Reflecting on 2 days fishing on Lough Conn as part of the annual Lough Conn and Culling Anglers and DTAA weekender in Crossmolina, I’m reminded of the vast array of expressions we use to describe the act of not catching fish. In fairness, it’s far more common to not catch a fish and therefore it makes sense that we anglers have a rich vocabulary to talk through and unpack the normal experience of fishing. Sure as many an angler has replied when as how many fish they caught: if it was about catching fish they’d have called it catching and not fishing.
So let’s start, in no particular order, a dictionary of not catching fish:
I missed one
I had one
I lost one
I stirred one
I brought up one
I rose one
I had an offer
I didn’t even have an offer
I broke in one
It got off
It broke me
It came short
It followed me
It splashed at me
It came over my flies
It had a look
They weren’t up
They weren’t on it/them
They’re on the bottom
They’re on snails
They’re on hog lice
There’s too much weed
They are just not there
I had the wrong size I had the wrong colour I felt it on
I saw the boil
They’re not taking the fly properly yet
There’s too much blue in the sky
The wind isn’t right
It’s too bright
There’s no fly
There’s too much fly
If you have any other ways of describing a lost or missed fish please add it in the comments below.
Sitting here sun kissed and wind burned after two days hard fishing on Lough Conn, I can only say fair play to those who had fish. A harsh northerly, north-easterly wind and bright sun plagued us both days, with the first hour on Saturday 3rd offering the best conditions and results over the two days.
Esteemed Irish international and Mayo local Joe Ferguson knocked it out of the park, taking top spot both days and winning the Pratt Cup on Sunday and getting Mayo through to victory and the bragging rights of the coveted Dublin Bowl on Saturday. In addition, Joe took home the Ronnie Miley Trophy for best angler across both days, fishing with upcoming junior angler Cian Ferguson on Sunday.
Plenty of fly life and it was truely heartening to see the Mayfly up in good numbers. Overall the east of the lake and particularly Cloghans and Brackwanshagh performed well on Saturday and Sunday, with the Fir Tree shore, Gallagher’s and the Middle of Mayo offering up keepers on Sunday. Fish were also caught in Tolan’s but it was Cloghans that worked for Joe… on both days. The most successful flies were French Partridge yellow and green mayflies, and also the boobie mayfly.
On Saturday, the Dubs recorded 27 fish for 19 anglers while the wily Mayo men brought in 30 fish over 28cm, with all fish returned to fight another day. 24 of those 57 fish were over 13 inches, which was better than how things went on the Sunday with just 10 fish returned from 9 anglers. Mayo anglers represented 7 of those 9 with Gerry Heaslip (who has fish on both days) and Tony McGrattan sparing the Dubs total annihilation.
Donal Rafftery was the top DTAA rod on Saturday while Tony McGrattan was top DTAA angler for Sunday. Nice to see some new faces there too from DTAA: Niall O Hearcain, Pat Foley and Stephen Mulholland
The winners gallery for Saturday is below:
1st: Joe Ferguson2nd: Donal Rafftery3rd: Stephen Browne4th: Colum McAndrew5th: Noel Sheils6th: Gerry Heaslip8th John Walsh7th: John O’Neill8th: John Walsh9th: Martin McGorian
The bright sunshine contributed to the high spirits and camaraderie:
Joe Ferguson had two good fish from his 5 on Saturday:
Some pictures from Sunday:
what a performance from Joe Ferguson, top rod both days in CloghansRonnie Miley Trophy goes to Joe Ferguson2nd: Brian Gallagher3rd: Tony’s prize collected by Willie4th: Colum McAndrewGerry and CathalPadraig and Declan toast Tolan’sNephin watching over proceedingsTea at Tolan’sTolan’s was baked in bright sunshineTolan’s
What a weekend. This friendly fishing event is going now for more than 55 years with host Padraig Traynor and DTAA’s Gary Coakley being there from the start as their fathers founded it. Glad to see that it is thriving, thanks to the huge contribution of Orla Walsh, Padraig and Gary and others who lend a hand. To the Mayo anglers who give up their weekend to boat the Dubs around the lake, putting up with their tall stories, a massive thank you. We say it’s about the fishing, but really it’s about sharing the experience of fishing, talking about it, making up stories and of course deepening our knowledge and expertise. If there is one word to capture the Crossmolina weekend it’s Friendship. Thanks to the Conn and Cullin anglers for being our friends.
The temperature was good, no rain, plenty of fly life and despite a sometimes gusty southwesterly wind, plenty of fish were caught.
DTAA Secretary Cathal McDonnell won the day, with his fourth trout in the last 10 mins, and while casting under a tree ! Nymphs , lures and wets proved to be the best methods.
13 anglers turned out with eight weighing in fish and most of those heading to the upper lake having bagged two fish on the lower lake.
Jim takes 2nd placePaul takes 3rd placeSpecial weight prize goes to FranTop spot to Cathal
Results table below
With two of the 7 competitions for the 2025 season now completed the leaderboard for DTAA Angler of the year is taking shape:
Thanks to Tom Hipwell for organising with support from Declan and Alan. Next competition is the LM Byrne Cup on Lough Leane on 14th June.
26 hardy DTAA anglers turned out for the season opener on Owel last Saturday. Not a cloud in the sky and a stiff Easterly wind made the fishing uncomfortable for some, with the Western shore more challenging than the other side of the lake.
7 anglers returned fish with only 3 of those weighing in 2 fish. The best of the fishing was across in Brabazon’s but Matt Clarke managed to come across fish a little outside of Srudarra.
Legendary DTAA angler PJ O’Driscoll came in first place with 2 fish for 4.38 Lbs and his boat partner Chris Meadows also returning 2 fish for 3.5 Lbs and securing 3rd position. DTAA Competition Secretary, Tom “Stormy” Hipwell came in 2nd place with his 2 fish weighing 3.82 Lbs. Special weight went to the aforementioned Matt Clark who, despite the wind, managed to get his flies down deep enough to temp up the fish.
PJ on top spot
Tom takes second place
Chris in third
Matt secures the special weight prize.
Full results below.
Thanks to Tom for organising and to Declan, Alan, Cathal, Clive and all who helped on Saturday.
DTAA have 4 club boats available to our members, 3 boats on Lough Owel and 1 boat on Lough Lene. Check availability in the calendar below and contact the boat manager Jim Guiney or John O’Neill by phone or email to confirm your preferred location and date. For their contact details, please see your membership card. Please note that the booking will not be confirmed until the boat manager has confirmed
Life jackets must be worn at all times and please check the weather forecast before setting out.
NOTE: you might need to rotate your phone to landscape mode to view the full width of this calendar on mobile.
Boat Safety: Click here for useful information on boating safety
Please exercise care on the water. Life jackets must be worn at all times and please check the weather forecast before setting out.
Pulling up and locking the Boat after use:
Leave the boat clean and tidy and take all your litter home
Pull the boat well up on the shore
Ensure that there is a tyre under each side so that the boat is stable
Lock the oars with the chain and lock around the boat seat
Lock the ground chain at the bow (front of boat) to the designated DTAA concrete anchor point
Perfect conditions: wind, cloud, temperature, sedge and olives hatching; the rain held off. 26 anglers returned 21 fish in this 2 fish limit competition to round off the DTAA season.
Some great fish weighed in including Dermot Flynn’s fish of 5.59lbs, which with his second fish, gave a bag of 8.16lbs well ahead of nearest rival Willie Scully with 2 fish for 5.7lbs. Donal Monahan was in 3rd place with 2 fish for 5.56lbs
Full results table is here:
Fish were caught all over the lake but Srudarra performed well with opportunities for dry flies later in the afternoon. Fish were caught too near the railway line past Jack’s shore and Dermot Flynn had excellent fish late enough in the day at Lady’s Island. As well as winning the McCarron Cup, Dermot had the heaviest fish on the day AND the year! His fish was almost a pound heavier than Jim Keeshan’s fish during then Ian Rowand Trophy on the same lake.
DTAA treasurer, Declan McKibben, had a great day’s fishing with Terry O’Keeffe. Declan’s strategy was to follow Tom Hipwell around the lake and to do what he did. This paid off and Declan bagged up before lunch. Declan switched to dries later in the afternoon, catching and releasing two further trout. Terry O’Keeffe had a great fish just before lunch. It was the second heaviest fish at 3.71lbs.
Despite the possibility of an upset to the overall DTAA Angler of the year leaderboard going into this final competition, Dave Canning was secure with Alan Doherty’s 2 points not being enough to bridge the gap that Dave earned throughout the season.
Here are a selection of pictures from the day, with DTAA President Fran Nugent at the prize giving.
Willie Scully, 2nd PlaceTerry O’KeeffePep talk done, the eager anglers are about to set outIt was like the wedding feast of Canaan!First Place Dermot FlynnJohn O’Neill, 5th PlaceGary Coakley 4th Place
Most of the anglers joined the end of season dinner in the Greville Arms, where the prize giving took place. Thanks to competition secretary Tom Hipwell, Declan McKibben and Gerry Heaslip for their support with the organisation and running of the competitions through out the season. For many of us it is the activity that we most look forward to. Trusting you all had another good season, and best wishes for the off season; a chance to sort of the gear, restock fly boxes and dream of the new season in March 2025.
As far as we can tell conditions for this Saturday’s McCarron Cup will be good. A moderate westerly wind, cloud cover, low chance of rain but it will be chilly out there for those of us who have been benefiting from the warm weather earlier this month.
The leaderboard as it stands has Dave Canning with a strong lead of 7 points on nearest rival Alan Doherty.:
Dave has been doing great all season with a win in the Elvery and two 3rd place positions. Dave represented Ireland last year in the Internationals and is through to next year’s final having qualified earlier this month.
Dave Canning Capped for Ireland in 2023
SO the bookies’ favourite must be Canning to become the DTAA angler of the year for 2024 but let’s look at potential routes to the coveted title for those currently lagging in 2nd and 3rd positions. The rank outsider is Irish International and master-tiler Eoin Dunne currently on 22 points. If Dunne takes the top spot on Saturday and Canning is not in the top 10, then both anglers will tie on 32 points apiece. The adjudication panel will, in that situation, pore over the results for the previous 6 competitions to identify the relative catch performance of each angler in order to separate the two. The more likely challenge to Canning’s dominance, however, comes from DTAA Competition Secretary, Alan Doherty. Doherty lies 7 points behind Canning and so if he comes 3rd place or higher on Saturday and Canning blanks then the title goes to Doherty. Even if Canning gets into the top 10 picking up 1 or 2 points, then Doherty can still find a path to victory if he comes first on Saturday. In any of these scenarios the Angler of the Year title will go to an angler who has never previously held the title which is a sign to be sure that talent continues to be cultivated and to flourish among those DTAA members who take part in the competitions over the season.
We are looking forward to a good turnout this Saturday on Lough Owel. Always a highlight of the season, the day promises excellent fishing (Owel has fished well this year) and an opportunity to catch up with friends over a meal in the evening in the Greville Arms, for prize giving and to celebrate the end of another season.
Very tough conditions at Bohernabreena last Saturday 7th September for the Ryder Cup. It was hard fishing but despite that 3 top rods had five fish between them. 15 anglers turned out for the day with most returning no fish.
Congratulations to Alan Doherty who won the day with 2 fish for 2.805 Lbs, followed Fran Nugent also with 2 fish (for 2.305) and in third was Dave Canning with one fish. This was Alan’s first DTAA competition win (he’s often placed well in previous competitions however so this comes as no surprise!).
Alan in first placeFran came 2ndThe canny Dave Canning in 3rd place
With just one competition remaining this season Dave Canning has a very good lead on nearest rival Alan Doherty. There is a route to victory for Alan, and indeed for Eoin Dunne (to tie with Dave on 32 points) but Dave must be the bookies favourite! Current leaderboard is below. Next competition is the McCarron on Owel on Saturday 28th September.
Last Saturday 31st August saw the Leinster Qualifiers taking place on Lough Leane. Conditions were very good with many anglers returning fish. This was a catch, release and record competition and the top anglers carded 5 fish. Half of the 12 DTAA members who entered were through. We will list only those who qualified here to avoid shaming the rest of us!
Fran Nugent (3rd), Gerry Heaslip, Brian Conway, Gary Coakley, Tom Hipwell, and Dave Canning all qualified. Well done folks. The final will be fished next year on Melvin.
Pictured here winner Darragh Duncan, Colin Cahill and Fran Nugent (picture credit to ITFFA FB Page)
