New Blackwater salmon season continues to produce springers

The 2012 salmon season on the Blackwater continued to produce springers last week.

It was two days into the season before the first was taken on the Blackwater Lodge’s beats by Ian Powell.

To date Blackwater Lodge has caught four springers, which has been a brilliant start to the season. There was also a report that fish were taken 15 miles further upriver at Ballyhooly, which considering the high water and mild conditions we have had over the past month, doesn’t surprise.

Paul Howard hooked a 8½lb fish at Lower Kilmurry, his first springer on his first day on the Blackwater.

Ger McCarthy also caught a 5lb fish which had sea lice on Lower Kilmurry.

The fourth springer, a small very fresh fish was taken on Wednesday by Mike Sheridan again at Lower Kilmurry.

The river has remained too high for fly-fishing since the opening, but the forecast for drier weather will solve that issue.

Blackwater Lodge initiated a limited syndicate scheme in 2010 extended further in 2011 with membership for either the full season or just the first four months.

This scheme will continue for 2012, providing an opportunity for those to fish the River Blackwater more often.

Elsewhere, Waterville SAC fished their M Linehan Cup shore angling competition at Rossbeigh Beach earlier this month.

The anglers returned 89 fish with 88 flounders and one turbot.

Results: 1, Pat Egan, 11 fish, 302pts; 2, Vincent Tierney, 12 fish, 252pts; 3, Aidan O’Halloran, 8 fish, 186pts; 4, Joe Murphy, 9 fish, 173pts; 5, Phil Ord, 4, 128pts; 6, David O’Sullivan, 4, 125pts; 7 Tim Ward, 7, 124pts; 8, Chris Nelms, 3, 109pts.

Their sister Kerry club, Tralee Bay Sea Angling Club, also fished a shore angling competition at Rosssbeigh on an ebb tide from 6-10pm. The competitors shared a fine 141 fish catch. The breakdown of the catch was 130 flounders, six coalfish and five bearded rockling.

Results: 1, Rory O’Connor, 22, 252pts; 2, Joe Ganley, 13, 321pts; 3, David O’Sullivan, 13, 317pts; 4, Vincent Tierney, 13, 288pts; 5, Eugene Farrelly, 7, 210pts; 6, Philip O’Sullivan, 7, 159pts; 7, Deirdre Murphy, 6, 145pts; 8, Conor Dwyer, 5, 140pts.

Meanwhile a study of Brown Trout Inland Fisheries Ireland, with the assistance of the Office of Public Works, population geneticists from University College Dublin and Ireland’s trout anglers has commenced. The first two catchments to be examined were the Suir and Boyne in 2011. In the Boyne, the study also showed there are five different families of trout in the catchment. and trout born in three tributaries (Stonyford, Trimblestown and Knightsbrook) made up 63% of the main stem stock. In contrast, the trout in the Kinnegad, Monga, Deel and Kells Blackwater make little or no contribution to the main stem population.