It’s hard to believe that we are almost into the last month of the fishing season already. All in all, we cannot complain here at Delphi, in that we fared better than most places both in Spring and Summer. While our Grilse catches were not huge, the run was good, with Finlough very well stocked with fish at this stage. Salmon were hard to tempt everywhere, but unlike other systems, we cannot complain about the numbers that ran.
My last update included fish caught up to the 20th of July. There were 22 more fish landed to the end of the month. 16 of these were in week 30, with Neal Thompson having the first of approx 6lbs from the Turn on a Monkey Dog. Courtnay Kleindl from the US landed her first ever salmon, of approx. 4.5lbs from Finlough on a Mini Tube. Daniel Rosenbauer from Germany also had his first ever salmon of 3lbs from Cooleens on a Cascade. Doug Hudson from the US also managed his first ever, of approx. 2.5lbs from Duck Run on a Delphi Collie. Urs got into his stride, landing 8 for the week, 6 off Finlough and 2 off the River. Teddy Coulter and Luke Drea also had fish off the River. There were 6 more to the end of the month, with Hughie Clarke having 2, and Urs, John Taylor, Brian Gray and Paddy Mc all having 1 each. That brought our total for July to 96 and the year to date 189. Conditions throughout July were good here, with the Doolough automatic rain gauge recording the highest in the country with 323mms (12.71”), but our gauge on the lawn at the lodge had 333.4mms (13.1”). Sea trout were slow for the month with only 60 landed, having said that there were very few people specifically targeting them.
August was as always steady till about the 19th of the Month and salmon catches have been extremely quite since. Conditions throughout were good with the river running at 24 today, which is actually the lowest it’s been all month. We have landed 40 for the month to date. As usual the Beattie party excelled for their week 31 and 32 stay with 13 fish landed, off the river and Finlough. Paddy Mc finished his stay with 2 more on the 1st, while Urs, John Taylor, Alan Dunlop and Billy Marshall had a fish each to finish their visits. Tash Elwyn from the US landed his first ever salmon of approx. 10 from the Whin on a Mini Collie. In week 32, along with the Beattie party, Hamish MacAuley, Oliver Ross, Teddy Coulter, Mark Forest. Richard Hasson and Vincent McHugh all had fish, while Zach Cave landed his first ever, of approx. 3.5lbs from the Goat on a Mini Sunrae. There were 4 fish on the 12th, with Fergal Costello having 2 and Walter and Wayne Byrne 1 each. Susan Byrne had a fish on the 18th off Fin, while Joe Tracey had his first Delphi salmon in 15 years, a fish of 4lbs6ozs from the Meadow Pool on a Delphi Collie. Salmon have gone on strike since, with none landed, although a session on Finlough could either make you laugh or cry with fish showing everywhere. August total to date is 40 and 229 for the year.
On a positive note, Sea Trout improved dramatically, although anglers are now specifically targeting them. Angus Sutherland’s party had over 50 for 8 rod days, the majority between .5 and 1lb but great sport nonetheless. Total sea trout for the month to date are 110. I would be hopeful that sea trout fishing will improve in September as the Daddy Log Legs are only recently out here. There are plenty rods available in September if anyone would be interested in finishing up their season, just give us a shout. D.McEvoy
