Western Angling Report 30th September 2009
Western Lakes
Angling has been pretty quiet on the western lakes lately, with calm conditions not conducive to fishing. Some anglers have been having success with dapped crickets and grasshoppers, and trolling. One young angler, 14 year old Philip McGreal from Ballinrobe, caught the fish of a lifetime while trolling on Lough Mask with his grandfather Des last Monday. The trout weighed in at 15.36lbs, well above the specimen weight of 10lbs. Well done to Philip! With the end of the season upon us, it has been a great season for Lough Corrib, returning to its former glory, and the mayfly season this year certainly revived memories of times gone by. Mask has fished superbly well over the last few years, but anglers were not to have as good sport this year, with many preferring to fish Corrib for the first time in several years. Carra produced some spectacular dry fly sport on many summer evenings, and scientific surveys reveal the lake to have a very healthy stock of trout, so good times are ahead for this renowned limestone lough.
14 year old Philip McGreal with his 15.36lbs Lough Mask trout
Sea Angling
John Brittain of Bluewater Fishing in Clifden reports on good fishing for blue shark out of Cleggan over the last few days. The recent calmer weather has made for good conditions for shark fishing, with lighter winds allowing a good slick and scent trail to bring in sharks. On Friday 25th September, a group led by Maurice Dowling landed 6 blue sharks and had a number of encounters with fish dropping the bait after the first run.
Tobias Held and his group had another 7 sharks to the boat over the weekend, with the best fish of the 3 days an estimated 70lbs fish caught by Tobias.
All the fish were caught on barbless hooks, tagged and released.
To book a late season trip for shark or a range of other species, contact John and Sue Brittain at Sharamore House, Streamstown, Clifden, Co. Galway.
Tel. 095 21073, or check www.sharamore.com
Tobias Held with a 70lbs blue shark caught aboard John Brittain's Bluewater
Shore Fishing
The final leg of the Connacht Closed Gold Medal and West Coast Shore League was held on Sunday by Corrane SAC on Keel Beach in Achill. The inaugural Shore League was held over 5 venues throughout the year, with best 4 scores to count. The competition will be extended to a minimum of 8 competitions next year, and clubs in Clare and Donegal will be invited to participate.
Fishing on Sunday was tough, with a lot of undersize fish caught, and anglers struggling to get fish to make the size limit. First prize on the day went to Mike Varley, with Declan Horan and Kevin Crowley tied for second.
After a lot of calculating scores for both competitions, the results were announced in Moynish House, Mulranny, later that evening. The winner of the inaugural West Coast Shore League was Owen Gilvarry from Killala SAC, with a final score of 370 points. In second was Kevin Crowley from Galway Bay SAC, with 364, and third was Fergus Collins of Cois Fharraige SAC, on 358.
The winner of the Connacht Closed Gold Medal, fished over 4 legs, was Conor Mountaine from Galway Bay SAC. Conor fished very well over the year, winning 2 legs of the Gold Medal outright, and was a deserved winner. He goes forward to represent Ireland in the Home Nations Shore Fishing Competition next year in Scrabster, Scotland. Narrowly beaten into second place was Declan Horan, who took the Silver Medal, and Mike Varley took the Bronze Medal.
The Connacht team for next year’s Inter Provincial will be Conor Mountaine, Declan Horan, Mike Varley, Fergus Collins and Kevin Crowley.
Mackerel fishing has been excellent lately, with anglers reporting good shoals of fish driving sprat inshore over the last 2 weeks of calm weather. Some anglers have been stocking up on bait for autumn/winter fishing, and the best flounder fishing is usually to be had at this time of year, so there should be good catches for the “flattie” hunters over the next couple of months.
Conor Mountaine receiving the Connacht Gold Medal from Pat Walsh
