SEPTEMBER REPORT · 5 October 2008
The unusually awful summer weather in Ireland at least made for some unusually good salmon fishing. The tally for the last month of the season at Delphi equalled the best ever salmon catch for September.
With 132 salmon taken in the month (the same as in September of the record-breaking 1998 season) and over 200 sea trout, there was no lack of action amidst the often dreadful weather. Furthermore, the September salmon total was only three fish short of that for August, which itself was a wet but great fishing month.
The daily salmon catches again showed a solid consistency, with only one blank day in the month: 3, 6, 2, 3, 4, 4, 1, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 2, 0, 2, 5, 5, 4, 1, 1, 7, 1, 8, 4, 7, 1, 1, 4, 37 = 132. The 37 fish taken during the end-of-season party for staff and locals were, as usual, nearly all caught on spinners, but the other 95 September fish were all taken on fly.
Top rods in the month (excluding the final day) were Mark Corps and Andy Smith (with 8 fish each), Jack Browne (7), Jonathan Smalley (5), and Mike Shortt and David McEvoy (4 each). The best fish of the month fell to Andy Smith’s novelist sister Ali who landed an 11½ pounder that was her first ever salmon.
Others to lose their salmon fishing virginity in the month were Roger Gooding (England), Jonty Crosse (Bahrain), Dwight Shelton (USA) and Nicky Haire (UK).
Hot rods during the closing party were ghillies Tom Callinan, Peter Joyce and Ben Bangham (all with 4 each). And front-of-house manager Kasia Wiacek (2), housekeeper Beata Wyczorek and chef Lochlann O’Mearain (2), as well as local youngsters Michael McNally and Daragh Heneghan, all caught their first ever salmon, Daragh’s being the biggest of the day at 7¾ pounds.
Finlough was the place to be in September, yielding 89 salmon, while the river produced 34 and Doolough 9 (plus most of the sea trout). All but one of the 21 wild fish caught were released alive.
Overall, although the 500 salmon target for the year was narrowly missed, the last month of the Delphi season proved productive and enjoyable.
— Peter Mantle
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