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Yesterday, my fishing companion on Pegasus was local man Gerry McCafferty. It was one of those rear ‘blue sky’ days and the mood was chirpy and cheerful as we zigzagged our way down the channel searching for new sandbanks. The estuary channel is in constant transition… nothing too drastic, subtle changes. Sand banks eroding on the western shoreline and enlarging on the eastern shoreline. It’s about a twenty five year cycle.

When we got the navigation business out of the way we dropped anchor and fished hard for the first hour. The first flow of the flood tide is usually a good time to move fish so we waited, and waited, for the first nibble and… nothing! Not a bite!! Eventually, we decided it was time for the nosebag so we shared a nice plate of smoked salmon salad and a glass of Chenin Blanc. What a tough world we live in!

After I packed away the dish washer we moved to a different location and within 50 minutes we landed seven sea trout and probably lost as many more. We caught three more over the next hour and, well satisfied, we agreed to call it a day.

All our fish were safely returned to the water and, as good anglers always do, we adjourned to the high stool to boast and brag and…

Judd

I have  been looking forward to this opening day for some time now. Water surface temperature this morning was just over 9 degrees Celsius. About average for this time of year. I was delighted to see the heavy water had run off so, maybe… just maybe!

My first clients were from Limerick… Vanessa Mitchell and Marius Van Niekerk ex Cape Town. I explained to Vanessa how ladies had a good success rate on my boat Pegasus and she didn’t let me down. First cast and bang! She hooked and landed her first sea trout and also the first Moy estuary sea trout of the new season on Pegasus.

Marius missed a couple before he landed his first and had to play the fish for about ten minutes. A strong fresh run Spring fish. Nice, very nice! By the way,  they were fishing mackerel strips… deadly!

I will let you in on a little secret about this happy couple in a couple of days… Stay tuned… Judd

This morning I have tied one of Bob Popovics’s creations. Unfortunately, I don’t have a name for it because he has so many versions /colours of the same tying, so for now I will call it ‘The Musician’… suits the company! Photo to follow.

So far , I am very pleased with my new clear glue. Great to work with!

Judd

Not long after I started experimenting with the fly on the Moy Estuary I received a gift from a friend. That gift is now one of my most treasured possessions today. It is a book called Sea Trout Flies and this is where I discovered the Snake Fly. Written by James Waltham, this book contains a wealth of information so do yourself a favour and go out and buy it right now! I have no doubt this is the most informative piece of reading any sea trout angler could have in his collection.

Many anglers are of the opinion that sea trout fishing is a thing of the past but nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, there are large areas of our western coastline suffering from the effects of salmon farming (which is an ongoing debate) and sea trout stocks have being badly effected. However, all the north Mayo and Sligo coastline is free of these farms and our sea trout stocks are holding up. Here in the Moy estuary we had over 3,000 sea trout for the 2015 season despite the inclement weather.

The Snake Fly was first designed/invented by James  back in 1987 and he claims it is the best fly/lure in his box. He also says “no self respecting fly angler should be without this fly”. For the photo I have tied in three colours, from the top… Silver, Green and light Blue.

Judd

What a terrific weekend we have had…

Connacht Rugby beat Leinster, Mayo beat Roscommon and Ballina RFC beat Westport in the Cup Final.

In between all those events I found time to tie a few sand eels. Hope you like!

Judd

This is a busy time of the year for me. My sea trout season opens April 17 and I find myself cleaning rods, reels and boats.

There is an air of expectation and excitement as I now spend many hours at the bench experimenting on a variety of Snakes with new materials and… a new secret waterproof glue. All will be revealed however… if successful!

Each new season  brings a sense of adventure as I spend the first few days looking for new eddies and flows in the ever changing channel. Last years hot spots will probably be sand banks after the winter floods and storms. To study the surface of the water is an art in itself. Something my good friend Peter O’Reilly made me aware of many years back. Try it sometime!

Water levels on the upper Moy and loch Conn are dropping, so, if we don’t get too much rain between now and the opening day I will catch fish.

Noellie (Shakin’) Maloney caught the first springer and two more were landed in Armstrongs Fishery.

We have never had a saltwater fly fishing competition on the estuary so I am toying with the idea of holding one this year depending on the weather. The big challenge for me is to take a fish on the bar with a fly. This has never happened in my lifetime so there should be a special prize for the first one.

2015 was a mixed bag of wind and rain but good fishing when we got the weather… fingers crossed for 2016!

If you  don’t win the lottery I hope you catch bags of fish… Judd

When I first read the above headline I asked myself, “Who is Auguste Escoffier?”

The answer is in the following article by angler, food critic, author and Masterchef judge, Charles Campion.

As you enter Ballina in County Mayo the road sign proudly proclaims you are entering the salmon capital of Ireland. The small town of Ballina is also notable for having 57 pubs and sits astride the river Moy which is Ireland’s most prolific salmon river. In the hotels, the bars, the restaurants, the tackle shops, the beer gardens the talk is all salmon… this is a very single minded place. The famous Ridge Pool on the Moy is slap bang in the middle of town and the four or five anglers who have booked tickets to fish this pool (usually for a half day session at a cost of 140 euro) stand waist deep and fish hard.

It is likely that more salmon are caught in the Ridge Pool than any other salmon pool in Britain and Ireland. To add to the pressure knowledgeable locals stand on the town bridge with a perfect view and critical eye on the fishermen below, this is no place to fluff your casting.

Judd Ruane is part of the fabric of Ballina.
Since 1973 he has fished the estuary for sea trout and now runs trips for visiting anglers. A day’s fishing with Judd is a real treat. The estuary is five miles long and the sand banks and channels are in a constant state of flux, when it comes to finding fish there is no substitute for local knowledge and Judd’s fish finding abilities verge on the spooky. Pretty soon there are a dozen fresh run sea trout in the boat. Fin perfect bars of silver between 1lb and 2 lbs… fit fish that fight hard.

But it is at lunch time that Judd comes into his own. You anchor the boat on Bartragh island in Killala Bay and walk over the headland to find a bowl shaped, well sheltered barbecue spot. A rusted barbie and elderly trestle table make the perfect setting for a magnificent feast.

Auguste Escoffier (1846 to 1935) is usually credited as originator of the culinary golden rule “Faites Simple”… a wholly admirable sentiment as dishes rarely improve as they become more complicated. Escoffier would have gotten on well with Judd Ruane, but Judd takes this “simple” idea to another level.

Here is his recipe for cooking sea trout. Gut the fish. Make some slashes down it’s flank. Add plenty of butter plus salt and pepper.Wrap in tin foil making a tidy parcel and cook on the barbeque.

When you open the parcel you are in the presence of the most memorable fish dish ever. Pink flakes of sea trout, sweet and buttery. Lift the meat from the backbone with greedy fingers. The finely ground black pepper from a little drum (that you viewed so nervously), is no longer harsh but gently aromatic. With Judd’s barbeque lunch you touch upon a great truth. The fresher a fish is the better it tastes. These seatrout were running the tide a couple of hours ago and taste implausibly delicious.

As Judd would have it when the bites are not coming fast enough, “C’mon, you good things!”
Escoffier would approve.

By Charles Campion May 2012
_ _

Charles was accompanied by his son and my good friend Pete Hannan.
Thank you Charles, I am humbled with such praise!
However, I think I’ll stick to the fishing!
Judd

Well it’s being awhile and another season has come and gone.
A good season at that too… probably the best for some twenty years.
Good runs of healthy sea trout produced fine catches of quality fish.
However, the unpredictable weather produced high water levels on and off through the season which meant I had to cancel and disappoint many of my clients.
Overall, a very enjoyable season!
I suppose the high light of the season for me was a two day fishing trip with my good friend Pete Hannan. His guest was none other than Charles Campion… angler,food critic, author and judge on the Master Chef TV series. We hit a nice run of fish both days and enjoyed some good wine and barbeed on Bartra Island. Charles wrote a very complimentary review some time later which I will produce in my next blog.
The water quality at the start of the season was incredible… for the first time in years the estuary riverbed was visible… Pristine!
Unfortunately,the summer floods brought an end to that for long spells. Patience is a virtue they say!
The ‘Bar’ (where the estuary meets the sea) fished well and earlier than normal creating much activity with all the boats doing well.
Mackerel fishing in the bay was very poor for much of the season and the ‘Red Tide’ which appeared all along the west coast drove them back out into the deep. For the first time in my life I heard a fish monger quoting 5 euro for one mackerel as they had to be imported from Scotland. Mackerel is an important bait for sea trout on the Moy and at times I had to purchase in neighboring counties.
As usual, the channel is constantly changing creating new channels for the curious angler to explore.
Just now there is great concern re the proposed ‘super’ salmon fish farms off the Galway coast… 15,000 ton per annum!!
Over the years much has been said by marine biologists on both sides with little or nothing agreed. Sea trout stocks along the Galway coast have been decimated bringing an end to the most famous sea trout in the country. The Moy runs into Killala bay which is free of fin fish farms. We DO NOT and NEVER had a problem with our sea trout. Now you don’t have to be a scientist to figure that one out!

On the lighter side… I have another story for you.

Paddy had long heard the stories of an amazing family tradition…
It seems his father, grandfather and great-grandfather had all being able to walk on water on their 18th birthday.
On that special day they’d each walked across the lake to the pub on the far side to get their first legal drink.
So when Paddy’s 18th birthday came ’round, he and his pal Mick, took a boat out to the middle of the lake. Paddy stepped out into the water and nearly drowned!
Mick just barely managed to pull him to safety.
Wet and confused Paddy went to see his grandmother…
‘Grandma’ he said,’tis me 18th birthday so why can’t I walk ‘cross the lake like me father, his father and his father before him?
Granny looked deeply into Paddy’s troubled brown eyes and said…
“yer father, grandfather and great-grandfather were all born in December when the lake is frozen and you were born in August, ya feckin’ eedjit!

Now there’s one for Mrs Brown’s Boys! See ya, Judd

Yesterday I received an email from John De Vroode. John and a group of his friends fished with me for many years in the 80’s and early 90’s.
They became ‘expert’ fishing sea trout and stopped fishing salmon completely such was their success.
They stayed in our home at the Riverboat and were like members of our family during their many many visits.
I was delighted to hear from you John but I am having a problem with your email address. Will you check it out and get back to me ASAP… Judd

I have had a couple of good days on the estuary recently…
I fished with my old friend Martin van Seemus and his friends Michael and William. All the lads are from Holland and Martin was 16 when he first fished with me. Every fish landed was fresh run… bars of silver! Michael however, lost the fish of the day…
Once hooked the fish started jumping towards the boat so we had a good look at him… close to 3lbs I guessed. 14 fish in total were landed and with the 3 fish limit most were returned.
Harry Feeney from the ‘Foxford Lodge’ and I had 6 fish in two hours and they were like peas in a pod. Again, fresh run around the 1 lb mark. When the 6th fish was landed Harry said he was very satisfied so we had a little snack of smoked salmon on soda bread and a glass of Sauvignon Blanc all the way from Chile. Very tasty!!
Kevin McGloin and friend had 9 sea trout up to 1.5lbs.and the new 3 fish limit was observed with barbless hooks.
Water conditions are excellent and I have no doubt this is why we are seeing fresh sea trout in the lower basin. I am told there is a good sign of sand eels in the bay but we need the weather to improve before they enter the estuary in any great numbers. Judd