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TF_bwlodge2009 Season Report for Ireland’s Blackwater Lodge Salmon Fishery
The Biggest Fish Ever since 1986?
On September 15th. last, Tony Murtagh from Co. Dublin landed & released a fish estimated at approx. 25lb. weight.
This huge fish was taken on spinner on the Island Stream on Beat 6 – Lower Kilmurry.
The fish was rather coloured but fin perfect and very well conditioned – being very deep bodied & broad-backed.
It was quickly released without even a picture being taken as they had no camera & no weigh net!
It measured 96cm (38″) long with an estimated girth of 50cm (20″).Some of our recently caught fish were measured for comparison:
A 13.5 pounder measured 81cm, a 15 pounder was 85cm & a 19.1 pounder measured 89cm.
The gillie that released this fish said that he could only just get his thumb & forefinger of both hands
around the wrist of the tail, which was definitely much thicker than the 19 pounder.Heaviest Weighed Fish of 2009
On September 18 last, Paul Rosier caught the Heaviest Weighed-In fish of the season
on prawn at Gorman’s Pool on Kents – Beat No. 4. It weighed 19.1lb & was absolutely tide-fresh.
The same day, they saw literally hundreds of fish on the beat, including at least a dozen
which they reckoned were the same size as the one he caught – it was the only take of the day!Heaviest First Ever Salmon of 2009
On September 8th., Belgian anglers Guillaume Verlings (l) & Jean-Paul Hendricks (r) both caught their First Ever Salmon!
They were both taken on spinner on the Castle Flat on Beat 3 – Ballinaroone & weighed 16.6 & 9.8lb.
Both fish were sea-liced! Guillaumes’ was the Heaviest First Salmon of 2009!In 2009, there was much talk about drastically reduced numbers of salmon running into many rivers.
Here on the Blackwater, whilst the spring run wasn’t so good, from May on we saw good numbers of fish running.
May in fact produced the best number of fish caught (53) since 1996 and was in fact the third best ever total for the month
since I started accurate records in 1986. It was only beaten by 1994 (82) & 1996 (72).Whilst it was certainly not a year when the number of salmon caught for the whole season was outstanding,
there were a couple of factors which help explain the lower catch figures for the backend & consequently the total season catch.This was in part due to less rods fishing ( a consequence of the recession)
which is a major factor which is often not taken into consideration when looking at catch statistics.
The other startling factor in 2009 was the behaviour of the fish themselves.
Whilst there were large numbers of salmon in the river, especially in August & more particularly in September,
they displayed a startling reluctance to take any offering.
This was a phenomenon which was observed throughout Ireland this last season.The table below shows the catches since I took over the Lodge in 1986.
Blackwater Lodge Fishery – Salmon Catch Statistics.
Catch & Release
As an aside – 43% of the fish caught in 2009 on the Lodge Fishery were released.
This is well above the national average of 38% in 2008 as recently published in the
Central Fisheries Board Wild Salmon & Seatrout Statistics report
for 2008. Our guests released 52% in 2008.This report also states that 12.9% of all fish caught & released in Ireland in 2008 were on the Blackwater
– the highest in the country for rivers which were not designated as C&R only.Graph 1: Catch per Rod Day
A far better judge -
TF_bwlodgeThe First Springer is Caught on the Blackwater Lodge beats
Lodge regular Gavin Wishart from Newcastle, Co. Down came down to celebrate his 40th. birthday
this weekend & scooped the First Salmon of the 2010 season to be caught on the Lodge Fishery.He was fishing yesterday (March 6th) with Connie Corcoran on Ballinlovane and took the fish on Flying C at Cloonbeg.
The fish would have been released, but was bleeding from the gills so had to be kept.
The cast before he lost what they both believe was another springer, so there were definitely a few about.
It was hardly surprising that it took us until now to catch a fish as there were only 64 rod days
for the whole month of February. There would certainly be more springers caught if there were
more rods out on the river each day.Prospects
There are more fresh fish being seen in the river in the last few days.
The river is in absolutely cracking order at the moment – even for the fly.
0.44m on the gauge so perfect fly height & clarity a good 4 feet.
The weather forecast (Metcheck) looks dry for the next 2 weeks apart from about 6mm on the 15th.
Daily Updated Fishing Report: http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net/FishingReport/fishingreport.htm
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TF_bwlodgeThe Second Springer is Caught on the Blackwater Lodge beats
Bass fishing guide Michael McCormack from Wexford with the second fish of the season from the Lodge beats. It was sea-liced & weighed in at 10.2lb.
It was taken on Silver Bullet on the Green Bank on Upper Kilmurry.
Michael saw 3 or 4 more fresh fish as well during the day.
He was the only rod out on the river today – one springer for one rod day cain’t be bad! -
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TF_bwlodgeHere’s the current water level on the Cork Blackwater at Ballyduff on April 10th.
Source – Blackwater Lodge Fishing Report page: http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net/FishingReport/fishingreport.htm
The river is falling slowly but steadily. The clarity has improved dramatically & is now about 5 feet on the lower river.
It’s still a bit too high to fish the fly comfortably.
The 5th. springer of the season on the Lodge beats was caught on spinner on Beat 5 – Inchinleama last Sunday (April 4th.) before the last flood hit the river.
One kelt was caught today – surprising that there are still some present in the river this late in the season. -
TF_bwlodgeFishing the Fly at Last!
With such a beautiful balmy evening this evening, four of us decided venture out to the river about 6.00pm this evening.
We opted to go to Upper & Lower Kilmurry, the best of the Lodge’s seven beats below Careysville
with the gauge height having dropped to 0.80m.
Glenda & I headed for Lower, and the picture above is her at the Lug Pool at 7.15pm.
She was able to wade & fly-fish the whole way down the pool even at this height.
I headed down below to the Island Stream. This was about 10cm too high to be able to wade,
though could be fished from the (rather high) bank with a shooting head.
The picture above was taken looking downstream at the Island Stream at 7.45pm
and this picture was taken looking up the Island Stream to the Lug Pool on the bend in the distance.We didn’t see or touch any fish on Lower Kilmurry, but when we went back up to Upper Kilmurry,
the other two had seen three large fresh fish moving through the Sand Gap & the Hut Pool and Daniel
(a student on work experience at the Lodge from the Swedish Sport Fishing Academy)
had briefly hooked one of them just after it showed.The clarity is about 5 feet & the level is falling steadily, so the prospects for the coming week look good.
For the latest information, see our daily updated Fishing Report page: : http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net/FishingReport/fishingreport.htm
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TF_bwlodge
The First Springer on Fly is Caught!
Denis O’Donnell from Cahir caught this lovely sea-liced 8.4lb fish on a ½ inch cone-head Cascade tube on the Island Stream on Lower Kilmurry today.
He saw a fish running through the stream & caught this one 3 casts later, so there were definitely a few fish moving.
Late report (21.00)
Kieran Conlon from Cork lost a similar fish at the net with Denis in the Island Stream after about 6/7 minutes – he could even see the sea-lice on its back,
& lost another after about a minute on the Hut Pool on Upper Kilmurry. They saw at least half a dozen fish moving through.Prospects
The lower river is rising slightly (a couple of inches) after yesterday’s showers, but the clarity is still excellent.
The upper river came up about 6 inches & peaked during the night & is already falling.
The weather forecast is dry for the week, so fly-fishing prospects are excellent.
There are rods available for the coming week.
For the latest info: Fishing report page http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net/FishingReport/fishingreport.htm -
TF_bwlodge
The Best Day so Far this season with two sea-liced fish caught for only 10 rods fishing.
Brothers Larry and Michael Sheridan from Dungarvan fished the Lodge’s lowest beat
(only about 4 miles above the tide).
Larry caught a 9.4lb. on #8 Ally’s on a slow-sink tip & Michael a 6.4lb on FC.
A number of running fish were seen & two met, one on fly & one on spun prawn.
Interestingly, I also heard today (from anglers fishing Fermoy Trout club’s competition today
which weighed in at the Lodge this evening) that two fish were caught in the Ballyhooly area
& a grilse up at Lombardstown in the last day or so.
The run is definitely picking up, & with dry weather for the week, the fly-fishing prospects look excellent.
The river was down to 0.38m today with clarity 5-6 feet.
For the latest info: Fishing report page http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net/FishingReport/fishingreport.htm -
TF_bwlodgeThe First Grilse of the Season on the Lodge beats
There was nothing to report in the last 2 days as there were no rods out so
– needless to say there was no fish caught.
Three of us went out to Lower Kilmurry for an hour or so at lunchtime today and saw half a dozen fish
running through – mostly fish of 7-8lb but including one which was well into double figures.
We all persisted with the fly but no takes so had a few casts with spun shrimp & caught & released
this one almost immediately on the Island Stream.
Met two more, but only half-hearted takes & didn’t connect, then had to get home to pick the kids up from school!
Would’ve loved to stay longer as I’m sure we would have met more fish.
This, together with reports of good runs of grilse & salmon running from other beats on the lower river means the prospects in the coming days are looking good. Very little rain forecast for the coming week, certainly not enough to have any significant effect on the river.
For the latest info: Fishing report page http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net/FishingReport/fishingreport.htm -
TF_bwlodgeFlood moves fish from tidal water!
This is the water level situation at Ballyduff in the last few days.
The small flood on Tuesday put the river out of order for a couple of days as it became very coloured.
By Friday it was improving and 3 fish were lost on the Lodge beats.
Yesterday (Saturday), four fish were caught – 3 on spinner & one on fly.
The best (~12lb) was caught & released by Ray Burns on Upper Kilmurry on spinner.
Today, there were 3 grilse taken on the fly. Clarity is now a good 3 feet.
Seven fish in total for 14 rod days in the last two days.
There has been a significant increase in the number of fish moving through the lower beats since the flood.
I’m also hearing about some grilse & salmon being caught up in the Mallow area.
For the latest info: Fishing report page http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net/FishingReport/fishingreport.htm -
TF_bwlodgeBest Day of the Season So Far
including
Best Catch by One Angler in One Day
The Best Day of the Season mark set on Sunday lasted only two days.
Yesterday, June 15th., it was beaten not withstanding the fact that there were only 3 rods fishing for the day.
Six grilse were caught in total – all on the fly.In the late morning, Ray Burns caught one on Island Stream on Lower Kilmurry.
Portugese trapeze artist Pedro Granadiero from Dublin had a red letter day on Kents
when he landed five grilse of which he released four. All the fish were
caught from 2pm onwards on a fly he tied himself.
Having caught three, he had a siesta on the bank for an hour & then went back and caught another two,
only returning to the Lodge to report in at 10.00pm. . Four of the five fish were released.Prospects
The river is down to 0.19 on the gauge & the clarity has improved to 4-5 feet since the last fresh we had last Tuesday.
This has brought more fish into the lower beats, so the prospects for the week are looking better.For the latest info: Fishing report page http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net/FishingReport/fishingreport.htm
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TF_bwlodgeHere’s the latest picture on river levels at 18.30 this evening (Sunday 17th.).
The river is dropping quite quickly. On the lower river the clarity is extremely poor – virtually unfishable.
It is clearing down quite well from the top of the river & fish were caught today
on a couple of our beats on the upper river between Castletownroche and Mallow.
Connie gillied two guests on our very top beat and the party had 5 fish for the day including fish of 11, 5, 5, 4 & 3lb.
Only a couple the grilse were kept – the other 3, including the 11 pounder were released.
All were taken on spinner, but Connie reckoned it would be have been fly-fishable at the end of the day.
Two were sea-liced and the beat is 28 miles upstream of the Lodge!
One other grilse reported so far from the middle of the upper river as well.For all the very latest information please see the Blackwater Lodge Fishing Report page on :
http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net/FishingReport/fishingreport.htm
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TF_bwlodgeThe Best Ever July Catch
in terms of Fish Caught per Rod Day
On Sunday, July 25th., Mossy McElligott (Tralee) caught the Best Fish of the Season
with a 12.4lb on fly on Ballinaroone & his fishing partner Tim Quinlivan also had two on fly of 11.9 & 9.1lb.
Tim’s largest was also the second heaviest weighed fish this year.The month of July produced 169 salmon for a total of only 183 rod days.
This is the sixth best total for the month since I took over the Lodge at the beginning of 1986.
It is the best catch for the month since the year 2000, when 263 were caught for 750 rod days.
It also includes the two Best Fish of the Season which were both caught on fly on the same day
on Beat 3 – Ballinaroone by Mossy McElligott (12.4lb) & Tim Quinlivan (11.9lb).
There have also been at least four very large fish lost in the second half of the month.The table below shows the figures for the six best months of July.
Only the all-time record year of 1992 (when 1511 fish were taken) has a comparable catch per rod day!
Total catch for the season to date is 212.
Take me home, Mum! Our seven year old son Ian heads away
after an afternoon on the river with his famous mum Glenda on July 18!Current Situation
The river is still fining off slowly from the small floods on July 19 & 23.
It is now @ 0.18m on the gauge with ~5 feet clarity.Once again there is a huge buildup of fresh fish in the tidal reaches & a good number are running into the main river.
Some of the lower beat – in particular Kents & Lower Kilmurry – are hold a good head of fish.Prospects
With predominantly dry weather for the coming week, the river remain at summer level.
There are plenty of fish running – both hefty grilse & larger summer salmon.For all the very latest information please see the Blackwater Lodge Fishing Report page on :
http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net/FishingReport/fishingreport.htm
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TF_bwlodgeRecession Busting Syndicate Offer
For 2011, Blackwater Lodge is proposing a great opportunity to get fishing at a reduced rate for 2011 on Blackwater Lodge Salmon Fishery. There are two options on offer:
Full Season: €1,500
Spring Season: € 500 (February to May incl.)There are a limited number of places available which will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis.
More details on this can be found on this Syndication link:
http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net/Fishing/syndicate2011.htm
This was the Blackwater below the Lodge at 4pm yesterday – December 6. The temperature never rose above -2°C all day.
Hopefully the weather will be kinder in the run-up to the Opening Day of the 2011 Season on February 1st. -
TF_bwlodge14, 13, 12, 11, 10 …………………………………………………………….
The Countdown to the Opening Day on the Blackwater continues!Following the very cold spell in December, conditions are now much milder
with air temperatures of +8-10C.
The river was quite low for the time of year at the beginning of January,
but we have just had a well-timed flood which has brought the water temperature and level up.
There’s some more rain towards the weekend, then the run-up to the 1st. looks comparatively dry.
This bodes well for the Opening Day on February 1st as it will help to encourage early springers to run.The graph below shows the rainfall and river level so far for January.
To keep up to date with all the latest info, look at our Fishing Report Page
which is updated daily at http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net/FishingReport/fishingreport.htm -
TF_bwlodgeOnly 12 Days to Opening Day!
This is the graph of the height of the river up to this morning.
Dropping off steadily after a 2 metre flood on the 16th.,which has given it a good flush out.
The forecast is for mostly dry weather right up to the Opening Day on February 1st.,
so it looks as if it could even be in fly order by then.
With temperatures falling again – as low as -5C at night – and the lower water levels,
the best chance of a fish at the start will be on the lower beats below Clondulane weir.For the Latest Info: http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net/FishingReport/fishingreport.htm
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TF_bwlodge5, 4, 3, 2, 1………………………Cast
Yes – it’s now only 5 days to go to Opening Day!
This is the Cork Blackwater river today – 27th.
There was a 20cm rise on the river yesterday (26th.) following rain in the upper catchment.
This brought the lower river up about 10cm, but it has already started to fall back.
The forecast is then dry from now until the 1st., and the river is in excellent fly-fishable order with great clarity even after the slight rise. It should be perfect for the start of the season.Here’s the rainfall and river height at Ballyduff to this evening.
And here’s the gauge heights for the last 5 days on the upper & lower river.
For the very Latest Info: http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net/FishingReport/fishingreport.htm
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TF_bwlodge
This is the Blackwater this morning. Gauge is 2.77m and rising.
The upper river peaked last night and is falling.
Little rain fell in Ballyduff, but there must have been a considerable amount in the upper catchment.Prospects
Poor in the coming days with this flood & more rain for today and then Wednesday.
Temperatures are very mild (10-12C) so the high warmer water should encourage more fish to run, and may bring them to the higher beats (Ballyhooly to Mallow) once the flood subsides.For all the latest info, see also:
http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net/FishingReport/fishingreport.htm
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000222088579
or follow us on
http://twitter.com/blackwaterlodge -
TF_bwlodgeThe Second Salmon of the Season is caught on Blackwater Lodge Salmon Fishery
Only 2 rods out on the river yesterday.
Tony O’Keeffe from Mallow was fishing at Kilmurry with his father Dan
and caught this 6.6lb. fish on Flying C on the Island Stream on Lower Kilmurry.
Sea-lice can be seen in the picture – two on the top of the tail and one below the adipose.
There were more on the back & the head of the fish. They also caught a few kelts.There was a couple of rods out on Friday that also caught a few kelts,
but also saw a fresh springer show that they estimated at 15-20lb. – also on Lower Kilmurry.
The upper river had a slight (5cm) rise yesterday.
Occasional light rain in the upper catchment had been responsible,
and this has meant that the lower river has held it’s level at 0.85m.
The level is currently too high for good flyfishing,
needing to be below about 0.6m to be able to wade and fish comfortably.
The weather forecast now looks as if we can expect a dry spell of at least a week.
This should ensure that the level will come down to fly order.
When it will be very interesting to see how the upper beats from Ballyhooly to Mallow will fish.For all the latest info, see also:
http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net/FishingReport/fishingreport.htm
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000222088579
or follow us on
http://twitter.com/blackwaterlodge -
TF_bwlodge -
TF_bwlodgeBest 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:
http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net/FishingReport/fishingreport.htm
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000222088579
or follow us on
http://twitter.com/blackwaterlodge -
TF_bwlodgeCurrent Conditions
There was some quite heavy rain in the upper catchment on Friday.
The upper river peaked on Saturday and the lower river peaked Sunday morning.
Conditions were very good on Saturday up as far as Ballyhooly, and the number of fish hooked
shows that there is a good head of spring fish already in the river, even to the upper beats.
The lower river was completely out of order yesterday (Sunday) – quite high & very coloured.
It has fallen back to a flyfishable level during today, & the colour has improved.
The clarity in the late afternoon was about 1 – 1½ feet – well spinnable but no rods fishing.
The clarity should be even better tomorrow & so it should be in quite good fly order.The forecast is looking quite good – little rain, light winds & air temperatures of 7-10°C.
This is the river at 09.30 today with the gauge reading 0.60m.
It has fallen to 0.55m by 17.30 this evening.Prospects
Excellent for the coming days. The river should be in flyfishing order
and there is a good head of spring fish present.
AvailabilityThere is no problem for availability of rods for the coming week.
For all the latest info, see also:
http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net/FishingReport/fishingreport.htm
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000222088579
or follow us on
http://twitter.com/blackwaterlodge -
TF_bwlodge -
TF_bwlodge
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……………………. -
TF_bwlodge
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. -
TF_bwlodge
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! -
TF_bwlodge
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:
http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net/FishingReport/fishingreport.htm
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000222088579
or follow us on
http://twitter.com/blackwaterlodge -
TF_bwlodgeLodge 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. http://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!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPyl2tOaKxM
You might think its come to the end, but just keep looking . It’s absolutely feckin’ hilarious. -
TF_bwlodge
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. -
TF_bwlodge
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: http://bit.ly/fzavCh
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TF_bwlodgeWell – 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!
-
TF_bwlodge
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:
http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net/FishingReport/fishingreport.htm
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000222088579
or follow us on
http://twitter.com/blackwaterlodge -
TF_bwlodge -
TF_bwlodgeThe 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:
http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net/FishingReport/fishingreport.htm
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000222088579
or follow us on
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TF_bwlodgeGreat 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!
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TF_bwlodgeBest 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.
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TF_bwlodgeBest Fish of the Season – taken on Fly on May 19
(Apologies for the photo orientation. Came from an Iphone & no matter how I treat it it comes out sideways!)Chris Ryan (r) & Tony Finlay (l) arrived lunchtime yesterday for a half day on the river.
They started fishing on the Hut Pool on Upper Kilmurry @ 2.00pm and by 3.30pm
had landed these three fine fish.
One for Tony of 10.5lb., and two for Chris of 9lb & 14.5lb.
which is the Biggest Fish of the Season to date.
All three fish fell to fly! Evidently they arrived to the pool at the same time as the fish.
The run of fish seems to have slowed up a bit in the last couple of days, but there is more rain forecast for tomorrow night which should liven things up again.
This said, we have caught 31 fish in the last eight days, and a total so far of 36 for May & 48 for the season. -
TF_bwlodge
There was heavy rain in the upper catchment last night.
The river has risen 30cm at Millstreet in the last 3 hours & is dirty & unfishable at Banteer.
At Castletownroche the clarity was still 18″ at 11.00.
At Ballyduff, it peaked this morning at 0.62 & is falling up to lunchtime. Clarity ~2½ feet.After a fantastic week last week, fishing was quiet over the weekend.
We had one 8 pounder from upriver on Friday & no fish reported for the weekend.
Hopefully this next flood will liven things up a bit. Expect upper beats to fish probably by Wednesday.
There is more rain forecast for Thursday!For all the latest info, see also:
http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net/FishingReport/fishingreport.htm
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000222088579
or follow us on
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TF_bwlodge
There was a fair amount of rain at the end of last week giving a (smallish) flood. Fluctuating water levels & coloured water meant that no fish were caught over the last 5 days.
The level is now falling back very slowly but steadily and is now back to fly height & the clarity improved today to about 2½ feet. It was in quite good spinnable order since yesterday when we had 3 fish lost on upper beats as fish were taking short.
Coming into the weekend it will be in fly order – certainly on the upper river. -
TF_bwlodge
Garry O’Shea from Dungarvan went to one of our 8 beats between Ballyhooly and Mallow this morning.
He lost a fish of ~7-8lb first cast & landed this fine sea-liced 11 pounder fourth cast.
The river is falling slowly but steadily above & below.
Good spinning/worming conditions all over, but still rather coloured for the fly.
Clarity is ~2 feet on the upper river.
Forecast looks to be dry for the coming days so the river (especially the upper beats) should be in cracking order.For all the very latest information please see:-
Blackwater Lodge Fishing Report page on : http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net/FishingReport/fishingreport.htm
Facebook Page (Ian Powell): http://on.fb.me/dYddlZ
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TF_bwlodgeHow about that for a First Ever Salmon?
Clive Gronow from Wales had never been fishing before. His first experience was a guided day with Glenda with 3 friends yesterday. Today, under Glenda’s watchful eye he caught a magnificent sea-liced 13.1 pounder on worms on the Island Stream on Lower Kilmurry.
As we say – it’s all downhill from here!Prospects for the coming days are superb with sea-liced fish of this quality being caught on the lower & upper river.
-
TF_bwlodgeA Cracking Start to June!
Mike O’Driscoll from Cork caught this beautiful sea-liced 12.8 pounder on spinner on the Island Stream on Beat 5 – Lower Kilmurry today.
We have caught 11 fish to 13.1lb in the last 5 days. The total for May was 45 fish to 14.5lb. and the season total to date is 59.
The river is fining off well, at a perfect fly height with clarity about 5 feet.
Prospects from the remainder of the week look very good as there is a steady run of both larger salmon and good-sized grilse (4-6lb.) -
TF_bwlodgeFresh Salmon on the upper beats!
Report for June 6th.
This fine 9.2 pounder was taken on fly on Beat 9 on the upper river on Saturday by Ronan Brennan from Wicklow
With little or no rain in the last couple of weeks, plus high temperatures & strong winds, the river level has fallen quickly.
This has slowed up the run of fish, but some very fresh (even large) fish are getting through to the upper beats.Beat 9 – where the fish above was caught – is over 20 miles upstream of the Lodge in the Castletownroche area.
There were also a couple of grilse lost on fly yesterday at Beat 7 – Ballyhooly Bridge yesterday afternoon, & a sea-liced grilse from beat 3 on the lower river this morning.Water temperature had risen to 13.5ºC during the hot weather last week when air temps. maxed @ 26ºC!
This week is going to be cooler (12-15ºC) & broken weather with some rain especially next weekend.In the last 10 days, we have caught 15 salmon & grilse to 13lb. with only 2 blank days,
including 4 fish from the upper river which should probably have been fished harder.A good flood is what is really needed to get the fish moving (especially the larger ones), but at least the change
in the weather should encourage them more than the very hot very windy weather of last week.Rods & accommodation are available in the coming weeks.
For all the very latest information please see:-
Blackwater Lodge Fishing Report page on :
http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net/FishingReport/fishingreport.htm
Facebook Page (Ian Powell): http://on.fb.me/dYddlZ
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or follow us on
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TF_bwlodgeAnother Flood on the Way!
A series of heavy showers particularly in the upper catchment yesterday (Tuesday)
has brought a moderate flood on the upper river already.
It has risen 63cm at Millstreet by 11.00 this morning, & is up 6cm to 0.28m at Ballyduff.Catches
In spite of low water in the last 12 days and low fishing effort, we have only had 2 blank days.
May 28: 2 fish of 11 & 13.1lb.
May 29: 6 fish of 6 & 7.6lb.
May 30: 2 fish of 5.1 & 8.4lb
May 31: 2 fish of 6.4 &10lb
June 1: 2 fish of 5.5 & 12.8lb
June 2: 1 fish of 4lb.
June 4: 2 fish of 3 & 9.2lb.
June 6: 1 fish of 4lb.
June 7: 2 fish of 10.3 & 12.5lbThis next rise in the water should encourage more grilse & double figure fish to run
which promises good sport for later in the week. -
TF_bwlodgeFlood peaks upriver!
The flood has peaked at Millstreet (90km upstream) @ 21.00 with a total rise of 85cm (over 2 feet).
The good news is that it didn’t get very coloured & the word from upriver is that it’ll be fishable tomorrow.
It has started to rise at Ballyduff & was @ 0.47m @ 22.00 – a rise of 25cm so far.Prospects
Should be in good fishable order even from tomorrow if there is no appreciable amount of rain this evening.
The rise on the upper river will probably bring the Ballyduff gauge up to ~0.60m.The forecast is dry for the remainder of the week until Sunday when there could be heavier rain, certainly in the southern part of the catchment.
For all the very latest information please see:-
Blackwater Lodge Fishing Report page on : http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.ne…hingreport.htm
Facebook Page (Ian Powell): http://on.fb.me/dYddlZ
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TF_bwlodgeSuper Conditions & Prospects this Weekend!
This is the Blackwater at 10.00 this morning.
It has been dry here for the last 24 hours, but there were some showers in the upper catchment.The upper river @ Millstreet peaked @ 21.00 yesterday (Weds. 8th.) having risen over 80cm.
It is already down 37cm by 10.00 today (9th.).
It peaked at Kanturk @ 02.00 this morning & is down 18cm by 10.00.
The clarity on the upper river is reported to be moderate – certainly fishable with spinner & worms.The gauge is up to 0.64m @ 10.00 @ Ballyduff, and may rise slightly further.
The clarity is approx. 2-3 feet, so it is very well fishable with spin/bait & might even be worth a cast with the fly by evening.
It will certainly by in fly order for tomorrow.Prospects for sport look superb coming into the weekend, especially on the upper beats.
A number of grilse were reported caught yesterday evening just below Mallow, so they’re already on the move.Rods & accommodation are available in the coming days/weeks.
-
TF_bwlodge
Even though the clarity was only about a foot due to very heavy peat stain, Christopher Whelan from Dungarvan caught this sea-liced 10.9 pounder on spinner on Beat 2.
Paul Veale fishing with him lost another fine fish a few minutes later so they’re moving through!Clarity was improving to 1½-2 feet late this evening & gauge height is 0.36m
so it should be excellent condition even for the fly tomorrow. -
TF_bwlodgeThird Best Day & Fourth Best Fish – June 11th.
Yesterday, we recorded the joint Third Best Day of the Season so far.
Four fish were taken for just 10 rod days. Three very fresh fish came from the upper river despite low water – the Ballyduff gauge went from 0.31m in the morning down to 0.28m by evening. There was one sea-liced fish from the lower river.
We have now taken 13 so far for June & 70 in total for the season.
Willie Kett caught this fine 13 pounder from the Lodge’s very top beat (No.14) which is over 28 miles upstream from the Lodge.
A bit further down, our daughter Anna caught this lovely grilse on worms (ably gillied by mother Glenda) from Beat 10 over 20 miles upstream.
Just below that on Beat 9, Paul Veale took this sparkling 7 pounder from Beat 9
Mike Whelan was fly-fishing with Paul and hooked a fine double-figure fish on Beat 9.
Too much time was spent playing the fish for the camera – it was just about to be landed & fell off!
Donie Curtin took this sea-liced fish on spinner on Beat 2 on the lower river close to the Lodge.Prospects
This was the radar picture at 6.00am this morning with a band of rain extending across the whole catchment. 11mm rain fell here in Ballyduff.
We will know later in the day how much effect it will have on the river, which is up about 10cm so far on the upper river.
It will certainly produce a reasonable fresh, & with dry weather forecast for the rest of the week, prospects look very promising.
Although not a lot of fish are showing, they still seem to be running hard through to the upper beats, which are producing the best sport at the moment.There are rods & accommodation available in the coming weeks.
-
TF_bwlodge
The widespread band of rain that went right across the catchment this morning
didn’t produce the very heavy rain that was expected.
It appears to have been heavier in the lower catchment. We had 16mm by nightfall since early this morning.
The upper river has only risen 20cm & has already peaked by 19.00.
Hopefully this will produce a (small) fresh without imparting too much colour or peatiness.There were only a few rods out today.
A very fresh 10.8 pounder was caught on worms on the upper river on Beat 10 by Mossie McElligott from Tralee and a grilse on fly on the same beat in the evening for Conor Arnold.
Grilse were seeing running the river in the Killavullen area this afternoon.
Donie Curtin from Castletownroche lost a fine double figure fish on spinner on Beat 2 on the lower river. -
TF_bwlodge
This 8 pounder was released on fly on Beat 9 on the upper river yesterday.It had been rather quiet for the last few days, but I just had a reliable report of half a dozen fish from a private beat on the lower river yesterday, & 3 caught below Fermoy this morning. I also had another report of fish (both grilse & salmon) moving through late yesterday evening at Castletownroche & a silver 10-12 pounder lost on fly there.
Looks as if fish are running now the river has settled well after the last spate.
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TF_bwlodgeBest Day of the Season & Third Best Fish – June 19th.
On Sunday, June 19, we yet again recorded the Best Day of the Season so far.
It was remarkable as the river had only just come back into order after the last small dirty flood.
Even more remarkable was the fact that all the fish fell to just three rods on one beat on the upper river.
Mick Kennedy & Billy Jewitt fished Beat 8 – Bridgetown Priory & landed four fish in the morning & another in the early afternoon. Billy had 2 grilse on spinner to 6lb. and Mick had two on spinner & one on fly – best 13.3lb (see picture) which was the Third Best Fish so far this Season.
They were joined in the evening by Kieran Conlon who had a magic half hour that evening. He landed three fish – all with long-tailed sea-lice – a grilse of 4lb. & two 10 pounders – all on the fly.
Kieran went to the Lodge’s top beat 28 miles upriver yesterday (20th.) & released two more fish of 6 & 7lb. on flyMonster Lost!
Mick was fishing Beat 9 a little further upriver yesterday. He lost the biggest fish he’d ever hooked – reckoned to be well into the twenties of pounds – on spinner.Superb Prospects!
The river should be in perfect order for the rest of the week, as there is little or no rain forecast and the rise is only small & clear.
It is extremely encouraging to see such good quality sea-liced fish running right through to the upper beats.Already today (Tuesday), I have a report of a 12 pounder taken from Beat 9 on the upper river.
There is no problem for availability of accommodation & fishing in the coming weeks.
See Blackwater Lodge Fishing Report page: http://bit.ly/fzavCh
See Ian Powell Facebook page: http://on.fb.me/dYddlZ
See Blackwater Lodge & Salmon Fishery Facebook page (http://on.fb.me/gsGQLt)
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TF_bwlodgeJune 21 – Third Best Day of the Season.
The run of big fish continues, with most of the fish being taken on our upper 8 beats (Nos 7-14) from 17 to 28 miles upstream of the Lodge.
Six fish were caught in total yesterday. Mick Kennedy (again!) caught 3 on Beat 11 – a 7 & two 10 pounders all on spinner – & lost three fish all about 14/15lb as well.
Beat 9 produced the best fish of the day – an 11.3 pounder on prawn. On the lower river, one grilse (4lb) was released on fly & 16 year old Jack Kadlubowski (UK) sportingly released the First Ever salmon he had caught – a 6 1/2 pounder on spinner from Beat 5.
There are plenty of reports of (mainly) double-figure fish running right through to the upper beats.
There was heavy rain yesterday afternoon in the upper catchment, & the upper river rose 40cm & peaked at midnight. This morning it was already down 30cm but the clarity was very poor on our top beat.
The upper beats (which have been fishing best in the last week) will be out of order today & the lower river (which was coming into good order in the last 2 days) is going out of order @ 3pm this afternoon & is up 20cm to 0.54m & pretty coloured.
Hopefully the upper river will already start to fine off tomorrow & be some way fishable as the forecast is now dry up to the weekend.There is no problem for availability of accommodation & fishing in the coming weeks.
See Blackwater Lodge Fishing Report page: http://bit.ly/fzavCh
See Ian Powell Facebook page: http://on.fb.me/dYddlZ
See Blackwater Lodge & Salmon Fishery Facebook page (http://on.fb.me/gsGQLt)
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TF_bwlodgeAnother small dirty Flood hits the River!
This was the river below the Lodge at 3pm this afternoon (23rd.) Gauge Height 0.38m
There were some more scattered heavy showers falling intermittently across the catchment yesterday and there is more rain for tomorrow (Friday) night.
The upper river rose yet again last night & peaked at Millstreet (90km up) with another 30 rise at 08.00 today (Thurs).
At Kanturk (70km up) it rose 13cm peaking at 15.00.
Clarity was poor in the Mallow/Killavullen area – barely spinnable this morning
– but it was starting to clear down at Lombardstown by late afternoon.
The lower river was falling still this morning. Clarity moderate @ 1½ feet & peaty in the morning but degrading by evening.There were plenty of big double-figure fish running the upper river on Wednesday evening and yesterday.
The upper beats should be in reasonable fishable order by tomorrow (Friday) but the lower river will probably still have the coloured water running down from above.
Prospects look very good for the upper beats tomorrow & probably for the lower beats on Saturday. All will depend on how much rain falls tomorrow night.There is no problem for availability of accommodation & fishing in the coming weeks.
See Blackwater Lodge Fishing Report page: http://bit.ly/fzavCh
See Ian Powell Facebook page: http://on.fb.me/dYddlZ
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Follow our Tweets. http://twitter.com/#!/blackwaterlodge -
TF_bwlodgeYet another good Flood!
There was plenty of rain throughout the catchment yesterday (Friday). We had 30mm here at Ballyduff.
The upper river peaked at 01.00 this morning (Saturday) at Millstreet at 1.80m & is back to 0.80m at 12.00.
The word from the top of the river is that it should be fishable up there tomorrow – certainly with spinner even if a bit high for the fly.
The lower river is still rising. It was 1.20m @ 09.00 & 1.44m @ 12.00 here at Ballyduff. The clarity is not as bad as could have been expected. That siltiness that usually fines off quickly. Clarity is around 1 foot today.Superb Prospects for Next Week!
This is the biggest flood we’ve had since mid-February, so with the run of fish that we already had before the flood, plus grilse now appearing in good numbers well down the West coast, we should see a bumper run of fish as this flood fines off.
Next week could be an absolute humdinger with both big fish & grilse running as the river fines off.
The clarity of the water was reasonably good at the beginning of the week when 16 fish to 13lb. were caught – all on the upper river.
Wednesday & Thursday were out due to coloured water, but even though the clarity of the water wasn’t great yesterday (Friday), 5 fish all around 6-7lb were taken on spinner on the upper beats, including several with sea-lice.
The lower beats haven’t been fishing well as the fish are all running hard to the upper river.
There is no problem for availability of accommodation & fishing in the coming weeks.See Blackwater Lodge Fishing Report page: http://bit.ly/fzavCh
See Ian Powell Facebook page: http://on.fb.me/dYddlZ
See Blackwater Lodge & Salmon Fishery Facebook page (http://on.fb.me/gsGQLt)
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TF_bwlodge100th. Salmon of the Season!
The river was slow enough to clear after the last flood, but was coming back into order on the upper beats yesterday.
The fish were caught on Beats 9 & 10. Two fish about 10lb. – one sea-liced and a sea-liced grilse on fly.This brings our catches to 43 for June & 100 for the season so far!
Plenty of fish seen running the upper river – mostly in the 6-7lb class, but there’s obviously both smaller grilse & double-figure fish running with them.
With the forecast dry for the remainder of the week, prospects for sport are superb!
Rods and accommodation are available for the coming weeks.See Blackwater Lodge Fishing Report page: http://bit.ly/fzavCh
See Ian Powell Facebook page: http://on.fb.me/dYddlZ
See Blackwater Lodge & Salmon Fishery Facebook page (http://on.fb.me/gsGQLt)
Follow our Tweets. http://twitter.com/#!/blackwaterlodge -
TF_bwlodgeJoint Second Best Day of the Season
The river continues to fine off slowly – the upper river held the same level all day whilst the lower river dropped just 2cm since morning.
The clarity is improving slowly but steadily.
Good runs of fish were seen going through the lower beats & Fermoy weir especially in the evening, & through the upper beats mainly in the morning.
Seven fish were caught for the day which was our joint Second best of Season.
There was a (not-so-fresh) 5lb from our top beat (No. 14) just below Mallow, a sea-liced 3lb grilse from Castletownroche – Beat 8 (both on spinner) & very fresh fish of 3 & 8lb. for one rod who only went to Beat 10 above Castletownroche after 6.00pm.
On the lower river, Lower Kilmurry yielded 3 fish – one sea-liced 6lb. on spinner, & 2 very chunky 5lb. long-tail sea-liced grilse for one rod who only went out after 6.00pm.
June total catch is now 50 & season to date is 107.
With the forecast continuing to look dry through the weekend, the prospects of sport are super. -
TF_bwlodge
The river continues to fine off well from last Saturday’s flood.
We had five fish caught yesterday. Four were taken on spinner on the upper river & one on fly on the lower river.
There’s a great mixture of fish running – mainly grilse in the 5-7lb. bracket, but there are still double figure fish running (heard of at least 3 to 16lb caught on other beats on Tuesday) plus some smaller grilse around 3lb. – Great sport.With dry weather continuing, the river is fining off into cracking fly order.
-
TF_bwlodgeA Cracker to start July!
This 14lb. fish was caught today (July 1) by Gary Pickett using a prawn on Beat 10 on the upper river.
It is the Second Biggest Fish of the Season.
June went out with a bang with six fish caught yesterday (30th) – all between 8 & 11lb. as reported yesterday.
This was the Third Best Day of the Season so far.
The fish above weighed in at 11.1lb. & was taken by Willie Kett (Dungarvan) on Beat 3 on the lower river.It has been the best month of June since 2005.
The average weight of the fish for the month is the third highest since 1988 at 7.1lb., beaten only by 2008 & 2009.
The total catch for June was 61 of which 38 were caught on the upper beats. The season total to date is 119.
For June, just 15 grilse in the class up to 5lb were caught – averaging 3.4lb.
In the class from 5-10lb., 29 fish averaging 6.7lb were caught.
In the 10-15lb. class, 17 fish averaging 11.1lb have been landed.The forecast is still for dry weather up to Tuesday, when there is a break due.
-
TF_bwlodgeGrilse run gives a major improvement!
July had been ticking along quite steadily, with fish caught most days.
There were only 4 blank days which were all at the beginning of the month.
The last flood on July 18th. got the grilse moving in good numbers,
and we have seen good runs of fish going through both the lower & upper beats.
The river has fined off beautifully with clarity now about 4 feet.So far for July, 54 fish to 14lb have been caught.
Of these, 24 have been caught in the last 3 days where the daily count is 10, 5 & 8 fish respectively.
Fly, spinner & worm have all caught almost exactly the same number of fish.
The 20th was the Best Day of the Season with 10 fish caught as reported below.
On the 21st., 5 to 10lb. were caught – and no less than 3 were First Ever salmon.
Husband & wife Jake & Jess Hiltz (USA) both caught their first guided by Glenda on the upper river,
& Marino Bellini (Italy) took his first also on the upper river.
Yesterday (22nd.) nine were taken (7 grilse & salmon of 10 & 11½lb.) including another First Ever,
with more now being caught on the lower river as it fines off.
This picture says it all! Seven year old Tommy Quinlivan with his First Ever Salmon!
4lb. sea-liced. Taken on worms on the Island Stream on Lower KilmurryWith the forecast dry for the coming week, prospects for sport are superb!
Rods and accommodation are available for the coming weeks. -
TF_bwlodgeBig fish still running hard!
Three grilse were caught on Saturday on the lower river.
Today (Sunday) – five fish were caught. One grilse on the lower river, 3 grilse on the upper river where I also released this superb 13 pounder that the sea-lice had only just fallen off of.
The July total is now 60 & the season total 178. The river will be in superb order this week as there is no rain forecast. -
TF_bwlodgeAnother Excellent Week & Three Firsts for three young brothers!
Not withstanding low water and less than half a dozen rods per day fishing,
we have taken 36 fish for the week to August 11th.
During this week, Mark Allsop (UK) caught – and released – 7 grilse for 3 days fishing,
Daniel Mueller (Switzerland) also caught 7, & Franco Brustio (Italy) had 11 to 10.3lb.
Daily catches were as follows:Aug. 5: 3 grilse including 2 for one rod.
Aug. 6: 3 fish including two of 7.5 & 8.2lb for one rod.
Aug. 7: 3 fish including 2 for one rod to 10.3lb.
Aug. 8: 7 grilse, including 2 each for 2 anglers.
Aug. 9: 5 grilse including 2 for one rod plus a First Ever!
Aug. 10: Second Best Day of Season. 9 fish including 3 each for 2 anglers (one of whom had fish of 6.3, 7.4 & 8.2lb).
Aug. 11: 6 fish to 6.5lb. including 3 First Ever salmon.The three Firsts on the 11th. was a remarkable story. Pat Casey brought his 3 young sons – Tom (9), Rory (11) & Jamie (13yrs) – none of whom had ever fished in fresh water before – for a half guided day with Glenda. All three caught their First Ever salmon & Jamie caught two. At one point, two of the lads were both playing fish at the same time!
The July total was 71. For August, we have already taken 42 to the 11th., and the season total to date is 231.
Prospects
With a little fresh on the river, fish have livened up, and a lot more grilse are now running.
Rods and accommodation are available in the coming weeks.Staff Wanted
We’re looking for a couple of people to work in the Lodge from now until the end of September.
Duties include preparation of breakfast/packed lunches & houskeeping. Opportunity to fish as well of course.For all the latest info, see also:
http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net/FishingReport/fishingreport.htm
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000222088579
or follow us on
http://twitter.com/blackwaterlodge -
TF_bwlodgeRain at Last!
A narrow band of heavy rain swept across the whole catchment yesterday (Sunday 4th.). 12mm fell in Ballyduff.
The upper river rose 35cm to 0.55m @ Millstreet this morning peaking at 10.00. It has fallen back to 0.47m by 15.00.
At Kanturk it has risen 27cm to 0.24m by 16.00, & is still rising. The level is holding at Ballyduff.The fresh has stirred the fish up on the upper river with 4 caught & 2 lost
(including a double figure fish) by 2 rods on one beat by 4pm today (5th.)!
With more rain forecast, the prospects for the coming days look superb.Availability
Rods are available for the remaining weeks, & also accommodation apart from self-catering in the third week which is full.Staff Wanted
We could still require a couple of people to work in the Lodge from now until the end of September.
Duties include preparation of breakfast/packed lunches & housekeeping. Opportunity to fish as well of course.See Blackwater Lodge Fishing Report page: http://bit.ly/fzavCh
See Ian Powell page: http://on.fb.me/dYddlZ
Follow our Tweets. http://twitter.com/#!/blackwaterlodge -
TF_bwlodgeBest Day & Best Fish of the 2011 Season – September 20th.
This superb 13 pounder was taken by Graham Reynolds
from Wicklow on spinner on Lower Kilmurry on the 20th.
This superbly fresh 5 pounder was one of five taken by Ken Tucker (Carlow)
on fly on Killavullen – 26 miles upriver from the Lodge on the 21st.Availability
Rods are available for the last week of the season as are
ensuite B&B rooms & some self-catering accommodation.Best Day & Best Fish this year!
On September 20th., twenty-two fish to 16.3lb were landed.
Seven were double figure fish & five were 13lb. or more.
Two upper beats recorded 6 fish each, including a couple of 10 pounders.
All but one were released.
Local rod Mick Kennedy landed six fish to over 16lb.
On the lower river where clarity was better at ~4 feet, seven fish to 8lb. were caught.
One rod had 3 on fly, and another one had one on spinner & landed another & lost 2 all on fly as well.Current Conditions
A couple of small floods have really got things moving!
The river is now fining off into perfect order, & some excellent catches
have been recorded in the last one & a half weeks.
After yet more rain, the upper river rose 20cm @ Millstreet & 10cm @ Kanturk
on Wednesday night but it is now falling again.
The lower river rose 3cm last night but is falling away again slowly.
The clarity is very good @ ~ 4-5 feet throughout.The Last Two Weeks
Since my last newsletter on the 8th., we have had an excellent fortnight.
For the 2 weeks, we have taken 161 fish to 16.3lb.Sept. 12: Fourteen fish to 10lb. taken. 8 from the lower river & 6 from the upper beats.
Seven fell to fly, including a 10 pounder & six from one lower beat to 3 rods.
Sept. 13: Eighteen fish to 14lb. taken.
Fourteen fell to fly, including a 14 pounder & 5 to one rod on the upper river.
Sept. 14: Eighteen fish including sixteen on fly.
Sept. 15: Six fish to 9.3lb., including 2 on fly.
Sept. 16: Six fish to 12lb., including 2 on fly.
Sept. 17: Thirteen fish to 101b. including nine on fly for two rods on the lower river.
Sept. 18: Six fish to 8lb.
Sept. 19: No fish as river in flood, but hearing reports of fish caught upriver
where one rod took 6 in the afternoon.
Sept. 20: Best Day & Best Fish of Season! Twenty-two fish to 16.3lb.
Sept. 21: Fourteen fish to 14lb.
Sept. 22: Fifteen fish to 9.5lb.
Sept. 23: Nine fish to 8lb.Prospects
There is some more rain forecast for Sat/Sunday which could liven things up even more.
It could be a dinger of a last week! -
TF_bwlodge -
TF_bwlodge25, 24, 23, 22, 21 ………….. Countdown to Opening Day
As usual, in the run-up to the Opening Day, I am graphing the rainfall and river height
& posting it daily on my Fishing Report page on: http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net/FishingReport/fishingreport.htmUnfortunately, the upstream gauges have not been functioning since 09.15 on the 4th. January
The river has been very high for the last month & a half. It is just settling after the latest flood
& was at 1.30m this morning – down over a metre since yesterday.
It has had such a good flushout that as soon as it drops it clears very quickly.
The clarity this morning was beautiful at ~ 3 feet.
The next week looks comparatively dry but the following week from Jan. 14 looks wetter again.
Hopefully it will be in good order for February 1st. -
TF_bwlodge23, 22, 21, 20, 19 ………….. Countdown to Opening Day
This was the Blackwater at 10.30 this morning.
Down to 1.04m on the Ballyduff gauge & clearing beautifully.
The upstream gauge readings have still not been updated since the 4th.Our Opening Day celebration is now fully subscribed only a couple of days after it was announced in our December 30th. newsletter. We offered free fishing & casting clinic throughout the day with Glenda, ending with a bowl of hot stew for everybody at the fishing hut on Upper Kilmurry at 4.00pm.
Hopefully, we’ll have a springer or two to report.See Blackwater Lodge Fishing Report page: http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net/FishingReport/fishingreport.htm
See Ian Powell Facebook page: http://on.fb.me/dYddlZ
See Blackwater Lodge & Salmon Fishery Facebook page: http://on.fb.me/gsGQLt
Follow our Tweets. http://twitter.com/#!/blackwaterlodge -
TF_bwlodgeThe First Spring Salmon of 2012 is Caught!
The First Springer was taken on the Lodge beats today by ………………………. me!
There were no rods booked to fish today & the weather had turned mild after only 2 days of a cold snap. Glenda was going to teach on Upper Kilmurry for 2 hours, so I decided to accompany her & go for a cast for an hour or so. I caught this 6.2lb fish on spinner at the Jole on Lower Kilmurry. It would have been released, but was deeply hooked and bleeding.
Interestingly, the fish didn’t have sea-lice, so had obviously been in the river for a few days. This could mean that there is already a reasonable number of spring fish in the river, as we have had prolonged spells of high water & mild temperatures throughout January to encourage them to run.
It was only the first 2 days of February where temperatures fell to zero at night.
The river is already in excellent spinning order with clarity of approx. 3-4 feet.
At 0.78m on the gauge this evening, it would still be high for fly-fishing, but it is dropping steadily
& should be coming into fly order in the next couple of days. -
TF_dgdgraphic -
TF_bwlodgeFebruary: 5 fish caught in total, all between February 3-14 for only 30 rod days.
Joint Best February total since 2004 & joint Second Best total since 1994.March 3: First on fly & Biggest of Season. Caught by Shane Kinsella (Wicklow) – ~12lb.
on a 1 1/2″ aluminium Garry Dog tube on sink tip line.
March 4: First off the upper river. A 7 pounder on spinner for Tom Donovan at Castletownroche.
Season total to date: 7 fish.Prospects
Looking very good for the coming week with a small (12cm) fresh on the river but very good clarity.
Dry forecast for the week so conditions should stabilise.
The Blackwater today @ 17.00. Gauge 0.54. Clarity excellent.
-
TF_bwlodge
This fish was taken at 3pm yesterday by PJ Burns from Dublin. Weight 8.2lb.
He took it on spinner on the Lodge’s lowest beat – Ballygally – about 2 miles below Ballyduff.
This is the third springer for March & the eighth for the season so far.
This is the Blackwater in absolutely fine fettle this morning.
The recent rain only brought the river up 12 cm by Saturday morning to 0.46m on the gauge.
It’s down to 0.36m @ 18.45 this evening.No fish taken today, but a couple seen again on Ballygally.
Conditions are absolutely perfect. Clarity about 4 feet, water temp. 47F.
Beautiful fly height with summer level. -
TF_bwlodgeThe First on Floating Line!
Conor Arnold contacted me yesterday afternoon to ask if he could go trout fishing to Ballyhooly.
I suggested he go instead to Kilmurry with the salmon rod as it was free.
He caught this fish at dusk (7.15pm) on a #10 shrimp fly on a floating line. It weighed 7lb. exactly.
This is more akin to summer fishing than spring with temperature in the afternoon up to 16°C.
This is the fourth springer for March which doesn’t sound a lot, but is remarkable when you consider
that there have been only 41 rod days so far for the whole month.
Total for the season so far is now nine.
This is the Blackwater in fantastic fly order at 9.00am this morning with clarity #5-6 feet.
Having held at 0.30 for about 4 days, the river is now dropping very slowly once more & was at 0.27m this morning at 9.00am.
Water temp. 48°F. Beautiful fly height with summer level.Prospects
The forecast is for continuing dry weather for most of the week. The longer-range forecast is for a very wet start to April.
With few fresh fish running due to the summer level, a flood would be welcome.Blackwater Lodge: http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net
Daily Salmon Fishing Report: http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net/FishingReport/fishingreport.htm -
TF_bwlodgeApril gets off to a Great Start!
Despite extremely low water in the first week of April, four springers were landed in 3 days for only 7 rod days in total.
We have had just one day so far this season when two springers were landed – by two different anglers
– which was February 5th. Yesterday (April 3) was the first day this year where one angler has landed
two fish in one day – and they were both on fly on two consecutive casts!
Kieran Conlon (Cork) managed to get away for only his second day fishing so far this season,
& I sent him to Lower Kilmurry on a cold blustery day with a NW wind & air temps from 7-10ºC.
Just before lunchtime he caught and released a lovely sea-liced fish on a Silver Grey tube fly
right up at the head of the Island Stream in the fast water – no surprise as water temp is now just above 52ºF.
This was his first springer of the 2012 season.
More surprising was the fact that he went back into the water & the very next cast caught
a second sea-liced fish from the very same spot. Both fish were like peas in a pod.
The second fish (above) was weighed in later at the Lodge at 8.3lb.
Kieran saw a number of other fish throughout the day.
John Lalor (Cahir) caught this 6lb sea-liced fish on fly on April 4th. This was his first fish for 2012.
Joe Tynan (Kildare) caught this 8.4lb. very fresh fish on spinner on April 5th. It was his First Ever Salmon!
It didn’t have sea-lice but they had only just fallen off it.
It is one of the earliest ever recorded First Fish on the fishery! -
TF_bwlodgeThe First Grilse of the 2012 Season is Caught!
APGAI_Ireland casting instructor Ken Stewart came down to visit the Lodge today (9th.)
& went out to the river about lunchtime for a cast on the Kilmurry beats.
About 4.00pm Glenda went down to meet him & she arrived at the Hut Pool to see Ken playing a fish.
She hopped out of the jeep, rolled up her trousers (no time to don the waders) & hopped into the water
to net a beautiful sea-liced 4 pound grilse that had taken Ken’s tube fly.
This is probably the earliest grilse that has ever been taken on the fishery. -
TF_bwlodgeBiggest Fish of the Season so far!!!!!!!
Jim Shanahan from Castletownroche was fishing an upper beat & phoned me to ask if he could switch to another upstream beat.
I suggested he come down as I heard it was quiet above. He arrived on Ballinaroone with his 11 yr old son James & within 15 minutes
James hooked & lost a fish on a Toby. Jim caught the Biggest Fish of the Season a few moments later – 12.4lb on Flying C at the Road Pool.
This lovely sea-liced 7.3lb. fish was caught by Terry O’Keeffe (Midleton, Co. Cork) on Lower Kilmurry yesterday.The river continues to fine off today & was at 0.25m at 16.00.
Another very fresh fish was caught today on spinner – only our second from the upper river.
The total for the Lodge fishery is now 8 fish for April to date for only 37 rod days.
This is the river below Blackwater Lodge at 16.00 today.
Gauge height 0.25m. Clarity ~4-5 feetProspects
There is more rain coming through the week, with storm conditions for tomorrow (Tuesday).Availability
There’s no problem for availability of fishing at present.If you’d like to be kept up to date with what’s happening, email me on
[email protected]
& I’ll add you to our Newsletter circulation.Blackwater Lodge: http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net
Daily Salmon Fishing Report: http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net/FishingReport/fishingreport.htm -
TF_bwlodgeBe sure to Bookmark this!
Blackwater Lodge Salmon Fishery Blog
http://ireland-salmon-fishing.blogspot.com/
New website feature – Salmon Fishing Blog. Immediate & historical news.
This should contain all the info put into postings on river conditions & catches & more……………….
The Highest River Level so Far this Season!!
This was the Blackwater yesterday afternoon (18th).
The river peaked yesterday afternoon with the highest level so far this year – 1.75m.
The previous highest level was on the Opening Day on February 1 when it was at 1.10m
This should encourage a good run of fresh fish once it starts to fine off.Fishing & accommodation are available in the coming weeks.
Falling Flood
The Blackwater today (19th.)at 09.30
The river fell rapidly overnight to 0.85m from it’s peak yesterday afternoon of 1.75m.
The water is very dirty & is being held up by some of the local tributaries which are still running high & coloured.
Depending on any further rainfall it might possibly be spinnable (just) on the upper river tomorrow).Brilliant prospects once the river fines off.
-
TF_bwlodge -
TF_christina21maria -
TF_bwlodgeThe Second Biggest Flood of the Season!
58mm rain fell in the 36 hours to yesterday morning.
Yesterday was pretty much dry throughout the catchment.
There is some more rain forecast for Monday & Thursday this week.
This is the graph of the height of the river at Killavullen.
It was falling Friday night but started to rise again at 06.00am yesterday before falling again a few hours later. It rose 24cm, peaking once more @ 13.30 in the afternoon.
The river at Ballyduff showed similar behaviour.
The level was down to 2.14m at 14.00 yesterday, but also rose again to
2.25m by 18.00 yesterday evening. This morning it is down to 1.65m @ 07.00, though the clarity is very good considering the height.The river is too high to fish today (Sunday 17th.) & there is more rain forecast for Monday & Thursday this week.
One angler fishing a lower beat on the 13th. reported a run of “VERY” large fish running through during the day.We have caught 29 so far for June for just 48 rod days which is remarkable.
The upper river (Ballyhooly to Mallow) is fishing much better than the lower river.
25 of the 29 caught have come from above. The daily totals are:June 2: 6 to 9.1lb.
June 5: 2 to 7lb.
June 6: 11 to 10.3lb.
June 10: 1 of 5.7lb.
June 11: 4 to 11lb.
June 12: 3 to 6lb.
June 13: 1 of 5lb.
June 14: 1 of 9.5lb.
For all the latest info see the new Lodge Blog: http://ireland-salmon-fishing.blogspot.ie/ -
TF_christina21maria -
TF_bwlodgeOn Monday 9th., 6 fish were caught (including the 13lb. First Salmon in last blog entry) making it the Fifth Best Day of the season. This included a couple of sea-liced fish from the lower river from Kilmurry & Kents.
On Tuesday 10th., 9 fish were caught which made this the Third Best Day of 2012.
Mike Whelan caught these three fish all between 9-10lb. on Kilmurry on the lower river.
Stefan Kadlubowski released this 9½ pounder on fly on the Wood Flat on Woodstream.
Joe Tynan caught his first fish on the fly yesterday too.It weighed 4lb. & was caught on the Castle Flat on Ballyhooly.
Both the upper & lower river are dropping today but slowly due to the localised showers.
Yesterday both rose – the upper by a foot to 1.81m & the lower by 15cm.
They are down to 1.61m & 0.88m respectively this morning.
Clarity is fair here @ ~2-2½ feet. It is similar upriver. Some quite heavy localised showers are still keeping the river topped up.
The heavy rain forecast for today fell south of the catchment.Superb prospects for the coming weekend.
-
TF_bwlodge
The river had dropped off & started to fine down on Friday 24th., which was the joint third Best Day of the Season with 10 fish to 13.4lb. caught.
Heavy localised showers caused the upper river to river yet again on Saturday. It was completely out of order for Saturday 25th.
This was the picture for the upper river up to this morning.
The lower river was also completely unfishable yesterday (Sat. 25th.)
Today the clarity has improved somewhat to 1 – 1.5 feet on the lower river & about 2 feet on the upper river.
I already have a report of a very fresh 5 pounder caught on an upper beat just below Mallow today after only 3 casts.Friday 25th. was our Third Best Day of 2012. A total of 10 fish to 13.4lb. were caught.
One rod had four fish from our top beat just below Mallow. Another landed 3 at Bridgetown, keeping only a 13.4lb. & releasing 2 grilse.
The total for August so far is 89 to 13.9lb. for just 129 rod days – a superb result considering the flood conditions & low rod effort!
The season total to day is 375.There looks to be yet more rain from tonight to Wednesday!!!!!!!
-
TF_bwlodgeThe Extension to October 12th.
There are very few places in the Republic where you can fish for salmon up to October 12. We are fortunate enough to
have been granted this on a trial basis for this year, as our runs of fish seem to be coming later and later each year.
The extension is Fly Only, Single Barbless & Catch & release.Special Late Offer €60/day.
To ensure that we have plenty of rods fishing to help collect data, we are now offering
fishing from now until October 12th. for just €60/rod day.Promising Prospects.
We have experienced the same phenomenon as most rivers in September with fish being very reluctant to take.
We have however a very large head of fish in the system, with lots of fish being seen on most beats each day.Fly Works Best!
For September, the fly caught more fish that all the other methods put together which bodes well for the Fly Only extension.
The September total was 138 of which 74 fell to fly. 93 of the fish were released.The last 12 days of September saw 75 fish caught – of which 41 fell to fly.
Whilst fish were elusive, some anglers managed to do very well.
Gerard Bonnet’s 3 rod party from Britanny, France caught 27 fish to 13lb. for their week including 8 on the fly.
Terry McDermott’s party from N. Ireland also had 7 to 10lb. – all on fly. This fish was taken by Terry himself
on the 29th. on the lower river. It weighed 9.9lb, & was covered in sea-lice.Gauge height at Killavullen on the upper river.
Moderate amounts of rain have given us a small (11cm) fresh on the upper river on October 1st.
Hopefully this will encourage more fresh fish to run.Gauge Height & Rainfall at Ballyduff
This translated into a 6cm fresh on the lower river. The water clarity is superb.
This was the river yesterday at midday.
Height 0.39m
Perfect medium high summer level.
Clarity ~ 5 feet.
Absolutely ideal fly conditions.Just 9 Days of the season remaining!
We have availability of rods and accommodation to October 12th – which is of course fly only – C&R. -
TF_bwlodge -
TF_bwlodgeOne Fish – Two Firsts!
The First Fish of the Season was caught on the Lodge beats yesterday.
It was taken by Gary Byrne from Dungarvan on spinner, weighed 9.65lb & was sea-liced.
It was his First Ever Salmon and his first visit to the Lodge.
Like most special events at the Lodge, there’s a story…………………………………………….
I had sent Gary & his mate Mark to fish on Upper & Lower Kilmurry and they arrived there about 10.00am.
For those of you that know the Lodge, Glenda was teaching at the Hut Pool on Upper Kilmurry (her Office!).
I called in to see her, then left at 12.00 to head for Fermoy. As I was driving away, I glanced into the top field (“The Inches”) of Upper Kilmurry and saw Gary – rod bent – looking as if he was into a fish. I stopped, shouted to him to confirm & then parked & hastened down the field to him. He was on the high bank at the tail of the Inches with an obviously fresh springer played out. Unable to tail it out, we nervously waited for Mark to appear having returned to the Hut Pool some 400 yards away to get the net. I landed the fish and the smile on his face really does say it all!
The fish was tagged and entered into Gary’s logbook even although it wasn’t a kelt!
If you don’t understand this ironic joke go and read all about the logging controversy on our Facebook pages!
The river is now fining off nicely, and it is only now that we can really fish with confidence as there is already a good headspring fish through the system even to the upper river.
The forecast is for continuing dry cool weather, so the river will be coming into excellent condition & the chances of catching a springer must be very good in the coming days.
I just had a phone call from the river to tell me that there are good numbers of springers showing on Kilmurry.The first fish of the season off the river had been reported on Tuesday on Killavullen club waters 20 miles upstream. This is probably the first time in living memory that the first fish of the season has been recorded this far upstream.
Obviously a consequence of the high water & mild temperatures we have had since the beginning of January.
On Wednesday 20th., one of our rods lost a sea-liced fish of 8-10lb at the bank – he had forgotten his net! He also saw half a dozen fresh springers.
The same day there was also a report of a sea-liced fish caught on another private lower beat. -
TF_bwlodge
The river is in absolutely fantastic order. The gauge is on 0.49m this morning with clarity ~6 feet.
The water temperature is 7.6°C @ 10.00 today. Air: +7°C
It’s in perfect order for the fly at the moment.
This kelt below was caught by 17 year old Dan Hawker on fly at the Lug Pool on Lower Kilmurry.
it was an absolutely superbly conditioned fish that was duly released (and logged of course!!!!!)
All the spent fish are very well mended & fight like hell.
So if you are fishing here, make sure you don’t confuse them with a fresh one – it’s easily done.Prospects
The weather looks as if it’ll be broken in the run-up to next weekend but without appreciable amounts of rainfall.
This means we can probably expect conditions to remain quite stable through the week.
The run of springers was good the week before last when our first two were hooked.
Since then we are seeing occasional ones, but none have been hooked. -
TF_bwlodge
We are having a period of dry weather now which is due continue until well into next week.
Following the big flood on the 22nd., the river is now fining off very well
and will only improve further in the coming days.
The Ballyduff gauge is on 0.70m at 5.00pm today.
Beats on the upper river are now in fly order, and some of the lower beats
should be fly-fishable by tomorrow & all of them should be in fly order by the weekend.
Temperatures are cold with the air struggling to get to 5C during the day & is about 0 to +2C at night.
The water on the lower river is just over 7C & on the upper river it is only about 4.5C
We have high (3.9m) tides for the next couple of days, so hopefully this
– combined with the flood fining off – will encourage more fish to move in.
Prospects are looking very good for the Easter weekend. -
TF_bwlodge
This was the radar rainfall picture at 05.15 this morning.
I had 10mm rain on the Lodge gauge @ 08.20 this morning
This is the rainfall/river height for July at 08.30 today.
By 09.45 a second band of rain was crossing the catchment.
By 12.15 another 7mm of rain has fallen.It looks as if we could be due a good flood on the river later today.
-
TF_bwlodgeSuperb Salmon Fishing in the Last Week………………………………
With the spell of dry weather, the river has fined off to summer level.
The Ballyduff gauge is now on 0.26m this morning & the clarity is 4-5 feet.
The forecast for the week is dry except for some light rain perhaps on Wednesday & Thursday.
We have had superb fishing in the last week. For the 7 days to Saturday 10th.,
we have taken 108 fish to 12lb. for just 87 rod days. The August total is 118
which is already the best for the month for the last 4 years – & this is only in the first 10 days!Fresh fish are continuing to run in good numbers.
One angler who was fishing our top beat just below Mallow (28 miles/45km upriver)
caught 4 sea-liced grilse in one hour in the late afternoon & lost 2 more.Prospects
Excellent for the coming week. Very small flies are the most successful.
There’s no problem for availability for fishing & accommodation for most of August. -
TF_bwlodgeCountdown to the Opening Day this Saturday, February 1st.
We’re just looking for one small weather miracle please.
This was the river below the Lodge today January 29th. at 10.45am.
The Ballyduff gauge height was 2.06m. It has fallen a further 25 cm by 20.00
This was Millstreet gauge above Mallow for the last week showing that
it is dropping slowly at 19.00 this evening.
This was the Ballyduff gauge for the last month showing the abnormally high levels
we have been seeing (since mid-December). it is dropping quickly at 19.00 this evening,
and is down to 1.83m by 19.30 this evening.OK – so this is where we need one small miracle please!
The season will open this coming Saturday, February 1st., 2014.
if current conditions continued, the river could be in moderately good order as it is beginning
to clear & the level is starting to fall more quickly.
However, the ground has been completely saturated for weeks, so little rain is needed
to bring the level up again. Unfortunately, it looks as if the weather could be against us
as yet another depression is heading towards us from across the Atlantic.
This is the Magic SeaWeed forecast for 12.00 Friday with the rain sweeping in.
This is the Met Eireann Forecast for 12.00 Friday which gives a similar picture.Prospects
If we do get the amount of rain which looks to be forecast, then we will probably
be flooded off the river for Saturday’s Opening.
At best, the river will probably only be in heavy spinning order, unless of course
our request for just one small miracle is granted……………………………………………………
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We have had higher dirtier water once again for the last week or more, but the later part
of this week has seen some more dry weather & the river is once again settling down.
The picture above is below the Lodge this morning with the Ballyduff gauge on 0.97m.
Clarity has improved again also to 2 – 2½ feet. The conditions are ideal for spinning,
but still rather too high for fly fishing just yet.
The forecast has improved for the weekend with probably just some light rain
Saturday & Tuesday – otherwise mainly dry.
The March total so far is seven springers, which is the best total since 2006.
This is a remarkable achievement considering the poor conditions & low angling effort.Prospects should be very good in the coming days.
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TF_bwlodgeTorrential localised showers give a small flood……..
Please see my latest Blog-post on
Blackwater Lodge Salmon Fishery
with the latest information from today -
TF_bwlodge -
TF_bwlodgeBlackwater Lodge & Salmon Fishery News
December 10, 2014Prices Unchanged for 2015.
We dropped our prices significantly two years ago to combat the economic climate
and to encourage more anglers to come to the Blackwater.We are keeping the prices the same for 2015.
Salmon fishing on the renowned Cork Blackwater for between €15 – €80 per day
depending on the season.Please see our website for details:
Angling for Salmon on Ireland’s Cork Blackwater at Blackwater Lodge and Salmon Fishery
and don’t hesitate to contact us if you would like any further information or would like to make a reservation for the coming season.Winter spawning
There is an excellent stock of spawning fish on the upper Blackwater according to Fisheries officers.
Interestingly, their behaviour this year is unusual in that they are running to the spawning grounds & spawning immediately
which is rather early especially as we have had a mild winter so far. Perhaps they know more about the coming weather than we do!2015 Fishing Season
There are no changes in the fishing regulations for the coming season,
apart from the fact that the season will revert to closing on September 30th.*
For the last 3 years, the Blackwater benefited from an extension to the salmon season to October 12.
The Minister has decided not to continue this in 2015.
The quota for the river is 5,752 which is the second highest in the country next to the Moy.
For anyone who would like to see the full Draft regulations for the coming season, please go to:*** http://goo.gl/j2JHELOpening of the 2015 Season
The season will open as usual on February 1st., 2015
Book Early for 2015!:*
It’s always advisable to book early to ensure your place – especially for the prime weeks.
Early Payment Discount:
Book and pay in full now & benefit from a 1% per month discount.
2015 Prices:*
These are now available on our website:* * Angling for Salmon on Ireland’s Cork Blackwater at Blackwater Lodge and Salmon FisheryChristmas Gift Vouchers
Stuck for that last minute present? If you’d like to give or receive a special gift, now is the time to get a Gift Voucher from us – for anything from fly-casting tuition to fishing, accommodation or tackle.
Very prompt service with vouchers created to order & delivered to you by return by email.
Pre-Season Preparation
As always, Glenda is available for tuition as the new season approaches,
so if you’d like to hone your skills before Opening Day then get in touch with her.Social Networking:
Twitter
Facebook – Ian
Facebook – Lodge page
FaceBook – GlendaFor any further information, please contact:
Blackwater Lodge & Salmon Fishery
Upper Ballyduff
County Waterford
IrelandSkype: bwlodge Ireland: Phone: 058 60235 Mobile: 087 235 21 20 (Ian) 087 235 12 60 (Glenda)
From UK: Phone: 0844 202 33 33 International: Phone: +353 58 60235
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And what better way to make your own Christmas than to book a
few days fishing at Blackwater Lodge Salmon Fishery for 2015!
Only 38 Days left until Opening Day on February 1st. -
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