Salmon Fishing Ireland 2017. " End of Season ".

          
The season has ended but I am just putting together all the footage that I have taken over the last week and trust me when I say that there is an awful lot of footage. I fished solid all week starting on the Lee river and then the Blackwater river and then back to the Lee when the Blackwater was too high to fish. Mostly I was spinning due to the big floods and water height but I had great sport catching 18 salmon ranging from 5 lbs all the way up to 16 lbs. I spent every evening of the last week of the season fishing from 4 o clock up until last light which was about 7 .45 pm and had done some prepping the previous week getting access to some spots which were well over grown with bushes and thorns but even that wasn't enough because when the high water came even those areas were almost impossible to fish from. Even the problem of  playing and landing fish  under tree canopies and among thorn bushes was nerve racking to say the least but it really tested my skill as an angler to be able to play the fish out and land them in this horrible environment especially in such high water conditions and sometimes gale force winds and lashing rain. The water was so fast that the spinner was not working and definitely not achieving the proper depth to cover the fish, so I had to make a few heavier Flying C's in one ounce weight and a size five blade but soon found that the heavier spinners were getting stuck very fast so I decided to leave the heavier bodies and just use a 4 blade to hold bottom and this did the trick. The most productive colour was the Black / Silver with a four blade in one ounce and spun upstream well above the target areas which allowed time for the spinners to achieve optimum depth and track well along the bottom moving the fish. I debarbed the spinners so that it would be easier to release the salmon and to be honest I did lose a few fish due to the salmon rolling and working out the hooks. I did lose a good fresh salmon on the second last day but to be honest I had such great sport it really didn't matter. On the second last day I hit a really good fish of about 16 / 17 lbs and that took some landing especially with the under water roots and thorns getting in my way and the fish knew where to go testing me out on every run. I eventually landed and released the salmon and the video will be up soon on this blog. The last day of the season I was hoping to get a couple more salmon to make it 20 for the week but arriving at the river I had a feeling that all was not right, call it intuition or a six sense but it didn't feel right, nothing like the previous few days all was quiet. I didn't meet anything or even get the odd bump from a fish during the first hour or so and I had been doing this all week getting a pull here or there and even a run and then dropping the spinner but not on this day. Going up to beat 1 I started spinning and suddenly hit something funny with a few head shakes and then nothing just a weight on the line I realized that I had a small jack pike on of about 5 lbs which I quickly unhooked and released but still things were quiet, no salmon jumping or any normal activity that I was used to over the last week. Then I saw the problem and it weighed about 200 kilos A BIG FAT SEAL had made it's way 7 miles upstream from the sea and was harassing the salmon all over the pool .... that was it my last day was prematurely over there was no chance of a salmon now so I decided to quit and call an end to my season. I must get my Shimano Stradic reel serviced and a new bail arm spring fitted, it has given me excellent service over the last 9 years not letting me down once and it's amazing what a small bit of oil does for it making it spin like new every time. I must get a new pair of waders for next season as I have Aqua sealed my ones to death, there is 40% wader now and 60% Aqua seal and when it's warm there is no way they are breathable more like a sauna. Over all I had a good season only gripe is that I should have taken a fresh salmon earlier in the year and not have waited till now, will know better next time. There will be five videos coming in quick succession over the next week showing the fun I had over the last week of the season and hopefully I will be able to do it all again next year. Tight Lines. If anyone has any queries on salmon fishing equipment, tackle. set-ups etc., just message me and if I can help I will.