Another Piece of the Salmon Stock Improvement Jigsaw!


Following on from my previous newsletter regarding the Government?s commitment to ending drift netting, there has been another hugely interesting development on the Blackwater.



A report published last week by the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural resources, and prepared by Mr John O?Keeffe, Divisional Engineer, Engineering Division recommends that the weir at Clondulane be removed because it impedes the flow of fish up the river and serves no useful purpose.


The Blackwater catchment is a special area of conservation. There are two 2.4 metre high weirs in the lower Blackwater at Clondulane and Fermoy that significantly delay the free and uninterrupted migration of Salmon.


It is recommended that :-

- the Clondulane weir be removed completely to allow the free passage of all migratory fish.

- Fermoy weir be significantly lowered.

- a rock ramp fish pass be installed in the lowered (Fermoy) weir to enable free passage.



For more information on this, look at the Newspage on

http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net/N ... -07-25.htm



If these recommendations are carried out, it will significantly improve the fishing on the Lodge?s nine beats on the upper river above Fermoy.

The Current Fishing Situation

Netting Season ends on July 31
Notwithstanding the fact that the estuary nets had a significantly reduced quota this year, the end of their season should ensure that a lot more fish run the river in August.



River/Fishing Conditions
The river is at low summer level at the moment ? only 0.23m on the gauge. There are a lot of fish waiting both in the tidal reaches & in Youghal Bay outside the river mouth for a rise in the river to start to run.

Great sport is anticipated as soon as sufficient rain comes to raise the river level.

Until then, fishing is challenging although occasional fish are still being taken on fly or shrimp. The fly has been the most successful method in both June & July. Catch numbers appear low for these months, but the fishing effort has been very low with less than 10 rods/day fishing in June & 7 rods/day in July. Both rod days & catches will improve significantly as soon as the river rises & fish start running.

Hopefully we may see a similar occurrence to 2004, when 10 days of heavy rain at the beginning of August caused a huge run of fish. In the last 7 weeks of that season, 850 salmon were taken with only ~ 15 rods/day fishing!



There is plenty of availability of accommodation and fishing for the rest of the month & into August. September is filling up quickly, so if you are thinking of an autumn fishing break, be sure to contact us quickly to avoid being disappointed.

Best Regards & Tight Lines
Ian Powell (Proprietor)
Blackwater Lodge Hotel & Salmon Fishery
(Voted Best Fishing Hotel 2005 by the readers of the UK magazine Today's Flyfisher!)
Upper Ballyduff
Co. Waterford
Ireland
Email: info@ireland-salmon-fishing.net
Web: http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net
Tel: 00 353 58 60235 From UK: 0871 474 0135 (10p/min any time!)
Fax: 00 353 58 60162 From UK: 0871 474 0136 (10p/min any time!)
Mobile: 00 353 87 235 21 20
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