Calmer waters on Lough Sheelin signals end to the mayfly season

THE END of the mayfly season on Lough Sheelin has arrived, evident by the significantly reduced number of boats on the lake. Although the evenings saw some good trout caught of late, it’s a stark contrast to when mayfly mania hit the lake and the hot spots were congested with boats, according to fisheries officer Brenda Montgomery.

It is hard to avoid the obvious change on the lake over the past number of weeks from when it was boiling over with fish to its present quiet calm, with patchy fly life and only sporadic rises of trout.

And it was such a busy time on Sheelin over in recent weeks during which the lake has seen substantial boat traffic and much jagging, snagging, hooking and releasing of fish.

As one angler commented “This mayfly season has shown all of us that the heavy weights and numbers of trout are in there and now it’s up to us to figure out how to catch them when conditions go back to normal.”

Sheelin sometimes gets a second hatch of mayfly but the sequence from here on is mayfly, sedges, murrough and green peter. These will be the dominant species from now until the end of the fishing season.

It was my first time to indulge from start to finish in the Mayfly spectacle that simply took over my life for the best part of two weeks. I managed to catch and return seven good-sized trout over a period of six days including a stopover. It was memorable and spectacular.

Holly go sprightly

Stan Ryan landed a very large skate last weekend while fishing out from Union Hall in Co Cork aboard Colin Barnes boat Holly Joe.

The skate, estimated to weigh more than 200lb, had a wing span of 180cm and length from snout to tail of 220cm.

“After 20 minutes I had the fish to the surface before she dived 60m back to the bottom again. She dived twice more before we eventually landed her. After a few photos she was happily released to fight another day,” Stan said Fishing throughout the day was spectacular with conger up to 30lb, plus ling, pollock and many more species.

Drowsy on the river

The Drowes continued to fall due to the bright, dry and warm weather, but it fished well given the challenging conditions with 15 salmon recorded.

Galway grilse on fly

Conditions in Galway were perfect with low water levels favouring the fly, and plenty of grilse coming in. Some 93 fish reported, many taken on fly.

Kevin and Noel McCrossan from Donegal accounted for five grilse, all on the fly, while Offaly man Liam Dunne landed four on fly and shrimp, with one released. Young Dublin angler Amy O’Reilly showed dad Dave how to do it, landing the only salmon of their trip.

Erriff on the run

The run of sea trout has commenced on the Erriff Fishery and fish are running upstream in very low water, with more than 200 recorded for the week. Overall the sea trout are in excellent condition but many are heavily sea-liced.

At time of writing the grilse can be seen splashing on the tide and with rain forecast, prospects look good for a fresh run of fish into the river.

Three-trout Tracey

On Melvin, the Rossinver Fishery Annual McSharry Memorial Cup competition out of Breffni Pier was well attended with 81 rods. Patsy Tracey took top honours with three trout for 2.11kg, second was Francie White and third John Burke. Eddie Hart had the heaviest fish of 2lb 5oz.

Four go fishing

The “Fishing with Henry” offer with Henry Gilbey and John Quinlan in Co Kerry is again available for four anglers.

For an autumn slot or even in 2015, contact john@kerrybassfishing.com.

The holiday includes four days’ fishing, expert guiding across a variety of species, your experience documented by one of the world’s best fishing photographers and five nights top class food, drink and accommodation.

angling@irishtimes.com