Inniscarra Dam Salmon Fishery

As i  have said before the best time to catch springers at the Dam Fishery is when the water is at half load, that's about three feet above normal levels compared to full load which is about six feet. That water allows the salmon to make the journey over the Weir at the staight road and the Ballincollig weir without to much effort. Half load just allows the water to cover the groynes and this gives the salmon a break from the heavy flow in which to rest up for a short period and that gives the angler a chance to catch a fish. Getting down deep in the water column is the next step to increasing ones chances as salmon seldon rise up in cold fast water, so either a sinking line or sink tips is a must. Then there is the salmon fly, i prefer a bright fly for start of season due to there being cold coloured water and a bright fly can be seen and i find that this can initiate a response from most salmon. I have cascades tied in bright yellow and some tied in bright green just for heavy coloured water and they have caught me many good salmon. Using large doubles is a must as they don't damage the salmons mouth as much as a treble hook , the double will stay in one place but the treble will move as the salmon chomps down transferring the treble around the mouth and this can lead to lost fish. A good quality heavy flurocarbon tippet is also important because the last thing you want is to break in a salmon especially as they are so hard to come by in the early months, one can scale back to a lighter tippet for low clear water during the summer months. Remember the long hard days without seeing or touching a salmon in bad cold weather will make you appreciate the easier fish during the summer months.