The First Spring Salmon of 2012 is Caught!

The First Springer was taken on the Lodge beats today by ............................ me!

There were no rods booked to fish today & the weather had turned mild after only 2 days of a cold snap. Glenda was going to teach on Upper Kilmurry for 2 hours, so I decided to accompany her & go for a cast for an hour or so. I caught this 6.2lb fish on spinner at the Jole on Lower Kilmurry. It would have been released, but was deeply hooked and bleeding.
Interestingly, the fish didn't have sea-lice, so had obviously been in the river for a few days. This could mean that there is already a reasonable number of spring fish in the river, as we have had prolonged spells of high water & mild temperatures throughout January to encourage them to run.
It was only the first 2 days of February where temperatures fell to zero at night.


The river is already in excellent spinning order with clarity of approx. 3-4 feet.
At 0.78m on the gauge this evening, it would still be high for fly-fishing, but it is dropping steadily
& should be coming into fly order in the next couple of days.

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Proprietor of Blackwater Lodge - Ireland's premier salmon fishing lodge - with his wife Glenda. The Lodge is situated 35 miles from Cork in a beautiful location overlooking the Blackwater river. 15 miles of private fishing. B&B/cottage accommodation, smokery, guides. Fly-casting & Fishing Tuition with Glenda (APGAI-IRL Salmon & Trout) – one of the world’s highest qualified female fly-casting instructors & Emerald World Masters Ladies Salmon Distance Casting Champion.

February: 5 fish caught in total, all between February 3-14 for only 30 rod days.
Joint Best February total since 2004 & joint Second Best total since 1994.

March 3: First on fly & Biggest of Season. Caught by Shane Kinsella (Wicklow) - ~12lb.
on a 1 1/2" aluminium Garry Dog tube on sink tip line.
March 4: First off the upper river. A 7 pounder on spinner for Tom Donovan at Castletownroche.

Season total to date: 7 fish.

Prospects
Looking very good for the coming week with a small (12cm) fresh on the river but very good clarity.
Dry forecast for the week so conditions should stabilise.


The Blackwater today @ 17.00. Gauge 0.54. Clarity excellent.

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Proprietor of Blackwater Lodge - Ireland's premier salmon fishing lodge - with his wife Glenda. The Lodge is situated 35 miles from Cork in a beautiful location overlooking the Blackwater river. 15 miles of private fishing. B&B/cottage accommodation, smokery, guides. Fly-casting & Fishing Tuition with Glenda (APGAI-IRL Salmon & Trout) – one of the world’s highest qualified female fly-casting instructors & Emerald World Masters Ladies Salmon Distance Casting Champion.

PJ Burns from Dublin caught an eight pounder at 3pm yesterday. He took it on spinner on the Lodge's lowest beat - Ballygally - about 2 miles below Ballyduff.
This is the third springer for March & the eighth for the season so far.


This is the Blackwater in absolutely fine fettle this morning.


The recent rain only brought the river up 12 cm by Saturday morning to 0.46m on the gauge.
It's down to 0.36m @ 18.45 this evening.

No fish taken today, but a couple seen again on Ballygally.
Conditions are absolutely perfect. Clarity about 4 feet, water temp. 47F.
Beautiful fly height with summer level.

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Proprietor of Blackwater Lodge - Ireland's premier salmon fishing lodge - with his wife Glenda. The Lodge is situated 35 miles from Cork in a beautiful location overlooking the Blackwater river. 15 miles of private fishing. B&B/cottage accommodation, smokery, guides. Fly-casting & Fishing Tuition with Glenda (APGAI-IRL Salmon & Trout) – one of the world’s highest qualified female fly-casting instructors & Emerald World Masters Ladies Salmon Distance Casting Champion.

The First on Floating Line!

Conor Arnold contacted me yesterday afternoon to ask if he could go trout fishing to Ballyhooly.
I suggested he go instead to Kilmurry with the salmon rod as it was free.
He caught a fresh fish at dusk (7.15pm) on a #10 shrimp fly on a floating line. It weighed 7lb. exactly.
This is more akin to summer fishing than spring with temperature in the afternoon up to 16°C.


This is the fourth springer for March which doesn’t sound a lot, but is remarkable when you consider
that there have been only 41 rod days so far for the whole month.
Total for the season so far is now nine.


This is the Blackwater in fantastic fly order at 9.00am this morning with clarity #5-6 feet.


Having held at 0.30 for about 4 days, the river is now dropping very slowly once more & was at 0.27m this morning at 9.00am.
Water temp. 48°F. Beautiful fly height with summer level.

Prospects
The forecast is for continuing dry weather for most of the week. The longer-range forecast is for a very wet start to April.
With few fresh fish running due to the summer level, a flood would be welcome.


Ireland Salmon Fishing
Blackwater Lodge
Daily Salmon Fishing Report

__________________
Proprietor of Blackwater Lodge - Ireland's premier salmon fishing lodge - with his wife Glenda. The Lodge is situated 35 miles from Cork in a beautiful location overlooking the Blackwater river. 15 miles of private fishing. B&B/cottage accommodation, smokery, guides. Fly-casting & Fishing Tuition with Glenda (APGAI-IRL Salmon & Trout) – one of the world’s highest qualified female fly-casting instructors & Emerald World Masters Ladies Salmon Distance Casting Champion.

April gets off to a Great Start!
Despite extremely low water in the first week of April, four springers were landed in 3 days for only 7 rod days in total.

We have had just one day so far this season when two springers were landed - by two different anglers
- which was February 5th. Yesterday (April 3) was the first day this year where one angler has landed
two fish in one day - and they were both on fly on two consecutive casts!
Kieran Conlon (Cork) managed to get away for only his second day fishing so far this season,
& I sent him to Lower Kilmurry on a cold blustery day with a NW wind & air temps from 7-10ºC.
Just before lunchtime he caught and released a lovely sea-liced fish on a Silver Grey tube fly
right up at the head of the Island Stream in the fast water - no surprise as water temp is now just above 52ºF.
This was his first springer of the 2012 season.
More surprising was the fact that he went back into the water & the very next cast caught
a second sea-liced fish from the very same spot. Both fish were like peas in a pod.
The second fish (above) was weighed in later at the Lodge at 8.3lb.
Kieran saw a number of other fish throughout the day.

John Lalor (Cahir) caught this 6lb sea-liced fish on fly on April 4th. This was his first fish for 2012.

Joe Tynan (Kildare) caught this 8.4lb. very fresh fish on spinner on April 5th. It was his First Ever Salmon!
It didn't have sea-lice but they had only just fallen off it.
It is one of the earliest ever recorded First Fish on the fishery!

---------- Post added at 01:31 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:30 AM ----------

The First Grilse of the 2012 Season is Caught!

APGAI_Ireland casting instructor Ken Stewart came down to visit the Lodge today (9th.)
& went out to the river about lunchtime for a cast on the Kilmurry beats.
About 4.00pm Glenda went down to meet him & she arrived at the Hut Pool to see Ken playing a fish.
She hopped out of the jeep, rolled up her trousers (no time to don the waders) & hopped into the water
to net a beautiful sea-liced 4 pound grilse that had taken Ken's tube fly.
This is probably the earliest grilse that has ever been taken on the fishery.

__________________
Proprietor of Blackwater Lodge - Ireland's premier salmon fishing lodge - with his wife Glenda. The Lodge is situated 35 miles from Cork in a beautiful location overlooking the Blackwater river. 15 miles of private fishing. B&B/cottage accommodation, smokery, guides. Fly-casting & Fishing Tuition with Glenda (APGAI-IRL Salmon & Trout) – one of the world’s highest qualified female fly-casting instructors & Emerald World Masters Ladies Salmon Distance Casting Champion.

Biggest Fish of the Season so far!!!!!!!

Jim Shanahan from Castletownroche was fishing an upper beat & phoned me to ask if he could switch to another upstream beat.
I suggested he come down as I heard it was quiet above. He arrived on Ballinaroone with his 11 yr old son James & within 15 minutes
James hooked & lost a fish on a Toby. Jim caught the Biggest Fish of the Season a few moments later - 12.4lb on Flying C at the Road Pool.

Yesterday a lovely sea-liced 7.3lb. fish was caught by Terry O’Keeffe (Midleton, Co. Cork) on Lower Kilmurry.

The river continues to fine off today & was at 0.25m at 16.00.
Another very fresh fish was caught today on spinner – only our second from the upper river.


The total for the Lodge fishery is now 8 fish for April to date for only 37 rod days.



This is the river below Blackwater Lodge at 16.00 today.


Gauge height 0.25m. Clarity ~4-5 feet

Prospects
There is more rain coming through the week, with storm conditions for tomorrow (Tuesday).

Availability
There's no problem for availability of fishing at present.

If you’d like to be kept up to date with what’s happening, email me on
info@ireland-salmon-fishing.net
& I’ll add you to our Newsletter circulation.


Ireland Salmon Fishing
Blackwater Lodge
Daily Salmon Fishing Report

Blackwater Lodge: Angling for Salmon on Ireland's Cork Blackwater at Blackwater Lodge and Salmon Fishery
Daily Salmon Fishing Report: Blackwater Lodge and Salmon Fishery, Upper Ballyduff, Co. Waterford, Ireland - Daily Updated Salmon Fishing Report page

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Proprietor of Blackwater Lodge - Ireland's premier salmon fishing lodge - with his wife Glenda. The Lodge is situated 35 miles from Cork in a beautiful location overlooking the Blackwater river. 15 miles of private fishing. B&B/cottage accommodation, smokery, guides. Fly-casting & Fishing Tuition with Glenda (APGAI-IRL Salmon & Trout) – one of the world’s highest qualified female fly-casting instructors & Emerald World Masters Ladies Salmon Distance Casting Champion.

Be sure to Bookmark this!
Blackwater Lodge Salmon Fishery Blog
Blackwater Lodge Salmon Fishery
New website feature - Salmon Fishing Blog. Immediate & historical news.
This should contain all the info put into postings on river conditions & catches & more...................


The Highest River Level so Far this Season!!

This was the Blackwater yesterday afternoon (18th).

The river peaked yesterday afternoon with the highest level so far this year - 1.75m.
The previous highest level was on the Opening Day on February 1 when it was at 1.10m
This should encourage a good run of fresh fish once it starts to fine off.

Fishing & accommodation are available in the coming weeks.

Falling Flood

The Blackwater today (19th.)at 09.30


The river fell rapidly overnight to 0.85m from it's peak yesterday afternoon of 1.75m.
The water is very dirty & is being held up by some of the local tributaries which are still running high & coloured.
Depending on any further rainfall it might possibly be spinnable (just) on the upper river tomorrow).

Brilliant prospects once the river fines off.

__________________
Proprietor of Blackwater Lodge - Ireland's premier salmon fishing lodge - with his wife Glenda. The Lodge is situated 35 miles from Cork in a beautiful location overlooking the Blackwater river. 15 miles of private fishing. B&B/cottage accommodation, smokery, guides. Fly-casting & Fishing Tuition with Glenda (APGAI-IRL Salmon & Trout) – one of the world’s highest qualified female fly-casting instructors & Emerald World Masters Ladies Salmon Distance Casting Champion.

Goodluck with the new look site, and thanks for the updates regarding the conditions, I see another big front due next week ,could Monday be a window suitable for the fly? PJ

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When you can see without being seen,strike without knowing why,and guess correctly where the best fish lie,they have taught you all they can.
(T.C. KINGSMILL MOORE)

Thanks PJ. It isn't a new look site but an addition to the existing info available. which can be updated more quickly.
Not sure about Monday - guess it all depends on the weather. Clarity has improved today & will be fishable tomorrow spin/worm maybe fly in a day or so..

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Proprietor of Blackwater Lodge - Ireland's premier salmon fishing lodge - with his wife Glenda. The Lodge is situated 35 miles from Cork in a beautiful location overlooking the Blackwater river. 15 miles of private fishing. B&B/cottage accommodation, smokery, guides. Fly-casting & Fishing Tuition with Glenda (APGAI-IRL Salmon & Trout) – one of the world’s highest qualified female fly-casting instructors & Emerald World Masters Ladies Salmon Distance Casting Champion.

Well fairplay for going to the trouble of putting it up ,might have to pull a sicky early next week if things pan out well.
SLÀN PJ.

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When you can see without being seen,strike without knowing why,and guess correctly where the best fish lie,they have taught you all they can.
(T.C. KINGSMILL MOORE)