Good Fun With Grilse

At last fishing has picked up on the River Bandon. There's no denying it, salmon fishing in May and June was quite poor. Conditions in general were ok but when all seemed to be perfect, the fish were lacking in any real numbers. A proper run of fish was expected with every flood, yet it failed to materialise. More fish ran the river than it was given credit for and I lost a few, but it was disappointing in comparison to recent years.

All is not lost though and the grilse fishing is beginning to make up for the lack of sport earlier on. Since the beginning of this persistent, unsettled weather regime, grilse have been running in very good numbers. Since the 6th of July, the Bandon has been in absolutely beautiful order for fishing. Regular freshets have kept the river at an excellent height, with all methods fishable.

When the water was very high I opted for spinning to cover as much water as I could. But as the big water subsided and the heavy colour toned down, fly fishing came into its own. Recruiting my switch rod and fishing small flies, grilse have readily come to the fly with relish.

Most fish have been very fresh, some bearing sea lice, whilst others may have been in the river a week or two. Ranging in size from 3 to 5lbs, they have given me tremendous sport. Besides the grilse, I grassed one salmon estimated to weigh around 10 or 11lbs, which may have been in the system since May it was so heavily coloured.

Prior to the recent good sport with salmon, sea trout fly fishing at night time was good. The floods have upset this exercise for now but once water levels settle down again sport should resume. Fishing further afield, I enjoyed a few nights chasing sea trout on the Argideen. I'm delighted and proud to say that I have been asked to write for Ireland's newest digital angling magazine, "Off the Scale". I have written about my Argideen escapades in the upcoming issue, which will be released at the end of the week, so I wont give too much away! Further to this, I wrote an article for the previous issue entitled "Salmon Through the Seasons", which I hope you will enjoy.

Specimen Bandon Sea Trout

The mini drought we endured down here in the south west finally came to an end on the 2nd of May. Heavy rain heralded the beginning of a 3 foot flood which freshened the river up no end and must have come as a relief to the remaining salmon kelts and descending smolts. Reports came in that a few fish were running Bandon weir on Saturday evening as the water rose, alas Sunday saw the river unfishable. Keeping the powder dry, Ian, Rob and I made our way to the river at 6am on Monday morning as the mist was rising. By now the river had fallen to a manageable height, yet was still bowling down and well coloured. Rob stuck to the fly while Ian and myself opted to spin, with yellow size 4 flying c's being the order of the day. Starting at the top of our chosen stretch, sport was slow with the odd knock from a trout. Deciding to move down river, my spinner was halted mid flow in a slacker piece of water. Rod buckling over, the fish splashed and raced down stream. Assuming it was a grilse, 5 minutes later Ian slipped the net under something a bit more spotty than a salmon!

What a surprise it was to see such a lovely, pristine sea trout. A personal best for me, we estimated it to weigh around 4lbs. After a quick pic, the sea trout was released on its way again and swam off like a rocket. Delighted with the success, we resumed our morning session with the anticipation of more action. Trying a few more spots revealed no further interest as Rob retired his fly rod. Ian was about to follow suit as they had made a plan to go up river when his spinner was intercepted in exactly the same location as mine was. Similarly to my own take, the fish splashed straight away and we could see it was bigger. A salmon at last, we thought... a strong fight ensued with the fish being extremely stubborn holding out in the current. On my first attempt to net the fish, it turned away at the last moment and I glimpsed an array of spots in its back. Mentioning it to Ian, he was having none of it and was adamant it was a salmon! We said no more until minutes later Ian had his prize on the bank. Our jaws collectively dropped as we realised the fish was indeed a sea trout and what a sea trout at that!!

Not renowned for its big sea trout, this whopper from the Bandon had us shocked. Measuring 65 cm in length and over 35 cm in girth, this fish would have weighed comfortably over 6lbs and possibly up to 7lbs. A specimen trout is a special creature, and Ian didn't even think twice about releasing his trophy catch. Cradling it in the water as it regained its energy, Rob was about to relieve me of my resuscitating duties when it walloped me with its paddle and sped off into the depths. What a moment it was for us all to share in the capture and return of this rare beast. The next trick will be to try and catch one on the fly at night time.

Sun Baked April Hampers Fishing

Given reasonable fishing conditions, April is a month to get excited about on the Bandon. However there has been no appreciable fall of rain and the fishing has all but dried up as a consequence. The current reading of the river gauge suggests the river is now only 6 inches above its lowest height last summer which is astonishing. With just the odd salmon grassed at the beginning of the month, the Bandon really needs a good flood now to get her back into the swing of things.

Back in late March, I caught my biggest brown trout on the fly whilst searching for a salmon. Taking a 3 inch conehead monkey fly, the trout measured 51cm and I estimated it to weigh 3lbs. Many trout succumbed to big salmon flies, such is their hunger at the start of the season. All going back, they will hopefully provide more sport during the summer months when in better condition.

On the sea trout front, I made my first nocturnal cast this week. Noting that a few sea trout had entered the river on the big tides, some pools held a smattering of fish up to 4lbs or so. Even though the nights were freezing and cloudless, this was too much to ignore. Equipped with a sink tip line, short leader and an array of flies, the first casts were made over where I had hoped a few sea trout would be settled. After changing flies 3 times I finally had that unmistakable wallop as a fish struck. Several jumps and runs later, I slipped the net under this sparkler measuring 38cm and weighing around 1 1/4lbs. Not the biggie I was hopping for, but it sure was nice to be out fly fishing for sea trout on the Bandon at night again.

With the water temperature now exceeding 10 degrees Celsius, brook lamprey have been busy spawning along the river. The smallest and most common of the 3 species found in Ireland, they do not have a parasitic phase and die after spawning. The Bandon is noted for its populations of brook and river lamprey, with one survey recording one of the highest ever numbers of juvenile lampreys in Ireland.

Finally, catches of bass around the south coast have been extremely encouraging recently. Must get out for a cast before the ban on May 15th! The Irish Bass Festival, run by the lads at Absolute Fishing in Tramore Waterford, will be held from the 17th to 19th of July. For more details on this great event click here.

First Springer of the year on the Bandon River

Following on from my success last week on the Drowes, I thought I would be writing this weeks post with a few landscape photos of the Bandon. However, I have a little bit more to write about then that as the Bandon has offered up its first spring salmon of the year.

Opening on February 15th, angling conditions have been favourable for the majority of the month. Brown trout fishing has got off to a promising start, with a good number falling to sunken nymphs. As always for the time of year, the trout are ravenous and will take anything from small nymphs to 2 inch conehead flies intended for salmon.

Further to the good news on the brown trout front, sea trout have also made an early appearance. One angler was lucky enough to catch a sparkling silver tourist on the opening day, estimated at one and a quarter pound in weight. Common place many years ago, its been years since one of these was caught in February. 

Salmon kelts have been less numerous this spring, more than likely due to spawning taking place earlier than usual last year. This is great to see as less will be caught by fishermen thus giving them a greater chance of running the river a second time. Springers are few and far between in early spring on the Bandon, never mind to say February. However, whilst battling the driving wind and rain yesterday with my friend Fergal, I got the surprise of a life time.

Having returned a couple of trout and a kelt to the spinner and fly already, I had another take on the spinner late in the afternoon. Blasting down river and ripping line off my reel, I gave Fergal a shout as I thought this could be something different. Playing the fish for several minutes, we didn't commit to deciding the state of the fish until we had it in the net. As I gained control of the salmon,  Fergal skillfully netted it and we immediately knew we had just landed the first fish of the season. I wouldn't be surprised if they could hear the shouting and roaring of excitement miles away!

Weighing approximately 7lbs, she wasn't carrying any sea lice but was mint fresh. After a quick photo, I set her back off on her way upstream to hopefully spawn the next generation of spring salmon. There's something very special about catching a fresh salmon at this time of year, and its all the sweeter when its on your local river. If conditions offer up the opportunity, I'll be putting more effort into trying to catch a springer on the fly. Using an assortment of tube flies such as Dee Monkeys, Willie Gunns and Green Butt Cascades, hopefully I'll draw a fly close enough to the nose of a springer for him to snap at it.