pike on lough Derg

dwayman

Hi,

Does anyone know any paticularly good spots for pike on lough corrib ? I

have a fast enough boat and can access all of it but up the north end near Portumna would suit best.

thanks

coolwings

Mmmmm .. little bit confusing ....are we talking Derg or Corrib here?
Thread title says Derg, post says Corrib . That's a whole lotta water.
Just fish all water you find between 4 and 15 feet deep. When you see weeds, fish it twice.

You can have my credit card PIN numbers anyday but if you saw my fishing map once I'd have to kill you !

dwayman

Doh !

Was looking for Lough Derg......

Snaffler

Coose Bay which is on the Clare/Galway side of the lake is a particularly good spot for pike. Rossmore Quay is the closest launching spot. As you look in at the bay from the open lake there is a turn you can do on the right hand side of the bay that is deadly.
March can be unreal in this bay as it is a great spot for spawning pike.

Auldloon

Hi snaffler, im sure you mean well but I dont think its wise putting info like that on a public forum for the whole world to read. If you feel it necessary to give out information like that to a stranger then a private message (PM)would be a better idea.

ironbluedun

Chuileog wrote: »

Hi snaffler, im sure you mean well but I dont think its wise putting info like that on a public forum for the whole world to read. If you feel it necessary to give out information like that to a stranger then a private message (PM)would be a better idea.

well said. giving too many details is very :mad::mad:

Kess73

Lough Derg has been quite good for pike this year, with some really big fish putting in appearances.


I may have said it before, but I find using a big copper spoon to be dynamite this year. Not only are the big pike going for it, but the huge ferox trout are going after it as well, so when you get a take, you may have a big double figure scrapper of either species on.


It really must have the biggest population of big ferox trout in the country, I have returned fish up to 18lbs back into the lake, and I am sure there are bigger there.


On the piking front, my best from the lake is 27lbs, and I hope she has grown bigger since for me to catch again someday:), but I have no doubt at all that there are 30lbs plus fish there, some real giants have been seen each year in the shallows at spawning time, and I have lost a few good hooked fish thanks to strikes from much larger pike on the hooked fish.


It's a great lake to fish, not just for the bigger species, and if you coming from the Portumna side, just work downwards, you have 40km of lake to explore with literally thousands of good fishing spots, both from land and boat. Find your own favourite areas on the lake and enjoy yourself.

ironbluedun

what is the resurgence of derg down to, zebra muscle?

Kess73

Derg has stayed pretty strong in terms of fish population through the years.

Certain spots got overfished at times, and there was and is a degree of pollution due to some of the feeder streams and rivers being used for waste disposal by certain farmers/industrial companies, but it never got as bad as some like to have made out.


It's average depth has been it's greatest strength imho, as it gets heated quicker than a lot of other lakes due to not being as deep. The average depth would be about 20 feet, although there are parts that are about 100ft, with a few pockets that no doubt go deeper.


The extra heat has always allowed for great plant and insect growth which just has a knock on effect in terms of food sources.


I have fished it from shore and boat for a period of 20 years, even coming back to fish it when living outside of Ireland, and certain species like bream have never had bigger numbers than of late. Other species that are listed as being there but in small numbers, like tench and rudd, are actually there in much bigger numbers but can be difficult to locate by daytrippers who would not have the time to explore such a big body of water.

As for zebra mussels, yes there has been a large boom in their numbers in the Shannon, especially near Limerick city and up in Lough Derg also, with the warmer lake being perfect for them to breed. No doubt they do have an effect on the filtering of the water, and they have also help the crayfish population to boom as they feed on the zebra mussels.

But I would not say that there has been a big turnaround in the fishing in Lough Derg due to the zebras, as it has been pretty damn good for the two decades that I have fished it, I think the zebras have improved the water quality, and while many dislike their presence, they are not at problem levels and I think the ever growing crayfish population will maintain the mussel numbers, and also help provide fish with a food source.


I know this gets said about all the major lakes in this country, but I do think there are record breaking fish in the lake. Pike, bream, eel, and perch being the most likely, although going by some of the feral trout that I have caught and seen caught, I would not be surprised to see a trout record there either.

ironbluedun

interesting post. didnt know about the crayfish eating the zebras. i fish sheelin a lot and there are billions of zebras in it, not sure if the crayfish are in it yet, as top of the shannon system they may well be. good to hear derg is doing well and the ferox are in good. it is still hard to see the record trout being broken, but you never know, 26lbs 2oz is some barrier to break, biggest trrout from corrib in recent years was 22lbs. still if there is a new record it will be a big ferox from corrib or derg that will do it.

coolwings

Just so you know: there was a record caught in Corrib a couple of years ago, out of season, and returned.
They are out there .....

dwayman

Thanks for the replies. Interesting view on the zebra mussels.
I'll post if I have any luck.

Kess73

ironbluedun wrote: »

interesting post. didnt know about the crayfish eating the zebras. i fish sheelin a lot and there are billions of zebras in it, not sure if the crayfish are in it yet, as top of the shannon system they may well be. good to hear derg is doing well and the ferox are in good. it is still hard to see the record trout being broken, but you never know, 26lbs 2oz is some barrier to break, biggest trrout from corrib in recent years was 22lbs. still if there is a new record it will be a big ferox from corrib or derg that will do it.

I do believe that there are trout that are heavier than the current record in Lough Derg, my biggest was only a touch over 18lbs, but I have seen fish that were not weighed returned, that looked in the record bracket.


As for pike there, I firmly believe that there are record breakers in the lake, and also by O' Briens Bridge, just below the dam. The area has a staggering amount of food for pike, and as I said in the earlier post, the fact the lake is less deep than others means far more growth in terms of food, and that chain continues right up to the pike.

There are a good number of high 20's and mid 30's in the area, and those get returned year after year.

One stretch in the area where there are giant fish is the adjoining canal that leads from the Shannon to the Ardnacrusha power station. You cannot fish there by law, but I think a lot of us cut our teeth there as young kids fishing.

Warm water, huge numbers of unfished prey fish, escapees from the fish farm, and lack of pollution has made monsters in that stretch.

As a kid, perch of 2lb and 3lb were common in it, and some of the trout you can see from the bridges and when walking the banks are huge, and there are pike in there too as a dead one was found about four years ago that was one pound away from the record size.

A lot of the fish from the canal do get out of it as there are little streams and rivers connecting to it, and a little trout fishery in Clonlara often has pike make their way along tiny dykes to get into the trout lakes.


I cannot speak highly enough of the area as a whole in terms of the quality of fishing though, and for those of us that know the area there is even a spot with carp where they were introduced years ago in a small lake by the fishery board and then pretty much forgotten about in terms of promoting it other than for a few years after stocking.

The small lake is open to be fished and is nicely laid out, and is listed as having Tench, rudd, roach, and pike, but it also carries a small but well sized stock of carp too. I am not a big fan of carp fishing, mainly because I have never really given it a try, but I do enjoy watching them cruise along like little battleships.