NEWS RELEASE

                   Restructured Tariff for Cloongee Fishery

The Board has introduced restructured tariff arrangements for the Cloongee Fishery in response to anglers who wish to fish Cloongee for a number of days.  

Under the new arrangements, a one day permit is available on Beat 1 for €50 with a half day costing €30.   However, the permit charge reduces for subsequent days fished with two days available for €90, three days for €120 and five days for €150 which is equivalent to just €30 per day.    

On Beat 2, the daily charge is €40 with a half day available at   €25. However, an angler can fish two days for €70, three days for €90 and five days for €125 which works out at just €25 per day.

A Board spokesman said new arrangements, which represent excellent value for money, are aimed at encouraging anglers to stay in the area for a number of days thus providing a boost to local tourism.

                   Angling Report – w/e 4 June, 2006

River Moy

The Moy had another good week with a total of 361 salmon recorded bringing the season total, so far, to 1,319 compared with 1,170 for the same period last year. This week’s catch was a mixture of spring salmon and grilse with the best fishing recorded upriver due to high water at Ballina. However, with water levels falling rapidly due to the dry spell, fishing at Balllina should improve considerably over the coming weeks. The Moy fishery produced just 5 fish this week with Ben Galler, Germany , taking a nice grilse of 5.48 lbs. from the Ridge Pool on fly. On Cathedral Beat, the same angler had another fish of 5.25 lbs. on a spinner and Emma Ziercle, England , had one of 7.97 lbs. also on a spinner. At Mount Falcon , Jim Wilson had a 10 lbs. salmon on a spinner and on the Knockmore club water, Sean Brophy had a huge 17 lbs. salmon. On Byrne’s Fishery, Alex Clements, England , had a 13 lbs. fish on a spinner and, on Armstrongs, John Walters, Keith Tottley and Gareth Jones had 11 salmon for their week of which 2 were released. Another big salmon was recorded on Rinnaney where Jodie Carroll, N. Ireland , had a fine salmon of 15 lbs. on prawn. On Cloongee, John Ruane had a 13 lbs. salmon on a spinner, and Tony Colgan, Westport , had one of 10 lbs. on worm. On the East Mayo water, Z. Dieter had a 13 lbs. salmon on fly and Roy Wilson, N. Ireland , had one of 12 lbs. also on fly.  

Loughs Conn & Cullin

The warm, sunny conditions militated seriously against trout fishing this week but, nonetheless, 270 anglers managed to catch 225 trout, weighing 195 lbs., over 450 rod days. The highlight of the week was the Annual Lough Conn & Cullin Anglers Association 2-day competition which was fished over the weekend in scorching weather conditions. Over the two days, 104 anglers (208 rod days) accounted for 52 trout (13 inch limit) weighing 66.61 lbs. The event was won by local angler, Gary Binley with 3 trout weighing 5.58 lbs. Second was John Purtil, Co. Tipperary, with 3 trout weighing 3.64 lbs. and 3 rd was Denis Goulding, Dublin with 3 trout for 3.53 lbs. Thomas Lynch, Cavan, had the heaviest trout, at 3.5 lbs. Also fished in sunny conditions was the first leg of the Annual Western V North Western Regional Fisheries Board competition which produced just 14 trout for 47 anglers with victory in this first leg going to the North Western Board. Elsewhere, Guests of Pontoon Bridge Hotel, Barry Ivers, South Africa, accompanied by his two brothers from England, caught 8 trout for 10.25 lbs with the best at 2.25 lbs. Fishing out of Healy’s Hotel, Jim Corbett and Mike Barlow, USA, had 14 trout over 2 days on Lough Cullin. Bill O’Connell, Wicklow, and Jonahton Kelly, Cloghans, had 17 trout over 2 days with the best at 2.75 lbs. Fishing with Murphy Boat Hire, Pat Hughes, Dublin, had 5 trout for 6 lbs.

Lough Conn produced 10 salmon for the week.   Congratulations to 92-year old Tom Ketterick, Ballina, who landed a salmon of 7.5 lbs. while trolling a devon   and to 8-year old Ryan Bannon, Co. Kildare, who caught a 6.75 lbs salmon while also trolling on Conn. Well done to both.

Lough Arrow

Fishing was quiet on Arrow this week but some good trout were again recorded. David Gray had one for 4.5 lbs. on a buzzer, Noel Fairbanks had one of 2.75 on a sedge and Leo Conlon had 2 for 4.5 lbs on spent gnat. Brendan Smyth had a trout of 1.5 lbs. on a mayfly.

Ballisodare River

Ballisodare was also quiet   with the sunny weather and a break between the spring salmon and grilse runs resulting in few fresh fish running the system. Just 6 salmon were recorded for the week.

Garavogue River/Lough Gill/River Bonet

The salmon season is effectively over on Gill and just one salmon was reported for the week. Noel Reddy had an 8 lbs. fish while trolling.   Some sea trout were taken on the outflowing Garavogue River .

Lough Doon

There was good fishing this week on this small wild brown trout fishery near Dromahair. Forty-two trout were recorded by 8 anglers with 28 of these returned. Dr. McDevett, Sligo , had 7 of which he returned 4 and local angler, Walter Doyle, also had 7 of which he returned 5. Various black fly patterns were most effective. To book a boat on Doon , contact Mrs. Martin, beside the lake, on 071-9164989.

Carrowmore Lake/Owenmore River

The Annual Garda Angling Competition on Carrowmore produced 9 salmon.   Two other salmon were reported for the week and these were caught by Oisin O’Sullivan and Rory Murphy.

Newport River/Lough Beltra

Guests of   Newport House, Cameron Conn and Rusty Wartham recorded sea tout and grilse respectively on the Newport River . On the Lough Beltra, the only reported fish was a 7.5 salmon taken by Ian Conn.

                   Angling Report – w/e 28 May, 2006

River Moy

There was very good fishing on the Moy this week with a total of 228 salmon recorded for the week. Once again, salmon were caught throughout the system but the East Mayo water experienced the best fishing as water levels there dropped more quickly to fishable conditions following t the high floods which occurred at the beginning of the week.   On Armstrongs, Marc Klinkhammer, Germany, had a 12 lbs. salmon on worm and Jean Marc Corthay, France had 3 for his week. On Gannon’s, Joseph Wolfinger, Switzerland, had one of 10.5 lbs. and Ingred Keller, Germany, had one of 10 lbs., both on worm. On the Foxford Fishery, Eugene Ryan had a 12.5 lbs. salmon on worm and Tony Southerton, England, had one of 10lbs. on worm. On the Foxford club water, John Wilkinson had two fine salmon, weighing 12.5 lbs. and 13 lbs. on worm. On Cloongee, Sean O’Brien, Wexford, had 10.5 lbs. salmon on worm and Harold Neumuller, Austria, had one at 13 lbs. also on worm.   On East Mayo, the best salmon, weighing 14 lbs., was taken by J. didou, France, on worm but John Noad, England, also had a fine salmon, of 12 lbs. on fly. Brendan Ulbrich, Germany, had one of 12 lbs. on a spinner.

Loughs Conn

There was very good fishing on Conn this week with 600 trout reported by 154 anglers for 280 rod days and the average weight at .92 lbs. Twenty member of the Crossmolina Anglers fished a competition which produced 20 trout all over 13 inches with many others returned. The event was won by John Griffin with 4 trout weighing 5.63 lbs. Padraic Traynor was 2 nd with 2 trout for 3 . 93 lbs. and Michael Noone was 3 rd with 3 trout for 2.67 lbs. A competition run by the Castlebar Anglers was won by Joe Quinn with 5 trout weighing 5.84 lbs. Second was Jim Ruane with 4 weighing 5.64 and John Burke was 3 rd with 4 for 5.12 lbs. Elsewhere, Gerry Sheehan, Cork, fishing with 8 colleagues, had 45 trout, averaging 1 lb., over a few days and all were returned.   Dave Passmore, England, and 3 friends, fishing with Murphy Boat Hire, had 12 trout for 16 lbs. over 3 days. Lawson Clements had 10 trout over 2 days with the best at 2.75 lbs.   Michael Lennon had 4 trout, averaging 1 lb., and a fresh run salmon for his day.   Best flies for the week were the Mosely Mayfly, Golden Olive Bumble, Royal Woulfe, Fan Wing May Fly and Fiery Brown. Fishing looks very promising for the next week if weather conditions are reasonable.

Lough Arrow

There were some good fishing on Arrow again this week with good hatches of May Fly reported and also some falls of spend gnat. The most successful methods were dapping and dry fly fishing. Peter Dunne had four trout on spent gnat, averaging .5 lbs., and the same angler had a fine trout of 5.5 lbs. on a buzzer. David Gray also had great fishing. He had 2, again averaging 2.5 lbs., on spent gnat and 8 on buzzer, ranging from 2 lbs. to 5.5 lbs. Peter McKenna had 3 tout and he too had one weighing 5.5 lbs. Two junior anglers, Sarah and Walter Frazer, had 4 trout weighing a total of 6.5 lbs. all taken dapping. With good numbers of small trout also showing, Arrow appears to be making a comeback.

Ballisodare River

Ballisodare produced 32 salmon for the week. Thirteen-year-old Anthony Daly had a salmon of 9 lbs. at Collooney on   Flying C. Noel Burns had a 10 lbs. salmon at Ballisodare and Noel McGowan had two for his week.

Lough Gill/River Bonet

Alex Trotter had an 8 lbs. salmon on Gill and the high water brought more salmon up the inflowing Bonet and anglers were reporting excellent sport, especially in the Manorhamilton water. Enda McBride had a fine salmon of 12 lbs. on worm and Paul Keegan and Paul Ferguson each had fish at around 9 lbs.

Drumcliffe River/Glencar Lough

The Drumcliffe had some good fishing towards the end of the week. Among the successful anglers were John Sheridan who had an 11 lb. salmon.   Ronnie Harte had an 8 lbs. salmon on Glencar Lough while spinning from the shore.

Carrowmore Lake/Owenmore River

The cold, blustery conditions kept anglers off the lake this week but the club stretch of the adjoining Owenmore River produced three salmon. Seamus Henry had a salmon of 9.5 lbs., Des O’Rourke had another at 9 lbs and Declan Dooley had one at 8 lbs.

Newport River/Lough Beltra

The   Newport House side of the fishery this week with several anglers enjoying success. Steve Jones had a fine salmon of 13.5 lbs. off the lough on Wednesday and followed this with another of 9 lbs. on Thursday. Declan Dooley had two at 8.5 lbs. and 8 lbs., both of which he returned, and Frank Dooley had one of 11 lbs. Eamon Kennedy had one for 8 lbs. All caught, of course,   on fly on this “fly only” fishery. Mick Stewart had on of 6.5 lbs. on the River.

Ballin Lough

Thirty rods recorded 49 rainbow trout of which 21 were returned. Dave Jackson and a friend had 13 trout with the best weighing 2.5lbs. Willie Scully and Tony McGratan had 8 trout with the best weighing 5 lbs.   The lake holds a good stock of trout and should fish well again with the weather getting milder. To book Ballin Lough, contact Mrs. Gill at the lake (098-26128).

                  Angling Report – w/e 21 May, 2006

River Moy

The Moy produced more than 130 salmon for the week. Very high water towards the weekend meant that most of the fish were caught on the upper end of the river with the Foxford, Cloongee and East Mayo waters all doing well. At Ballina, the Ridge Pool produced 3 salmon with the best, at 10.5 lbs. falling to N. Ireland angler, Ian Kirkpatrick on a spinner. On Coolcronan, Brian Moorecroft, England , had a 10 lbs. salmon on worm. Gannons produced one of 10.5 lbs. for Laurence Taggart , N. Ireland . On the Foxford Fishery, Jenio Briene, Wales , had four for the week with the best at 11 lbs. However, the best fish of the week came off Rinnanney Fishery where a fine salmon of 16 lbs. was taken by Sam Hull, N. Ireland on prawn. On Cloongee, Paul Wymes, Dublin , had 12.5 lbs. fish on a spinner and Patrice Goberville, France , had one of 10 lbs. on a spinner. On East Mayo, the best salmon, at almost 13 lbs. fell to Patrick Bellamy, France , on a spinner while Brendan Ulbrich, Germany , had one of almost 10 lbs. on fly.

Loughs Conn

Fishing on Conn was quite good this week with 180 anglers reporting 220 trout, weighing 195 lbs, in 260 rod days. In a very welcome development, the majority of anglers on Conn are now returning the bulk of their catch. They are to be commended for their efforts to conserve stocks of trout in the lake which is still recovering after some very lean years.   Seamus Kelly, Cloghans, and Dr.Bill O’Connell, Arklow, caught a total of 17 trout of which they returned 11 and retained 7 with the best at 4.5 lbs. Ian MacLette, Co. Armagh, caught a total of 14 trout for 15 lbs. of which he kept just one at 2.5 lbs. Colin Kerr and David Anchell, fishing with Harry Feeney, had 6 trout for their day including David’s first wild Lough trout even though he has fished all over the world! At Pontoon Bridge Hotel, a party of 4, from Scotland, had 22 trout for 27 lbs. over three days of which they retained only two at 1.75 lbs. and 2 lbs. Joe Quinn, Ballina, and partner, had 5 trout on Saturday, all over 1 lb. and all returned. Michael Monaghan, Knockmore, had 25 trout for his week of which he returned all except two at 2 lbs. and 2.5 lbs. A group of 35, comprising visitors from the Lakeland Anglers, Mullingar, and some local anglers, caught 138 trout over three days. Best flies over the week were Fiery Brown, Golden Olive Bumble, Claret Bumble and various May Fly patterns including spend May Fly.

Lough Arrow

There were some great fish caught on Arrow this week with trout starting to take May Fly. Ivan Frazer had two trout one of which weighed 4.5 lbs. and another 2.5 lbs. Jonathon Frazer had 5 with the best at 3.5 lbs. Gerry Martin had 4 trout with the best at 5 lbs. on a Yellow Woulfe. David Gray had six trout, the best of which was 4.5 lbs., mostly on buzzer late in the evening. Phillip Murray had a fine trout of 5 lbs. on a may fly.

Ballisodare River

Ballisodare produced 29 salmon for the week with most of them taken on fly above the falls. However, the best fish fell to John Conlon who had a fine salmon of 12 lbs. on worm.

Lough Gill/River Bonet

With high water bringing salmon up river, the Bonet produced 7 salmon for the week. These included a fine fish of 12 lbs. on worm taken, at Cloonaquin, by Paul Keegan   .

Carrowmore Lake/Owenmore River

Carrowmore was badly discoloured for most of the week and just one salmon, weighing 10 lbs., was taken by local angler, John Cosgrove.

Newport River/Lough Beltra

The River did well this week with six salmon recorded. Pat Smith had one for 9 lbs. and Peter Varian had one at 10.5 lbs. On Beltra, Bernard Koolhass had an 8 lbs. salmon on the Glenisland Fishery.

Ballin Lough

Twenty-eight anglers recorded 88 rainbow trout of which 60 were returned. Trout averaged 2.5lbs. to 3 lbs. Willie Scully and friend had a great day catching 12 trout of which they released 8 with the best of the catch at 3.7 lbs. Erick Shannon and John McGookin had an excellent day catching a total of 22 trout (17 returned) with the best at 2.75lbs. To book Ballin Lough, contact Mrs. Gill at the lake (098-26128).

Lough Doon

Doon Lough, convenient to both Sligo and Dromahair, again provided some very good fishing with visiting anglers enjoying excellent sport with wild brown trout. Martin Potts, from Australia, caught 8 trout all of which he returned and J. Browne, Dublin, caught 6 from the shore and, again, all were, sportingly, returned. Various May Fly and Olive patterns worked well but the Pheasant Tail Nymph proved particularly effective. To book a permit and/or boat on Doon, contact Mrs. Martin, beside the lake, on 071-9164989.

                    Angling Report – w/e 14 May, 2006

River Moy

The Moy enjoyed another very good week of salmon fishing with 142 salmon recorded for the week. The Ballina Salmon Anglers water, Armstrongs, Gannons, the Foxford Fishery, Rinnaney, Cloongee and the East Mayo Anglers water all produced good numbers of springers . However, Byrne’s Fishery had the biggest fish with a fine salmon of 15 lbs. taken by English angler, Brenda Coates, on worm.   Gannons had an excellent week with 32 salmon caught including 15 taken by a French party of five anglers led by J.G, Baptiste Bonnett, who recorded 15 fish for their week, all on prawn.   On Armstrongs, Rob Shepard had a 14 lbs. salmon and Giles Bodiner , France , had one of 10 lbs. on a spinner.   On the Foxford Fishery, owner David Cahill had two salmon for two days, at 8.25 lbs. and 10.25 lbs. with both on worm. On Foxford Salmon Anglers Rinanney Fishery, M. Murgen, Germany , had a 10.5 lbs. salmon prawn and Martie King, N. Ireland , had one at 11 lbs. on worm. On the Cloongee Fishery, James Brennan had a salmon of 9.5 lbs. on fly, Keith Wenham had one of 8.5 lbs. on fly and Stephen Clayton, N. Ireland , had   fine salmon of 14.25 lbs. on worm.   On the   East Mayo water, Goutle Quillet had a 10 lbs. salmon on a spinner and John McDonagh, Galway and Cyril O’Shea, Dublin each had fish of 9 lbs. on worm.  

Loughs Conn

Lough Conn had a mixed week with varying weather conditions making trout angling difficult. Nonetheless, 220 anglers reported 162 trout, weighing 179 lbs., in 265 rod days. The National Angling Championship was fished on Conn on Saturday in very poor conditions with the day dominated by bright sunshine which made fishing extremely difficult. Just 46 trout were recorded by 150 rods. The competition was won by local angler, John Burke, with a fine trout of 6.05 lbs. Second was Andrew Boyd, Tuam, with a trout at 3.25 lbs. and third was Tony Doherty, Clane, with one weighing 2.62 lbs.   There were better days on Conn earlier in the week. On Monday, two guests fishing with Harry Feeney, Foxford Lodge, had 12 trout of which they returned 11. They also hooked and lost a large salmon on the same day!   Walter Byrne and his wife, Susan, together with Wayne Byrne and girl friend, had over 40 trout for their week with all sportingly returned except one weighing 3.25 lbs. which they retained. Bob Boyd, Maryland , USA , fishing with Barry Segrave, Cloonamoyne Fishery, had 8 trout, ranging from .75 lbs. to 1.5 lbs. all of which were returned. Stephen Browne, Knockmore, and Colin Cahill, Mullingar, also had 8 trout, from 1.5 lbs. to 2 lbs. Mr. McAleese, a guest of Pontoon Bridge Hotel, had 3 trout for 4.5 lbs.   Billy Connolly, Galway, had two trout, both over 1 lb. Dr. Billy Waldron, an official attending the National Championship, on Saturday, had a fine salmon of 12 lbs. on a trout fly. Just for good measure, Brendan Foley, Co. Leitim, fishing with local ghillie, Ghillie Williams, had a 5.5 lbs. trout while trolling for salmon on Conn on Sunday. Best flies on Conn were various Olive and mayfly patterns, the Octopus, and the Claret Dabbler

Lough Cullin

On Cullin, the Healy Cup was fished on Sunday but produced a disappointing catch of just 5 trout following some excellent fishing there the previous weekend. The event was won by Ronnie Cox with a trout of 1.52 lbs. Albert Berry was 2 nd with a trout at 1.06 lbs. and Michael Lennon was third with one of .95 lbs. Earlier in the week, Dr. Ciaran Cassidy, Dublin , had 8 trout from .75 lbs. to 1.5 lbs. Following their very successful competition on Cullin, over the previous weekend, the Albert Berry group generously donated competition proceeds of €620 to the local branch of the Irish Heart Foundation. Best flies on Cullin were definitely Olives with trout still not feeding on mayflies despite good hatches for more than a week.

Ballisodare River

Ballisodare produced 27 salmon for the week with the majority in the 6 lbs. to 10 lbs. bracket. Over one third were taken on the fly with the Golden Ally Shrimp and Red Allie Shrimp being the most productive. Noel McGowan had a fine 10 lbs salmon on fly and Seanie Maye also had some fine salmon on fly. Six fish were also released.

Carrowmore Lake/Owenmore River

Carrowmore fished quite well with a total of 15 salmon recorded for the wek of which 6 were caught on Friday.   

Newport River/Lough Beltra

Beltra is continuing to fish reasonably well. Local angler, Eamonn Kennedy, had a fine 12 lbs. salmon and released another of 9 lbs. the same day. Martin Hughes had an 8 lbs. salmon and, on the outflowing Newport River , Robert Meyers, a guest of Newport House, landed the first grilse of the season, a beautiful 5.5 lbs. fish. He also had 7/8 rises of fish during the day.

Ballin Lough

A total of 88 rainbow trout were recorded by 29 anglers during the week. The trout averaged 2 lbs. but the best one weighed 6.5 lbs. and was one of 19 caught by Peter Gray and Mick Foley of which they returned 16. Twelve members of the Irish Ladies Flyfishing Team had a day on Ballin Lough on Saturday and, despite the unfavourable conditions, all managed to catch trout with a total of 23 landed all of which were returned to the water.   Among the most successful flies were Red Daddies, Bibios, Cock Robins and Olives

Lough Doon

Doon Lough again enjoyed some good fishing during the week. Local angler, Walter Doyle had 8 trout, for 3 hours fishing, of which he returned 6. The majority were caught on various mayfly patterns. To book a boat on Doon , contact Mrs. Martin, beside the lake, on 071-9164989.

                  Angling Report – w/e 7 May, 2006

River Moy

The Moy enjoyed its best week so far with 140 salmon recorded for the week including several fish over 11 lbs. and one weighing 16 lbs. Salmon were caught right throughout the system, from Ballina to the East Mayo Anglers water. At the Weir Pool in Ballina, John Howley had a 7 lbs. salmon worm and on the Ballina Salmon Anglers water, Eddie Doherty caught three on worm, weighing 10.5 lbs., 13 lbs. and one at 7 lbs. which he released. On the Knockmore Club water, an unmamed angler caught a 16 lbs. salmon.   One at 11 lbs. was recorded on Byrne’s Fishery, one weighting 11 lbs. on Armstrongs and one at 13.5 lbs. on Gannons. There was also a 13.5 lbs. fish recorded on the Foxford Fishery by David Chatterton, England, on a spinner. On the same fishery, Geoff McMorrow, Isle of Mann, had 3 salmon at about 10 lbs. each and one of 12 lbs. all on worm. On the Foxford Salmon Anglers water, Sam Hull, N. Ireland, had a fine salmon of 14 lbs. on worm and Anne Keogh, Multifarnham, Co. Westmeath, had one of 11 lbs. also on worm.   On Cloongee, Peter Reintjens, Holland, had a 10.5 lbs. salmon on worm and Paul Wymes, Dublin had two, one at 6 lbs. on a spinner and one of 7.5 lbs. on worm. On East Mayo Anglers water, Rene Keonigs, Germany, had a fine salmon of 11 lbs. on fly, Thomas Pleger, Germany, had one of 9.75 lbs. on fly and Ed Ledesama, Dublin, had another at 9.75 lbs. also on fly.

Loughs Conn and Cullin

There was some good fishing on both Conn and Cullin with many more anglers taking to the water. There were may fly hatching on Cullin but trout had not started to feed on them. Nonetheless, the Albert Berry group had their annual competition on Cullin and 128 rods caught 134 trout over two days with several fish over 2 lbs. and the best weighing 2.75 lbs. The bulk of the catch was taken on Saturday with fishing much slower on Sunday despite favourable conditions. On Conn, the highlight of the week was, undoubtedly, the massive trout of 14.88 lbs. caught by Jim McDonnell, Manulla, while trolling for salmon. The trout (photo attached), one of the biggest ever caught on Conn, was caught on Six Arch Bay.   Elsewhere, on Conn, Padraic Traynor had 3 trout for 3.5 lbs., John Burke had 2 for 4 lbs. and Joe Quinn and Michael Monaghan had 8 of which 3 were around 1.5 lbs. each and the rest returned. Mickey Kelly, Dublin, had 5 trout from 1 lb. to 3 lbs. and David Browne had 5 trout for 5 lbs. Anglers fishing with Harry Feeney on Friday and Saturday, in poor conditions, had 3 trout each day and all were returned. Trout were caught on Sooty Olives, Silver Dabblers, Fiery Browns and Golden Olive Bumbles. Over 200 trout, weighing 213 lbs., were recorded on Conn.   The may fly hatch has not commenced on Conn, which is always a few weeks later than Cullin, but a few fly were spotted on Bog Bay.

River Bonet

The Bonet had some good fishing during the week and 19 salmon have now been recorded on the Dromahair Anglers fishery in recent weeks. Patsy McCarty and Joe Goldrick had salmon of 8 and 9 lbs. respectively and a young local angler had another salmon.

Ballisodare River

The new season opened on Ballisodare on Monday, I May and 39 salmon were recorded during the first week and about half of these taken on fly.   The fish were mostly in the 6-p lbs. range but   Karl Quigley landed a fine salmon of 12 lbs. salmon.

Carrowmore Lake/Owenmore River

Unsuitable weather conditions resulted in little activity on Carrowmore this week and attention switched to the river which produced 4 salmon. Bangor Angling Club Fishery Manager, Seamus Henry, had a fish of 9.75 lbs. and Clive White, London, had one around 9 lbs.

Newport River/Lough Beltra

Beltra again produced three salmon for the week. David Eddis caught one of 7 lbs., Declan Dooley, Dublin, had a fine salmon of 14 lbs. and Michael Dolan, Dublin, had one at 9.75 lbs. on this “fly only” fishery.

Ballin Lough

Cool, wet and windy conditions kept angling activity fairly low on this rainbow trout fishery for much of the week. However, twenty-eight rods accounted for 40 trout of which 19 were released. Most were in the 1.5 lb. to 2.5 lbs. range. David McDaniel had his first ever trout, a fine fish weighing 5.75 lbs. but the heaviest fish was taken by Tommy Brennan, Kildare, whose fine rainbow trout weighed in at 7.5 lbs. With milder conditions on the way, fishing on this lake should improve considerably over the coming weeks.   However, access is strictly limited and, in order to book a boat, intending anglers should contact Mrs. Gill at the lake (tel. 098-26128).

Lough Doon

This small lake, near Drohmahair, Co. Leitrim, enjoyed some excellent fishing during the week with good numbers of wild brown trout caught. Local angler, F. Tone had nine trout for his day of which he retained three and returned the rest.   There is a hatch of may fly on Doon at present and trout are feeding on them. To book a boat on Doon, contact Mrs. Martin, beside the lake, on 071-9164989.

                 Angling Report – w/e 30 April, 2006

River Moy

There was good fishing on the Moy this week with 109 salmon reported for the week. Salmon were taken throughout the system with the biggest numbers coming off the Ballina Salmon Anglers water, the Foxford Fishery, the Foxford club waters, Cloongee Fishery and the East Mayo Anglers water. On the Ballina Association water, Monica Hide, Germany, who is a regular visitor, had a 7 lbs. salmon on worm but a salmon of 15.5 lbs. was also caught there. On Byrne’s Fishery, Geoff Oxbridge and Michael Prothero, UK, had salmon of 9 lbs. and 9.5 lbs respectively. On Armstrongs, Mick Hennessy had a 10 lbs. salmon on prawn. On the Foxford Fishery, the best fish, at 12 lbs., was taken by Jeff Morrow, Isle of Mann. On the NWRFB/Foxford Club water, Peter Kermode, Isle of Mann, had a fine salmon of 13.5 lbs. On Cloongee, Bernard Nerzie, France, had a 12 lbs. salmon and Mon. Le Bevze, also from France, had one at 10 lbs. with both on worm. On East Mayo, Fred Thompson, Dublin, had a 10 lbs. salmon on fly and Joe Cassidy, Dublin, had two, weighing 4.5 lbs and 11 lbs., on worm.

Moy Estuary

Sea Trout fishing has commenced on the Moy estuary. Judd Ruane and Harry Feeney caught 16 trout of which they retained 6 and released 10, all taken on mackerel strip. Fishing should pick up on the estuary over the coming weeks, weather permitting.

Loughs Conn and Cullin

Fishing on Conn was adversely affected by northerly winds and bright sunshine at times making conditions difficult for fly fishing. Nonetheless, 87 trout were recorded for the week. Matt Gurr and a party of seven anglers had 10 trout on 28 May and Eamonn Ross, Cavan, had an excellent day’s fishing with 8 trout on general wet flies. The Pratt Cup was fished on Sunday, 30, April and 40 anglers accounted for 19 trout. Joe Quinn had the heaviest bag with 3 trout weighing 4.74 lbs. Guests of Pontoon Bridge Hotel reported 10 trout for their week and guests of Healys Hotel had some good sport on Lough Cullin where there was a good hatch of olives. Local anglers, Michael Monaghan and Gary Coakley had 5 trout on Cullin to olive patterns.

Lough Gill/River Bonet

Fishing was quiet on Lough Gill this week with just two salmon reported.   John Kennedy had a 10 lbs. salmon on Saturday and Kenneth Conway had one weighing 8 lbs. on Sunday.

Ballisodare River

The new season opened on Ballisodare on Monday, 1st May with 25 salmon reported on opening day. Further details in next week’s report.

Carrowmore Lake

Following a lull in activity during the middle of last week, during periods of bright sunshine, there was excellent fishing on Carrowmore at the weekend and about 35 – 40 salmon were caught for the week. All were caught on fly and averaged 7 lbs. but the catch included some salmon in the 10/11 lbs range. The adjoining Owenmore River produced just one salmon, a fish of 9 lbs., taken by Leitrim angler, Brian Fitzgerald.

Newport River/Lough Beltra

Beltra produced two salmon for the week on the Newport House side. Michael Dolan had one at 11 lbs. and Sean Dolan had one of 8 lbs. On the outflowing Newport River, Dave Tucker had a nice salmon of 10 lbs.

Ballin Lough

The new season opened on Ballin Lough on Monday, 1 May in very bright sunshine and squally winds which made angling difficult. However, 22 rods accounted for 22 trout. John Shaughnessy had 5 with the best weighing 5.5 lbs. Niall Fallen had 5 trout including a fine brown trout weighing 5.5 lbs. and a rainbow trout at 4.5 lbs. Vincent Roche and Alan McGurdy had 5 trout of which two were returned and three, averaging 1.5 lbs., retained. Prospects on this lake look excellent for the coming weeks.   Access is strictly limited and, in order to book a boat, intending anglers should contact Mrs. Gill at the lake (tel. 098-26128).

                         Angling Report – w/e 23 April, 2006

River Moy

Salmon angling picked up well on the Moy this week with 81 recorded for the week bringing the season total, so far, to 197. The best fishing was on the Cloongee Fishery which recorded 14 for the week but virtually all fisheries produced salmon. Both the Ridge Pool and the Cathedral Beat produced their first salmon of the season with James Hiles, N. Ireland, landing the first (8.25 lbs.) on the Ridge Pool and Fred Thompson taking the first   (9.25 lbs.) on the Cathedral Beat. On the Ballina Salmon Anglers water, Austin Devers had one for 11 lbs. on worm. The Knockmore, Attymas, Coolcronan, Armstrongs, Gannons and Foxford Fishery all produced salmon. Rinnany also fished well with a salmon of 15.75 lbs. recorded there.   The NWRFB/Foxford Club water had a good week with the catch there including a fine salmon of 20.75 lbs. which was caught on prawn, at Carrageen, by Steve Thorpe, from the UK but now living in the Pontoon area.   On Cloongee, the best salmon, weighing 13.75 lbs. was taken, on worm, by Swiss visitor, Arthur (Turi) Hilbert, who caught 6 on Cloongee for his week on the fishery, including one caught on bubble and fly.   A fine salmon of 12.5 lbs. was also taken on Cloongee, by Mon. Le Beuze, France , on worm. The East Mayo water provided 6 for the week with the best, weighing 12.5 lbs., falling to Ronan Monaghan on worm.

Lough Conn

Conditions on Conn were again quite mixed with some bright sunshine, at times, and high winds during other periods. Nonetheless, 63 trout were recorded for the week with almost half of these caught by Walter and Susan Byrne, Edenderry, who recorded 30 for their week with many other, undersize trout returned. The best trout was a fine fish of 6 lbs. caught by Dave Gibbons, Ballina, while trolling outside Cloghans Bay . Three separate parties, who were fishing with local guide, Graham Williams, had 17 trout, up to 1.75 lbs., over 3 days, with the majority coming to Bumbles and Sooty Olives. At Murphy Boat Hire, two N. Ireland anglers had 10 trout on various wet flies. Mickey Kelly had 5 trout for a day and Peter Roche had 3 for his day with the best at 1.5 lbs. on a Green Peter. Brendan Breslin had 2 trout, at Brackwansha, on a Fiery Brown.  

Lough Gill/River Bonet

The Garavogue River/Lough Gill/River Bonet system had a good week with salmon caught on all three parts of the system. On the Garavogue, well known local angler, Dermot Layden, had a fine salmon of 12 lbs. on the fly. On Gill, Drew Gordon and Sean Roberts each had salmon weighing 10lbs and Noel Cawley had one at 10.5 lbs. The inflowing River Bonet also had quite a good week with George Lindsay landing 3, and Patsy Carty and Kevin McDonald having two each with the best at 10 lbs.

Glencar Lough

Beautiful Glencar Lough produced it first salmon of the season with Joseph Martin catching one at 8 lbs. and Ken Henry having one for 10 lbs.

Carrowmore Lake

This lake has enjoyed excellent fishing in recent weeks with the Easter weekend alone producing over fifty salmon. Up to 11 salmon per day were recorded on the lake. Carrowmore is continuing to fish well and is producing from three to six salmon per day with fish in excess of 10/11 lbs. being recorded regularly.   It should continue to fish well in suitable conditions.

Clogher Lough

This small lough near Westport is continuing to produce god numbers of small brown trout. To book a boat, contact Mrs. Gibbons, near the lake (tel. 098-25061).

Ballin Lough

The new season on Ballin Lough gets underway on Monday, 1 May and exciting fishing is expected following a recent survey which confirmed that the lake holds a large stock of rainbow trout including many overwintered fish in the 5/6 lbs. range. Access is strictly limited and, in order to book a boat, intending anglers should contact Mrs. Gill at the lake (tel. 098-26128).

                           Angling Report – w/e 16 April, 2006

River Moy

The Easter break and an improvement in weather conditions encouraged more anglers to fish and   62 salmon were reported for the week with most waters producing fish. The improvement in fishing brings the total for the season to date on the Moy to 166 salmon. On the Ballina Salmon Anglers’ water,   Andy Lynott fishing a spinner had a fine 13.5 lbs salmon. On the Attymass water, visiting anglers accounted for 4 salmon. Brendan Lowney, Wexford had a 7 lbs fish on Byrne’s water and Joe Kane,   N. Ireland had a nice 9 lbs salmon on Armstrong’s Fishery. Jimmy Hutchinson, N.Ireland,   had a fish of 9 lbs on the worm on Gannon’s Fishery while on the Foxford Fishery, Dermott Lavery from Monaghan took a nice fish of 10.50 lbs on a spinner. On the Foxford Salmon Anglers’ Rinanney water, Tom Monaghan had one for10 lbs and upstream of Foxford, on The Cloongee Fishery, Stuart Gower,   UK , Michael Rigney, Dublin and Mark Hurst, Scotland had a fish each. Arthur (Turi) Hilbert, Switzerland , fishing Cloongee, took 3 fish of 7 lbs, 10.5 lbs and 10.75 lbs for his week. On East Mayo Anglers’ water, Geda Baptiste , France had 1 salmon of 10 lbs on a spinner and Aiden Barry from Dublin had a very nice fish on the worm which weighed in at 12.5 lbs.

Lough Conn

The early days of the week provided little angling as the weather was unsettled but improved later and anglers enjoyed excellent angling with 87 trout reported for the week. IanWyse and John Warren had 5 fish and returned 4. Their best trout was 2lbs and all were taken on Olive patterns. Michael Monaghan and Padraic Traynor had 11 trout over two days of which 6 were returned. Their most successful patterns were Silver Dabbler, Fiery Brown and suspended olives. Joe Quinn and Stephen Brown had 2 fish each on Claret Dabbler and Buzzers respectively. Seamus Kelly and a French angler enjoyed excellent sport over 3 days and reported 26 trout to wet flies. Similarly, Ronnie Cox had great sport with 20 trout over 4 days, again fishing general wet fly patterns. On Saturday, Brendan Breslin, Mick McNeely and Harry McCafferty had 10 trout with many smaller fish returned. Anglers fishing out of Pontoon Bridge reported 8 trout for the week. Angling on the lake should be very good by the weekend as good hatches of olives are expected bringing more trout to the surface.

Carrowmore Lake

Favourable weather conditions over the Easter weekend has allowed for some exceptional angling on this lake.   Anglers have enjoyed some excellent sport with 23 salmon taken on the fly over the weekend. These fish range from 6 lbs to 11 lbs in weight with the majority in the 8.5 to 9.5 lbs range.   One angler reported that he saw four rods, all in fish at the same time, in Paradise Bay on Easter Sunday.   Suitable water levels on the Owenmore River provided anglers with an opportunity to try their luck for the honour of taking the first Spring fish from this river.   One fish, estimated at 10 lbs, was hooked but subsequently lost. With suitable water levels, it is likely that the elusive first fish from the Owenmore River will be taken over the next few days.

Lough Beltra

Anglers have reported sightings of good numbers of salmon on the fishery and local anglers Eamon Kennedy and Jackie Deffley caught salmon of 7.5 and 8.5 lbs weight and a visiting angler, fishing the Glenisland Co-op side of the lake, also had a salmon of 9 lbs. Newport House continues to fish well with a further 3 salmon caught during the week by Sam Gillespie (5 lbs) John Gilbert (7.5 lbs) and Sean Dolan (6.5 lbs).

Lough Gill/Bonet System

On Easter Sunday, the Sligo Anglers’ association held a competition on Lough Gill which was won by Drew Gordon with a nice 10 lbs salmon. Kevin McDonnell fishing a spinner on the Bonet River had two salmon over the week which weighed in at 8 and 10 lbs.

Clogher Lough

This small lake, near Westport , has fished well in recent weeks with anglers reporting good bags of small brown trout. Clogher, which is managed by the Fisheries Board, fishes best in April and May and boat hire/permits can be booked from Mrs. Gibbons   near the lake (tel. 098-25061). Anglers can now drive right to the lakeshore following the opening of access by the Board in recent years.

Ballin Lough

The season on this popular rainbow trout fishery does not open until 1 May but intending anglers are advised to book well in advance as this lake is always heavily booked, especially during the early weeks of the season. Boat hire/permits can be arranged through Mrs.Gill at 098-26128.  

Doon Lough

This small lake, near Dromahair, Co. Leitrim, holds an excellent stock of brown trout and is now experiencing a prolific hatch of duck fly. Permits/boat hire on Doon can be booked through Mrs. Martin, adjacent to the lake, at 071-9164989.

                         Angling Report – w/e 9 April, 2006

River Moy

Salmon angling on the Moy picked up this week with 18 salmon recorded for the week bringing the season total, so far, to 54. The best fish was taken on the Foxford Fishery by Vincent McDonnell who landed a fine salmon of 14 lbs. on worm. On the NWRFB/Foxford Club water, Marian Grombridge, UK, had three salmon of which she released one and retained two, weighing 12 lbs and 7.5 lbs. On the Ballina Salmon Anglers water, the best fish, weighing 10 lbs., was taken by local angler, Tommy Egan, on worm. Cloongee Fishery produced three salmon for the week with two, at 7 lbs. and 6 lbs., taken by Arthur (Turi) Hilbert, from Switzerland , on worm. Eddie Gaynor, Dublin , had one, at 9 lbs., also on worm. On East Mayo Anglers water, H. Christian, France , had a fine salmon of 10.5 lbs. on a spinner.

Lough Conn

The cold and wintry conditions kept many anglers off the lake this week but, once again, those who braved the elements were rewarded with most reporting trout. Joe Quinn, Ballina, and John Walshe, Cloghans, each had trout at about 1 lb. and 1.5 lb. Adrian Armitage, Mullingar, had one for 1.5 lbs and Stephen Browne, Ballina, had two at 1 lb. and 1.25 lbs. Seamus Kelly, Cloghans, and Seamus Dolan, Dublin , caught eight trout, ranging from 1 lb. to 1.75 lbs. and returned all except one. The most successful flies were Fiery Browns, Bibios and Duck Fly patterns.   With the water level falling, and mild weather on the way, fishing on Conn should pick up over the coming weeks.

Lough Beltra

Beltra enjoyed another good week with five salmon reported for the week. Mr. Desmond, guest of Newport House, had a great week in which he caught four spring salmon, all in the 9/10 lbs. range, on this “fly only” fishery over three days. One was released as required by law. On the Glenisland side of the lough, local angler, Eamonn Kennedy, had a fine salmon of 11 lbs.

Carrowmore Lake

The cold and blustery conditions again militated against Carrowmore given its exposed location and its tendency to get “churned up” in windy conditions. Just one salmon, weighing 9 lbs. and taken by a Northern Ireland visitor, was reported for the week. If weather conditions settle, the prospects for Carrowmore for the coming weeks look good.

Clogher Lough

This small lake, near Westport , has fished well in recent weeks with anglers reporting good bags of small brown trout. Clogher, which is managed by the Fisheries Board, fishes best in April and May and boat hire/permits can be booked from Mrs. Gibbons   near the lake (tel. 098-25061). Anglers can now drive right to the lakeshore following the opening of access by the Board in recent years.

Ballin Lough

The season on this popular rainbow trout fishery does not open until 1 May but intending anglers are advised to book well in advance as this lake is always heavily booked, especially during the early weeks of the season. Boat hire/permits can be arranged through Mrs.Gill at 098-26128.  

Doon Lough

                            Angling Report – w/e 2 April, 2006

River Moy

The Moy yielded seven salmon for the week bringing the season total, so far, to thirty-six. The East Mayo Anglers water produced four with the best fish, at 11.5 lbs., taken by John O’Neill, Dublin . Jimmy Kilcoyne, Charlestown , also had a nice fish, weighing 9.5 lbs. Tom Rowley, Swinford, had one at 8.5 lbs. and Pat McPherson, Swinford, had one at 6.75 lbs. All were taken on spinners. Three salmon were taken on Lough Conn by anglers who were trolling.

Lough Conn

Cool and, at times, windy conditions resulted in a low level of activity on Conn again this week. The Lough Conn & Cullin anglers Association held a competition on Sunday in very blustery conditions. It was won by Sean Crean, Cloghans, with one trout weighing 1.13 lbs. Second was John Walshe, Cloghans, with a fish of 1.08 lbs and Michael Monaghan, Knockmore, took third prize with a trout of 0.93 lbs.   Elsewhere, Ian Wyse had 4 trout, weighing 7 lbs., over two days, all on duck fly patterns. Joe Quinn had 4 trout, for 6 lbs, on buzzers. Larry McNeely had 2 with the best weighing 2 lbs., and an unnamed guest of Pontoon Bridge Hotel had one at 1.5 lbs.

Lough Gill/River Bonet

On Lough Gill, Noel Reddy had a fine salmon of 10 lbs and Dougie Kenna had one at 7 lbs. Both were taken while trolling. On the inflowing River Bonet, George Lindsay had a 7 lbs. salmon, at Dromahair, which he caught on a spinner.

                        Angling Report – w/e 26 March, 2006

River Moy

The Moy produced nine salmon for the week bringing the total, so far, to twenty-eight. Two, at 11 lbs and 7 lbs., were taken at the back of the boxes in Ballina.   The Attymass water and Gannon’s each produced one at 10 lbs. and 8.75 lbs. respectively with 4 coming off the NWRFB/Foxford Club water. On Lough Conn, a German visitor, a guest of Murphy Boat Hire, had a lovely 10 lbs. salmon on the fly.

Lough Conn

On Lough Conn, trout fishing was again fairly quiet but some trout were reported. Mick Sweeney and Liam McHugh, Edenderry, had 3 nice trout all in the 1.25 lb. to 1.5 lb. bracket and all taken on Bibios. Stephen Browne, Ballina, had one, at 1 lb., for just an hour’s fishing on Saturday. Brendan Breslin, Foxford, had 2 on Saturday and 4 on Sunday, all around 1.25 lb. to 1.5 lb.   Early season favourites such as Bibios, Black Pennels and Fiery Browns all appeared to work well and duckfly were beginning to appear during the week.

Lough Gill/Garagogue River

Fishing was quiet on Lough Gill but two salmon were reported for the week. Noel Reddy had one of 7.5 lbs. and Rodney Reddy had one of 7 lbs. both taken while trolling.

Lough Beltra

Lough Beltra again produced salmon this week after an encouraging start to the season the previous week. Local angler, Eamonn Kennedy, had a fine salmon of 12 lbs, on a Silver Badger, on this fly only fishery on Sunday.

Carrowmore Lake

                             Angling Report – w/e 19 March, 2006

River Moy

There was a significant improvement in angling on the Moy this week with 11 spring salmon recorded for the week on the Moy system. These included the first salmon of the season from the East Mayo Anglers water where a fine fish of about 14 lbs. which was taken, on fly, by local angler and ghillie, Paddy McDonnell, who promptly returned the fish to the water.   At the back of the boxes, in Ballina, Paddy Myers and Albert Bradley had salmon at 9 lbs. and 7 lbs. respectively with both taken on worm. At Byrne’s Fishery, Barry Morris had his first ever salmon, a nice fish of 10 lbs. which he caught on worm.

Lough Conn

The cold weather conditions again kept angling activity low on Conn. However, a few anglers braved the elements with some success. Stephen Browne and Brendan Breslin had 4 nice trout, about 1 lb. each, on Saturday and Stephen had another one of about 1 lb. in a short period on Sunday. All were taken on Bibios.   Larry McNeely caught 5 of which 3 were undersize and one at 1 lb and another at 2 lbs. David Browne and Peter Todd had one each both of which were I lb. Martin Lyons, Lahardaun, and Terence McKeown, Dublin , caught 4 trout ranging from 1.25 to 1.5 lbs. on duckfly. Fred Finlay, Crossmolina, had a fine 12 lbs. salmon which he caught while trolling a Blue Devon.

Lough Gill

The Lough Gill/Garavogue system produced 4 salmon for he week. Kenneth Conway, Sligo , had one at 10.5 lbs. which won him the Sligo Anglers Association competition on Sunday. Earlier in the week, Noel Reddy and Dougie Kenna each had a salmon on the lake and a 9 lbs. salmon was also taken on the outflowing Garvogue River .

Lough Beltra

                               Angling Report – w/e 12 March, 2006

River Moy

The harsh weather conditions resulted in a low level of angling activity this week but the Moy produced one salmon for the week, a fine 9 lbs. fish which was taken on worm at the “back of the boxes” in Ballina by Albert Bradley.

Lough Conn

The cold weather conditions also resulted in few anglers fishing Lough Conn during the week but a number ventured out at the weekend most of those caught trout. Mick Sweeney and Liam McHugh, from Edenderry, caught and returned a total of 18 trout, mostly in the .5 to .75 lbs. range, with Bibios and Black Pennels proving most effective. Well known local anglers, John Walsh and Joe Quinn landed some good trout on Saturday. John had a 2 lbs. trout, on a shrimp pattern, and Joe had one at 2.5 lbs. on a Pearly Dabbler.   Young Kieran Smith, Ashbourne, Co. Meath, fishing from Pontoon Bridge Hotel, landed a fine brown trout of 2.5 lbs., which he caught while trolling. A total of 29 trout, weighing 24 lbs., were reported for the week.

                               Angling Report – w/e 7 March, 2006

River Moy

The Moy produced four salmon for the week with three of them taken at the “back of the boxes” in Ballina and one on the NWRFB/Foxford Club water. At Ballina, the best fish, at 10.5 lbs was taken by Jimmy Cawley. Paddy Dempsey had on weighing 835 lbs and Liam Casey had one at 8 lbs. All were taken on worm.   This brings the total on the Moy, since it opened on 15 February, to seven.

Lough Gill

The biting cold weather kept anglers off Lough Gill over the past week but the fishery has, so far produced five salmon the last of which was caught on 17 February by local angler, Keith Trotter. All were taken while trolling on the lake.

Lough Conn

The trout angling season opened on Lough Conn on 15 February. There was a reasonable number of boats out on opening day and in the following days but snow and freezing cold conditions have kept anglers off the lake over the past ten days or so. Several anglers reported trout on opening day with most falling to Fiery Browns, Bibios and Black Pennels.   Water levels on Conn are quite low, for the time of year, and this should favour angling when weather conditions get milder over the next week as forecast.

                    Angling Report – w/e 6 February, 2006

River Moy

The first salmon of the season on the River Moy was landed on Monday morning, 6 February. Local angler, Martin Conroy, who has also accounted for the first Moy salmon on a number of previous occasions, caught a beautiful 9 lbs. fish on worm at the “back of the boxes” in Ballina.

Lough Gill

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