Salmon Fishing Reports from Blackwater Lodge Salmon Fishery

Best Fish and Best Day of the Season so far!
Yesterday (Saturday) turned out to be a very good day indeed with six springers met in the day, and two landed and released.
Michael Sheridan (Dungarvan) caught and released the Best Fish of the Season to date - a 12¾ pounder on spinner on Kents. He also lost another fresh fish of about 7lb.
Lawrence Fitzpatrick (Cork) caught and released one about 7lb. on Ballinaroone and his fishing partner Ger McCarthy also lost a fresh fish on spinner.
Another fresh fish of about the same size was lost on fly on Kilmurry and a large fish was lost on fly at Ballyhooly after taking nearly 100m of backing off the angler's reel.
This makes a total of six springers recorded on the Lodge fishery so far this season.


There was heavy rain in the upper catchment on Friday night and the flood was hitting Ballyhooly by late afternoon.
The upper river @ Millstreet (90km up) peaked @ 11.30 on Saturday having risen 90cm to 1.25m. It is back down to 0.51m @ 18.30 today (Sunday).
At Kanturk (70km up) it peaked @ 1.05m at 13.30 on Saturday and has dropped to 0.39m @ 18.30 this evening.


The lower river peaked @ 0.97m @ midday today (Sunday) and had dropped to 0.86m by 18.00.
The clarity is very poor but should improve quickly as the water drops.
With quite a lot of fresh fish being seen in recent days and the number of fish met on Saturday
the prospects look very good indeed once this latest flood subsides.
There is some more rain forecast for tomorrow (Monday) so we'll have to see what that does to the river.

For all the latest info, see also:
www.ireland-salmon-fis...report.htm
www.facebook.com/profi...0222088579
or follow us on
twitter.com/blackwaterlodge
_________________
Ian owns Blackwater Lodge and Salmon Fishery in County Waterford, Ireland with his wife Glenda (APGAI-IRL Salmon & Trout) – one of the world’s highest qualified female fly-casting instructor & Emerald World Masters Ladies Salmon Distance champion.

John Burch from Armagh with a sea-liced fish taken on spinner on Upper Kilmurry on Saturday.
This was the fifth for March & the eighth for the season to date.
Fishing are being seen in good numbers on the lower beats
- there was one put at #30lb. seen several times today on Lower Kilmurry.
Fish seem to be holding in the beats below Clondulane,
which may explain why so many are being seen but not hooked
as springers go off the take quite quickly once they've been in the river a week or two.


Currently summer level with superb clarity. We'll have to see what the rain later in the week may do.........................
_________________
Ian owns Blackwater Lodge and Salmon Fishery in County Waterford, Ireland with his wife Glenda (APGAI-IRL Salmon & Trout) – one of the world’s highest qualified female fly-casting instructor & Emerald World Masters Ladies Salmon Distance champion.

Just had this picture sent through by phone. A thirteen pounder caught on the upper river at Castletownroche
This is the sixth for March & the ninth for the season so far.
_________________
Ian owns Blackwater Lodge and Salmon Fishery in County Waterford, Ireland with his wife Glenda (APGAI-IRL Salmon & Trout) – one of the world’s highest qualified female fly-casting instructor & Emerald World Masters Ladies Salmon Distance champion.

Martin Kiely (Co. Clare) caught & released this ~7lb. springer on Saturday - the first for April & the 10th. for the season.
The river was already rising Saturday afternoon & peaked Sunday morning having risen ~30cm.

It was coloured on Sunday & yesterday (more so upriver), but is back down at Ballyduff this morning to 0.42 with clarity ~ 2-3 feet with a nice beery colour. Perfect for spinning & excellent height for fly albeit a bit coloured.
The upper river rose again by ~20cm during the night, but has already peaked and started to drop.
The forecast is for dry weather for the rest of the week. Looks promising!
_________________
Ian owns Blackwater Lodge and Salmon Fishery in County Waterford, Ireland with his wife Glenda (APGAI-IRL Salmon & Trout) – one of the world’s highest qualified female fly-casting instructor & Emerald World Masters Ladies Salmon Distance champion.

The upper & lower river are both falling steadily. The Ballyduff gauge is on 0.32m this morning.
Clarity throughout is ~3 feet. Water temp. 10C.
In the last few days there have been very few fish seen on the lower river. There are good numbers of fish showing on the upper river, but they are very reluctant to take.
This one was caught and released by Mick Kennedy on fly on the middle of the upper river on Thursday (sorry - phone picture!). Springer number eleven for the fishery.

The forecast is now looking mainly dry for the coming week and with the river approaching summer level, flyfishing conditions are ideal.

For all the latest info, see also:
www.ireland-salmon-fis...report.htm
www.facebook.com/profi...0222088579
or follow us on
twitter.com/blackwaterlodge
_________________
Ian owns Blackwater Lodge and Salmon Fishery in County Waterford, Ireland with his wife Glenda (APGAI-IRL Salmon & Trout) – one of the world’s highest qualified female fly-casting instructor & Emerald World Masters Ladies Salmon Distance champion.

There's some super fish being caught. That 7lb Springer looks a top fish.
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FishingFan is the Admin of this site.

Lodge Opening - Egging you on for Easter!
Due to the good run of fish & increasing demand, we will now be opening the Lodge full-time
for B&B accommodation from Easter weekend right through until the end of September.

Current Conditions

Moderate amounts of rain fell on Tuesday night & Wednesday .
There is just about 1mm forecast for Friday and it is then dry for at least a week
with temperatures in the range 12-15°C rising to 17-18°C early next week.



The upper river rose about 13cm & peaked at Millstreet @ 01.00 this morning
& @ Kanturk @ 05.00am.
At Ballyduff, it peaked around 14.00 @ 0.42m (also up 13cm) & was back down to 0.41m by 19.00.
The clarity is down a little bit, but is still quite good @ 2½-3 feet. Water temperature is 13°C.

There were a few fish moving through Cappoquin this morning,
though up-river seems to be rather quieter at the moment.
There's a very good early run of bigger seatrout reported in the tidal reaches - fish of 4-5lb.

Prospects
Looking excellent for the coming days & probably right up to Easter.
We have high tides peaking Monday/Tuesday next week which should help encourage fish to run.
Air pressures will also be rising through the weekend which should put fish more in a taking mood.

Availability
There is no problem for availability of rods & accommodation for the coming weeks.

Glenda will be demonstrating & giving free tuition & we will have a stand
at the following Irish fair in a fortnight.

Ballywalter Game & Country Living Fair:
Ballywalter Estate, Co. Down on April 30 & May 1. www.ballywaltergamefair.com

Glenda will also be hosting a Ladies Introduction to Fly-fishing Day in aid of Action Breast Cancer
in conjunction with IFI. This will be held at Rathcon Trout Fishery, Co. Wicklow on Sunday, May 15. Contact IFI or Glenda to book a place.


And Finally - An Air Travel Funny
Those of you that come to Ireland by air will especially love this one!
[URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPyl2tOaKxM"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPyl2tOaKxM[/URL]
You might think its come to the end, but just keep looking . It's absolutely feckin' hilarious.
_________________
Ian owns Blackwater Lodge and Salmon Fishery in County Waterford, Ireland with his wife Glenda (APGAI-IRL Salmon & Trout) – one of the world’s highest qualified female fly-casting instructor & Emerald World Masters Ladies Salmon Distance champion.

These two very fresh fish were taken today (Wednesday) from one of our 8 beats on the upper river. Two rods fished & each had one - both on spinner & both 7lb. They saw a few fish moving thru' during the day. There were a couple of fish seen moving on the lower river as well.



A band of quite heavy rain came across the catchment from the south in the early hours of this morning, but didn't really get as far as Ballyduff where we only had 1.5mm on the gauge this morning at 09.00. Later in the day we had 10mm but it seems to have been mainly confined to the lower catchment.
By this evening the lower tributaries from Ballyduff to Lismore were well in dirty spate but should run off quite quickly as rain stopped late afternoon.
The lower river at Ballyduff Bridge peaked @ 0.50m @ 15.00 on Tuesday & was down to 0.30m this morning (Wednesday). By evening it had only risen 2cm but still with quite good clarity.


There was a small rise on the upper river this morning. Some heavier rain is due in the upper catchment tonight. The weather will continue broken into the early part of next week.

The upper river peaked Monday evening with a rise of 43cm & was dirty.
It fell back 33cm by this morning (Wednesday) but rose 11cm again by lunchtime and then stabilised. Clarity reasonably good.

It looks as if there is a fair amount of rain still to come over the weekend.
This would be very welcome as it will encourage the fish waiting in Youghal Bay to run into the main river.
_________________
Ian owns Blackwater Lodge and Salmon Fishery in County Waterford, Ireland with his wife Glenda (APGAI-IRL Salmon & Trout) – one of the world’s highest qualified female fly-casting instructor & Emerald World Masters Ladies Salmon Distance champion.

This is the Blackwater just peaking this morning at 09.00 at 0.74m on the gauge.

A band of heavy showers came across the middle to lower catchment from the south during last (Thursday) night. 10mm fell here but less in the upper catchment


There is some more rain forecast for the next 3 nights.
The weather will continue broken over the weekend through into the early part of next week.


The upper river peaked in the early hours of this morning & is starting to drop.
The lower river also peaked at 9.00am @ 0.74m & is down 2cm by 11.00.
Clarity is poor but looks to be improving slightly.
It has a sedimenty colour which usually drops out quickly.

Apart from the big run of large fish seen going through the upper river & the lost fish of ~14lb.,
there was a 9.2 pounder taken on spinner on one of our lower beats yesterday afternoon.

The prospects for the coming days are moderate as the river is just starting to fine off.
Too high for fly at the moment but moderate spin/worm conditions.
All depends on how much rain falls! May could turn out to be a very good month!

See Blackwater Lodge Fishing Report page: bit.ly/fzavCh
See Ian Powell page: on.fb.me/dYddlZ
Follow our Tweets. twitter.com/#!/blackwaterlodge
_________________
Ian owns Blackwater Lodge and Salmon Fishery in County Waterford, Ireland with his wife Glenda (APGAI-IRL Salmon & Trout) – one of the world’s highest qualified female fly-casting instructor & Emerald World Masters Ladies Salmon Distance champion.

Well - we did say we wanted rain!

This is the river at 19.00 this evening - 1.90m & still rising.


There was very heavy rain in the upper catchment (more towards Mallow than Killarney).
The river peaked at Millstreet @ 07.30 (up 1.00m) & at Kanturk @ 13.30 (up 1.40m).


At Ballyduff, it is still rising @ 19.00 (up 1.30m).

It looks as if there is going to be yet more rain tonight in the upper catchment
which could push it even higher.
It'll probably be a couple of days before the upper river comes into fishable order.
Prospects must be superb once the flood fines off with the runs of fish
we saw going through the upper river late last week.

Yous'e can all stop the rain dance now please!
_________________
Ian owns Blackwater Lodge and Salmon Fishery in County Waterford, Ireland with his wife Glenda (APGAI-IRL Salmon & Trout) – one of the world’s highest qualified female fly-casting instructor & Emerald World Masters Ladies Salmon Distance champion.

This the river below the Lodge @20.00 this evening. Ballyduff gauge 0.87m.


The level is dropping steadily on the upper & lower river. Clarity 1-2 feet throughout. The lower river is down to 0.87m @ 20.00. (see picture)

Prospects for the coming days should be superb. Thursday/Friday will be spinning/worming & it should be into fly order for Saturday.
No reports of fish moving yet, but I would expect the upper river to fish from tomorrow. Should be in fly order for Saturday.

The forecast is mainly dry for the remainder of the week.

For all the latest info, see also:
www.ireland-salmon-fis...report.htm
www.facebook.com/profi...0222088579
or follow us on
twitter.com/blackwaterlodge
_________________
Ian owns Blackwater Lodge and Salmon Fishery in County Waterford, Ireland with his wife Glenda (APGAI-IRL Salmon & Trout) – one of the world’s highest qualified female fly-casting instructor & Emerald World Masters Ladies Salmon Distance champion.

The level is dropping steadily but slowly on both the upper & lower river. Clarity on the upper river this morning is ~2 feet. Perhaps a bit less on the lower river where the level is down to 0.76m @ 09.30.

I had reliable reports of 3 fish hooked (1 landed) in 3/4 hour 15km above Mallow yesterday evening & 3 more caught 10km below Mallow by 10.30 this morning. All were very fresh double-figure fish. The May run is coming.

With the forecast dry thru' the weekend, prospects are excellent for the coming days.
_________________
Ian owns Blackwater Lodge and Salmon Fishery in County Waterford, Ireland with his wife Glenda (APGAI-IRL Salmon & Trout) – one of the world’s highest qualified female fly-casting instructor & Emerald World Masters Ladies Salmon Distance champion.

The Best Day of the Season so Far - By a long way!

The river is fining down well after the big flood and there is a great run
of large fish going through the upper & lower river now!
Just two beats have both produced a total of 5 fish today.

Conor Arnold from Killavullen - who had caught a 10.3 pounder
on our beat up there yesterday - returned to the scene again
this afternoon and caught three fish in about 3 hours fishing.
The first was a sea-liced 6 pounder and he then released
another two very fresh fish each of about 10lb.
The first two were caught on spinner, & the third on fly.


Taken on fly at Ballyhooly (photo courtesy Glenmore)

Due to the conditions downriver, Glenmore from Fortwilliam brought a party
to fish on our upper river beats and it was a gamble that worked.
They only got to the river at 12.30 and within an hour Kevin Collins
had caught a beautiful sea-liced fish of 8lb. on fly.
A little later Michael Conway had a very fresh 10 pounder on spinner.


The level is dropping steadily but slowly on both the upper & lower river.
The clarity is ~4 feet on the upper river & ~3 feet downriver.
The lower river is down to 0.60m @ 18.00.


It's great to see the river holding the water well & only dropping off slowly
which is giving the fish a good chance to run.


This was the river at 13.30 this afternoon when the level was 0.63m.

Prospects for the weekend and into next week look absolutely superb.
The water is still a touch high especially for fly, but with the forecast remaining dry,
even the lower river should start to fish with fly from tomorrow.

For all the latest info, see also:
www.ireland-salmon-fis...report.htm
www.facebook.com/profi...0222088579
or follow us on
twitter.com/blackwaterlodge
_________________
Ian owns Blackwater Lodge and Salmon Fishery in County Waterford, Ireland with his wife Glenda (APGAI-IRL Salmon & Trout) – one of the world’s highest qualified female fly-casting instructor & Emerald World Masters Ladies Salmon Distance champion.

Great Weekend's Fishing. The First Grilse is Caught !

With the upper river already coming into fine fishable order late last week and the lower river in fly order by Saturday, we had some excellent fishing over the weekend, catching more fish for the weekend than we had had caught for the whole season to date.
Grilse are running with a few caught & a lot more of these soft-mouthed fish lost, and sea-liced May fish being caught through even to the upper river.


This is the river levels currently. Now fined off to a beautiful height.

Things already started to happen last Thursday (12th.), when a fine 10.3 pounder
was caught on the upper river on our beat at Killavullen by Conor Arnold.


He fished the same beat the next day (Friday) and caught this sea-liced 6 pounder
and released another very fresh 10 pounder.


Taken on spinner at Ballyhooly (photo courtesy Glenmore)
Due to the conditions downriver, Glenmore from Fortwilliam brought a party
to fish on our upper river beats on Friday the 13th., and it was a gamble that worked.
They only got to the river at 12.30 and within an hour Kevin Collins
had caught a beautiful sea-liced fish of 8lb. on fly at Ballyhooly
A little later Michael Conway had this very fresh 10 pounder on spinner.


We hosted a group from Bandon A.C. on Saturday 14th.,
and Anthony Buckley had this fine 8 pounder on fly on Lower Kilmurry.

The First Grilse!

Rob Smith from the same group then had the honour of catching (& releasing)
the first grilse of the 2011 seas - on fly at the Hut Pool on Upper Kilmurry.


This fine 9 pounder was also caught on Saturday by Mike Sheridan from our very top beat just below Mallow.


On Sunday (15th.), Billy Jewitt released this fine 11 pounder caught on fly at Castletownroche.
Stephen Casey from Kerry had a 10½ pounder on Rapala from Kents (lower river) and Terry O'Keeffe had the best fish of the day with a 12½ pounder from Ballincurrig (upper river) - also on spinner.


Yesterday (Monday), Garry O'Shea from Dungarvan caught this fine brace of 9 pounders also from Ballincurrig, and released a 5lb grilse. All taken on spinner.
he's the first angler to catch 3 in one day this year.


This sea-liced 4lb. grilse was caught by Philippe Bargwil from Britanny yesterday. It was his first day ever salmon fishing.
It was taken on spinner at the Hut Pool on Upper Kilmurry, and on the BBQ within 10 mins!


_________________
Ian owns Blackwater Lodge and Salmon Fishery in County Waterford, Ireland with his wife Glenda (APGAI-IRL Salmon & Trout) – one of the world’s highest qualified female fly-casting instructor & Emerald World Masters Ladies Salmon Distance champion.

Best Fish of the Season so far on Fly!

Apologies for the pic quality, but this was off a phone camera.
Mick Kennedy caught this fine fish on fly at Castletownroche yesterday evening. It's the biggest on fly so far.
The same beat has already produced a very fresh 8 pounder on fly this morning by 9.30am for Jim Shanahan. It was his first ever with a double hand rod. They are reporting a good run of grilse & salmon going through the upper beats this morning.
Yesterday morning there was a big run seen going over the weir in Fermoy as well.
There are quite big tides peaking today at 3.8m
Yesterday evening I also got a very reliable report of a number of fish caught on a private beat below Kilmurry.
Half a dozen mostly ~10lb. There were also at least 3 very big fish lost in the last 2 days - all estimated ~20lb.

Prospects superb coming into the weekend, with the Ballyduff gauge reading 0.37m this morning & good clarity.
_________________
Ian owns Blackwater Lodge and Salmon Fishery in County Waterford, Ireland with his wife Glenda (APGAI-IRL Salmon & Trout) – one of the world’s highest qualified female fly-casting instructor & Emerald World Masters Ladies Salmon Distance champion.