Salmon Fishing Report from the Cork Blackwater

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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 Blackwater Lodge Salmon Fishery - Daily Updated Salmon Fishing Report page

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The river is at 0.34m this morning with clarity about 6 feet.
Perfect fly-fishing conditions and it looks as if we're heading into a week of dry weather.
Possibly some moderate rain next week then a further dry spell.
I just had a report from Cappoquin that there are now good runs of fish coming in on every tide,
so the prospects for the coming week are improving considerably.
For the latest info: Fishing report page Blackwater Lodge Salmon Fishery - Daily Updated Salmon Fishing Report page

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The 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 Blackwater Lodge Salmon Fishery - Daily Updated Salmon Fishing Report page

[bwlodge]

Flood 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 Blackwater Lodge Salmon Fishery - Daily Updated Salmon Fishing Report page

[bwlodge]

Best 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 Blackwater Lodge Salmon Fishery - Daily Updated Salmon Fishing Report page

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River Report for June

The river level for June has probably been the lowest for about 50 years, which means that most fish are holding in the tidal reaches rather than running into the main river.
The table below shows the average height for the month for the last four years – since the start of the drift net ban.
This year it was 0.18m compared to the average for 2007-9 of 0.41m.
In fact it was only above 0.30m (which we would normally regard as summer low level) for 2 days during the whole month. There have also been few rods out fishing for the month.

Statistics for the Month of June for 2007 - 2010

----------------Year------2007------2008------2009------2010
Number of Fish Caught--------44---------21---------51---------24
-------Catch/Rod Day-------0.25-------0.09-------0.30-------0.30
--Average River Height------0.35--------0.39-------0.48-------0.18

We can see from the Table that – whilst the catch number for the month was not high at 24 – in fact the catch/rod day was 0.30, exactly the same as that for 2009 when there was far more water in the river.

In fact, 22 of the fish were caught for only 24 rod days in the week from June 12 – an average of 0.9 fish per rod day, which was extremely good. One angler caught 5 in one afternoon – all on fly & 4 were released. Best fish of the month was a 12 pounder released on Upper Kilmurry.

July has started off well after a small fresh in the river on the 2nd. Seven grilse have been caught for 6 rod days in the three days from July 2-4.

For all the very latest information please see the Blackwater Lodge Fishing Report page on :
Blackwater Lodge Salmon Fishery - Daily Updated Salmon Fishing Report page

Prospects
Even although the river is very low, the clarity is good and runs of larger grilse (4-5lb.) are coming in.
There is more rain forecast during the week, so the prospects of sport for the coming week are quite good.
Very small flies, light worming & spun shrimp are working best, though fish are also being met on spinner.

Where to meet us
Glenda is fly-casting demonstrator at the Irish Game & Country Fair at Birr Castle in Co. Offaly on August 28 & 29th.
We will also have a stand at the Fair.

Availability
We have availability of rods & accommodation in the next couple of weeks.
Late summer and backend weeks are now filling up fast, so contact us quickly if you are thinking of fishing later in the season.

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The rain that came across Ireland on the weekend seems to have missed the Blackwater catchment altogether.
The river is still at 0.08m at Ballyduff and there has been no rise at all on the upper river.
On a brighter note, the Metcheck forecast for Cork is giving 13mm rain on Thursday & 17mm on Friday night.
This seems to be borne out by the Bbc.co.uk forecast as well.

There were three grilse caught for 1½ rod days yesterday, which makes a total of 10 fish for 8½ rod days
in the last 4 days which is superb in the current conditions.

For all the very latest information please see the Blackwater Lodge Fishing Report page on :
Blackwater Lodge Salmon Fishery - Daily Updated Salmon Fishing Report page

[bwlodge]

Best Day of the Season so far - plus Best Catch from One Beat in One Day

The river dropped to a lovely height on July 13.
In the morning it was 0.23 & fell to 0.20m by nightfall. Clarity 2-2½ feet.

There was an excellent run of fish coming through the entire system right though to the top beats.

A total of 20 fish were caught for 11 rod days for the day.

Beat 3 (1 mile up from the Lodge): 4 caught. 1 on fly. Best 9.7 & 11lb.
Beat 7 (5 miles up from the Lodge): 4 caught. All on fly. Best 6.5lb.
Beat 8 (15 miles up from the Lodge): 1 caught. 4lb.
Beat 9 (20 miles up from the Lodge): 8 caught. 6 on fly & all released. Best 6lb.
Beat 16 (26 miles up from the Lodge): 3 caught. 1 on fly. Best 6lb.

Two rods caught eight fish today at Bridgetown Abbey.
- mostly grilse around the 3lb. mark.
Six were caught on fly & two on spinner.
All eight fish were released alive.
Mick Kennedy caught 5 (best ~6lb.) & Billy Jewitt caught three.
Seven of the fish were caught in a 2 hour "moment of madness".

Prospects looking very good with fresh fish being taken right through to the top of the fishery.
Still more rain coming in the next 2 days which should top up the height.

For all the very latest information please see the Blackwater Lodge Fishing Report page on :
Blackwater Lodge Salmon Fishery - Daily Updated Salmon Fishing Report page

[bwlodge]

Here'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 :
Blackwater Lodge Salmon Fishery - Daily Updated Salmon Fishing Report page

[bwlodge]

The 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 :
Blackwater Lodge Salmon Fishery - Daily Updated Salmon Fishing Report page