Yep the opening weekend of the Trout season dawned Blustery, Wet, and Cold not your ideal conditions for lashing flies or trolling lures across the likes of Conn, Mask, or Corrib. I had planned a trip to Lough Mask on Saturday February 15th with some fellow Anglers, but due to the savage high water, and blustery winds forecasted it was cancelled. Still we were hopefully that Sunday we might travel to the West, and Saturday night we decided to head for Lough Corrib. We had a few Non Runners, and I belted down to Corrib with Marty Smith from England, and we had planned to meet up with terry McGeehan of the Irish Daily Star and Ger Furlong. Fellow Mullingar Angler Johnny Plunkett had also traveled, and the plan was to troll around and hope for the best. With the water Temperatures just over 3 Degree Celsius I had no intentions of stripping line through my fingers.
MORNING SESSION. It was a cold frosty morning as we started Trolling on Corrib, and it was well into the Morning before I got the first hit but never held onto my fish. Still things were looking up and after a few Lure color changes I got it right. The first fish was just the limit and was as dark as the Ace of Spades. Great we were up and running, and the fish were locked onto small silver, and rainbow trout colored Lures. Marty switched over the brighter lures, and also had his first trout of the 2014 season. It was not till near lunchtime that we started to catch a glimpse of a few boats on Corrib, and our pals Terry and Ger had eventually got out. Johnny Plunkett was also trolling around, but unfortunally the Corrib Trout would not grab any of his baits. Terry had got a nice fish coming across to meet us for lunch, and was delighted to have his first fish of the season on board. We had a great chat while dining, and Terry had his little Yorkie Bonny on Board.Yep we have started a new Angling Craze. Well if the Super Models and Wags can carry a Toy Dog in their bags why cant an Angler. Just Joking but it’s a lovely little Dog. Not my Cup of Tea as I keep Springer’s, and Labs.
EVENING SESSION. The skies were starting to fill in with rain, and it was a magical sight to see the Snow capped Mountains just disappear In front of your eyes. As the rain pelted down I got a savage hit and the rod was dancing in its holder. It took me some time to get the fish to settle, but we had a fair idea it was a Kelt right from the start. Eventually we got it to the boat, and Marty got a quick shot of the fish before I released it to continue its travels. We fished it out till well into the evening and boated 6 trout in total. A magic start to the trout season.
COMING UP. All going well the next Flanagan Foray will be from Lough Lene here in North Westmeath, as our Trout season starts on March 1st.Also we hope to cover Owel, Ennell Sheelin and Ree in the coming months. I guide across the Midlands on these fantastic Fisheries and can be contacted on details below.
CONTACT. Mick Flanagan
Mobile: 087-2797270
E mail mick@midlandangling.com
www.facebook.com/midlandangling
http://www.midlandangling.com
