Salmon Season 2014

Season 2014 Review

As far as salmon fishing seasons are concerned, last year was definitely a season to forget. This was the case for many salmon fishers throughout the North Atlantic. Norway’s season was poor as was the case for most of Scotland. In Ireland, the rivers I fish had a very poor year.

River Slaney

I began my season on the Dee and Glyde and fished fairly hard while we had decent water levels during March, April and May; without success. I had a memorable day on the Slaney with my mate, Simon Cassidy with resulted in a springer for myself and another couple contacted. Simon also lost two fish during the heat of battle; excellent spring salmon action.

A Slaney Springer taken on a Sunray.

 I didn’t manage to contact any springers on my favourite haunt, the Finn. On reflection, Very few of my visits coincided with good fishing conditions, this coupled with the fact that the river didn’t get the best run of fish. I enjoyed a great day guiding on the Snaa Pool, River Mourne where a guest caught a superb fresh run, 12lb springer.

I travelled to the Tay at Murthly again this summer. Five of us travelled to Scotland and rented a pretty bungalow in picturesque Dunkeld. In typical fashion, our visit yet again coincidedwith a heat wave, yet Liam managed to winkle a fish out of his favourite Island Pool. The female members of our party did quite well. Caireen lost a fish in the Tronach after an epic late evening battle. Maeve landed here first salmon on the second day at Stenton. The trip to the Tay is the highlight of my angling year regardless of how the fishing turns out. Tony Black, the Ghillie at Murthly is fantastic company and a superb ghillie. Needless to say, Murthly is booked for July 2015 again.

The Tay at Murthly

There wasn’t much time to kill at home in Louth after the Scottish trip before I headed north-west to Donegal. Glenmore Rivers fishery manager Sim handed me the reins at the lodge while he attended a wedding in England. There were good water levels during my week at Glenmore, yet there was a mediocre run of grilse. Luckily, our guests from Florida caught fish, nonetheless and enjoyed a great holiday. After my stint as host, I got an opportunity to do some fishing and enjoyed a great day on the upper Finn landing five grilse and losing a few more.

Kevin is justifiably happy with his Finn grilse taken at Kearney's.

August saw some rain and I managed a few more Finn fish but the fishing in Louth remained exceptionally poor. The river Dee got a small rise on one occasion but very few fish seemed to run. While there was low water there was no build of fish in the lower stretched of the Dee and Glyde, in stark contrast to the previous season.

A lovely stretch of the Dee in Co.Louth. A single hander with a no.7 line is ideal.

Another highlight of 2014 was a day spent fishing in the breathtaking surroundings of Glenveagh National Park in the company of James, who caught a lovely 2.5lb sea-trout in very challenging conditions.

 Breathtaking views on Lough Beagh, Gleveagh National Park, Co.Donegal.

James Casey with a super 2.5lb Lough Beagh sea trout.

I spent a few hours on the Boyne at Navan with Frank Doherty and caught a lovely five pound grilse on a tiny turbo disc tube. This, however, was to be my last salmon of the season. September usually sees the cream of the fishing on the East Coast but a combination of low water and no fish prevailed. A small rise in water levels on the Fane in October failed to bring any salmon upriver and so the season simply petered out.

 A welcome fish on the Boyne at Navan. First blood to the Loop Xact 12'6 #8. GDC Float/Inty head.

The Boyne grilse.

Looking back, the eternal optimist in me is telling me that surely 2015 can’t be as bad as 2014. Last year I waited until March before wetting a line, this year, impatience has got the better of me. My new salmon licence arrived in the post this evening and it looks likely that I will wet a line in the next week or so.

 Putting the 12'6 Loop Xact through its paces on the Mourne in October.

Lord's Pool on the Mourne at Sion Mills.

A Drive Along the River Leannan System.

Myself and angling buddy, James took an exploratory drive today along the River Leannan in Co Donegal. The Leannan is open to angling on a catch and release basis for 2015. The Leannan was always a renowned spring salmon fishery which regularly produced opening day salmon on the 1st of January. It has however, been closed to salmon angling for a number of years. I, personally disagree with closing fisheries entirely because this leaves unoccupied fisheries open to unscrupulous poachers. It's welcome news indeed that the Leannan is open for catch and release hopefully and indication that salmon numbers are on the increase.

We began our trip at the famous Watt's Pool on the Lower River. Watt's Pool is a private fishery below a substantial weir just above the town of Ramelton. Prior to its closure, Watts Pool regularly produced spring salmon in early January; the weir holding lethargic springers back in the large pool itself. Today was my first time seeing the pool, a large inviting looking pool. There's a fast flowing neck which spreads out into a wide pool with a nice steady draw. 

   Watts Pool

I have no idea about how to go about purchasing a permit to fish Watts Pool or indeed if it is possible to do so. Perhaps the owners will provide information in the coming season.

                                                  Middle Section of the Lower River Leannan

We drove upstream along the river towards Lough Fern, Lough Fern divides the upper and lower sections of the Leannan and is a popular destination for trout fishers in Donegal. 

 Middle section of the Lower River

  Middle section of the Lower River

The upper section of the Leannan, above Lough Fern, is considerably longer than the lower river and flows through fairly rough pasture. Many of the fields were flooded in the high water and the river meanders for most of its way from Gartan Lough down to the Fern.

     The Upper River Leannan above Lough Fern

     The Upper River Leannan above Lough Fern

                                                The Upper River Leannan above Lough Fern

Lough Gartan and the start of the River Leannan.

Our tour of the Leannan system ended where the river begins, pictured here at the outflow from Gartan Lough, near Churchill. There is some great trout fishing to be had in numerous loughs in the Churchill area. 

All in all it was enjoyable taking a drive up along the Leannan system, which I had never previously scoped out. Perhaps I'll give it a throw in the not too distant future. 

Trout on the Fane

The trout fishing on the Fane has been excellent recently so my fishing buddy, James Casey decided it was about time he came down from Derry to give it a throw. Typically, the weather turned rough on the Saturday and on Sunday we were faced with a colouring, rising river. Anglers had been enjoying tremendous sport with the trout keyed into hawthorn flies. The best of the hawthorn fishing was now over but we encountered a super hatch of Olive Uprights. For some strange reason, however, the trout failed to rise to these delicate upwings. We did, however, come across some trout which were feeding heavily in prime feeding lies. My brother managed an excellent trout on a dry paradun while myself and James got a couple of beauties, team fishing to a couple of rising trout. Great fun!




A lovely trout for Darragh.

Trout acrobatics!

James looks pretty pleased with himself!

Stunner!

A proper rise!

Safe as houses.


The end of May and June sees the cream of the fishing on the Fane. I usually manage my biggest trout of the year during the course of the next few weeks as the biggest trout key in on sedges. Fishing the hatches of small caddis flies, known locally as 'Grey Flag' can be absorbing and very tricky. The big trout often key in on the pupal stage of the fly and often hunt the swimming pupae just under the surface. If we get warm weather, I won't venture out before 8 o' clock and often stay on the river till after midnight. Luckily the Fane flows from west to east so you're often pitching your dry fly into the setting sun so visibility remains good till late on into the night. Spending a couple of hours in the lonely drumlin country of South Armagh/Monaghan as the night falls is a fantastic way to zone out after a busy days work.

Slaney Silver

The River Slaney, in Co. Wexford is one of Ireland’s top rivers for spring salmon. The Slaney flows through some of the best farmland in the country; in a county possibly better known for its hurling and its strawberries. This region is also known as the Sunny South East because it gets more sunshine than any other part of Ireland. Wexford’s coastline boasts some superb bass fishing for those in the know, but it was the county’s salmon I was after, last Saturday.

While out flogging the Dee during the week, I got a welcome phone call from fishing buddy, Simon Cassidy, to join him for a day on the Slaney. Naturally, I jumped at the chance..... I’d be very foolish to turn that offer down. So we met up down in the Slaney Valley with high hopes for a successful day. Conditions weren’t exactly what you’d call perfect, with a bright, warm sun and hardly a cloud in the sky. The forecast, however, was for cloud to build later on in the aftenoon.

Most of my spring fishing is done on the Mourne and Finn on the Foyle system as well as my local Rivers Dee and Glyde. The Slaney is a different class of a river altogether. For a start, the water is gin clear. A lot of the pools are fairly deep and there is a strong flow which fishes the fly beautifully. Many pools reminded me of the Scottish Dee, I once fished at Deecastle.

We were fishing a three rod beat, so myself and Simon headed up to the top section after being shown the pools and likely lies. I started off on a small pot at the very top of the beat and tackled it with my switch rod setup and a float/sink3 Zpey Compact head. Fly choice was a small foxwing tube with a sunburst underwing and a natural grey fox overwing. 

The switch rod was handy for overhead casting from high banks, while I used the 12’9’ Sage Z-Axis for wading. We fished hard until lunchtime without a touch, the bright, sunny conditions not helping our cause. I ended up breaking the tip section of my switch rod when I was picking it up from where it was sitting against some bushes.

After lunch, I tackled the lower section of the beat. I perservered with a Guideline Sink 1/2 shooting head, a 15’ tapered leader and a small Black and Orange foxwing tube. I spotted a fish move in a lovely stream and when I covered the spot, was met with a strong draw on the line but the fish didn’t stick. I tried a smaller fly and also a Red Frances conehead but there was no response. Our kind host headed home at 5 O’ clock which meant that I could go back up to the top of the beat. I meant up with Simon who informed me that he had lost a double figure fish after a 5 minute battle. Confidence rising, I fished the pools we had fished earlier that morning, this time with a Float/Sink1 shooting head and the same long tapered leader. I decided to try a Sunray Shadow with a white bucktail underwing and fish it quickly through the pools. In one spot, a fish head and tailed over the fly and as the ling tightened, I was sure I was in business but surprisingly, I didn’t hook up.

In another pool, I saw a fish move and when I covered it I got another good take which didnt stick. By the time I got down to Simon again, he told me that he had lost another fish after a brief tussle. He encouraged me to try the Sunray in the place he had lost the two fish. Just as light was beginning to fade, I hooked into a fish on the Sunray exactly where Simon had lost his fish! The first fish of the year is always a nervy battle despite Simon’s assurances that the fish was well hooked in the scissors. The Slaney is open for catch and release only so barbless singles are the rule. Thankfully, the hook held and I landed the fish in a quiet backwater. Success on the Sunray; a first for me!

A great days salmon fishing which certainly makes up for all the blank Dee and Glyde sessions. I’d love to get back to the Slaney sometime. If not this season, perhaps next  season. A big thanks to Simon for the shout to come down and fish!

Hopefully we’ll get some rain soon and get on the Finn. The main run of springers usually arrives at the beginning of May but they won’t arrive unless there’s water, so fingers crossed!

Out and About on the Glyde

Dee Sheep

The water level has fallen considerably on the Dee. The Glyde remains at a good height, however and it is on this river I have been concentrating. I tried Lisrenny, downstream from Tallanstown Saturday night. No sign of a fish here, but it was a lovely calm evening. The Lisrenny stretch of the Glyde is at the end of a long lane and you're almost guaranteed to find peace and quiet.

            Lirsrenny

   

         Rod-cam at Lisrenny.


 I fished the stretch above Tallanstown last night. The days have been very bright so I’ve been fishing at last and first light. There is some really nice fly water up here and the trout were certainly keen on my light fox wing tubes but no sign of a springer.

    The track down to the river.

     A lovely evening on the Glyde.


   Lovely streams for the fly.

                                           

     The Rising of the Moon
Yesterday morning, I hit the Glyde at Castlebellingham for a couple of hours. I started off at the Basin pool and fished down to Wogans. This morning saw me down at Castlebellingham again. The full moon means big tides and hopefully a fish or two will nose in the rivers. It’s great to have the opportunity to fish for a fortnight, a welcome break from work.

I’ve heard reports of a couple of fish being caught down on the Boyne and further south, there are fish being caught on the Slaney. The Dee and Glyde aren’t really being fished for salmon at the minute so it’s a matter of plugging away and hopefully one will turn up. Indeed, I have yet to meet another angler on these rivers this season, apart from my own fishing buddies! I’ll be out again this evening so I’ll report back later. Liam are on the Finn tomorrow. There is some rain forecast for the North West later today and perhaps this evening. We’ll have to wait and see if we get enough to raise water levels on the Finn. So it’s a day at the vice for me. Some more small mobile tubes for the peaty Finn water on the menu!