Sunday. The weather is promised to get fine again later in the day so I decided to try my luck on Lough Conn for a few hours. The word on the street is that a small number of salmon and grilse has been running the Moy and a few have been landed all the way from the Ridge Pool up to the East Mayo Anglers water. I am hoping that at least some of these fish have turned into Lough Conn.
I load the car with engine, petrol tank and gear then head up the road. Nick Cave and the Badseeds are blasting out ‘more news from nowhere’ on the CD player. I love the juxtaposition of Nick’s tale of Greek mythology and the seedy video which accompanies it with my innocent journey through the glorious Mayo countryside. I am off down quiet country roads and winding lanes to Pike Bay where my boat is safely moored.
I get the boat ready but the wind is set North-North-East and the far horizon is shimmering blue already. Hopes of a decent day’s are fading before I even pull the cord and the old Johnson outboard splutters into life. Ah well, I am here anyway so I will give it a lash. Motoring up into Castlehill Bay there is no sign of fly life and the swallows are absent. I set up a team of wet flies for a start and drift across the bay a couple of times without stirring anything. No flies, no rising fish and no offers and by 11am the sun is burning in the sky and the wind is dropping. It is going to be a hard day out here!
A cup of coffee and couple of tomato sandwiches are consumed as I set up a pair of trolling rods and head off down towards Massbrook. Something small grabs a bait soon after I get going but it quickly shakes the hooks (no mean feat considering the trebles on a Rapala). I’m constantly scanning the surface for any signs of fly life but the lough looks and feels absolutely dead. The light is now brassy and these conditions are very difficult for the trout angler on the western lakes. Of course I could break out the fast sinking lines and head out into the deeps to search for small trout feeding on daphnia but I am no lover of that type of fishing.
At the entrance to Pike Bay the rod with a small silver Toby on it jerks into life. I reel in a small fish and am surprised to see a small sea trout has taken the bait. Just as I reach out to land it the hooks fly out and the fish swims off none the worse for its adventure. Sea trout are not common in Lough Conn, despite good numbers being present down at the mouth of the River Moy. This one was only a small lad, less than a pound in weight by the look of it.
I double back and am heading down Cornakillew when the Rapala is taken again. Any hopes of Salar are quickly dashed and a brownie is boated. This one has swallowed the bait and so he gets a tap on the head and into the bag for my dinner tonight. He will be about a pound and a quarter in weight and is a well-shaped fish.
I take the opportunity to change the link swivel (which looks a bit suspect to me) and the bait. Since the Rapala is interesting small fish I think I will stick to them but go for a jointed version with a bit more wiggle to it in an effort to arouse the salmon.
Still no fly life. A solitary mayfly lands in the boat with me but that’s it. The heat is building and the sun burns down on me. Time to head home I think. One last turn around the pin yields a firm knock which turns out to be a Perch.
It seems I can catch anything today except the salmon I am really after! Back in Pike Bay I unload the boat and chuck everything into the back of the car, it’s too hot to take much care now and I just want to get back home in time to cut the grass.
Lessons from today? The Rapala is certainly worth more time on the end of the line. Not only did it lure some (admittedly small) fish but it is easy to use in the weedy conditions which are with us now until the end of the season. The floating models are a joy to use on the troll and they pop up to the top if you have to stop to play a fish on the other rod.
The lack of fly life during the day is not unusual on Conn at this time of year and the heat today suggests it is time to think about evening fishing. I might try the rivers again this week, Blue Winged Olives should be on the menu in the evenings and sedges in the darkness could elicit the attention of the bigger trout.
Back in the car I swing the wheel and slowly head down the narrow winding track back towards civilisation. So that’s it for now, I have no more news from nowhwere …………
Update: The trout made a fabulous dinner. When I was cleaning it I discovered that I had inadvertently been ‘matching the hatch’ by using the Rapala – the fish was stuffed with perch fry.
Link to the salubriously sleazy ‘more news from nowhere’ video:
Claretbumbler 