Trout Season 2012

whelzer

So the new season starts in just under an hour!:D If I could I'd be out in the dark but need to bring the nippers to school so I expect to be on the river (Liffey North Kidare) by 10am...Gear is in the car, over the winter I've tied enough flies to catch all the trout in the country, have new spools of stroft, have invested in a new Barrio 5# floater and have brand spanking new wading boots bought at the Galway fair waiting to get wet. September 2011 seems a loooong time ago so really looking fwd to this.

My records show I've blanked 6 years out of the last 10 on opening day but with the weather the last few days I'm hopeful.

I'll post a full report tomorrow evening....

Doc Farrell

God bless you whelzer! I don't know if you are a prophet or a drug dealer!
Don't forget your update for us armchair March anglers!


The Fishermans Prayer

God give me strength to catch a fish
So big that even I
When telling of it afterwards
Have no need to lie

Arthur Ransome

ironbluedun

its always a good time of the year, the mild weather has been encouraging so far, long may it continue.

experimenter

I'm contemplating an trip at the weekend when I visit the folks in Limerick, but there's no river open unless I travel to the Blackwater in Cork!!!

If there was access to the Blackwater somewhere in North Cork, I might just get a day ticket on Sunday and do a bit of nymphing..

But just checked the forecast!!!

"Sunday will be very cold with rain, sleet and possibly snow in eastern parts of Leinster and Munster in the morning""

danbrosnan

Check out this Facebook page, we have some great little trout rivers and lakes down here in kerry...

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dingle-Peninsula-Fishing/200881506593664

bernard0368

Well, Whezler hope you had a good day, was up there myself this morning. The river is looking well and fished well this morning. I got 4, did you have any luck.

whelzer

Cold hard facts first... Fished from 10am-4pm, caught 3 fish, lost 3 more and had 3-4 more plucks. River was very, very low for March (at July/August levels) and was crystal clear.


The report.

As expected got to the river around 9:30. With so much water/locations to choose from its always hard to know where to start! Reckoned on a spot that gets stupidly busy during sedge time and I hadn’t been there since last May. No cars around, only person there, happy days. Get ready and its a 5 minute walk to the river across a few fields. I couldn’t believe it, the river was almost down to its bones – not good for March. It was also gin clear, coupled with the not a cloud in the sky thing that was going on I didn’t feel too confident.
Anyway threw on a bigish(12) beadhead nymph and smaller emerger/nymph jobby on the dropper and decide to fish up a pool that always has a few fish. A cracking fish left the water during a take of the emerger on the 3rd/4th cast which really got me going! Nothing else in that pool – no rises but I did see the odd olive coming off. Onto the next stretch and got the year underway on the 1st cast, a cracker of a fish around 8”, he was in amazing condition. Got nothing else for the next 2 hours, so decided to move location, drove to new water and again caught a fish –around 8”, on same emerger pretty quickly. All quite again so decided to try a mini brown trout lure. This would be my standard early season fly but it does best when there is a good flow and a bit of colour – things needed shaking up however. Was into a fish pretty much straight away but I lost him a few yards out. Lost another , then another. Came to the end of the run and caught fish number 3 who was nearer 10”.
I fished back up the same water with a dry dropper and a small (18) tungsten bead head but not a sniff!
All in all I’m pretty happy with the day – a few more fish wouldn’t have done any harm but it was nice not to blank. During a quite period I got a very nice view of a kingfisher so that was great.

Heres a few shots of the river - I’d normally have fish shots but only had the phone today and I didn’t risk getting it out whilst wading!




Always amazes me the number of clams in the Liffey!

Doc Farrell

Great report, fair play to you. The clams shot was a bit strange alright. Glad you had some success, you've fired up the old diesel engine in me to get the rods out!

whelzer

Hey Doc the clams are not strange at all, parts of the riverbed are absolutely full of them. I reckon that there are more of them now than say 6-7 years ago.

Update to the above. I would highly recommend Vision Hopper wading boots, they are the bees knees. Also been thinking about the lost fish. For the last few years I debarb the hook when it first goes in the vice, I'm more than happy that on balance its the right thing to do - for the fish easier release, for me easier to remove a hook from hat, hand, ear! I play fish hard as I want to get them back asap and I recokn having no barb in this siuation can result in a lost fish - especially river browns who fight like wet tigers!.

Daroxtar

experimenter wrote: »

I'm contemplating an trip at the weekend when I visit the folks in Limerick, but there's no river open unless I travel to the Blackwater in Cork!!!

If there was access to the Blackwater somewhere in North Cork, I might just get a day ticket on Sunday and do a bit of nymphing..

But just checked the forecast!!!

"Sunday will be very cold with rain, sleet and possibly snow in eastern parts of Leinster and Munster in the morning""

I've spent the last few days working outside wearing just a t shirt at times, then I check the weather forecast and this is what's coming for the weekend. Bloody typical:mad:

michaelfishing

Hi folks
i am new to this site & not sure i am posting in the right section but i was looking for any information on joinning a fishing club or clubs in the east coast area for river trout fishing.

Bizzum

michaelfishing wrote: »

Hi folks
i am new to this site & not sure i am posting in the right section but i was loking for any information on joinning a fishing club or clubs in the east coast area for river trout fishing.

Hi Michael. If you were to state roughly the area you had in mind, someone on here could surely help! There is a lot of fishing between the Slaney and the Dee:)

Doc Farrell

If I was you Michael I'd start a new thread for this question. Southside Angling would know all the various clubs, I think there are a few websites with the details too. The Boyne and the Liffey would have the biggest clubs but there are about two dozen smaller rivers within a one hour drive from the airport. I'm sure there are many here who can help you.

michaelfishing

Thank lads for the replies. I live in dunlaoghaire and have joined the castletown browntrout anglers in dundalk for the last 2 years.
I have'nt caught a trout to 1/2lb on the fly yet.I am only starting out with the fly rod.
can anyone join the clubs on the boyne ?
Again thank you for the help.

bayliner

7 trout in 2 days so far, nothing huge 2lber the best so far

ironbluedun

michaelfishing wrote: »

can anyone join the clubs on the boyne ?

the navan anglers are looking for members, they have a website.

fisherking

Yes they have got rid of the joining fee which was considerable.
120 a year is good value if you can fish it regularly
Which I can't ! :-(

ironbluedun wrote: »

michaelfishing wrote: »

can anyone join the clubs on the boyne ?

the navan anglers are looking for members, they have a website.

experimenter

ironbluedun wrote: »

the navan anglers are looking for members, they have a website.

http://www.navananglers.com/News.html

michaelfishing

Hi lads thanks for the advice just sent an email off to the navan & district anglers hope to get some feed back from them.
I haven't been fly fishing much but the boyne looks like a great place to get started..

Octopus

They are advertising heavily for members through the IFI, boards, facebook and a few other places.

You should get in no problem.

Some really good stretches for trout.

ironbluedun

Octopus wrote: »

Some really good stretches for trout.

yes they have, i used to be a member yonks ago.. some great trout water and salmon as well.

michaelfishing

Hi lads- hope to get some fishing this weekend. No reply to email to navan anglers yet.
any trout for anyone else.

Octopus

Just seen these on facebook

http://fishinginireland.info/news/trout-reports/quiet-start-to-the-season-on-the-boyne/

http://fishinginireland.info/news/trout-reports/10-year-old-evin-collects-his-membership-card-from-navan-anglers/

michaelfishing

Hi lads are there pike in the liffy up at the spa hotel in lucan ?
I went up there the weekend to fish for some trout and theren where a couple of guys fishing there with very large spinners.- I asked what they fished for they said pike seen them take what looked like a small salmon from the river. I caught 1 very small trout but had a nice day.
seems that a lot of spinning goes on up there?.
thanks again for the info on the boyne I will go into town and get a membership form.
regards mick.

bitemybanger

michaelfishing wrote: »

Hi lads- hope to get some fishing this weekend. No reply to email to navan anglers yet.
any trout for anyone else.

Rather than waiting for a reply you could pop into East Coast Angling, Sports Den or Anglers world, pay the membership and have it on the spot.

michaelfishing wrote: »

Hi lads are there pike in the liffy up at the spa hotel in lucan ?
I went up there the weekend to fish for some trout and theren where a couple of guys fishing there with very large spinners.- I asked what they fished for they said pike seen them take what looked like a small salmon from the river. I caught 1 very small trout but had a nice day.
seems that a lot of spinning goes on up there?.
thanks again for the info on the boyne I will go into town and get a membership form.
regards mick.

Feel free to post a new thread but we will try and keep this a dedicated Trout thread:pac:

demanufactured

3 Trout caught and released on lough ree yesterday trolling.

All came to 7cm brown trout rapala, all fish were caught in about 5 ft of water...the fish seemed to be sticking to the shallows.

and a pike around 6lbs , released.

bayliner

demanufactured wrote: »

3 Trout caught and released on lough ree yesterday trolling.

All came to 7cm brown trout rapala, all fish were caught in about 5 ft of water...the fish seemed to be sticking to the shallows.

and a pike around 6lbs , released.

any size? had just 1 on sunday and lost another, none better than 1lb!! my worsyt of 3days out so far!!

demanufactured

Biggest around.2lb...all young fish in great condition.
A mate had a 12lber out before the season started.
Was trolling for pike and a.big spotty hen took the lure...she was of course released.

Icyseanfitz

any pointers on where i could do some trout fishing around kerry come saturday

okedoke

Icyseanfitz wrote: »

any pointers on where i could do some trout fishing around kerry come saturday

Do you want to fish a lake or river?

Icyseanfitz

dont mind tbh, ive done lake fishing before and was quite happy with it but are any of the stocked lakes open this time of year?