Erriff Fishery & Aasleagh Lodge Newsletter 2013

Transcription

1 Erriff Fishery & Aasleagh Lodge Newsletter Fantastic Early Season on the Erriff Good Season despite Summer heatwave for the Season April April is normally a relatively quiet month on the Erriff for salmon angling. With low water levels and mainly cold easterly winds there was no angling on the Erriff until the weather became more favourable in the latter half of the month. Congratulations to Conor O Leary from Dublin, who after a number of years finally succeeded in landing the first fish, which he caught in the Gauge Pool on Beat 9 on Saturday the 20th. The fish weighing 11.25lbs was caught on a Yellow & Black Shrimp pattern. Other April highlights included John Bresnihan s first Irish salmon, which weighed 9.5lbs and was caught on a Willie Gunn, and Gerhard Troster s red letter day; fishing with a Munro Killer on Beats 8 and Beat 9 he landed two salmon estimated at 11lbs and 13lbs - both fish were released. May Richard Kelly, Dublin landed the fish of a lifetime, a magnificently conditioned fish of 16lbs - the fish was caught in the Garden Pool on a Collie Dog. The same day Alan Colles, Essex, UK caught a fish of 13lbs on a Curry s Red Shrimp in the Coronation Pool. Kevin Attride from the Netherlands caught a fish of 9.75lbs at Altamont s Dam on Beat 6. The Garden Pool produced a cracking fish of 14lbs for Martin Byrne. Local angler Peter Coyne caught another cracking fish of 12.75lbs on an Ally s Shrimp in the Holly Pool. Urgan Scheel, Germany caught one of 11lbs on a Collie Dog in the Willow Pool on Beat 6. Monday 13th proved a successful day for John Krapzmuir, Canada - fishing the Erriff for the first time John caught and released a fish of 8lbs taken on a Park Shrimp in the Bridge Pool on Beat 9. The following day Anthony Holden, Dublin caught one of 12lbs on a Cascade in the Gauge Pool. Fishing a Shadow Shrimp Enda Kenny, Co. Offaly caught a fish of 12lbs in the Holly Pool. Paddy Gargan, Moycullen retained one of 9lbs and released one estimated at 15lbs. Conor O Leary (Dublin) with the first fish of.

2 It was success for Eddie Lee and Chris Pearson both from the UK and fishing the Erriff for the first time. Fishing a Stoat s Tail in the Coronation Pool Eddie caught and released a grilse estimated at 5.5lbs. Chris Pearson caught a fish of 8lbs on a General Practitioner in Altamont s Dam on Beat 6. Niall Wickham, Drogheda,Co. Louth caught one of 10lbs on a Gold Munro in the White Rock Run on Beat 7. sea trout in the Middle Garden Pool - then fishing a Black Shrimp pattern hooked into his first ever Atlantic salmon but was unlucky to part with the fish. Enda O Connell from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK hooked 7 fish in a day and managed to land 3 best fish was estimated at 10lbs (released). Enda s son Hugh retained one of 5.5lbs taken on a Cascade in the Garden Pool and released another grilse taken in the Falls Pool. Chloe Stafford (10 years) caught a fresh-run grilse of 3.25lbs on fly this was Chloe s first ever salmon. Rene Janjo, Switzerland also caught his first Irish salmon in the Falls Pool on Beat 9 on a Silver Stoat. The glorious summer weather continued with water temperatures reaching 25.7 o C. Finally rain arrived on the 24th, and a big build up of salmon and sea trout ran upstream. French angling trio Gael Kerschbaumer caught 3 salmon and 5 sea trout, Gerard Garnier caught 5 grilse and Jean Jacques Eugene, fishing the Erriff for the first time, caught his first Erriff salmon on a Cascade. Gerhard Troster (Germany) with his 13lbs springer (released) June Despite low water levels on the Erriff early in the month, regular visitor Selby Knox caught 3 fresh-run fish (best fish 11lbs). Following heavy rain on the 14th John Dardis, Co. Kildare caught a grilse of 5.5lbs in Poleen on Beat 4. Ken Wickham, Co. Louth caught one of 8.5lbs in the Hawthorn Run. Hubert Theotime, a member of Michel Winthrop s party and fishing the Erriff for the first time, caught his first ever salmon of 8.5lbs on a Lady O Hara in the Colonel s Run. It was also a first ever salmon for Tony Brown, Corby, UK who caught a sparkling fresh grilse on a Willie Gunn in the Broken Bridge Pool. Regular visitor Raphael Amat, France had a brilliant week s fishing with very lightly dressed low-water Cascade fly patterns, landing a total of 6 salmon (best 11lbs) and 55 sea trout! All fish were sportingly released. Michel Winthrop returned to the Erriff with another group of French anglers and they hooked 17 salmon and 16 sea trout in 5 days fishing unfortunately only 7 salmon were landed and 4 of these were returned to the river again. July Jorg Newman, Berlin, Germany caught and released his first Irish salmon on a Black Shrimp fly in the Holly Pool on Beat 8 Jorg also released 2 sea trout in the Sea Pool. David Glazman, Los Angeles, California caught a good Enda O Connell (UK) releasing a nice fish on Beat 5. August Heavy rains in early August resulted in perfect conditions for angling. Henri Hosinger & Norbert Meir, Luxembourg caught 5 salmon on shrimp patterns. Ralph Tindal, Co.Wicklow caught a nice fish of 5lbs on a Cascade in the Coronation Pool. Frank Martin, Co Meath caught one on Beat 5 on a Cascade. Eoin Bresnihan, Oughterard caught one of 6lbs in the Tawnyard Potholes and released another estimated at 4lbs both fish were taken on Cascades. Fishing a Cascade in the Falls Pool Clifford Shaw, UK caught one of 7.75lbs. Babs Kijewski, Germany, fishing the Erriff for the first time, caught one in the Horse Shoe and another in the Bridge Pool on Beat 3. Peter Thompson, Australia released a good sea trout of 1.5lbs and a salmon which he caught on Beat 1. Joseph Martin, Co. Meath caught 4 salmon in 2 days - all caught on Cascades tied by Joseph.

3 Michel Winthrop s party caught 7 salmon for the week including first ever salmon for Vivien Rossi, Yannick Coupry and Sebastien Bloyon four of the fish were taken in the School House Pool on Beat 3. Albert Caffrey s party which included Donal Chambers, Paddy Donegan and Mick Vincent had a fantastic week s fishing catching 31 salmon and 26 sea trout for the week - top rod for the week and indeed the season was Paddy Donegan, Wicklow (blanked last season!) who showed off his angling skills and accounted for 15 salmon including 4 fish in one day well done Paddy! Chloe Stafford (10) with her first Erriff salmon. Looking back over the months the season started very well with cracking spring fish up to 16lbs. There were many weeks during the summer when weather conditions were very unfavourable for angling, however many anglers fishing with smaller flies very lightly dressed to suit low water conditions did succeed. Tobias Stern brought a group of Austrians to the Erriff for the first time - they caught 4 salmon and 3 sea trout including first ever salmon for Martin Weinzerl and Gernot Lipp the group were unfortunate to part with several more fish during the week. John Mc Cullough and Anthony Holden both from Dublin caught 8 salmon during a week s fishing. Yellow Banks produced a nice grilse for celebrity Keith Barry, Dublin Keith also lost another two fish. Mario Sanz, Germany caught his first ever Atlantic salmon in the General s Reach and also caught a sea trout in Yellow Banks. The Otter Pool on Beat 7 produced a grilse for Bertrand Gautier, France. Dirk Odemann, Hamburg, Germany released two fish caught on Cascades and was unfortunate to part company with another 3 grilse. First time visitor all the way from the Orkney Isles, Mike Sutherland caught 3 grilse 2 from the Colonel s and another from Humps and Hollows. Stuart Topp, also from Orkney, released one estimated at 5lbs. September After a dry start, rain on the 7th brought a welcome rise in water levels. Among the September highlights were Jean Francois and Jean Jacques Calvar, France who released 3 fish to 8lbs and a good sea trout of 2lbs. Wolfgang Sesselmann, Germany caught one of 5lbs and a sea trout of 2.5lbs on Beat 5. Tawnyard Lough produced 1 grilse, 7 sea trout and numerous brown trout for Niall Green and Angus Sutherland. US angler Bill Sullivan caught one of 10.5lbs on a Collie Dog in the Holly Pool. Conor O Leary and Con O Toole, Dublin landed 2 in Yellow Banks - best fish estimated at 10lbs was released. First time visitor Chris Boone, UK caught one in the Coronation Pool on an Ally s Martin Weinzerl and Gernot Lipp (Austria) with their first Irish salmon, taken before breakfast on their first morning. Monthly Catches -13 Month April May June July August September Total

4 Top 10 Heaviest Name Date Pool Fly Wt. R. Kelly 7 May Garden Collie Dog 16lbs P. Gargan 18 May Bridge Munro Killer 15lbs (R) M. Byrne 11 May Garden Willie Gunn 14lbs A. Colles 7 May Coronation G. Troster 23 Apr Coronation Curry s Shrimp Munro Killer 13lbs 13lbs (R) K. Attride 25 July Quarry Shrimp 13lbs (R) K. Attride 26 July Broken Bridge Shrimp 13lbs (R) P. Coyne 11 May Holly Shrimp 12.75lbs J. Holden 14 May Gauge Cascade 12lbs C. O Leary 21 Apr Gauge (R) = Released Yellow Shrimp 11.25lbs The Research Programme which is ongoing since 1984 continued in with the downstream trap on Tawnyard Lough put into operation during the months of March, April and May. The operation was extended into the first week of June to compensate for the very cold weather in early spring. The trap was serviced on a daily basis 7 days a week - a total of 100 days. The run of migrating fish commenced slowly during March with the main kelt and smolt runs peaking from mid April onwards. The table below shows the downstream fish movements in. Month Kelts Smolts Kelts Smolts March April May June Total Angling Methods The Erriff was fly-only throughout the season. If other methods were used there is no doubt that the rod catch of 270 would have been significantly higher. However both fishery policies and angling attitudes have changed over the seasons. The Erriff Fishery is subject to quota - Erriff anglers were very conservation-minded and released 64% of the rod catch of wild salmon. Taken on Each Beat Angling Course A very successful salmon angling course was held at Aasleagh Lodge and the Erriff River. There were eight participants on the course, one of whom, Tony Brown from Donegal caught his first ever salmon on fly in the Garden Pool. Brent Vinall, a course participant from the UK also caught his first ever salmon the fish was taken on a Cascade in Joyce s Sand Hill on Beat 9 Brent went on to catch another one of 4.5lbs on a Green & Gold 3 days later when angling conditions were far from ideal. It is intended to run another course next season. Beat No. % of Catch Tawnyard L % Abve Beat % Beat % Beat % Beat % Beat % Beat % Beat % Beat % Beat % Beat % Unknown 6 2.2% Total % Brent Vinall (UK) with his first ever salmon.

5 Fish Counter Returns Erriff Fish Counter The counter was operated from the 1st January through to the end of the season. The following are the verified recordings for the season with comparative figures for the previous year. Nationality of Anglers The chart below illustrates the percentage of guests from the 5 principal countries who have fished the Erriff River over the past 6 years. Month January February March April May June July August September October November December Total First Fish Incentive Once again in order to encourage more anglers to compete for the first salmon we are offering the following incentive for for anglers staying in the Lodge & Cottages. For anglers staying in the Cottages we are offering dinner bed and breakfast for two for one night at Aasleagh Lodge or a Cottage week at half price during April, May or June. For Lodge rods we are offering a night s accommodation for two + a scrumptious lobster dinner and if the fish is photographed and released we will throw in a day s fishing free. Angling/Casting Course 2014 An Angling/Casting Course has been scheduled for the weekend of the 4th-6th July on the Erriff. This will facilitate both beginners and anglers who feel they could do with a refresher on fly casting and angling techniques. It will also give each angler the opportunity to familiarise oneself with the river. Equipment can be supplied. The course will be conducted by qualified IFI casting instructors Myles Kelly and Markus Muller. The course will commence with dinner on Thursday night and end with lunch on Sunday. Acknowledgements It is not possible for Aasleagh Lodge to function without the dedication and commitment of all staff. In that regard a very special word of thanks goes to Mary, Martin Joe and Donavin. Also to our two new seasonal staff members Mary Molloy and John Luke Flanagan. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have assisted with the smooth running of the Lodge and the protection of the fishery during the year. We wish to extend a special word of thanks to Inspector Walter Butler and his staff for all the protection work carried out on the fishery and at sea during the year. We also thank the staff engaged in the Rural Social Employment Scheme and the FAS Staff for the general maintenance and improvements of the Lodge and grounds, and maintaining angling access to the pools on the river. Obituaries We extend our sympathies to the families and relatives of friends who are no longer with us - Felix Dolan, New York, Frankie Masterson, Dublin and Brian Marshall, England. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a n-anam dílis.

6 ERRIFF RATES 2014 River Erriff Angling April 1st May 9th: 50 per rod per day/ 30 half day 250 per week 6 days. May 10th June 27th: 60 per rod per day/ 40 half day 300 per week 6 days. June 28th Aug. 29th: 75 per rod per day/ 50 half day 400 per week 6 days. Aug. 30th Sep. 30th: 60 per rod per day/ 40 half day 300 per week 6 days. Derrintin Lough (Brown Trout) Half day Tawnyard Lough ( & ) Half Day Aasleagh Lodge Accommodation Weekly Half Board* 7 Nights (ensuite) 650pps Daily Half Board* (ensuite) 105pps Bed & Breakfast (ensuite) 60pps Bed & Breakfast (standard room) 45pps Bed & Breakfast (triple ensuite) 50pps Single Room Supplement 10/night Killary Suite Supplement 20/night Dinner 45 Packed Lunch 10 *Half Board includes Full Irish Breakfast and Evening Meal. PPS - Per Person Sharing Short Breaks (when available) 2 Nights B&B, 1 Dinner, 1 Day Fishing 220 pps 3 Nights B&B, 2 Dinners, 2 Days Fishing 399 pps Cottage Rates (Self Catering, Property Rental only, Electricity extra) Jan. 1st to June 30th: 400 per week. July 1st to Aug. 31st: 600 per week. Sep. 1st to Sep. 30th: 500 per week. Oct. 1st to Dec. 31st: 400 per week. Short term breaks and long term lettings available. Enquiries Deposits required upon acceptance of booking and are non-refundable. Accommodation & Fishing: 50% deposit on booking. Balance: Payable one month in advance of arrival date. Contact James Stafford, Aasleagh Lodge, Leenane, Co. Galway, Ireland. Tel: +353 (0) Fax: +353 (0) erriff.fish@iol.ie Web: