Well done to fellow Emerald Islander Stan McCart on being Ulster Champion and well done to all the lads that managed to catch a fish
10 fish for 72 Anglers and in another big comp on Thursday, 64 anglers caught just 3 fish. I fished 4 days and had no trout. I did get broken by a good trout on the dries on Saturday but thats just my luck
I have never seen Lough Erne as bad as it is right now.
Some are saying that the fly will come in a few weeks and that the fishing will improve. Others are saying that Lough Erne is finished as a wild trout fishery. I have to agree with the latter. I travelled basically the full length of the Lough on Saturday, from Rossclare to Belleek end and the entire Lough was covered in what can only be described as a brown gunge. Its disgusting. It was like fishing in a big septic tank.
Obviously the heat and sunshine brought this gunge to the top but it demonstrated to me that Erne is seriously polluted and on it's way out as a wild trout fishery (unless something is done). That is sad
I get the impression that Erne is so badly polluted that even the mighty zebra muscle has failed to clean it up, after a few years of trying.
The biomass of trout is supposed to be 2%. That figure is being kind. The Lough is stuffed with Pike and other course fish and i get the impression that what trout there are, are being pushed away from their normal feeding grounds and into deeper water by these pike. The Mayfly hatch is a disaster. Hopefully its just late. Hard to beleive it used to be called duffers fortnight
. Its blankers fortnight now.
Perhaps its just nature and changing weather patterns that have upset things, but i fear not. Its man. Pollution is caused in many ways and no one takes responsibility.
Time to stop having comps on these places lads. Its not a test of angling ability, especially when we have a few stocked waters in Ireland now and 3 out of 4 Internationals are normally for stocked fish
ps. Pehaps one day Lough Erne might be drained, empty, by the people who operate the hydro station at Ballyshannon. They might, then fill it with concrete and build a runway and a few terminals to bring a bit of tourism into the west.
