Mid September and recent heavy rain has pushed water levels up. Small numbers of fish are running but Lough Beltra is pretty much finished for another season so I decided to take advantage of a quiet day to take a boat off the lake. All too often this task is attempted in high winds and driving rain making the whole exercise unpleasant and hard work, so a day like yesterday made a welcome change and I could enjoy just being out in the early Autumn countryside.
I borrowed a van and trailer and headed for the lake around 10am in glorious sunshine. I used to live very near to the lake so I know the people in the houses as I drove along the quiet road past the fields of cattle and sheep. I mulled over that strange sense of belonging yet being apart which every ‘blow in’ feels here in the West. Out the Newport Road and those never-ending roadworks which have kept Mick O’Malley’s lads so busy all summer and along the new stretch at the back of Cornanool before taking the Bangor road off to the right. The first views of Nephin and those deceptive bends at the Glenisland National School. Through the still green trees with the river on the right, now thankfully back down to a normal level. The land was very wet but still retained that vibrancy of well tended farmland. Then along the edge of the lake and the temptation to look at the water instead of the road! I swung the wheel hard left and drove into the harbour carpark.
Boats are an integral part of our fishing here. Back in Scotland everyone hired a boat for a day’s fishing but in the West of Ireland you don’t get off as lightly as that. Maintaining, baling, lifting, storing, varnishing, sanding, checking and moving boats takes a bit of effort and you either accept and enjoy the experience of owning a small fishing boat or the time spent on them will feel wasted. I admit to enjoying the whole boat owning experience and so days like yesterday were a joy for me.
The recent rains had left some boats full of water. The modern fibreglass hulls never really sink due to the buoyancy tanks fitted to them. They fill up to the top but with a bit of baling they can soon be re-floated. The boat I was moving was half full and took about 20 minutes to bale out with the aid of a big bucket. Some fellas fit pumps to their boats but the bucket meets all my water removal requirements and the little bit of exercise does no harm.
Taking the boat around to the small beach where I could load it on the trailer I stopped for a breather to take in the scenery. Glenisland is a beautiful place and on a day like yesterday with the sun on the hills it was picture-postcard Ireland.
Now came the job of loading the boat on to the trailer. In a big wind this can be tricky but the flat calm meant aligning the boat and winding her up on to the trailer was pretty straight forward. Lights clamped to the back, run the cable to the connection on the tow bar then pull the belly band across to secure her in place – it all went like clockwork.
I double checked everything and then set off back home bathed in early autumn sunshine. It has been a poor season but hopefully enough spawning stock has evaded the nets, sea lice, seals and all the other perils which salmon and sea trout face to regenerate the rivers which feed Beltra. I will be back here again soon to help out with the Glenisland club boat lift when we take all the club boats out of the lake for the winter and stow them safely inside. Only when that day is over will it feel like the end of the season for another year.
Claretbumbler 
