Angling Notes/Derek Evans: Lonan O'Farrell was waiting patiently as I arrived at Camillaun Lodge on the outskirts of Oughterard last Monday. I was at Camillaun as guest of Deirdre Forde to check out this well-known fishing lodge (as listed in Great Fishing Houses of Ireland) and also to try for an early-season trout on Lough Corrib.
O'Farrell, from Oranmore, who was my fishing partner for the day, had reasonable expectations for a good day's fishing. After all, it was bitterly cold and perhaps a little early for the duckfly. Our boat was moored in the garden at Camillaun on the banks of the Owenriff River with easy access to Corrib.
"Try a Claret and Pearly Dabbler on the droppers and Bibio on the point," O'Farrell said, as we headed into a strong east wind towards Birchall Bay. Within minutes he was into a fish and landed a nice trout of about 0.4kg on a Bibio.
We continued until lunchtime with wet fly, close to Flynn Island, The Fuidges and Goat Island. We turned a few fish but perhaps, more importantly, observed several duckfly on the surface and the occasional fish rising.
For the afternoon session, we switched to buzzers on floating line and moved to Portacarron Bay. Here in the shallows, we manoeuvred over the rocky and weedy bottom in crystal clear waters with our imitation duckfly pupae.
Alas, buzzer-fishing inevitably calls for calm conditions and although we attempted to hide behind Malachy's Island and numerous enclaves, the strong and gusty wind was simply not conducive to this early-season technique.
Before calling it a day we tried Bog Bay on wet fly without success, although O'Farrell did managed to touch a few good fish. And a boat close by boated a trout of at least 1kg to wetfly.
Back at Camillaun over tea and scones, Deirdre said the lodge had four en suite rooms and could cater for 10 people per night. New facilities include a games room with full-size snooker table, fly-tying facilities and in the garden, a fantastic gazebo with hot tub.
Camillaun is in a secluded riverside setting and the 10 boats moored in the garden have direct access to Lough Corrib.
While May and August are peak season, Ford is anxious to encourage anglers to avail of the fishing available throughout the season on this magnificent lough.
Contact camillaun@eircom.net or 091-552678.
The few anglers who braved the elements on Lough Conn found some success. Stephen Browne and Brendan Breslin had four trout, about 0.4kg each, all on Bibios. Larry McNeely caught five of which three were undersize and Martin Lyons and Terence McKeown caught four, ranging from 0.5kg to 0.6kg, on duckfly. Fred Finlay, Crossmolina, had a fine 5.4kg salmon while trolling a Blue Devon.
The Loughs Agency in Northern Ireland reports salmon are being taken on a daily basis on the River Finn. The Cloghan/Glenmore waters has produced 17 fish, but catch of the season so far goes to a 13-year-old boy with his first-ever salmon weighing 6.1kg.
For the past 20 years, opening day on the River Tolka at Broombridge (near Finglas) have always been a well-attended affair. Even the St Patrick's Day parade rarely distracts the intrepid faithful from casting a line on the first day of the season.
And this year was no exception, as 70 anglers, including 50 juniors, aged from six to 17, took part in the annual competition organised by Tolka Trout Anglers' Association in conjunction with Dublin Angling Initiative (DAI).
For some it was their first experience of angling. However, with the river stocked prior to opening day and expert tuition readily available, the opportunity of catching a fish was very much enhanced.
Tolka Trout Anglers' Association chairman, Eamon Lynch said: "We place a big emphasis on juniors from the north-Dublin catchment area and our members keep a watchful eye on the river against pollution and general misuse, both in and out of season." The competition was sponsored by DAI and project manager Des Chew, presented prizes to each junior who fished on the day with many receiving rods, reels and landing nets.
The Tuam Angling Association braved the biting wind last Sunday week to participate in the annual Sonny Martyn Perpetual Trophy on the Clare River System in Co Galway. Fishing was poor on the day, with only three pike recorded.
Results: 1, David McGrath (1.8kg), 2, Ian Calander (1.4kg), 3, Noel Martyn (1.2kg).
The next match on the Clare System will be the ITFFA Connacht Rivers Flyfishing Championships on April 8th. For further details, phone 087-288 1353.
angling@irish-times.ie