again. Well done Jecek! For information on guided fishing with the guys, check www.fishingireland.pl

Lough Mask

Paddy Murphy and Mark Fullen on Lough Mask Feb2013.

Ronan Cusack reported on the opening of the season on Lough Mask. The trout season kicked off on Lough Mask on Friday last, with large numbers of shore anglers congregating on the western shoreline. Weather conditions were ideal, with a light southerly breeze and a mild hint of spring in the air. Anglers began to arrive from as early as 5:30a.m., taking up position in some of the hot spots. Water levels were also perfect, with much of the grass margin covered by flood water. IFI staff carried out routine checks in the Tourmakeady area over the weekend and 97 anglers reported 29 fish. The best trout was landed by a Westmeath angler which weighed 4.9lbs.

Local Tourmakeady angler Michael Shovlin spent a few hours wet-fly fishing on Friday and he had 2 fish (best fish 2.5lbs, all released). Liam Conroy and Peter Gosson, also from Tourmakeady, fished on Friday and they had 1 fish for 1.5lbs. Liam fished again on Saturday and he had 4 fish (best fish 1.75lbs, all released). Kevin Beattie from Ballinrobe fished on Friday and he had 1 fish for 1.5lbs. John Brennan and fishing partner Kieran from Longford fished on Sunday and they had 2 fish for the day. Kieran fished Minkie's over shallow water across Cahir Bay for most of the day and landed and released a cracking fish for 4.5lbs.

Salmon

No salmon to report yet from any of the fisheries open at this time of year. Very high water levels at the Galway Weir have made fishing impossible since opening day, and water levels will need to drop here before the first fish will be recorded. At Delphi, a few fresh fish have been spotted, and a nice springer was hooked on Finlough by Enrico Fantasia, but the fish threw the hook at the net, giving a good show of itself before swimming off! I'm sure it will only be a short time before I can report on the first salmon of 2013 in this region.

The Season Ahead

At the start of the season, IFI would like to wish all anglers the very best of luck for the season ahead. We remind everyone that safety on the water is your own responsibility. Please wear a lifejacket or Personal Flotation Device when afloat - remember it's the law! Always check the weather forecast before you head out, tell someone where you're going, and what time you expect to return, and bring a fully-charged mobile phone with you. In case of emergency call 112 or 999 for the Coastguard.

Inland Fisheries Ireland have staff who enforce fisheries law, including prevention of illegal fishing. If you see any illegal activity, please use the 24-hour hotline to report it. The number is 1890 FISH24 (1890 34 74 24).