Salmon Fishing Ireland 2015.. Opening Day 2015 Laune River.

Opening Day January 17th on the Laune River in Kerry.
After driving over the county bounds from Cork to Killarney in quite bad road conditions we finally arrived at the Laune river to be greeted by very high water levels and extremely cold conditions. Having a look at the bridge over the Laune river  it was evident that Beat 1 was our only hope as the water was too high to really fish any where else. There were about twelve anglers brave enough to turn up and give it a go with some kelts and fine trout being caught and released but there was no sign of a fresh salmon until after nine o clock when there were many phone calls sent and received that the First salmon of the 2015 season, a fish of about 10lbs was caught on the Long Range which is an area of water between the Lower and Upper Lakes. Talking to one of the Fisheries Officers he confirmed that a report of a fresh salmon had been caught so it looks like the season has finally started with a bang in Kerry. Having fished all of Beat 1 to no avail i decided to head downstream to the Bridge and Beat 2 for a change of scenery and maybe a change of luck. Darren and myself fished hard for a few more hours and were rewarded with some fine trout and a very healthy kelt which were all released.

Here are some pictures of Beats 1 & 2 showing the water levels on the opening day.

Meeting some of the long standing anglers that brave the elements and fish the Laune every opening day like myself i was informed that sadly five of our older anglers had passed away since the last opening day , this made me reflect on how lucky we as anglers are to be able to get out and  enjoy nature even in the harshest of weather conditions for the love of our passion..... FISHING.

Salmon Fishing Ireland 2015 " Season 2015 First Day "

                         OPENING DAY JANUARY 1st.  2015 THE DROWES SALMON FISHERY.                        
                         

We decided to travel the long journey from Cork to Bundoran to fish the opening day of the 2015 Salmon season on the Drowes Salmon fishery even though we knew that the weather was going to be a howler with strong gales, heavy rain and to make matters worse a very high river because we are not fine weather fishermen ( but a nice day would have helped ). Luckily there were about one hundred other ( nutters) / fishermen there so we didn't feel out of place. On arriving we collected our permits from Shane and got the inside track on where the first salmon might be holding up and off we went rods in hand to catch the first fish. The wind was a nightmare gusting from all sides of the river thus making fly casting a bit tricky but watching many of the anglers there i was delighted to see that there was a very good standard of fishing and bank etiquette even on a very busy day. Starting near the lodge we fished down river covering both banks with both fly and spinner but were unable to contact any fish, i started fly fishing using a Guideline sink 1 / 2 fly line attached to a Rio 3.9ips sinking versi tip and a Pauls favourite fly covering all the river i was able to get well down into the deep pools even with the heavy fast water but no takers. Moving down river we fished hard through all the pools with Dean hooking and losing a small kelt which raised our spirits for awhile, deciding to move back up river we called into the lodge for our lunch and a much deserved break from the foul weather and fishing. Shane had promised hot soup and sandwiches and true to his word we were well fed and after a bit of drying out we headed back out fishing. Optimistic to the last, we and a hundred other anglers expected to catch the first salmon on the first day but it wasn't to be, that special springer eluded us all but i reckon that it will be caught as soon as the water level drops off.

 We will definitely be coming back to fish this lovely river soon, but on a nice dry day with lower water conditions and a better chance of a silver tourist.