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• Editorial
• Articles
• Features
• Angling News 
• Fly Fishing Around the World
• Fishing Reports
• Photo Gallery
• Golf Guide for Anglers
• Angling Rambles
• Book Reviews
• Zen and the Art of Angling
• Archived Content

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Blackwater Lodge Fishing Reports

 

Call Tel:

 00 353 58 60235     Fax: 00 353 58 60162

 

 

 

 

 

 

An Invitation to Come And Join our Party at Blackwater Lodge on Saturday, 4th. September, 2010 from 7pm.

Blackwater Lodge came into existence in 1971. It was originally the railway station for Upper Ballyduff - which closed in 1967. The previous owner bought the station & started to extend in 1971 - the birth of the Blackwater Lodge as we know it today.

It was acquired by Ian at the beginning of the 1986 season, so 2010 is a milestone year in its history as this is the 25th. anniversary year of Ian's ownership. It also coincides with his birthday, which is on September 6!
 

The Way It Was!

 

The Station in 1956 The building to the right of the engine was the Gents Toilet. The stone walls you can see there now feature in the Lounge as the toilets are now the drinks store for guests alcoholic beverages! The steam engine is situated right on what is now the entrance to the Breakfast Room from the Lounge!

 

The Station in 1964. The building on the left is the Station Master's House. It is still in existence intact today. This view is looking from the rear of the Lodge. Much of the platforms are still there. What is now the Lodge Breakfast Room is built right on top of the old line.

 I (Glenda) am organizing a party for him, here at the Lodge on September 4th from 7pm, and we will be having a finger food buffet/BBQ and wine reception. As we now operate on a BYOB (bring your own booze) basis, you're welcome to bring whatever drink you wish. After this - there will be music and dancing and....

We ain't going down till the sun comes up!"

Needless to say - accommodation is limited for us in September as it is our busiest month. If you are thinking of staying overnight, and you are not fishing with us  then I may be able to help you organize accommodation in the local area. I am very much looking forward to seeing you all at the celebrations. Please don't forget to email me and let me know if you are coming. By the way, if you have any photos (prints) from your visits to the Lodge over the years, could you please send them to me or bring them with you,  I am going to have a display set up in the Lodge for the night.  Here's hoping to see you soon..........................

 

Biggest Fish of 2010 caught on Saturday, August 7th. - on fly!

 

Gavin Wishart (Newcastle, Co. Down) caught a slightly coloured May fish on the 7th. on a small gold shrimp pattern on the Lug Pool on Lower Kilmurry gillied by Connie Corcoran. Connie estimated the fish @ 14-15lb. and it was quickly released. Gavin & Connie caught five fish for the day, releasing four.
 

There were eleven fish caught for 10 rod days on the 7th. - the best day so far for August. Martin Heffer (UK) caught his first ever salmon and it was on fly on a guided day with Glenda.

 

Current Situation
 

Total for the first 8 days of August is 35 fish for 53 rod days, a remarkable figure when one takes into account that the river level has been very low during this time going from 0.17m on the 1st. to 0.15m on the 8th.

Clarity is a slightly murky 4-5 feet.  A big flood would be welcome to flush out the river & to bring in the huge number of fish that are waiting in the tidal reaches for a rise to encourage them to run the main river. There are plenty of fish showing in the pools on the lower river and some fish running every day.
 

Newsletter - August 2, 2010

The Best Ever July Catch in Terms of Fish Caught / Rod Day

 

Playing a grilse on the Island Stream on Beat 6 - Lower Kilmurry on July 26th.

The month of July produced 169 salmon for a total of only 183 rod days.
This is the sixth best total for the month since I took over the Lodge at the beginning of 1986. It is the best catch for the month since the year 2000, when 263 were caught for 750 rod days. It also includes the two Best Fish of the Season which were both caught on fly on the same day on Beat 3 - Ballinaroone by Mossy McElligott (12.4lb) & Tim Quinlivan (11.9lb). There have also been at least four very large fish lost in the second half of the month.

The table below shows the figures for the six best months of July. Only the all-time record year of 1992  (when 1511  fish were taken) has a comparable catch/rod day!

 

Year	Catch	Rods	Catch/Rod Day
1988	383	n/a	n/a
1998	296	650	0.46
1993	280	600	0.47
2000	264	750	0.35
1992	222	250	0.89
2010	168	183	0.92

Total catch for the season to date is 212.

Current Situation

The river is still fining off slowly from the small floods on July 19 & 23. It is now @ 0.16m on the gauge with ~5 feet clarity.

Once again there is a huge buildup of fresh fish in the tidal reaches & a good number are running into the main river. Some of the lower beat - in particular Kents & Lower Kilmurry - are hold a good head of fish.

Prospects
With predominantly dry weather for the coming week, the river remain at summer level. There are plenty of fish running - both hefty grilse & larger summer salmon.
 

The Heaviest Fish of the Season is Caught on Fly on Sunday, July 25.

Sunday, July 25th.

Mossy McElligott (Tralee) caught the Best Fish of the Season with a 12.4lb on fly on Ballinaroone & his fishing partner Tim Quinlivan also had two on fly of 11.9 & 9.1lb. Tim's largest was also the second heaviest weighed fish this year.

Current Situation

The lower river rose until nightfall on Thursday(22nd. & held overnight at 0.62m Friday morning. This was rather odd as the upper river was falling steadily during the day. It is good to see that rate of fall of the level is slower than it was before now the groundwater is building up with the recent rains.

On Friday 24th.

 

The level fell from 0.62 to 0.50m by evening. Clarity was poor at only 1-1½ feet so spinning was the order of the day. In spite of the conditions, 11 fish were taken including a 10.7 pounder for Martin Ceillier from Dublin on his birthday – and it was only his second ever salmon. His wife Barbara also hooked a huge silver fish at the Jole above the island on Lower Kilmurry which jumped as soon as it was hooked then turned & headed for the sea, emptying her reel in its one & only run & broke her. Glenda estimated it at 18-20lb.

On Saturday 24th.

 

The river was still very peaty with clarity 2- 2½ feet, but fined off a bit & fell slowly to 0.50m by nightfall. Sixteen fish were taken for 11 rod days, including a 12lb. released by Gavin Wishart (N. Ireland) – who had 4 for the day – and a 10.8 pounder for Karen Murphy from Cahir. Both Kieran Conlon & Terry O’Keeffe had 3 fish each (5 on fly). Kieran played a fish on fly for a good while which he reckoned was close to 20lb. & a bar of silver.

On Sunday 25th.

 

The level fell from 0.32 in the morning to 0.30m by evening & the clarity was improving to 3 feet. 11 fish were taken for only 6 rod days – 7 on fly.

The total for the season to date is 187. The July total to the 25th. is an impressive 146 for only 145 rod days, which is already the highest recorded since 2003 when 162 were taken. Most of the grilse caught in the last week have been much better fish – mainly in the 4-6lb. class. 136 have been taken in the last 17 days for 134 rod days, of which 63 came to 39 rod days in the last 6 days.

Prospects

With predominantly dry weather for the coming week, the river will be fining off nicely. There are plenty of fish running - hefty grilse, some good fish in the 10-12lb. class caught and three fish in the last week which were reckoned to be in the 18-20lb. class lost – so the prospects of sport for the coming week look superb. Just had a report today - Monday 26th. - of a fish around 20lb. lost yet again on Beat 11. Gauge height this morning was 0.28m.

Where to meet us

Glenda is fly-casting demonstrator at the Irish Game & Country Fair at Birr Castle in Co. Offaly on August 28 & 29th. We will also have a stand at the Fair.
 

Newsletter - July 20, 2010

 

Another small flood on July 16 and records fall!

In my last newsletter on July 14, I gave details of the Best Day of the Season & Best Catch from One Beat in One Day achieved on July 13th.

Last Friday (16th.) we had another flood which took the gauge to 0.82m. By Sunday 18th., the river was in cracking order & both records fell!Glenda took our kids to the river on Sunday. They caught 3 - one each on worms
& Ian Jnr. caught a second on spinner - all by himself. Not bad for 7 years old!
 

 

Sunday, July 18th, 2010

Best Catch from One Beat in One Day:

Three rods caught nine fish at Woodstream.

 - mostly grilse up to 6lb.

- all were caught on spinner & all nine fish were released alive.

 

Best Day of the Season so far:

 

A total of 23 fish were caught for 15 rod days.

 

 

 

Beat 1:    1 grilse.
Beat 2:    3 caught. Best 6lb.
Beat 4:    1 First Ever caught.
Beat 11:  9 caught on spinner. All released.
Beat 12:  4 caught.
Beat 16:  5 caught to 9.6lb. 

 

There was another 0.90m flood on the river yesterday, but nevertheless Ragnhild "Ducky" Tofte from Norway managed to catch her First Ever salmon on Kilmurry having lost one earlier in the day as well.

Today - 20th. - even although the water was very peaty, there were ten fish caught for a total of 5 rod days. With the river fining off & large runs of fish coming in the prospects of fish being caught are absolutely superb for the coming week. We have caught 83 fish for only 100 rod days in the last 12 days.

 

A small flood on July 11 gets fish moving!

Our previous best day this year was only six fish.  Yesterday, we saw a dramatic improvement.

 
Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

 

Best Catch from One Beat in One Day:

 

Two rods caught eight fish today at Bridgetown Abbey  - mostly grilse around the 3lb. mark. Six were caught on fly & two on spinner. All eight fish were released alive. Mick Kennedy caught 5 (best ~6lb.) & Billy Jewitt caught three. Seven of the fish were caught in a 2 hour "moment of madness".

 

Best Day of the Season so far:

 

A total of 20 fish were caught for 11 rod days.

 

Beat 3:    4 caught. 1 on fly.  Best 9.7 & 11lb.
Beat 7:    4 caught. All on fly. Best 6.5lb.
Beat 8:    1 caught.  4lb.
Beat 9:    8 caught. 6 on fly & all released. Best 6lb.
Beat 16:  3 caught. 1 on fly. Best 6lb. 
                Including a First Ever salmon for John-Paul O'Brien

 

River Report for June
 

The river level for June has probably been the lowest for about 50 years, which means that most fish are holding in the tidal reaches rather than running into the main river. The table below shows the average height for the month for the last four years – since the start of the drift net ban.

This year it was 0.18m compared to the average for 2007-9 of 0.41m. In fact it was only above 0.30m (which we would normally regard as summer low level) for 2 days during the whole month.  There have also been few rods out fishing for the month.

 

Statistics for the Month of June for 2007 - 2010

Year	2007	2008	2009	2010
Number of Fish Caught	44	21	51	24
Catch/Rod Day	0.25	0.09	0.30	0.30
Average River Height	0.35	0.39	0.48	0.18

We can see from the Table that – whilst the catch number for the month was not high at 24 – in fact the catch/rod day was 0.30, exactly the same as that for 2009 when there was far more water in the river.

In fact, 22 of the fish were caught for only 24 rod days in the week from June 12 – an average of 0.9 fish per rod day, which was extremely good. One angler caught 5 in one afternoon – all on fly & 4 were released. Best fish of the month was a 12 pounder released on Upper Kilmurry.

July has started off well after a small fresh in the river on the 2^nd. Seven grilse have been caught for 6 rod days in the three days from July 2-4. 
 

Prospects
Even although the river is very low, the clarity is good and runs of larger grilse (4-5lb.) are coming in. There is more rain forecast during the week, so the prospects of sport for the coming week are quite good. Very small flies, light worming & spun shrimp are working best, though fish are also being met on spinner.

Where to meet us
Glenda is fly-casting demonstrator at the Irish Game & Country Fair at Birr Castle in Co. Offaly on August 28 & 29th. We will also have a stand at the Fair.

Availability
We have availability of rods & accommodation in the next couple of weeks. Late summer and backend weeks are now filling up fast, so contact us quickly if you are thinking of fishing later in the season.
 

18th June

 

The Best Day of the Season Twice in Three Days

 

There has been a dramatic improvement in fishing in the last week. Runs of grilse have been coming in every day accompanied by some larger salmon as well. In the last 7 days, we have had 19 fish caught for only 22 rod days with a good number of fish lost as well.

The Best Day of the Season mark set on Saturday 12th. (when 4 fish to 12lb. were caught) lasted only three days. Three more grilse were caught on Sunday and then on Tuesday, June 15th., the record was beaten not withstanding the fact that there were only 3 rods fishing for the day. Six grilse were caught in total that day - all on the fly. In the late morning, Ray Burns caught one on Island Stream on Lower Kilmurry.

Then Portugese trapeze artist Pedro Granadiero (above) from Dublin had a red letter day on Kents
when he landed five grilse of which he released four. All the fish were caught from 2pm onwards on a fly he tied himself. Having caught three, he had a siesta on the bank for an hour & then went back and caught another two, only returning to the Lodge to report in at 10.00pm. Four of the five fish were released.

On Wednesday, there were no rods booked on the river so a couple of us went out for a few hours in the afternoon. I caught & released this lovely 8 pounder on spun shrimp on the Island Stream on Lower Kilmurry.


Not many fish were seen yesterday (Thursday), but three more sea-liced grilse were taken (all released) - all on fly. There were also two good fish (~10lb.) lost on fly as well. This is remarkable in the very low water conditions.
 

Playing a grilse on the Island Stream on Lower Kilmurry on the 17th.
 

 

They're great little fighting fish, mostly in the 2-3lb class. This one was released.

 

Prospects
With the river is holding its level @ 0.19m, excellent clarity and good runs of grilse & some larger salmon coming in, the prospects of sport for the coming week are good, even although the water is low. Very small flies & occasionally spun shrimp are working best.
 

Where to meet us
Glenda is demonstrating at the  Irish Country Game Fair & Country Lifestyle Festival at Shane's Castle in Co. Antrim on June 26 & 27th. We will also have a stand at the Fair.

Availability
We have availability of rods & accommodation in the next couple of weeks. Late summer and backend weeks are now filling up fast, so contact us quickly if you are thinking of fishing later in the season.
 

A Small Flood moves Fish In!
Best Day so Far this Season yesterday (Saturday).

We had a small flood on Tuesday, June 8 which took the level from 0.18 to 0.60m. The water was dirty & weedy for a day or two, but began to clear on Friday, June 11.

This rise has moved the fish that were in the tidal reaches into the main river.

Three fish were lost on Friday as good runs of fish were moving through. On Saturday (yesterday),we had the Best Day of the Season so far with four sea-liced fish to 12lb caught & half a dozen fish lost. Today we had another 3 grilse caught - all on fly.
I am also getting reports of both grilse & salmon being caught on the upper river in the Mallow area. This makes 7 fish caught for only 14 rod days over the weekend.
 

Prospects
Looking very good for the coming week with fish moving though & the water clearing well. The river is in lovely fly order at the moment & the weather forecast is dry for the next week.

Reservations for 2010 - Book now before it's too late!
Much of late August & September is already booked.
Many of our regular visitors already booked their places before they left this year, so don't delay to ensure your place for the second half of the 2010 season.

Double Hand Casting Course
Glenda & her fellow Loop No. 1 Pro Team colleague Thomas Berggren from Sweden are planning to run another casting course this summer. Full details on this will be available as soon as the date is finalised.

Ladies Introduction to Fly-fishing Day
 

Glenda organised a Ladies Day on May 30 as part of the national Fisheries Awareness Week. The day was held at the Lodge where the participants gathered before heading to the river at Upper Kilmurry.

There was a demonstration by Glenda followed by a casting session on the river.
Then there was a break for a BBQ lunch on the bank of the river.

After that it was down to some serious fishing and - whilst the trout weren't huge, there was great excitement when one was caught! Great fun was had by all and on a more serious note 1000 euros was raised for Glenda's favourite Charity Action Breast Cancer.

 

The First Grilse of the Season is Caught!

 

There was nothing to report in the last 2 days as there were no rods out
so - needless to say there was no fish caught. Three of us went out to Lower Kilmurry for an hour or so at lunchtime today and saw half a dozen fish running through - mostly fish of 7-8lb but including one which was well into double figures.

 

We all persisted with the fly but no takes so I had a few casts with spun shrimp & caught & released this one almost immediately on the Island Stream.

I met two more in the next few casts, but they were only half-hearted takes
& didn't connect, & then I had to get home to pick the kids up from school!

We would've loved to have stayed longer as I'm sure we would have met more fish.

This, together with reports of good runs of grilse & salmon running from other beats on the lower river means the prospects in the coming days are looking good.

This is the first year we would expect to see grilse returning
as the progeny of the fish which came in when the drift nets were banned.
This means that we could well see a very good grilse run this year.

There is very little rain forecast for the coming week - certainly not enough to have any significant effect on the river, which is at summer level at present.

 

Blackwater Lodge Newsletter - May 5th., 2010. Fishing picks up with First on Fly this year!

April was quiet both in terms of the number of people fishing & the number of fish running. Only 2 fish were caught for April for 118 rod days in total. May has already kicked off much better with 3 fish caught on the 2nd. & 3rd. The river level is absolutely perfect for fly fishing - 0.34m on the gauge this morning with clarity at about 6 feet.

Prospects
Keep an eye on the Fishing Report page for all the latest information & don't hesitate to contact me if you would like to book in for fishing.

The forecast is dry for the next week so the river should remain in perfect order. Availability for both accommodation & fishing is OK in the next few weeks.

Reservations for 2010 - Book now before it's too late!
Much of late August & September is already booked. Many of our regular visitors already booked their places before they left this year, so don't delay to ensure your place for 2010.

Thoughts for a National Hatchery programme
Karl Daly (formerly of Glencar House, Kerry) sent me this very interesting information regarding his submission to the ‘Your-Country-Your-Call’ competition.

It proposes the use of a national hatchery programme to restore our wild Atlantic salmon stocks to the abundant levels of days gone by.
This is an excellent opportunity to highlight the state of Ireland’s wild salmon stocks.  It could be a ‘game changing’ opportunity for the regeneration of this ‘renewable natural resource.’  Also, spread the word and inform others who may be supportive.

 

Best Regards & Tight Lines!
 

 

Blackwater Lodge Newsletter - March 15th 2010
  Two fish for March is good when you consider that there have only been 24 rod days for the first half of the month & only 7 from the 11-14th., when both fish were caught.

Out of the Office - Argentina!
At Loop Tackle's kind invitation, we are heading off to the Rio Gallegos for some sea-trout fishing. We will be away from the Lodge from March 18-29 inclusive so the Lodge will be closed for that time for accommodation. Contact Christopher on 087 263 13 64 or the Lodge number if you would like to fish during this time. We may have some contact by email, but all enquiries for bookings so don't delay to ensure your place for 2010.tc will be dealt with when we return on the 30th.
  The First Springer is Caught !

Lodge regular Gavin Wishart from Newcastle, Co. Down came down to celebrate his 40th. birthday
this weekend & scooped the First Salmon of the 2010 season to be caught on the Lodge Fishery.

He was fishing yesterday (March 6th) with Connie Corcoran on Ballinlovane and took the fish on Flying C at Cloonbeg.  The fish would have been released, but was bleeding from the gills so had to be kept. 
The cast before he lost what they both believe was another springer, so there were definitely a few about.

The river is in perfect condition and the moment - even for the fly.

It was hardly surprising that it took us until now to catch a fish as there were only 64 rod days for the whole month of February. There would certainly be more springers caught if there were more rods out on the river each day.

Prospects
The river is in absolutely cracking order at the moment. 0.44m on the gauge so perfect fly height & clarity a good 4 feet. The weather forecast (Metcheck) looks dry for the next 2 weeks apart from about 6mm on the 15th.

Reservations for 2010 - Book now before it's too late!
Much of late August & September is already booked.
Many of our regular visitors already booked their places before they left this year, so don't delay to ensure your place for 2010.

Contact Details
I put this in the last newsletter but received very few replies.  Please respond! With such massive improvements in Internet telephony, communication is becoming so much easier & cheaper. Could I please ask everybody to confirm their home address, telephone (home & mobile) plus Skype contact details (if you are set up for this)  to me.
This is strictly for our own use only. We can contact almost any landline worldwide free, and so we can call you if you'd like a chat.
 

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/no-fish-farm-in-broad-bay         

The rally for wild salmon the Wild Salmon Circle held on Saturday brought out a crowd of over 200 people to listen to speakers and to add their voice to the growing unrest about the state of salmon farms on the coast of British Columbia. To the rallying cry “how do we want our salmon?” there was a resounding “WILD.”
http://www.wildsalmoncircle.com/rally-during-the-games-draws-crow/

The RISE! Campaign has been set up to protect all forms of field and angling pursuits in Ireland from the Green Party’s agenda to stop all forms of the same. RISE has been set up between FACE (Association of all Fieldsports) & HAI (Hunting Association of Ireland) to counteract any legislation put forward by the green party that will interfere with rural life.

There are three upcoming legislations that will have a huge effect on rural life if passed in their current form by the Green Party.
If you follow this link you can find out all about the RISE campaign and sign the on-line petition.              www.risecampaign.ie

Blackwater Lodge Newsletter - February 12, 2010

Superb river conditions & a favourable weather forecast!
 

The river is almost down to a good fly-fishable height & the clarity is very good.
The weather forecast for the next two weeks is mainly dry, so the prospects are very good.
We're hoping that our first springer will be landed in the coming days.

Free Fishing from February 15 to 19th.
The Lodge will be offering free fishing again for Monday to Friday next week.
Advance booking is essential. Please note that there is strictly no worm fishing at this time
 

The river at 09.00am this morning - in fine fettle!

£ Sterling to €Euro Exchange Rate.
They say every cloud has a silver lining. With the current economic plight of Greece, Spain & Portugal
the exchange rate of the Euro to Sterling has weakened, so now could be a good time to book up your
holiday in Ireland to take advantage of the weaker €.

Glenda on TV Nationwide

On Wednesday, February 3, Irish TV's Nationwide programme filmed all day at the Lodge.
It is for a feature on Glenda and her teaching, featuring predominantly the Introduction to Fly-fishing courses that she as been running for 10-12 year old girls.
This will result in a 6-7 minute feature which will be aired on RTE1 Nationwide on Friday, February 19.
The whole half hour programme is dedicated to fishing.
For those of you who are not able to access this on TV,
you will be able to see it on the Internet for 21 days after the programme has been broadcast on www.rte.ie/player/

Country Channel TV at the Great Game Fairs of Ireland
As you may remember, Glenda was demonstrating at the two biggest fairs in Ireland last year. Both of these were filmed by Country TV
Just a quick note to let you know the date/times for the broadcasting of the Shanes Castle (re-run) and Birr Castle programmes
on The Country Channel on Sky 171

Shanes Castle will be re-run :   Wednesday 17th February at 18:30 (part 1) and Wednesday 24th February at 18:30 (part 2)
       Birr Castle will be shown:   Wednesday 17th March at 18:30, Thursday 18th March at 19:30, Friday 19th March at 07:30 and 12:30 and Sunday 21st March at 12:30.

Both programmes are of course running online at www.countrychannel.tv all the time and will be re-scheduled on Sky later in the year.

Shane's Castle Part 1   http://www.countrychannel.tv/player.php/?player=TheNewCountryChannel&ct=1&ids=296922 
Shane's Castle Part 2   http://www.countrychannel.tv/player.php/?player=TheNewCountryChannel&ct=1&ids=296933

Argentina
Glenda & I will be going to the Loop lodge at Los Buitreras on the Rio Gallegos from March 20 to 27.
If anybody would like to join us, there are still a couple of places available. If you're interested, contact me for more details.

Where to meet us
Glenda is demonstrating at the Ireland Angling Expo 2010 this weekend
- Saturday, February 13 & Sunday, 14th at the National Show Centre, Swords, Co. Dublin.
We will also have a stand at this Fair.  Nationwide will be at the show to film a feature.

Reservations for 2010 - Book now before it's too late!
Much of late August & September is already booked.
Many of our regular visitors already booked their places before they left this year, so don't delay to ensure your place for 2010.
 

Best Regards & Tight Lines!
  Ian Powell
Blackwater Lodge & Salmon Fishery
Upper Ballyduff
Co. Waterford
Ireland

  Tel:   00 353 58 60235  

 

A New Season is in Prospect at Blackwater Lodge

 

10, 9, 8, 7, 6.....................the Countdown to Opening Day
Yes, it's hard to believe that after such a long hard winter, there's now only 10 days to go until Opening Day.
I'm sure you all seen the news about the terrible flood in Ireland in the winter. This was followed by one of the coldest spells for many years.
Now the cold weather has broken, we have had some very heavy rain yet again.
However, there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel! We have dry weather forecast from now until the end of the month.
Heavy rain in last day or so brought the river level well up - 2.25m on the Ballyduff gauge today.
With a spell of dry weather the river could be in very good order for the Opening Day.

Fishing Report page
The page is once again open access - no password required.
It has all the latest news on the river conditions in the run-up to the Opening.
Here's the latest picture.


Free Fishing from February 1st. to 4th.
The Lodge will be offering free fishing for the first 4 days of the season ie: from Monday to Friday, February 1-4 inclusive.
Advance booking is essential. Please note that there is strictly no worm fishing at this time
- a conservation measure to protect the very numerous kelts in the river after an excellent spawning season.
We'll all be meeting at the Lodge from 8.00am with complimentary breakfast rolls, tea & coffee.

Argentina
Glenda & I will be going to the Loop lodge at Los Buitreras on the Rio Gallegos sometime between March 13 7 27.
If anybody would like to join us, we should have a special deal from Loop. If you're interested, contact me for more details.

Where to meet us
Glenda is demonstrating at the Ireland Angling Show on February 13 & 14th at Cloghran, Swords, Co. Dublin.
We will also have a stand at this Fair.  Nationwide will be at the show to film a feature.

On February 3rd., Nationwide will also be coming to the Lodge to film a feature on Glenda
which should be on air at it's prime time of 7.00pm some day before the show.

A TV Series for 2011?
At an advanced planning stage is a six half hour programme series - "Flyfishing in Ireland with Glenda Powell"
which will see Glenda hosting and presenting the programmes at various fishing locations in Ireland
and which will also have a different Irish celebrity guest in each episode. More on this when plans are finalised.

Contact Details
With such massive improvements in Internet telephony, communication is becoming so much easier & cheaper.
Could I please ask everybody to confirm their home address, telephone (home & mobile) plus Skype contact details (if you are set up for this)  to me.
This is strictly for our own use only. We can contact almost any landline worldwide free, and so we can call you if you'd like a chat.

Phoning from the UK
We used to have a dedicated UK number which enabled cheap call forwarding to our Irish number.
This was not functioning any more & I have now set up a new one.
So, if you're calling from the UK, instead of dialling an International call,
dial 0844 202 33 33  & you'll be connected direct to the Lodge at a cheap rate (5p/min).
To contact us on mobile, we now have direct forwarding UK numbers. These are:
       Ian:  0701 116 33 33
Glenda:  0701 116 44 44

The Big Freeze
For more pictures of the Christmas cold snap, click on http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net/News/Freeze/freeze.htm

Feature Article about Glenda
In the Sunday Independent Lifestyle Supplement, there was a full length feature article about Glenda.
Written by Ciara Dwyer following a day-long interview with Glenda here at the Lodge in October.
To view the article, click on http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/glenda-the-completed-angler-2007166.html
or  http://www.ireland-salmon-fishing.net/News/independent10-1-10.htm
The article was also repeated in last weekend's Belfast Telegraph.

SALMON WATCH IRELAND (formerly Stop Salmon Drift Nets Now)
The organisation will be holding a very interesting seminar to which everybody is cordially invited.

SEMINAR  to be held at 2.30 pm Saturday 30^th. January 2010 at LIMERICK STRAND HOTEL,  Ennis Road (at Sarsfield Bridge), LIMERICK

Topics to be covered include the distinguishing genetics of multi-sea winter salmon,
the current state of the stocks, and what might be done to enhance stocks.
As places are limited, please confirm attendance to Bob Wemyss at 087-2512562 or email wemyss.bob@gmail.com
or write to him at Jerpoint Hill, Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny. Admission is free.

 

Blackwater Lodge Newsletter - October 19, 2009

Glenda & the Irish Game Fairs on the Country Channel's Country Pursuits programmes.

Glenda was the main fly-casting demonstrator at both the Shane's Castle Game Fair in Co. Antrim in June & the Birr Game Fair in Co. Offaly in August where she was also Angling Director & featured her Fishstart Girls team in the Main Arena demos.
 

Country Channel TV were present at both Fairs. Now the editing has been done and the first programmes are about to be broadcast on the Country Channel - Sky Channel 171. The programme will be shown in two parts in one of the Country Channel’s Country Pursuits half hours:

- Part One will be broadcast on Wednesday, 21st. October at 19:30,
  repeated on Thursday, 22nd. at 06:00 and 12:30, and again on Sunday, 25th. October at 12:30.

- Part Two will be broadcast on Wednesday, 28th. October at 19:30,
  repeated on Thursday, 29th.at 06:00 and 12:30, and again on Sunday,  1st. November at 12:30.

For the full Press Release from the Great Game Fairs of Ireland on this, please click here.

Forthcoming Newsletter due shortly to feature:

- Report on the 2009 Fishing Season & the dramatic increase in size of fish caught this year
- Recession-Busting Reduction in Guest-house Accommodation Prices for 2010.
- Fishing Prices to be held at the same level as 2009.

Booking for the 2010 Season
The new 2010 will be posted shortly on the website. Don't forget to book early for 2010 to ensure your place and avail of the 1%/month discount for bookings paid in full on reservation.

Winter Tuition
Glenda will continue instruction throughout the winter months both on & off the river. Contact her is you'd like to hone your skills for the forthcoming season.

On October 10th., she hosted a Ladies Introduction to Fly-Fishing Day at Annamoe Trout Fishery, Wicklow.
Nearly €1,000 was raised for Action Breast Cancer on the day.
Best Regards & Tight Lines in 2010!
 

Ian & Glenda Powell
 

 

5th August 2009

 

Two More Floods in the Last Week!

A remarkable 33 fish caught for only 46 rod days for the week to yesterday. The Catch Total for the Season is now 227 salmon & grilse for 776 rod days.

Superb Prospects for the next Two Weeks
With dry weather forecast for the next 2 weeks, the river should have an opportunity to drop & fine off. Settled conditions make for better fishing, so the prospects are excellent for the next couple of weeks. I am expecting the river to be back in fly order by tomorrow.

Glenda is guiding a 3 rod party today (5th.) & 2 novice anglers have already caught their first ever salmon (grilse of 3 & 5lb.) & one has his second weighing in at 13lb.!   All taken on spinner.

Water Conditions
The weather forecast is mainly dry until the end of next week, and the upper river has already  dropped to it's lowest level in the last week as you can see from the graph below. The lower river peaked yesterday morning & has already fallen about 30cm since.

In the last week, continuing rainfall brought a 1.40m flood on the 1st. August & a 1m flood  yesterday (5th.) The river was unfishable on the 1st. August, but is coming back into order once again.

Good Fishing in the last week.

With a total of only 46 rod days fishing for the last 7 days (to Aug. 4), 33 fish were taken.
 

Availability
We still have rods and accommodation available for most weeks in August and September, so book now to secure your place.

Women's Introduction to Salmon Fishing Course.
 

18th July 2009

 

Floods Liven up the Fishing.

Best Day of the Season so Far - Saturday, July 18

With a total of only 11 rods fishing for the day, 11 fish were taken of which 3 were caught on fly. Gavin Wishart & David Hempsey from N. Ireland had 3 each for the day. For David, it was his best day ever salmon fishing. He caught & kept 2 grilse, & then landed his best ever salmon (~12lb). It was very fresh, but he sportingly released it alive.

Two other 13 pounders were caught the same day. One from the Inches on Upper Kilmurry by Ray Madigan, & the other by Wilawan Carroll. The river is in first class condition & yesterday I even managed to get out the door & catch the fish above.

Average Size of Fish
The improvement in the the overall average size of the fish continues. June once again had the highest ever average size at 8.3lb.
So far for July, the average weight is also the highest ever at 7.1lb.

In the last week, 26 fish have been caught for 50 rod days.

 

Prospects
The immediate depends on how much rain falls tomorrow and whether the river rises.
Medium term it's looking very good, with a continuing run of larger salmon coming into the river.
The conditions are perfect at the moment - beautiful fly height & clarity.

A Couple of First Ever Salmon
On the 14th., Dutchman Alex den Hartog caught a fish of about 13lb. on his first day ever salmon fishing which he released alive.
His son was a fishmonger & estimated the weight of the fish at between 6-7kg, - we recorded it at a conservative 13lb.
 

23rd June 2009

 

Fishing has been very good in the last couple of weeks. We have taken 44 fish to 16lb. for 107 rod days in 17 days. During this 17 day period we only blanked on one day due to a 5 foot flood & the day either side we only had one fish each day. This is an average of 2.6 fish for 6.3 rods each day. The overall average weight of the fish is also higher than last year as shown below.

 

Year          May          June 2008           7.3             8.0
2009           8.1             8.2

This follows our total catch for May which was 53 salmon - the third best ever recorded & the best since 1996. Last year we had only 22 for May & 21 for June. The June total to date is 46 - so the improvement continues! One can only conjecture what the catch would be if more rods were fishing.

Best Fish of the Season - Again!

The 14.6 pounder caught on the 13th. only held the record for 6 days. On the 19th., Jason O'Riordan caught & released an estimated 16 pounder. I've included the picture below as it was such an unusual shape.

Prospects
With the flood well fined off, a reasonable number of large fish are still running. We're not even seeing many grilse yet. This is another lovely 10.8 pounder caught by Ian McMullan yesterday (22nd) - only his third ever on fly & his best ever fish. So far for June we have caught 30 fish to 14.6lb. Four were into double figures & 14 of them were in the 8-10lb. class.

The total caught so far for June is already better than the catch for the whole month last year. Of these, 26 to 14.6lb (averaging 8.6lb) were caught in the 8 days from June 6-13 for a total of only 52 rod days. Most of these are late May fish that have been running the lower river in the last week. These fish would normally hold up between Clondulane & Fermoy weirs when the water level is down.

Where to meet us
Glenda is once again demonstrating fly-casting at the  Irish Country Game Fair & Country Lifestyle Festival at Shane's Castle in Co. Antrim this coming weekend - June 27 & 28th. We will also have a stand at the Fair.

Availability
We have availability of rods & accommodation in the next couple of weeks. Late summer and backend weeks are now almost full, so contact us quickly if you are thinking of fishing then.
 

Best Regards & Tight Lines!
Ian Powell
 

18th June 2009

 

We have just had a good flood, which is abating & beginning to fine off.
The upper river is already in moderate spinnable order, & it should be in excellent spinning order coming up to the weekend & I expect it'll be flyfishable too by then - certainly on the upper river.

Stop Press!
Just got news (today 14.00) of one (slightly coloured 8lb) fish caught on spinner on Beat 15 - Carrig already today & one very fresh grilse lost, plus a few running fish seen.

With the excellent run of fish that we've seen in the last week or so before the flood, and grilse beginning to appear in some numbers, the prospects for the next week or so are looking excellent.

So far for June we have caught 30 fish to 14.6lb. Four were into double figures & 14 of them were in the 8-10lb. class. The total caught so far for June is already better than the catch for the whole month last year.
Of these, 26 to 14.6lb (averaging 8.6lb) were caught in the 8 days from June 6-13 for a total of only 52 rod days. Most of these are late May fish that have been running the lower river in the last week. These fish would normally hold up between Clondulane & Fermoy weirs when the water level is down.

Availability
We have availability of rods & accommodation in the next couple of weeks.
Late summer and backend weeks are now almost full, so contact us quickly if you are thinking of fishing then.
 

23rd May; Great Prospects for the coming week!
 

The latest flood which peaked early Sunday morning (24th.) has already fallen back to the level it was on Saturday morning when the fish in the picture above were caught. With good weather forecast for the week and the river fining off, it should be in absolutely cracking order for the week.

Availability

We have availability of rods & accommodation in the next couple of weeks.

Double Handed Casting Course with Glenda & Thomas Berggren

There are still some places left on the 3 day course planned for June 5-7. Contact the Lodge as soon as possible if you'd like to book one of the few places left. Arrive June 4 & depart June 8 - 4 nights accommodation, 3 days course plus fishing with the experts.

Fishing Report Page

This has now been password protected once more, so please apply by email if you would like one. Access is limited to those who do intend to fish with us. The page has a number of new features which are a great help to predict the following days conditions:

- River heights 70 & 90km upriver
- Rainfall radar animation for the previous 5 hours (real time).

Skype & Wireless Access
We now have an even faster broadband landline connection than our previous satellite connection. This means Skype is now working properly - which it never did over the satellite connection. It also means we have free WiFi Internet access in the Lounge.
 

Best Regards & Tight Lines!
Ian Powell
 

18th May Report, Great Sport!

In the last 10 days a total of only 55 rod days has yielded 19 fish.
Of these, 2 were in the 0-5lb class averaging 3.8lb., 11 were in the 5-10lb. class averaging 7.7lb.
and 5 were in the class over 10lb averaging. 11.9lb. 10 were sea-liced and only 1 wasn't fresh.
6 came from the lower beats below Fermoy, and 13 from the upper beats between Ballyhooly & Mallow.

Prospects for May are looking good.
With good water levels and a good run of May fish with some grilse, the prospects of sport in the coming weeks is excellent.

Availability
We have availability of rods & accommodation in the next couple of weeks.

Double Handed Casting Course with Glenda & Thomas Berggren
Following the success of the courses run in February, there is another 3 day course planned for June 5-7.
Contact the Lodge as soon as possible if you'd like to book one of the few places left.
Arrive June 4 & depart June 8 - 4 nights accommodation, 3 days course plus fishing with the experts.
 

Report to 9th May 2009 Spring Fishing Picks Up !

Best Day of the Season so far on Saturday, May 9th.    Six Fish caught by Two Rods. The river has fined off nicely after the two recent floods and - as expected - the fishing has picked up as soon as water conditions have stabilised. Today, 2 rods each caught three fish. Kieran Conlon took three - all on fly - on Beat 11 Woodstream. They all fell to a Highlander Cascade. Two were sea-liced & one fresh and two were released. Ray Madigan took three on spinner from Beat 7 Upper Kilmurry. Two of 3 & 12lb were released & he kept an 8 pounder.

Prospects for May are looking good.
Following the two recent floods, the river has now dropped & is stabilising with good clarity. The forecast for the coming week is mainly dry, so we can expect good conditions for the week. With sea-liced springers & grilse running through to the middle to upper beats, we can expect good sport
for the coming week.

Youtube
I've just made a compilation of shots of the Lodge & it's location & posted it. Click the link below to view.

Double Handed Casting Course with Glenda & Thomas Berggren
Following the success of the courses run in February, there is another 3 day course planned for June 5-7. Contact the Lodge as soon as possible if you'd like to book one of the few places left. Arrive June 4 & depart June 8 - 4 nights accommodation, 3 days course plus fishing with the experts.
 

Best Regards & Tight Lines!
Ian Powell
Blackwater Lodge & Salmon Fishery
 

Blackwater Lodge Newsletter - April 29, 2009

Tweed Angling Fair this weekend - May 2 &3.  Come & Meet Us!

This fair is a little gem. It takes place at Kelso on the banks of the Tweed in the Scottish Borders. For more details go to http://www.tweedanglingfair.com/
Eoin Fairgrieve has created a great event which goes from strength to strength each year. Definitely one not to be missed as it has a super intimate atmosphere and a great line-up of casting demos.

For the third year running, he's asked Glenda to be part of the demo team once again and we will also have a stand at the fair, so it's a great opportunity to come & see us. The weather forecast looks as if it's going to be fine weather at Kelso for the weekend.

Prospects for May are looking good.

Following two reasonable floods, the river is now dropping once again - see graph. However, there is more rain tonight & Friday which will probably mean that the river conditions won't be great over this coming weekend - certainly for the fly. A flood at this time usually ensures that the May fish will start to run. These are fish usually in the 10-15lb. class.

Best Day of the Season so Far - Four Springers caught in One Day for only Four Rods on Sunday, April 19.

With the river in perfect order, four rods were out on April 19. On Beat 16 - Ballygarrett, Marcus Bale was gillied by Connie Corcoran. Marcus landed an 11 pounder on spinner & Connie had two of about 7 & 8lb. All three were released alive. On Beat 11 - Woodstream, David Lowndes from Carrick landed an 8½ pounder on fly which was also released. Another sea-liced fish of 8.1lb was caught on spinner on Woodstream on the 20th. & two more with sea-lice were caught on the 23rd. were taken on fly on Ballincurrig (both released).

Prospects

Looking superb for next week with little or no rain after Friday. The river should then be coming into good order & an excellent chance of sport especially on the upper beats. All the kelts appear to have gone out of the river now.
 

Blackwater Lodge Newsletter - April 19, 2009

Four Springers Caught in One Day for only Four Rods on Sunday, April 19.

With the river in perfect order, four rods were out today.

On Beat 16 - Ballygarrett, Marcus Bale was gillied by Connie Corcoran.
Marcus landed an 11 pounder on spinner & Connie had two of about 7 & 8lb.
All three were released alive.

On Beat 11 - Woodstream, David Lowndes from Carrick landed an 8½ pounder on fly which was also released.

Prospects
Looking superb for the week with no rain before Thursday. River coming into perfect order & an excellent chance of sport especially on the upper beats. All the kelts appear to have gone out of the river now.

Double Handed Casting Course with Glenda & Thomas Berggren
Following the success of the courses run in February, there is another 3 day course planned for June 5-7. Contact the Lodge as soon as possible if you'd like to book a place. Arrive June 4 & depart June 8 - 4 nights accommodation, 3 days course plus fishing with the experts.
 

Best Regards & Tight Lines!
Ian Powell
Blackwater Lodge & Salmon Fishery
 

Blackwater Lodge 11th April 2009

 

Blackwater Lodge Newsletter - A Timely Flood.
 

Blackwater Lodge 4th April 2009

 

The spring fishing picked up seriously in the last 10 days. One of the best we've had for the late March/early April period. It started with Bjornar Berg (Norway) who caught & released the first fly-caught fish - 14lb. - on the Island Stream on Beat 4 - Kents on March 25.

On the 28th, Ger Kelly from Clare caught a lovely 10 ounder on spinner from the same pool, which also yielded an 8 pounder released by Robert Babington (Louth) on spinner on the 29th.

On the 30th, Paul Veale from Dungarvan had 2 sea-liced fish in 2 casts on the Island Stream on Beat 6 - Lower Kilmurry on spun prawn. A 7 pounder & one about 9lb. released.

Even the upper river produced, with a 10 pounder for Doc O'Riordan (Dungarvan) on spinner from the Cliff Pool on Beat 12 - Ballincurrig.

Even I managed to catch one too.......... a sea-liced 11 pounder - the second on fly of the season, which I released.

Yesterday, Gaving Wishart from Co. Down arrived at the Lodge about 6.00pm. Got himself together & went out for a cast for an hour & took a 7.3lb. springer on spinner from the Split on Beat 7 - Upper Kilmurry.

 

Blackwater Lodge Newsletter - March 30, 2009

This newsletter comes hot on the heels of the last one, but.................

Spring fishing is picking up. With only 20 rod days in the last 5 days, 3 springers have been caught. The first - last Wednesday - was reported in my last news letter.

Last Friday, Ger Kelly from Co. Clare caught this lovely sea-liced 10lb. fish on spinner on the Island Stream on Kents on his 6th. cast of the day.

Yesterday (Sunday), Robert Babington from Co. Louth had another from the same pool on spinner. The fish was absolutely fresh and weighed about 8lb. The fish was released alive, and there was no photo
as Robert was fishing on his own.

 

River Conditions
The river is in absolutely perfect condition - lovely height & clarity - especially for the fly. Fresh fish are being seen every day running through the lower beats. The weather forecast for the coming week is good - dry, warm & calm. There is no problem for availability of fishing & accommodation in the coming week.
 

February 2009

 

Local angler & beat owner Bill McNamara from Ballyduff caught this perfect spring salmon weighing in at  6.7lb. at 5.30pm on Thursday, February 19th. It was taken on spinner at the Tail on Inchinleama - Beat 5.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blackwater Lodge Newsletter - February 19, 2009

Another Springer almost caught.
The fishing effort has been very low in the last week, but on Saturday February 14th, Gavin Wishart lost a fine springer of about 10lb. on spinner on the Lodge's very top beat - Ballygarrett (Beat 16) - which is 28 miles upstream of the Lodge. The same day, he saw 4 springers on Ballincurrig (Beat 12) which is about 5 miles downstream from Ballygarrett, in a very short space of time. Obviously the high water has encouraged fish to run well up the system very early in the season. We have heard reports of a couple of fresh springers caught around the Killavullen area too.

 

In spite of the high water, a lot of kelts were caught particularly on the fly by the participants on the fly-casting course run by Thomas Berggren (Loop Sweden) & Glenda in the first week of the season. Thomas himself hooked & lost a springer on the Opening Day with the river on 2.50 metres - about 7 feet above summer level!

The river is now below 0.6 metres with superb clarity. It is in fantastic order for fly fishing at the moment & water temperature is 7ºC.

There's lots of activity with large numbers of kelts being caught (11 for 2 rods yesterday), but our first springer is still being elusive. It's judged to be one of the best spawning years since the 1960s

Trout & Salmon Report January
For those of you who read the Trout & Salmon Magazine, I thought I should advise you of the inaccurate information which was given in the Blackwater River report in the January issue of the magazine. I contacted them & was assured that it would be corrected in the February issue, but there wasn't even a report in that one.

In January, it was reported that brown tags would be required on the Blackwater like last year.

Incorrect:  There is a limit of one spring fish per rod up until May 11 on the Blackwater. One blue tag only will be issued with each licence on the Blackwater in this time.

It was also reported that there was only going to be 4 tags per licence from May 11 to Aug. 31 & 3 tags per licence in September.

 

Incorrect: All licences except one day are entitled to 10 tags in total. These will be issued in batches of 3 or 4 as required after May 11.
 

Another Weather Forecast site.
I have now added a link on the Fishing Report page to the BBC.co.uk weather page. This gives you not only the precipitation by Radar/Satellite image but also a very good predictive sequence for the following 3 days. You get this by clicking the middle single right pointing arrow at the bottom of the image between the back & forward double arrows. It's probably the most accurate weather forecast I've seen.

WiFi at the Lodge
All going well, the Lounge & Breakfast room at the Lodge should have WifFi Internet access available to all guests within the next couple of weeks - God & Eircom willing!

Booking for this Season.
Not withstanding the current economic climate, the level of our bookings for 2009 are well above last year. Don't delay to book for the coming season especially for the peak backend months which are almost full already.

2nd February 2009

Almost the First Salmon on a Flooded Opening Day!

The day before Opening Day, there was a distinct air of despondency around the Lodge. Yet more heavy rain had brought the river level up to 3.50 metres on the gauge on January 31st. and the river was out in the fields and across the road at Ballyduff bridge

Loop instructor Thomas Berggren & several of the Scandinavians booked on the first fly-casting course starting today (Monday) had arrived at the Lodge on Saturday the 31st., to fish the Sunday.

Opening day came and the river was still extremely high - 2.50 metres on the gauge. Not to be deterred, the Scandinavian party were the only ones to venture out on the river that day. The river looked to be far too high even for spinning, but armed only with fast sinking shooting heads & large tube flies they headed for Beat 8 - Ballyhooly Bridge and fished on the Castle Flat above the bridge. This was one of the few places where the river was not still out in the fields.

Their persistence paid off. Tommi Zimsen & Thomas Berggren both landed kelts and Thomas hooked a fresh springer which fought very strongly & jumped several times before the hook hold failed. Truly amazing to hook a fish on fly in these high water conditions on Opening Day and so far up the river - Ballyhooly is 28km (17 miles) upstream from the Lodge.

This afternoon - after the first course session - the group headed back to Ballyhooly and also to the newly cleaned Beat 10 - Blackstone, which is a few kilometres upstream of Ballyhooly. A number of kelts were hooked and one was landed.

To have fresh springers present this far up the river system at the very start of the season bodes well for the prospects of sport for the coming weeks.

Reservations for 2009 - Book now before it's too late!

With the superb results for the 2007 & 2008 seasons, and the prices being maintained at the 2007/8 level except for the fishing in July, August & September, bookings are coming in at an unprecedented level for the 2009 season. Much of late August & September is already fully booked. Many of our regular visitors already booked their places before they left this year, so don't delay to ensure your place.
 

Looking forward to seeing you all here at the Lodge this season.
 

Newsletter - October 17th, 2008

Another Great Season in 2008

Not withstanding the current economic climate, it was a good year, with the number of rod days up by about 6% on 2007.  Meteorologically, it was a very mixed year, with an extremely wet summer from August on. Catch wise, our monthly figures were very good from July on.

 August was an all-time record with 422 salmon caught.
 We also broke the all-time record for the number of fish caught in one day on September 13 - when 54 salmon were landed.

 The September total catch was 419 - the second highest since 1992.

The total number of fish landed for the season was 1,023 - only the second time in the last 10 years that we have broken the 1,000 barrier. Of these, 527 were released alive. Below is a table of the monthly totals relative to the 5 & 10 Year Averages up to 2007 plus catch per rod day.

	February	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	Total
10 Year Average 1998 - 2007	3	7	13	31	109	143	185	315	808
5   Year Average 1998 - 2007	5	10	17	30	58	108	175	343	749
2008	5	4	14	22	21	117	422	419	1,023
2008 Catch per Rod Day	0.1	<0.1	0.1	0.2	0.1	0.5	1.1	0.6	0.5

A full report on the season will be published on the website in the next week.

Prices for 2009
The new prices have now been posted on the website.
No change in accommodation prices, just a slight increase on fishing fees for July to September.

So what's it like to have four months off?
We hear this one at the end of every season and it makes us laugh ( to be polite!). Glenda has written a lovely article on her post-season feelings. After spending so much time on the river, withdrawal symptoms set in in October and she describes them eloquently.
 

In our next newsletter we'll have more exciting news for you on:
- Our ambitious winter bank maintenance programme.
- Glenda's ongoing Ladies Flyfishing Introduction days that also raise money for Action Breast Cancer.

Blackwater Lodge Newsletter - Wednesday, August 27, 2008

All-time record Catch for August

The record catch for August has stood at 377 since 1992.
This year this record has been smashed with still 4 days fishing to go to the end of the month.

To the 27th, we have already caught 396 of which 198 have been released.

These have been taken for only 237 rod days.

Even more remarkable is the fact that 25 of these were first ever salmon, and many of these anglers caught not only their first but also their second salmon in the same day. Several even caught three!

Due to the very high water for much of the month, most of the fish fell to spinner, but as the water fines off, we are now starting to get a lot more caught on the fly.

Today (27th.) there were 23 fish caught - of which 16 fell to fly.

Renowned Scottish angler Ally Gowans (of Ally's Shrimp Fly fame) caught and released 6 to his own rod today on Woodstream.

Current Situation & Prospects

There is a huge run of grilse coming into the river at the moment - most evident on our upper beats from 17-28 miles above the Lodge.

Most of the fish caught are very fresh grilse in the 5-6lb. class, but we are now starting to see bigger autumn fishing running in too.

The weather is due to be dry until the end of the week so the river will continue to fine down. There is some rain forecast for Saturday night.

If you have a password, you can view the daily updated Fishing Report page to keep up to date with what's happening.
If not and you are thinking of a visit, email me to request a password.

Availability

Due to the extent of the Lodge Fisheries (approx. 14 miles of fishing divided into 16 beats) extending over about 40 river miles,
we still have some availability for fishing in September.
Accommodation for September is in short supply. 
For anyone wishing to book for September, please do so as soon as possible if you want to enjoy some superb backend fishing.

The record catch for August has stood at 377 since 1992.
This year this record has been smashed with still 4 days fishing to go to the end of the month.

To the 27th, we have already caught 396 of which 198 have been released. These have been taken for only 237 rod days.

Even more remarkable is the fact that 25 of these were first ever salmon, and many of these anglers caught not only their first but also their second salmon in the same day.
Several even caught three!

Due to the very high water for much of the month, most of the fish fell to spinner, but as the water fines off, we are now starting to get a lot more caught on the fly.

Today (27th.) there were 23 fish caught - of which 16 fell to fly.
Renowned Scottish angler Ally Gowans (of Ally's Shrimp Fly fame) caught and released 6 to his own rod today on Woodstream.

Current Situation & Prospects

There is a huge run of grilse coming into the river at the moment - most evident on our upper beats from 17-28 miles above the Lodge.

Most of the fish caught are very fresh grilse in the 5-6lb. class, but we are now starting to see bigger autumn fishing running in too.

The weather is due to be dry until the end of the week so the river will continue to fine down. There is some rain forecast for Saturday night.

If you have a password, you can view the daily updated Fishing Report page to keep up to date with what's happening.
If not and you are thinking of a visit, email me to request a password.

Availability

Due to the extent of the Lodge Fisheries (approx. 14 miles of fishing divided into 16 beats) extending over about 40 river miles, we still have some availability for fishing in September.

Accommodation for September is in short supply. 
For anyone wishing to book for September, please do so as soon as possible if you want to enjoy some superb backend fishing.

Blackwater Lodge Newsletter - Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Superb Fishing after the Floods

There have been 2 floods recently, one of 3.40m on the 2nd. August, and one of 1.70m on the 7th.

For the 9 days from August 3rd. to August 12th., 83 salmon & grilse have been taken (mainly on spinner) for 63 rod days.
Most were very good quality sea-liced grilse in the 5-6lb. class.  There have been two 15 pounders taken. Pictures can be seen in the August Photo Gallery. During this period, the water level has not fallen below 0.75m which has meant that it has been impossible to fly-fish during this time so most of the fish (66) have been taken on spinner. 44 of the 86 fish caught have been released alive.

It is extremely encouraging to see the size of the grilse that are being taken, which is directly as a result of the drift net ban.

Current Situation & Prospects

The river is up in another flood which has reached 2.76 metres at 14.15 on the 14th.

This will keep the grilse running and ensure the onset of the autumn run which is mainly fish in the 8-12lb class with some going to 15-18lb.  This is always a very prolific run. As soon as the river starts to fine off, we can expect great sport as the river clears quickly after floods now we have had so much high water.

The day after the 3.40m flood which peaked at 3.00pm on August 2, we had the best day of the season to date on August 3rd.

The flood had dropped to 1.20m overnight and 17 salmon & grilse were caught that day.

Availability

Due to the extent of the Lodge Fisheries (approx. 14 miles of fishing divided into 16 beats) there is no problem for availability of fishing in August.

Accommodation for August is starting to get in short supply.
For anyone wishing to book for September, both fishing and accommodation are very booked up, so best to book as soon as possible if you want to enjoy some superb backend fishing.

Blackwater Lodge Newsletter - July 31, 2008

Another Good Flood hits the River!
After 2 inches of rain in 36 hours, the river rose rapidly yesterday (30th.) and peaked at 1.50m. It is already back down to 0.75m at 10.00 this morning & the word from upriver is that it is in good order and almost worth a cast with the fly already.

This flood will get a lot more fish running into the river & should move on the fish which ran on the last flood - most of which seem to have held up the slower deeper reaches of the river between Fermoy & Clondulane weirs. The catch for July is a respectable 113 fish to 14.7lb. for 216 rod days, of which 58 have been released.

The total for the Season to date is 178, of which 89 have been released.  12 anglers have caught their first salmon with us so far this year.

Superb Prospects for the next couple of weeks
With this latest flood, the prospects for sport in the coming days are superb. Watch the daily updated Fishing Report page for details - ask me for a password if you don't have one.
Availability of accommodation & fishing at the Lodge is OK in the near future, though September is almost fully booked.

Improved access at Kents completed.
With the new vehicle access to Kents (Beat 4) now operational, we have now installed a gate to replace the electric wires halfway down the track, and completed a parking space at the hut for several vehicles with a post & rail fence & gate. There'll be a couple of pictures up on the news page in the next day or so.

Where to meet us - a date not to be missed!
Glenda is demonstrating flycasting at the superb Irish Game & Country Fair at Birr Castle, Co. Offaly on August 30 & 31.
We will have a stand at the Fair & Glenda will be offering free tuition throughout both days.

Best Regards & Tight Lines!
Ian Powell
Blackwater Lodge & Salmon Fishery

Blackwater Lodge Newsletter - Wednesday, July 9th, 2008

A Timely Flood gets the Fishing moving!
It looks as if this summer could be a re-run of last year. The weather broke the same weekend - June 20 - when Glenda was demonstrating fly-casting at the Shane's Castle Country Fair in Co. Antrim.

There were a couple of smaller floods in the last week of June (22nd & 27th.)& another on July 3rd, culminating in a the biggest flood 3 days ago on July 6th., when the river was up to 1.71m on the gauge. After all the rain, the river is holding it's level better as the ground water level is higher and the springs running harder. This means that the river clears faster. Today, the river was down to 0.80m in the morning & the clarity is improving fast. After this latest flood, there seems to be a very good run of larger fish coming into the system.

The average size of the fish taken in June was 8lb., which is by far the highest average since 1988. The average size of the fish so far for July is even higher at 8¾lb. - again the highest recorded for July & double the Ten Year average weight.
There are plenty of sea-liced fish around the 10lb. mark being caught.

Best Day of the Season so Far
With only 7 rods out on the river yesterday (8th.), 9 fish to 10½lb were taken, all on spinner. Denis Ryan took four on Blackstone.

Best Fish of the Season so Far
Denis Ryan strikes again!  A phone call at 11.30 today told me that he had caught a fish weighed on the bank as 15lb.
It was taken on spinner at Killavullen.

Prospects
Have to be superb for the coming weeks with good water levels & plenty or larger fish running. If the weather holds, the river should be in fly order in a day or two.

Availability
Reasonable for accommodation & fishing at the Lodge in the next couple of weeks.

Blackwater Lodge Newsletter - June 30, 2008

A Timely Flood Hits the Blackwater

On June 27, a good flood hit the Blackwater which took the river height up from 0.47m to 1.65m. Today - (June 30) - it has now dropped back to 0.46m and is fining off well. As expected, the fishing picked up considerably once the flood subsided.
Yesterday - Sunday, June 29 - a total of 6 fish were caught.
Calum Barclay's 3 rod party on Lower Kilmurry saw a lot of fish running during the day. They hooked 4 fish and landed 3 weighing 13.1, 6½ & 3½lb.  Pictures are in the June Gallery.
All were sparkling silver fish with sea-lice. John Kirkpatrick from Co. Down caught his first ever salmon - a slightly coloured 12 pounder on spinner from Ballincurrig (Beat12) which he sportingly returned alive. 

Glenda Powell took a sea-liced grilse on spinner on Kents, and Pakie Carroll had a 7 pounder on Carrig - both returned alive.

Prospects

Today the river is coming into even better order and we are expecting to see fish taken on fly. The weather will continue broken for the week which will keep the level topped up.
Looks as if the fish are now starting to run in good numbers with both grilse and larger fish being taken, so the prospects of sport in the next weeks should be excellent.

Keep up to date with all the latest news on our Fishing Report page (password required).

Availability

Reasonable for accommodation & fishing at the Lodge in the next couple of weeks.

Beat Access at Kents

For those who know the river, we now have vehicle access right down to the river at Kents (Beat 4) with a fenced off parking area for several cars right next to the hut.

Blackwater Lodge Newsletter - May 6th, 2008

Tweed Fair
We arrived home in the early hours of this morning after a hectic weekend spent at the Tweed Fair.

Glenda had a wonderful time demonstrating and spending all the rest of the time teaching out on the lawns of the exhibition centre. It's great little fair organised by Eoin Fairgrieve and pulls together a lot of the top names in the sport. We were able to meet lots of old friends and make many more. Make a date to visit the show on the first weekend in May, 2009.

Spectacular Spring Run

Needless to say - as usually happens when we are away - we returned to great excitement here at the Lodge. There was a 1½ foot flood on the river over the weekend, and there was an awful lot of fish being seen - especially on our upper beats.

In the words of the most experienced gillie on the river - "It's been very many years since I've seen so many springers in the upper river". There were 3 springers caught over the weekend, with very few rods out on the 14 miles of river that we control.

On Friday, May 2  there was just one rod out and he caught a springer. How many would have been caught if there had been 15-20 anglers on the river?

I am also hearing reports of a good number of bigger fish taken on private beats on the lower river.

The spring run has been excellent. Now we are eagerly awaiting the May run - usually double-figure fish (larger than the springers) - this a run distinct from the springers and usually heralds the onset of the grilse run.

With some May fish already being caught & the first grilse taken 2 weeks ago, things are looking promising! Another encouraging feature has been the size of the smolt run in the last few weeks - large numbers of very good sized smolts - definitely bigger than normal. Again this bodes well for the stocks in years to come.

Prospects

We are expecting great sport in the coming weeks, and there is good availability of both rods and accommodation.
So why not come & help us prove just how good the run is?

Best Regards & Tight Lines!

The First Grilse of the Season is Caught

On Sunday, April 20, Cathal Ferris from Lisburn, Co. Antrim caught the first on Kents - Beat 4.

This is very early to be grassing the first one. In the heyday of the grilse run up to about the year 2000, we would normally always see the first grilse running the river hard around mid-April, and catch the first around mid-May.

It has been a good few years since we caught the first one this early, so perhaps it bodes well for a grilse run similar to what we used to see in the late '90s.

Good Head of Fish in the River

Over the last weekend, there was a good number of fish seen, especially on the upper river right up to our topmost beat - Ballygarrett - which is 28 miles drive upstream of the Lodge.
Even there, the fish were to be seen running through on their way upriver.

 

This was encouraging as the river had been rather quiet for over a week prior to this, in fact since the last good weekend over April 5-8. With not many rods fishing, there were two springers caught last Friday, and one and a grilse on Sunday.

Prospects

The river is currently at summer level, beautiful for fly-fishing, yet fish are still running through to the upper reaches of the river. There is more rain forecast for tomorrow which may see the river rise and get freshened up which should get more spring fish into the system & encourage the larger May fish to run.

Availability

There is no problem for availability of fishing and accommodation at the Lodge at the moment.

Education continues apace

On Saturday, April 19th., Glenda started a Blackwater Fish start educational programme for 10-12 year old girls in the local National school.

This is the first ever fishing programme sponsored by the Waterford Sports Partnership. Glenda also ran her educational drama on the river & environment in the local playschool last week.

Fly Fishing Summer Camps

As part of her ever-growing programme of piscatorial education, Glenda will be hosting a number of week-long Summer Fishcamps here at the Lodge for teenagers. These will be strictly limited to 8 participants per camp and are sure to be extremely popular. Entry will be on a first come-first served basis. 

Where to meet us!

Glenda will be casting demonstrator at the following fairs, where we will also have a stand where you can come & meet us both. Tweed Fair: Kelso, Scottish Borders. May 3/4 Irish Country Lifestyle Festival:  Shanes Castle, Co. Antrim,     June  21/22.

Blackwater Lodge Newsletter - April 7, 2008

Superb Spring Fishing

The river is finally dropping and settling. The forecast for the rest of the week is for dry cold weather. The fishing has already picked up as a result of the improved conditions. Three springers have been taken on the fly in the last 2 days & another hooked & lost. Two were taken by Frenchman Kilperick Lhobet on SH rod - including the best of the season so far at ~13lb.

Since the river settled, we are getting reports of running fresh fish being seen on all of our upper beats every day, including right up to Beat 16 which is 28 miles upriver from the Lodge.

I've just had a phoned report of a lovely fresh fish off Ballyhooly Bridge today (Monday 7th.) on spinner - they just keep on coming! Thirteen fish have been taken so far this year - of which 8 have been released alive.

Fishing Report page

Due to a limitation on the number of passwords, I have had to remove a large number which appear to have been issued to people who haven't subsequently booked fishing at the Lodge. This has been done to ensure that those who do wish to book with us will have first opportunity to get all the latest information. If your password has been removed & you do intend to come & fish with us, then do let me know so that we can re-establish one for you.

Availability

There is no problem for availability of fishing and accommodation at the Lodge at the moment.

Tackle Shop

There are exciting developments here. We now have a greatly expanded range of Loop products. We have also just installed a brand new display and stock from the Donegal Fly Company.

We now also have an extensive range of Rolla Flying C's from France - not the cheapest, but most definitely the best. The range includes the Silver Bullets, and we also have a good stock of these spinners with single hooks, which are almost impossible to get hold of.  Very useful for being able to Catch & Release.

 

 

 

 

 

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