River Moy

The River Moy rose dramatically in the early part of last week and with harsh weather and high water very few anglers tried their luck on the Moy. By Friday 2nd April however water levels had dropped considerably and one salmon was caught on the East Mayo Anglers water by Kieran Murphy of Wexford who landed a fine fish at 13lbs. Ballina Salmon Anglers water produced only two salmon for the week, with the fish weighing at 5.5lbs and 9lbs and both being caught on Sunday the 4th. However, by then, water levels on Sunday were beginning to rise once more.

Lough Conn

Angling effort had been somewhat limited on Lough Conn until this week. The poor weather hampered angling and, with heavy winds, rain hail and sleet showers, conditions were far from ideal. Some anglers did however have great success with buzzers and duckfly. From the northern part of Lough Conn and around Bog Bay several good days angling have been reported. On April 1st John Warren had two trout, one brown and a 15 inch sea trout taken on a yellow bibio. Padraig Traynor had six trout over three evenings fishing with the best weighing at 2lbs and all taken on buzzers, while John Burke had two trout with his best at 3.8lbs. Alex Corcoran, Crossmolina also had a trout at 1.5lbs. John Warren and Ian Wyse, Crossmolina fishing on the 4th April had two trout each, the heaviest at 2lbs.

In the Cloghans Bay area good angling has also been reported with duckfly hatches bringing trout to feed. Joe Quinn, Cloghans, had four trout over two days angling, with the best weighing at 2lbs. Michael Kelly, Balbriggan, had seven trout over two days, the best of which weighed in at an impressive 6lbs and was taken on a dry fly. Walter and Susan Byrne, Offaly also had a successful week, averaging four trout per day over five days with all fish being taken on the bibio and duckfly. Finally, Stephen Brown had two trout for his day on the Lough, with the best weighing at 2lbs. Despite being extremely low for a long period, Lough Conn has now risen substantially to a near ‘normal' water level.

Carrowmore Lough

Carrowmore got off to a good start to the season with the first salmon being caught in the Bangor District on the 30th March. The 6lbs salmon was caught by Castlebar angler Colin McLean who landed the fish on a bibio fly at the mouth of the Glencullin River. Cold, wet and stormy weather since then has prevented anglers from getting onto the Lough.

Lough Beltra

Glenisland Anglers' Co-Op waters had a good start to the season with two nice fish being caught on the 3rd April. Aiden Byrne, Castlebar had one salmon at 8lbs caught on a shrimp fly at the Dock, while at Morrison's quay Eamon Kennedy, Newport also had success with a fine 9lbs salmon. For further information on fishing Lough Beltra or boat hire please contact Glenisland Anglers' Co-operative, Glenisland Post Office, Co. Mayo on 094 9021302 or Newport House, Newport, Co. Mayo on 098 41222.

Ballin Lough

The angling season opened again on Ballin Lough on the 1st of April and despite opening day being one of sleet and snow showers, one angler ventured out and was well rewarded for the day. Jimmy Gibson of Westport was the first to fish Ballin Lough and had an impressive day despite weather conditions, with 11 rainbow trout successfully being caught and released with the best fish weighing 4lbs. The 3rd April was also a successful day for John Summerville of Cong who had 9 rainbow trout (best fish at 3lbs) and also Andrew Boyd, Athlone who had 11 rainbow trout for the day (best also 3lbs). Ken Kelly and friends fishing three rods had 8 rainbow trout, five of which were released with their best fish weighing 4lbs on Sunday the 4th April. For information on permit and boat hire on Ballin Lough, please Contact Mrs. Gill on 098-26128.

Ballisodare Fishery

Ballisodare Fishery opened for angling on the 1st April and a total of four salmon were taken on its opening day. The first fish of the season on the Ballisodare water fell to Sean Gallagher who caught his 8lbs salmon with the worm. The best fish of the day however was caught by Richie Waters who landed a 10lb salmon, two other salmon were also caught with all fish being taken on the worm. The 2nd April saw two fish being caught; again a 10lbs salmon caught by D. Harkness on the worm and the first for the season on the fly was taken by Garry Duffy who hooked his 5lbs salmon on an Ally Shrimp which was then safely released. Saturday saw another 10lb salmon falling to the worm, this time to Josie Trotter. The week ended well with a further four salmon being caught on the 4th, with one at 9lbs, one at 8lbs and two at 7lbs being reported. All of these salmon were taken on the worm.

Ross Carthy, with a 9lbs salmon caught by his father, Angler Thomas Callaghan and Ronnie Gordon with his 11lbs salmon. Both fish were taken on Lough Gill on Easter Sunday.

Lough Gill

Lough Gill reports two fine Salmon for the week, both taken on Sunday 4th. The best was caught by Ronnie Gordon whose 11lbs Salmon was taken while trolling off Shell House with a Silver Dace lure. Casimer Carthy also had success with the Silver Dace, catching his 9lbs Salmon off Church Island.