Every season I hear… “Isn’t it great to see the sea trout back again”.
My usual reply is… “They never went away”
Connemara Co. Galway was without a doubt, the recognized sea trout fishery in the country and when the sea lice problem developed into the disaster it is, most anglers thought it was a nationwide problem.
Not so… there has never been a sea lice problem in the Moy/Killala Bay region.
The facts speak for themselves… I have been giving my sea trout returns to the North Western Fisheries all through these years.
As the Moy is around 100 km from the nearest fish farm my problems are different… the changing global weather and our water quality.
Up to the 80’s I would lose 2 or 3 days in a season from bad weather but these days my losses run into weeks. I do not believe in taking a client fishing and saying sorry at the end of the day! When I fish I catch fish!! We had our Summer in April and I was busy busy… then we had 6 weeks of cold northerly winds and rain. Conditions were so bad the sand eels and herring fry left the estuary and the resident trout deteriorated. There was little sign of fresh fish in the estuary until the weather improved and water temperature increased. Overall the rest of the season was enjoyable with some really exciting days. No matter how long I fish for these sea trout I always enjoy the thrill and excitement of hitting a school of fresh run fish. Have no doubt… they are special!
Judd
This morning there are 10 mt swells off the west coast…
Last week we got the tail end of Irene and Saturday Katia started to blow.
I have taken all my boats off the water as a precaution as Pegasus broke her mooring Saturday morning.
I have never seen such an “evacuation” of boats from the Quay amid fears of storm force winds and giant waves.
… a long queue of boat trailers at the slipway… the likes never seen before!
Met Eireann have an extreme weather warning in place and nobody’s taking chances.
This morning however, I think we may be lucky as the center of the storm seems to be still off shore heading north.
This has really put a damper on the last few weeks of the season as I think it will be next week before I can get a boat back in the water.
Judd
Dear Judd,
I just received a glowing email from Tourism Ireland in Frankfurt following Holger Bente’s visit to Ireland and most particularly his time out with you. Holger claimed it was one of the best angling experiences of his life, quiet a compliment from a seasoned journalist.
With kind regards,
Orla Woods
Product Development Officer – Angling
Failte Ireland – The National Tourism Development Authority
Received August 24th/2011
I have not fished since last Monday as conditions are not good due to the spring tides. These high tides stir up the sand on the bottom creating “clouds” in the water and the sand upsets the fish if it gets into their gills… at least, that is my theory!
Saturday the tides drop back to 3.5 meters so I will be out there again.
I have enjoyed a good season so far… the best for maybe five seasons.
Whilst we have not had a “Sunshine Summer” it has been relatively dry which suits my fishing… holding a good head of sea trout in the estuary.
We had some heavy rain recently which cleared out the stale fish and as soon as the water dropped back we enjoyed a nice run of fresh sea trout.
Like bars of silver they were!
I am delighted to report that the condition of the water in the estuary overall has improved but there is much work yet to be done by our local authority!!
We are now into the last few weeks of the season which always brings a little sadness… one must wait for another season to see old friends and none of us are getting any younger.
However, there are still a lot of fish out there waiting to thrill the pants off you so tackle up and wet a line.
Judd
May 3… My clients were the Dunne brothers from Derry with their uncle Martin from Nottingham.
We departed the Quay at 9am and by 12.30 we had run out of bait… such was the fishing. What a day! A bite with practically every cast… every fisherman’s dream. Days like these don’t come very often but when they do…
The blustery wind was to our backs which made it easier to cast. The lads lost some good fish with the wind adding strength to the ebbing tide making it difficult to get the fish back to the boat.
Conditions didn’t allow us to lunch on the island and as we had to return to the quay for extra bait I decided to set up the bar b in the shelter of the quay buildings using the tail board of my Discovery for a table… not bad!
Unfortunately , the Met office is issuing ” small craft weather warnings” each day now so I must be patient and wait for a little calm for my next outing in search of those beautiful silver creatures called sea trout… Judd
May 2nd… There are good reports coming in from local boats…
John Fitzpatrick and Aidan Higgins had 21 sea trout for two days.
Two guests from the Ice House hotel fished for a short spell with me Sunday May 1st and had five sea trout despite a strong easterly wind.
Judd
Conditions on the estuary are good as a result of the fine weather we are currently enjoying…
My good friend Pete Hannan and his son Richard (Moira, Co Down) fished with me for two days during the week and they had 34 beautiful fresh run sea trout. This is unusual weather for April and it is many years since I have had such a bright start to my season.
There are plenty of fish in the estuary just now and I expect to do well as long as this weather holds… and Long May It Last!
Judd
Friday last was a good day… my first day out for the 2011 season which produced 18 sea trout. The sea trout season opened last Sunday week (April 17th) with very high spring tides. By Friday they had dropped back to a nice easy 3.4 meters.
My companion was Steve Tagg from Harpingden UK… this was Steve’s first time fishing sea trout and he hit the jackpot. Needles to say we had good sport and at times both rods were hooked up. All our fish were caught on the mackerel strip. The water is just a little too cold for the fly and the fish are deep.
This is my best “first day” catch for many years so long may it last.
There was a good show of Salmon Parr dropping back getting ready for their first journey to sea.
Tony Matheson from Mount Falcon Castle Hotel skippered one of my boats yesterday (Easter Sunday) with two of the hotels guests and they had 20 sea trout on the mackerel strip.
My good friend Pete Hannan and his son Richard arrive this week to to fish a couple of days with me so I will keep you posted… Judd