Posted in Jul 2015
July has been wet. It has rained almost every day which has provided us with a great level of water in the river beats and a good height in the lake. The water temperature in the lake is well below average for this time of year. The run of Salmon is very good, with plenty of fish in the five pound bracket that visibly are in great condition, well fed at sea and lacking in scars from lice and other nasties. The Sea Trout fishing has been disappointing though. The numbers are just not here yet, there is a fair amount of finnock, but a serious lack of fish over 1.5lbs. The Sea Trout are in good condition and are lice free and well fed, but it is worrying.
Along with the wonderful Salmon fishing, the Brown Trout action is as good as ever, with dozens of 2lbs plus fish landed from the lake and the river beats. July catches are as follows; Salmon 54, Sea Trout 164 and Brown Trout 150. Notable catches for July include Brian Lawlor (Westmeath) (see pic) caught and released a Brown Trout of 7.5lbs on Lough Inagh on a size 12 Kingsmill. William Hamilton(Dublin) boated 13 Sea Trout for a day afloat using Silver Daddies and a Magenta Bumble. Top flies for the lake have been Silver Daddy, Bibio, Leggy Green Peters and Muddlers. Top flies for the river are Van Beck, Green Highlander and Black Shrimp. One other event to note is that I managed to hook and land a 1 pound sea trout on the dropper, and a 5 pound grilse on the point fly a couple of days ago on the river!!