Salmon Fishing Report from the Cork Blackwater

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Biggest Fish of 2010 caught on Saturday, August 7th. - on fly!

Gavin Wishart (Newcastle, Co. Down) caught a slightly coloured May fish
on a small gold shrimp pattern on the Lug Pool on Lower Kilmurry gillied by Connie Corcoran.
Connie estimated the fish @ 14-15lb. and it was quickly released.
Gavin & Connie caught five fish for the day, releasing four.

There were eleven fish caught for 10 rod days yesterday - the best day so far for August.
Martin Heffer (UK) caught his first ever salmon and it was on fly on a guided day with Glenda.

Total for the month is 31 fish for 41 rod days.
Gauge height is 0.15m & clarity around 5 feet.
Plenty of fish showing in the pools on the lower river and some fish running every day.

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Sept. 19: 19 fish for 16 rod days. 12 released. Best fish 10½lb.
6 on fly, of which 5 came from Beat 1 including 3 sea-liced 8 pounders.

Sept. 20: 13 fish for 17 rod days. 12 released. Best fish 8lb. 6 on fly.

Sept. 21:Best Day of the Season, joint Biggest Fish & probably the Best Ever Catch for One Rod in a Day
26 fish for 17 rod days. 24 released, but 14 were fresh. Best fish ~16lb. released.
Only 3 on fly. 15 taken on shrimp, of which 11 were caught by one rod on an upper beat - all were released even though 7 were fresh.

There are a number of fresh fish being caught on the upper beats, even though these have only been very lightly fished.
119 fish have been caught in the last week for 11 rod days.
Total for September is now 225 & for the season is 541.

Current Conditions
The upper river rose 50cm & peaked at 10.00am this morning. It's dropped 20 cm by 6pm.
The gauge at Ballyduff was up 2cm to 0.12m at 3pm, but there is a fair dirty flood on the Funcheon which may bring it up rather more.
prospects looking very good for the last week.
Rods are fully booked for Thursday & Friday, but there are some available
from Saturday 25th. to the 30th.

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Finally, I have completed a report on the 2010 Season on Blackwater Lodge Salmon Fishery. This can be found on:
2010 Season Report

For more detailed reports by Month please go to:
2010 Report by Month

2010 Season Highlights

...............................Season Total: 652 for 1,342 rod days (0.49 fish/rod day).
....................................July Total: 168 for 183 rod days.
.................................................. ......(The Best July since 2000 when 263 were caught for 750 rod days)
...............Best Day of the Season: September 26 - 26 fish to 16lb.
...............Best Catch for One Rod: Eleven fish on September 21st.
......Number of First Ever Salmon: Thirty-five in total for the season.
Proportion of Fish Caught on Fly: Second Highest Ever for the Total 2011 Season.
.................................................. ......Highest Ever for the months of May & June.
.................................................. ......Second Highest for the month of September.
.................................................. ......Fifth Highest for August.
.................................................. ......Eighth Highest for July.



The Draft Proposals for the Wild Salmon & Seatrout Tagging Scheme Regulations for the 2011 Season
were issued on Friday, November 19.

The quota for the Blackwater has been raised to 5,859 from the 2010 quota which was 5,054.

The number of tags for the spring (February 1 to May 11) has not been confirmed yet.
Last year, it was one tag for the Blackwater but this was only announced in a Byelaw issued on December 17, 2009
so we are still waiting to hear if it will be one or three tags.

The Huge Run of Fish continues

I was talking to Fishery Board staff at the excellent Irish Fly Fair in Galway last weekend
& got the latest on the runs of fish into the Blackwater.
There were reports of 7,500 fish that had run into the river in the 8 days from October 27.

Just before the Fair on the weekend of November 13/14, this figure had jumped to over 15,000....................!

This bodes well for our future stocks of salmon.

[bwlodge]

Recession 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:
Blackwater Lodge Salmon Fishery Syndicate Offer for 2011



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.

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It was the coldest December on record in Ireland, and for the first time since 1601 the Blackwater froze over completely at both Fermoy & Cappoquin.

This was the front page of the local newspaper on December 23rd.


Here's some pictures taken over the last week or so.

Looking upstream from the bridge at Ballyduff on December 16.


Looking downstream from the bridge at Ballyduff on December 16.


The river below the Lodge on December 16.


Looking upstream on the tidal reaches towards the railway bridge at Cappoquin on Christmas Day.


Looking downstream on the tidal reaches from the bridge to the town of Cappoquin on Christmas Day.


Looking upstream on the tidal reaches from the bridge at Cappoquin on Christmas Day.


Looking upstream on the tidal reaches at the Kitchen Hole at Cappoquin on Christmas Day.


Looking downstream on the tidal reaches at the Kitchen Hole at Cappoquin on Christmas Day.


Thank goodness, the Big Freeze is finally over now. This was the river below the Lodge on December 28.

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

[bwlodge]

Only 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: Index of /Fishing Report/fishingreport.htm

[bwlodge]

5, 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: Blackwater Lodge Salmon Fishery - Daily Updated Salmon Fishing Report page

[bwlodge]

The First Spring Salmon is Landed on February 3rd.!

Derek O'Keeffe, from Thomastown, Kilkenny came to the Lodge for a casting lesson
with Glenda on Thursday afternoon.
After the lesson, Glenda invited him to fish on for the rest of the afternoon on Upper Kilmurry.
He hooked and landed a lovely fresh fish of about 8lb. on a fly he tied himself.
It was a colour variation of the PoshTosh as seen in "Trout and Salmon", February 2010.
The fish was hooked at the head of the Hut Pool on Upper Kilmurry and took about 15 mins
to land, having jumped half a dozen times.
Derek - a firm believer in catch and release - carefully returned the fish alive.
Not wanting to harm the fish in any way, it was quickly released without even taking a photo
as he was fishing on his own - the only rod out on the fishery in fact today.


This was the river below the Lodge yesterday when the fish was caught.

Current Situation

This was the river at 15.30 on the 4th., with a half metre rise.


This is the gauge height on the upper & lower river for the last five days.

Prospects
On the 3rd., the river ws at a perfect height and clarity for the fly.
On the 4th., the lower river was up approximately half a metre but peaked late evening.
There was very little fishing effort and gales, but a couple of fresh silver fish were seen jumping amongst the kelts.
Certainly spinnable for the 5th. Fly is doubtful.

For all the latest info, see also:
Ian Powell | Facebook
or follow us on
http://twitter.com/blackwaterlodge

[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:
Blackwater Lodge Salmon Fishery - Daily Updated Salmon Fishing Report page
Ian Powell | Facebook
or follow us on
http://twitter.com/blackwaterlodge