GREEN PETER AND MURROUGH SLOW TO START.
On Owel and Lene the Sedge fishing is slowly taking off, and some cracking Rainbows and Browns are coming on line. Last week I spent 3 nights on Lene and boated a few hard fighting rainbows on Dry fly. On Friday night we fished the first night competition and over 80 anglers including quite a few juniors ventured out. On Saturday I lashed a few flies out on owel with angling pal Mick McCormack. Conditions were very good but we found it hard to entice the Owel trout. On Monday of this week my pal from Cabra in Dublin dropped down for a few hours piking. James Meehan and sons Luke, and Harry were joined by their cousin Tate of Austin, Texas. Sure enough we got Tate stuck into his first hard fighting pike. We only had a few hours but managed 4 pike trawling a variety of lures. Top lures on the day were small spoons and the bigger pike latched onto bulldogs. Unfortunally when we arrived on Derravaragh at Donore Shore some boats had being damaged, and heartless thieves stole Wheelchair angler Tom Cannon’s Honda 20Hp engine. This week we have some news from across the Country as many anglers are reeling in some fine fish.
LENE AT NIGHT. Lene is producing some cracking trout late into the night as we settle into the night time fishing .The Sedge type flies have big fish on the move. Last Wednesday night I boated 6 good fish, and as you can see from the photo the best fish was in mint condition and fin perfect. It latched onto a Dry Green Peter and I had some time with this fish on the end of my line. On Thursday night I returned to Lene hoping to have another good night. It turned out a brutal night flat calm and savage heavy rain. I fished with Pat Keenaghan and only managed one small brown trout. Very few boats were out Thursday night, and it was one of the wettest nights I spent on the lake for some time.
LARRY MULLIGAN MEMORIAL CUP. Yes on Friday night we fished the first Peter competition and up for grabs on the night was the Larry Mulligan Memorial Cup. Their was a huge entry with over 70 senior anglers and quite a few junior anglers, I reckon over 80 anglers competed in this popular fly fishing competition. We were fishing from 7pm-11:15pm and started and finished at Fagan’s Point. Some of Irelands top fly anglers were out on the night including some top international rods. It was a very choppy night, and actually was a bit cool at times. Very little fly life came on the water surface, so most of the time anglers were fishing blind. Still some nice trout moved as darkness fell and just out from Billy Connell’s Point I seen one young angler latching onto a good trout. The fish gave a great run and eventually it was boated .At the presentation I met the young Angler and it was local lad Clarien Keogh from Multyfarnham and his Granddad Kevin. I got two chances on the night and pulled out of the first fish, the second trout that took the fly held on but was good enough for a prize. Joe Lenehan of Waterstown in Navan topped the night with a fine trout of 1.24kg, second was Trim Angler Joe O’Donnell with 1.12kg, 3rd in the senior section was Kells Angler Stephen McManus with 1.10kg. Clarien Keogh topped the junior section with his fish of 1.22lbs, and Dillon Nolan finished 2nd with .64kg. Tom Fagan Chairman of Lough Lene Anglers thanked all who supported the competition and the Mulligan family for coming down on the night to present the prizes. The next Peter competition is on Friday night August 6th. Also that night the Ulster bank Cup for junior anglers will be up for grabs. More on this in our competition fixtures for August in the coming weeks. Competitions for July can be currently seen in our midlands fishing competitions section.
OWEL. I spent Saturday out on Owel with Mick McCormack. This is another fine fishery that will produce some huge trout in the coming weeks at night. We had decided to check out the daytime fishing and as we loaded up Johnny Plunkett and Billy Darby were just heading out. The lads spend a lot of time on Owel, and produce great catches from time to time. Johnny had being on the Lake mid week with his son John Junior and they had a few nice fish. On Saturday we found it hard to locate trout, and Mick managed two nice keepers with yours truly catching one small fish. We also raised a few small trout, which were well undersize out from Lady’s Island. Johnny and Billy had a far more productive day and boated 6 good fish, with Billy having a few beauties. Lough Owel Trout Preservation will host two fly competitions in August. The first Peter competition is Wednesday August 4th.
ON THE PIKE SCENE. On Monday of this week my pal James Meehan from Cabra dropped down for a few hours pike fishing. His sons Luke and Harry, and their cousin Tate Meehan from Austin in Texas joined him. We were trying to get Tate stuck into his first Irish Pike, and sure enough succeeded. The lads did not arrive till lunchtime so we only had a few hours. I contacted Paul Smith of Derravaragh Boat Hire and got a second boat. Jim and Harry set out with a huge selection of Lures, and trawled to their hearts content catching 3-4 small pike. Harry even took time out for a bit of rowing, and Jim looked quite content just to sit back. Luke and Tate ventured out on my boat and I geared them up with some of my best Derravaragh lures. We were no time out when Luke latched onto a good pike, but it lashed the bright colored lure back at us. Now Tate had a take and it was just a small jack not even a 1lbs in weight . It was proving hard to move the pike, even though I was trawling across some of the best “Hot Spots”. Sure enough eventually my best Bulldog took a hit, and this time we were in business. Tate held onto this Derravaragh fighting machine and we got a wonderful photo of Tate and Luke with a good double. Derravaragh is certainly worth a trip in the coming weeks, and Paul Smith has a fine fleet of Boats and Engines for hire. In the coming weeks we hope to include an Accommodation and Angling Providers section on our site. Here you can check out Boat Hire, B&B and the entertainment scene in the Midlands. In the mean time Paul can be contacted on 086-8230363 or 044-9371500.
ENGINE STOLEN. This is an on going problem right across the Country. Boats and Engines being stolen. On Monday when I arrived on Derravaragh one boat was being towed back and the Engine that was bolted on was stolen. The Engine belonged to Wheelchair angler Tom Cannon of Swords in Dublin. Tom has a Caravan at Donore Shore, where he spends quite a bit of time on Derravaragh. The Engine was a new 20Hp Honda, and if you have any info on this robbery please contact Lough Derravaragh Boat Hire on 044-93-71500. I spoke to Tom on Monday and he was gutted naturally.
ON THE SEA FRONT. Mark Gannon of Courtmacsherry in West Cork is reeling in some huge specimen fish. I had the pleasure of fishing with Mark on his boats the lady Louise and Lady Patrica. Anglers out with Mark are landing Blue Shark to 2M, also some huge Ling are being caught, and his self drive boats are proving a hit with bass Anglers. Many bass from 5-8lbs are being caught trawling. Mark Can be contacted on 086-8250905.
HELM SKATE FESTIVAL. In the coming weeks we will have news on the 2010 Helm Skate Festival. This is one of Irelands top sea angling competitions, and its fished out of the Helm Hotel in Westport. Vinny Keogh of the Helm has the dates set for October 2nd and 3rd. All will be posted in time on our competition fixture list.
GONE FISHING. I hope to get another few nights on the lakes this week, plus I have a few City Slickers on Line Saturday for a bit of pleasure fishing. It’s all go in the Angling World and if you have any reports or eye catching photos please send them on to mick@midlandangling.com. Also any clubs wishing to include their competition dates for the month of August and September lash them across.