ANGLING NOTES:FOLLOWING the launch of a recent pilot scheme to help angling clubs and fishery owners to restore salmon stocks in Irish rivers, 17 projects have been approved by Inland Fisheries Ireland for funding under the Salmon Conservation Fund.
While the total value of projects approved is €181,554, successful applicants will receive €120,279 from salmon licence-holder contributions, plus match funding of €61,275 from their own resources.
In assessing applications, IFI has given priority to rivers below conservation limits. Projects have been accepted from 11 counties, and have included spawning enhancement, bank protection, fish passage and habitat improvement.
Suzanne Campion, head of IFI business development, says: “Interest in this pilot scheme demonstrates the willingness of salmon licence holders to assist in the conservation of salmon and ensure its sustainability for future generations.”
Enjoyed agreat day's fishing on Lough Owel last Tuesday with Des Chew from Dublin Angling Initiative. We met fisheries officer Dermot Broughan who told us the lake is the main source of water supply for the Royal Canal, with three- to five-million gallons of water entering it every day.
Fishing close to the pumphouse, we boated three good trout and released numerous small fish. The Green Peter and Dabblers worked well and throughout the day we raised and lost some good fish.
For boat hire, contact Jack Doolan at 044-9342085. Boats cost €20 per day.
Sustained rainand spring tides raised water levels on the Ballynahinch River and resulted in large numbers of salmon entering the catchment, according to fishery manager Simon Ashe. Jack Meredith was the top rod, taking three salmon from the Castle Stretch and two from Lough Inagh over three days' fishing.
“There is no rain worth talking about over the coming week so the river will be in great condition,” he says. For accommodation and fishing, contact 095-31006 or info@ballynahinch-castle.com.
The fishingrecord book for Newport House has an entry for July 1961 showing that George Baranowski from Paris landed two salmon from the Newport River. He returned with his son on a nostalgic visit this July – 50 years later – and repeated his success by landing a fresh salmon.
On the same day the Newport Club caught five salmon, some with sea lice. The following day, David McClune caught four, returning two. Lough Beltra remains un-fished.
The LoughsAgency and Royal Society for Protection of Birds in Northern Ireland invites families to visit its unique Riverwatch Aquarium and Visitor Centre on the banks of the Foyle this Friday and Saturday from 11am until 4pm.
The BibioHopper (pictured) is a fantastic fly for brown trout, sea trout and salmon, and the legs make it an even better all-round fly, according to flytyer Jimmy Tyrrell. It can be tied with soft hen hackle or cock hackle. "I find the softer hackle works best, as it gives the pattern more of a pulse in the water," he says.
Although first tied to imitate the heather fly, today it is tied for duckfly and other darker insects, such as beetles. “Definitely a pattern for the fly box and particularly good for the West of Ireland or Killarney Lakes,” he says. Available at 086-8451257 and irishflycraft@gmail.com.