Now we're into the extension of the season ...................

The Extension to October 12th.
There are very few places in the Republic where you can fish for salmon up to October 12.
We are fortunate enough to have been granted this on a trial basis  for this year,
as our runs of fish seem to be coming later and later each year.
The extension is Fly Only, Single Barbless & Catch & release.

Special Late Offer €60/day.
To ensure that we have plenty of rods fishing to help collect data,
we are now offering fishing from now until October 12th. for just €60/rod day.

Promising Prospects.
We have experienced the same phenomenon as most rivers in September with fish being
very reluctant to take.  We have however a very large head of fish in the system,
with lots of fish being seen on most beats each day.

Fly Works Best!

 
For September, the fly caught more fish that all the other methods put together
which bodes well for the Fly Only extension.
The September total was 138 of which 74 fell to fly.
93 of the fish were released.

The last 12 days of September saw 75 fish caught - of which 41 fell to fly.
Whilst fish were elusive, some anglers managed to do very well. Gerard Bonnet's 3 rod party
from Britanny, France caught 27 fish to 13lb. for their week including 8 on the fly.

 
Terry McDermott's party from N. Ireland
also had 7 to 10lb. - all on fly.

This fish was taken on the 29th. on the lower river.
It weighed 9.9lb, & was covered in sea-lice.

 Moderate amounts of rain have given us a small (11cm) fresh on the upper river on October 1st.
Hopefully this will encourage more fresh fish to run.

 This translated into a 6cm fresh on the lower river.
Clarity is superb.

This is the river yesterday at midday.
Height 0.39m
Perfect medium high summer level.
Clarity ~ 5 feet.
Absolutely ideal fly conditions.

I've never seen so many salmon in the river..............

 This is what many anglers have
been saying to me when they
come back from the river in the
last week or so.

Huge numbers of fish but not inclined to take anything.



This is the river yesterday
with the Ballyduff gauge on 0.40m.

The lower river is now at
its lowest level since June 2.


The clarity was ~4-5 feet but appeared to drop to about 3 feet yesterday.

The upper river is also falling steadily
and is at its lowest level since July 30.

On some beats, anglers are
seeing huge numbers of fish
- both rather coloured residents
but also fresh fish running,

They had however been
remarkably difficult to catch.
Yesterday, things picked up with 4 fish to 11.4lbs. 2 French anglers had 3 fish to 11.4lb - 2 on the fly.

This lovely 10 pounder was taken by John Lambourn
from the UK on fly on the Hut Pool on Upper Kilmurry
on September 13.

The First Autumn Fish
Jean-Francois Le Meur (right) from Britanny
caught the first autumn fish I have seen this month
on the fly at the Hut Pool on Upper Kilmurry.
It was absolutely fresh & weighed 11.4lb.
he released another fish of 5lb.

His brother Andre (left) had a fresh 8 pounder
from the same pool also on fly.

Prospects
It looks as if fish are starting to come on the take finally.
Fly is by far the most successful method so far for September.

It's looking very promising indeed for the extension
to October 12th.

I have already had 3 fish reported so far
by 11.00am - all on the fly.

River now in perfect condition......

This is the Blackwater below the Lodge
this afternoon.

In perfect condition.
Medium high summer level & excellent clarity.

The spell of dry weather has seen the river
drop to an excellent height for the time of year
& it has now fined off to superb clarity.

The height at Killavullen is now 1.34m.
The clarity is ~5 feet.

The lower river is also dropping  slowly & steadily & is now at a super fly height & clarity.

The gauge is on 0.50m this afternoon.
The clarity is ~5 feet.

There are huge numbers of fish running
the upper & lower river, but they are intent
on running & are not taking well at all.

So far we have 53 fish to 17.2lb for 112 rod days for September.

The total for the season is 435.






Prospects
There was a small amount of rain this orning, but the forecast is now dry for the rest of the week.
The river should continue to fine off & hopefully the huge numbers of fish running & already present will come on the take.

River continues to drop.........................

The river continues to drop slowly but steadily.
1.39m @ Killavullen & 0.52m @ Ballyduff this morning.
Clarity ~5 feet throughout.
We had 8 fish caught yesterday including 3 on fly for one rod in an hour in the morning around 9.00am.
Still very large numbers of fish being seen, but still reluctant to take.

The river continues to fine off.....

This was the river below the Lodge at 15.00 today.

A glorious day with the sun splitting the stones.

Not something we've been used to this summer at all.

The Ballyduff gauge was at 0.56m at 15.00.

This means that many of the fly runs are now becoming accessible.

This is the lowest level since August 3.

Clarity is now 4-5 feet.

The Killavullen gauge is at 1.39m @ 15.00

The clarity is ~ 5 feet.

There are very large numbers of fish being seen, especially on our upper beats between Ballyhooly and Mallow.

Some of the lower beats also have a very big head of fish in them, with a number of larger (double figure) resident fish.

The fish are very hard to temp since Monday, though some are falling to very small shrimp flies on intermediate tips.


The total for August to the 6th (so far) is 39 fish to 17.2lb for 54 rod days.
The total for the season to date is 421.


Prospects
The dry weather is due to continue up to the weekend.
The river is fining off well & the clarity is approaching 5 feet throughout.
Prospects of sport once the fish settle is excellent.

Best Day & Second Best Fish of Season.........

September has started rather well.
On the 1st., six fish were caught including 5 on fly.

Best Day of 2012 - September 2
The water was falling & clearing from the most recent flood, we recorded the Best Day so far this year with 19 fish to 12lb. caught for 16 rod days.
Two anglers had 4 each on fly, including a 12 pounder & another had 3 to 11.4lb which was his Personal Best. 10 in total fell to fly.
In the last 2 days, large numbers of fish have been seen running on both the upper & lower river, but they are surprisingly reluctant to take.

On the 3rd., seven fish were caught 
including this fine 10.7 pounder
which was taken on fly on our lowest beat
~3 miles downstream of the Lodge
by Peter Duggan from Co. Tipperary.

The Second Biggest of the 2012 Season

Yesterday (4th.) 80 years young Ken Tucker from Carlow
landed this fine 17.2lb fish on Kents all on his own
- some achievement.

It is the biggest fish he has caught for many years!

Now the rains have finally stopped,
the river is fining off into superb condition.

The gauge at Killavullen is now at 1.42m
and the clarity of the water is 4-5 feet.

Big numbers of fish are being reported running through the upper beats again this morning.

The Ballyduff gauge continues to drop steadily but slowly.  This morning it was on 0.60m - the lowest it has been since August 3rd. 


The clarity is ~4 feet, but it is still rather peaty.

This is the river below the Lodge this morning.

Prospects.
The prospects for the next week are excellent.
As the river drops, fish should settle & come on the take.
There is a huge head of fish in the upper river, & there have been a number of double figure fish caught on the lower river which were obviously residents & not just running through.

Availability
For rods & B&B accommodation is OK in the coming weeks. There is some self-catering accommodation still available also.

Fish are starting to take the fly...........

This was the Blackwater on this beautiful sunny day at 08.00 this morning.

What a complete change in the weather.

The forecast is for dry weather right thru' to the end of next week.

The river is continuing to fall & fine off.

The Ballyduff gauge was on 0.77m this morning.

The Killavullen gauge webpage has not been updated since 22.45 last night at which time it was on 1.57m.
Hopefully it will be back online soon.

The clarity is 2-2½ feet on the lower river, &
2½-3 feet on the upper river, & improving steadily all the time.


Catches & Prospects
By 10.00, I had already heard of a couple of fish on fly on one of our upper beats.
Size 14 Cascade on intermediate tip was working.
I also heard of at least 3 other fish on fly from other private beats by then. 

With the good forecast & the river settling, prospects for sport in the coming week are awesome!

The river drops & fish are starting to take.............

The rain has finally stopped & the weather is starting to get warmer.

The upper river peaked in the very early hours of yesterday morning @ 2.18m and has been falling steadily since.

It was down to 1.59m this evening, and the clarity on the upper river was 2 feet or more by evening.

The lower river peaked @ 1.50m in the early hours of yesterday & has fallen steadily since.

It is down to 0.80m by 20.00 this evening & the clarity here is also improving rapidly.

This was the river below the Lodge at noon today with the level already down to 0.85m & clarity improving.

Now the rain has stopped & the water level is falling, fish are being met more frequently.










There were only 2 rods fishing yesterday & one 5 pounder was released on an upper beat.

Today, there were 4 rods fish & one pair had 3 fish of 5 (released), 6 & 9lb. all on spinner on our upper beats. Another fish was lost on an upper beat & a double figure fish lost on a lower beat.

Plenty of fish were seen on the upper river especially in the morning, & fish were starting to show on the lower river too.



Prospects.
The Irish 5 day forecast & YR.no forecast for next week are giving dry weather right through to the end of next week, so the river should come rapidly into excellent condition.
The prospects of sport for the coming week are superb.

The last flood.........................?

15mm rain fell during the night & another 8mm this morning.
The Ballyduff gauge peaked this lunchtime @ 1.46m & was down to 1.30 by 16.30.
Moderate clarity @ 1-1½ feet.

At Killavullen, the river peaked yesterday @ 2.01m at 14.00 fell until 20.00 when it rose again - peaking again at 2.14m @ 06.30 this morning.

It fell again to 1.84m  @ 14.00 today but has now risen 7cm since.

Prospects
Dry summery weather after today thru' the weekend at least.
The river should come into fishable order before the weekend.


Just 2 rods fished yesterday
& although conditions weren't ideal,
Sigi Hummelsberger from Germany
had 2 fish including this 12 pounder
which he released alive.

Latest flood fining off................

There were no fish caught yesterday as the water was heavy & coloured. The upper river is dropping steadily & clarity is close to  2 feet on the upper beats.

The lower river peaked late last night @ 1.30m & is back to 1.00m at 11.00 this morning.
Clarity is similar.

The is some more rain forecast for tonight & then it is summer right through to early next week!
Prospects for the weekend could be brilliant!

And yet another flood.........................

There was just one fish caught yesterday which was an extremely fresh 5 pounder from our very top beat 28 miles upriver which was a bit surprising as most of the fish seem moving in the last 2 days didn't look very fresh.

Yet more rain has brought the river up once again.
I had 19mm on my gauge this morning.
The upper river at Killavullen rose 40cm to 2.01m
peaking at 14.00 this afternoon.

The lower river is rising slowly all day & was at 1.20m @ 16.30 this afternoon from it's level yesterday evening of 0.86m.
The clarity was surprisingly good at 1 1/2 - 2 feet.










Prospects
There is some more rain forecast up to Wednesday though hopefully not as much as recently.
The forecast then right through from Thursday into the weekend is warm, dry & sunny.
Perhaps we'll have some semblance of summer in the river and the weather over the weekend.

Third Best Day of Season between the floods......

The river had dropped off & started to fine down on Friday 24th., which was the joint third Best Day of the Season with 10 fish to 13.4lb. caught.

Heavy localised showers caused the upper river to river yet again on Saturday.
It was completely out of order for Saturday 25th.

This was the picture for the upper river up to this morning.

The lower river was also completely unfishable yesterday (Sat. 25th.)

Today the clarity has improved somewhat to 1 - 1.5 feet on the lower river & about 2 feet on the upper river.

I already have a report of a very fresh 5 pounder caught on our top beat just below Mallow today after only 3 casts.

Friday 25th. was the 3rd. best Day of 2012.
Francesco Legario was Top Rod with four fish from our top beat just below Mallow.
Pat O'Donovan landed 3 at Bridgetown, keeping only a 13.4lb. & releasing 2 grilse.

There looks to be yet more rain from tonight to Wednesday!!!!!!!

Six fish yesterday..................

The upper river at Killavullen was rising & falling repeatedly in the last 36 hours.
It is now falling once again. The Ballyduff gauge was also still rising at nightfall
from 1.06 in the morning to 1.20m by nightfall. It was down again to 1.06m by this morning.
Clarity is barely 1 foot on the upper river & ~2 feet on the lower.

This was the river below the Lodge at 12.15 today.
It has fallen a further 6cm to 1.00m.

Six Fish to 9lb. were caught yesterday.
We have also had 3 First Ever Salmon caught
in the last 3 days.

The total for so far for August is 79 to 13.9lb
for 109 rod days.

The season total to date is 366.


More rain is expected this evening & tomorrow.

Six floods in August.........

 

We have had six floods since the beginning of August and the average Ballyduff gauge height to date is 1.28m.
The average height for August for the previous 8 years is 0.47m (varying from 0.10 to 0.98m).
The highest level during this month was 2.90m on August 16^th.
Between the numerous floods, the river comes back into order quite quickly is fishing improves during these windows.
On the 6^th., we shattered the Best Day record for 2012 with 18 fish to 12.9lb. landed.
The August total to date is nevertheless 73 to 13.9lb for 93 rod days to the 21^st.
Yesterday - 5 fish were caught - four by women, two of which were First Ever Salmon.

The season total to date is 360.

 

River fining off

The river continued to drop today with the upper river down to 1.70m & the lower river down at 0.88 by evening.
7 fish to 13.9lb were caught today - 6 from the upper river & a 10 pounder from the lower river.
The forecast remains dry up to Sunday so the prospects are excellent for Friday & Saturday at least.
Total for August is now 39 fish for 39 rod days.

River falling fast. Three fish caught in high dirty water.....

The upper river has fallen to 1.85m @ 18.15 this evening.
The lower river is down to 1.02m @ 22.00. Clarity improving rapidly.

There were three fish to 8lb. taken on one of the upper beats this afternoon.
With no rain, the conditions are improving rapidly & should be much better for tomorrow.

The upper river peaked at 19.15 last night @ 3.73m.
It is down to 2.00 at 10.15 this morning.

The Ballyduff gauge peaked in the early hours of this morning at 2.30m.
It is already down to 1.90m @ 10.00.
Clarity poor but silty which will drop out quickly. Could be spinnable down river by afternoon
in the few places that fish in this height of water. Similar situation upriver.