Finlough

Yesterday was supposed to be spent ghillieing on Lough Conn, but the client had to postpone at the last minute so instead I had an afternoon to myself. Half a tub of maggots were still in the bait fridge so it made sense to use them up, the question was where?

As you drive north along the N17, made famous by the Saw Doctors, you come to a crossroads just before the village of Ballinacarrow. Take the road on the right and you are heading for Ballymote, but take the left turn and you disappear into a tangle of narrow, forgotten tracks. Along there is a small lake called Finlough, a place I have never fished before, so yesterday I decided to give it a try. Like so many days here in ireland this year the weather was cool and changeable but most of all it was windy, very windy. Regardless, I packed the gear intot he car and a few minutes after midday I turned the key in the ignition and drove off into the heavy lunchtime traffic.

My only clue there was any fish in Lough Finn came from the unlikely source of Google Maps. When trying to find the lough I happened upon their picture of the road as it passed the water. Lo and behold wasn’t there a couple of guys fishing there. While I accept that offered no guarantees they were catching anything it did provide a modicum of hope. Most bodies of stillwater around here hold a few small perch if nothing else so I brought along feeder and float rods. To be honest, there was not much else beyond the rather tired looking maggots for bait, such was the short time I had to gather up the tackle.

I found the lake easily enough, just past the ancient cemetery of Kinvarnet with its ivy covered ruins of the abbey on the roadside. it was smaller than I expected but was unusually well serviced with parking and a picnic table. Getting out to inspect the banks I was delighted to find small concrete fishing stands along the edge. Maybe half-a-dozen four foot square stands had been built along the eastern shore and I picked one at random to tackle up. My only concern was that damn wind, it was blowing very had more or less right in my face. I tackled up in bright sunshine and in a few minutes was fishing.

Following my now well rehearsed procedures, the feeder rod was first to be put together and cast 20 yards off to my right. A bank stick, shoved into the earth next to the stand, gave it support and I kept the rod tip as low as possible in an effort to reduce the effect of the wind. My ‘go to’ rig of a 20 gram maggot feeder with five inches of six pound mono on the end of a twizzled boom and a size 14 hook was loaded with maggots. Then I turned to the float rod. Not knowing the water I had six pound line on the reel which in hindsight was probably overkill and my normal 4 pound would probably sufficed. A loaded waggler, shotted down and a size 16 hook to four pound completed the simple set up. In a first for me, my initial depth setting was absolutely spot on when I cast the plummet three rod lengths out.

I like to get my baits in the water then sit back and take in my surrounds but the fish had other ideas. A firm rattle on the feeder resulted in a perch just minutes after I had commenced fishing. Not a monster but neither was it the smallest perch i have caught. of course it had swallowed the hook right down but it was soon retrieved and off it swam.

The troublesome wind made life uncomfortable as it gusted, changed direction and generally made the fishing difficult. Small waves made bite detection hard on the float and the tip of the feeder rod danced around as if it was possessed. I soldiered on, adding balls of groundbait to the swim in front of me, and loose feeding maggots by catapult between gusts. Apart from that perch though there was little in the way of fishy interest. A shower rattled through, the cold rain stinging my face. Was this really the month of June? It feels more like November!

Small rudd were topping occasionally and three of the little blighters grabbed my bait over the next hour. three inch rudd are not at the top of anyone’s list of prized catches but I suppose at least there was some action. Finally the float dipped and I lifted into a silver which turned out to be a small roach. Launching more groundbait and maggots into the swim held the shoal there for a while and a dozen more roach came to hand, all small but very pretty. If I had been better organised and had brought some hemp with me I feel sure I could have caught more fish.

By now the afternoon was wearing on and with the sky to the north turning the colour of an angry bruise it felt like time to call it a day. Returning to the car I found some discarded line which I gathered up and took home with me. What is wrong with people who leave this kind of thing behind them? The line was new and about 10 pound breaking strain so I will make some twizzled booms out of it rather than chop it up.

I’m glad I made the effort to fish Finlough yesterday. It would have been easier to go to one of the venues I already know but trying a new venue is always rewarding even if the actual fishing is not of the highest order. Will I return again? Possibly but the issue for me is the Ballymote loughs are almost exactly the same distance from home and they teem with skimmers, roach and pike. I might combine the two later this year, trying Finlough for an hour before heading over to Ballymote for the rest of the day. I’ll bring bread with me if I fish here again in the off chance there are some better rudd in there.