Wednesday 15 May 2013

Salmon Fishing Ireland 2013, The Dam Fishery.



Over the last week or so the dam has been generating high volumes of water making it very hard to fish due to the height and speed of the water. Using a 25gr size four blade black / gold flying c i was able to get down through the fast turbulent water and slow the spinner down over the salmon lies. I got two aggressive takes before the salmon got hold of the spinner and cartwheeled downstream taking line from my reel. Forcing the fish back upstream i quickly brought the fight to me, playing out the salmon close in and fast so that i could get it on the bank and release it. The problem is that the bank is very narrow with a lot of cut tree stumps which are very sharp so one has to take great care that neither the line or the fish become tangled up in these. As you can see in the video when releasing the salmon there are stumps everywhere so great care must be taken at all times and this only adds to the fight making it more stressful. Luckily i tailed the fish first time and with only one hook inside the mouth i quickly removed it and released the salmon. During the day i lost one more fish and saw a nice fresh six pound salmon being taken by another angler. Spinning in very high water is really back breaking work, roll on the low water so that i can put a fly across some fish and take things easy for a change.
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Location: Cork, Co. Cork, Ireland

9 comments:

  1. Unknown16 May 2013 at 11:23

    Well done Paul.I caught my best salmon of the season today, using your method of spinning a black and silver size 3 flying c upstream. the salmon was 10/11 pound and put up a great fight. regards Kieran.

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  2. Paul Hanley16 May 2013 at 16:11

    Hi Kieran, there are a good few anglers gaining great results with my upstream spinning method and some of them are fishing the blackwater and like you are meeting good fish. Regards Paul.

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  3. Arek19 May 2013 at 07:17

    Hi Paul, I did go fishing yesterday and the Dam was damn low low water. I 've checked all beats and nothing. I was expecting high water this time round !!! but they know how to surprise you. Found two flying-C's and have lost few salmon flies. Again nothing !! I need someone who will bring me a little bit more luck- Where were you Paul ;-) just joking but it would be a pleasure to meet you again.... I have bought a new spin rod+reel so now prepared for high and low water but not that low :-). I was thinking to go again this evening but not sure if the water will be on OK or very low again....

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  4. Arek19 May 2013 at 12:38

    Hi there, I didn't do fishing today I gave up when I saw this low low water again mate. I stopped by just for two sec spoke to two anglers that have been fishing beat one wood side and drove back to cork. I will try maybe Tue evening session; I hope to meet better water conditions……

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  5. Paul Hanley19 May 2013 at 16:52

    Hi Arek, with no real rain due for a few days the dam probably won't be generating any water so its going to be low. You have to learn to fish the beats in low water with fly and trust me you can catch them in these low conditions, just look at my videos from last year when i caught many fish in low water. As for me fishing the dam i can only give it a few hours twice a week. Regards Paul.

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  6. Arek20 May 2013 at 13:33

    Hi Paul, On Saturday and Sunday water level was that low that I could walk from one side to another on beat one ;-). I remember that you said on one of your video's that you fish lower beats when water is low right? What beat was most productive last season in low water? I am thinking about going Tue for an evening session....

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    1. Paul Hanley20 May 2013 at 17:18

      Hi Arek, if there is no one fishing the dam i would start at the top and work my way down to beat 4 at the bottom fishing a very small size 15 fly. All the beats will have salmon but with the low water they will be well hidden. I have a trick of casting my salmon fly upstream and drawing it down through the pools when i'm leaving and sometimes a fish will come out and chase the fly coming at a different angle. So knowing this i will rest the pool and come back later and give it more time as i know that it is live water ( fish present ). The lower beats are the best in low water but you have to fish all of them, you never know where a fresh fish will stop. Regards Paul.

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  7. Arek21 May 2013 at 16:35

    Hi Paul,
    Thanks for your advice.
    I did some fly fishing this evening but I think that the flies that i use might be a little bit to big....no takers. I have checked all beats again and I could call it flying C picking day as I haven't met any salmon but found like 10 C's. I saw one salmon jumping up and tried to fish the place where I saw him but looks like he wasn't interested. I will not give up but I still think that there is something that I am doing wrong.....Rgds

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  8. Paul Hanley21 May 2013 at 17:49

    Hi Arek, just be patient sometimes it just takes a little longer than you think but once you catch your fish it will all be worth it. Regards Paul.

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