Trolling for Tuna off Portland, Victoria, Australia

I was joined by a pod of dolphins whilst trolling for Tuna 20 kms offshore from Portland, Victoria

How to make Salmon Gravlax Blackwater Lodge Stlyle

In my last post, you saw the 11 1/4 lb salmon that I had caught, being filleted by Ian Powell of the Blackwater Lodge. We kept two tail sections from the salmon fillets to prepare Gravlax and in the video below you can see how this is how it is done

My first salmon of the 2015 Season

I am back on the Cork Blackwater River at Ballyduff and have caught my first salmon of the 2015 season, a 11 1/4 lb fresh run May fish. I caught it on Lower Kilmurry Beat of the Blackwater Lodge on a flying C black and silver size 4 spinner. Currently it is the largest salmon of the season caught on the Blackwater Lodge beats. The river is in perfect condition and height with a slight colour and excellent clarity. The grilse have started to run up river with a few being caught mainly on the upstream beats of Carrig and Ballygarret

I have also added a link to a video of Ian Powell of the Blackwater Lodge showing how to properly fillet and prepare a salmon.

Hi, I am back in Ireland and fishing the River Blackwater in Counties Cork and Waterford.  have landed 4 good fish to 10 lbs so far and lost a cracker of about 25 lbs.

This is my latest fish, caught at Lower Kilmurry beat, island stream opposite the second ladder into the river. It took a size 10 cascade fished on a floating line with a 10 foot intermediate poly leader and 9 foot 15lb fluorocarbon leader.

It took me 35 minutes to land the fish which was fresh with sea lice and very fit. It would not come out of the fast water even when tired.

I had a problem with my backing jamming on the reel, probably as a result of the fight with the lost 25 pounder and had to rip it off the reel as you can see in the video.

The fishing to date has been patchy but looks like it is coming good with the river now in good fly order as to level and clarity.

It has been warm and bright here. I caught the fish at 9pm when the beat was in shade


Looking forward to next few days

I am in Australia until Next Year

Hi,

Well as the water level dropped, the salmon became more stressed and I fished less as I felt it was inappropriate to pursue fish that we having difficulty coping with their low level, warm water surroundings.

The shrimpers did well, but almost all were stale fish.

I am in Melbourne, Australia and will target the trout in regional Victoria and in the Highlands of Tasmania...and maybe in New Zealand.

Also, I will have a go at the snapper in Port Phillip Bay.

Maybe a post or two, but not many.

All the best and I hope that this blog was enjoyable and possibly a bit informative.

I'll be back next year, a bit older and wiser!

Shrimping for Beginners

I have never fished the shrimp or the prawn before and managed to get lessons from Connor Arnold, Franco and Pat. You can fish the prawn either by "spinning" it: by using a weight and letting it drift along with the current near, but not on the bottom or under a float.

It is vital that you keep contact with the bait as the salmon take it quick and unless you strike, the fish is lost.

I tend to get too much slack in my line and so the strike is a mess!

You will need a prawn pin, treble hook and split shot to fish the prawn. You will also need a pike float if you wish to float the shrimp down the run.The prawns are dyed either purple or red.

This is a deadly method in low water.

Many consider it unsporting, especially the fly purists. I am undecided, but concerned at the impact of its effectiveness in prolonged low water conditions.

I have attached some videos of my mentors teaching me to fish the prawn on the Carrig Beat of the
Blackwater River.

This is the basic rig:-

Float
Float stoppers to vary depth below float to bait
Lead shot weights
Swivels to avoid kinks and twists in the line
short leader with running shrimp securing pin:;
Either treble or single hook
Dyed preserved shrimps

See photo below:

Shrimp Pin, Treble Hook and Preserved Dyed Shrimps

This is how you fish it!








I will update the Shrimping after I have had a few more go's and a few more lessons from the "experts"!

Visit to Waterford Crystal Factory

Well, the water is very low in the Blackwater River and not so good for the fly. So. time for some sightseeing.

I went to Waterford City, which is a historic city on the river Suir, which is a famous salmon and trout river. It is reputedly Ireland's oldest City having been established by the Vikings in 873 (nearby and then chased out) then again in 914.

There is an old section of the city called the "Viking Triangle" which contains many old stone buildings.

I took the factory tour. Have a look at the video below

Some photos of the craftsmen at work. Pieces such as the US Ooen and Irish Derby trophies are made here.

Wooden Molds Used to Form the Basic Piece

Glass Blowing Area

The 5 stages of manufacture - Rough Cast, Clean up, engraving (2) and polishing

First Stage after Blowing - Clean Up and Rough Cuts

Engraving the Pattern

Computer Generated Cutting ad ngraving

The Drawing and Cutting Instructions

The Old mixed with the New in the Waterford Crystal Factory