WE STILL HOPE TO RUN A MAC'MILLAN FISH OFF THIS SPRING,DETAILS AS SOON AS I GET THEM.
09/02/12 TO 12/02/12
Fog was the main factor this weekend, but some sunny spells meant alot of fish rising which was nice to see at this time of year. Jim Magill had great fun landing 22 mostly on a green fritz lure, Bob McCormick netted 7 on green and white lure, Billy Todd netted 9 on green buzzers and green lures, Derek Vance netted 14 on mixed lures and buzzers, Brian Bigmore netted 10 mostly on various small drys with his 1 fish bag weighing 4lb, Michael currie landed 11 on mixed drys and black knats including a 4lb steel head, Michael Booth 11 mostly on an orange blob again his 1 fish bag was 4lb 2oz, David Williamson netted 9 on bloodworm, Ron Dunlop 8 on mixed small buzzers, Andy Rollins landed 8 on mixed lures, Pat Harkin 6 mostly on lures and 1 on a dry, Joe O Neill also 6 on olive drys 4 of these were 3+4lb steel heads, Tommy McGrath and Robert Aspinall neck and neck with 3 each on lures, black sleechs and 2 on a kath Mcclarnon, Ernie Kirpatrick netted 4 and lost alot on black lures, Neil Hewitts 3 fish bag weighted in at 8lb 5oz, and Jim Greggs 3 fish bag was 6lb 3oz both returning a few more on pheasent tail nymphs drys and buzzers, John Gillan netted 4 on orange lures his 2 fish bag was 6lb 2oz. Alot of nice fish getting caught this weekend again but lures, buzzers, drys everything being used so no flys of the week.. There will be no weekly report next weekend due to website maintenance but we will be back again the following week.
02/02/12 TO 05/02/12
Parts of the lake frozen on Friday and the most of the lake Frozen on Sunday which we did not expect, we had to break the ice for anglers to fish, but still the fish were rising throughout Sunday. Ryan Creighton got of to a good start landing 12 on a white fritz, Jim Magill also doing well netting 15 including a 10lb rainbow and a 4+lb steel head on a mixture of bloodworm, buzzers and lures. Derek Vance again 15 on mixed lures, John Richmond netted 4 on bloodworm including a tagged fish £25 to him. Joe Oneill landed 8 on black lures and blobs, Leslie Beggs landed 8 on a purple minky, Keith Nelson netted 5 on white fritz, Michael Wakeland 9 and Michael Booth 8 all on black and green buzzers, Duggie Dunlop landed 3 on damsel nymphs, Tomm Wharry 4 on olive crunchers and dancers, Colin and Martin Foster 6 between them on mixed lures their 3 fish bag weighted in at 8lb 10oz, Martin Bradley and John Hassan of Dungiven netted 3 each on their first visit to Craigmore on buzzers and lures. Des Moran 4 on hoppers and lures, Robert Paul netted 2 on a damsel nymph and yes a black dry fly. Lets hope thats all the frost we see this year...Flys of the week lures of all colours and black and green buzzers....
26/01/12 TO 29/01/12
Not many anglers braving the cold,rain and frost this weekend so the report will be short and sweet, but as usual lots of good numbers and nice fish getting caught. Tommy Warry of Ballynure netted 7. 3 on gold headed damsels, 3 on orange headed damsels and 1 on a dawl bach two of these were 3+lb and 1 was 4+lb. Martin Foster Belfast netted 20 on mixed lures,all of his fish were 2.8lb and over and his two fish bag weighed 6.4lb, Colin Foster again Belfast landed 14 on black and pink lures, all of his fish were arround 3lb and 5 were around 4lb, his 1 fish bag weighted 4.2lb. Jim Magil Randalstown netted 7 mostly on black and green lures and a couple on green and white lures including a 3.8lb fish. Derek Vance Belfast landed 9 on mixed lures. Mark Gillan Glemgormley landed 6 on mixed lures all were around the 3lb mark and one was 6+lb. Daniel Gillan again Glengormley netted 4 on mixed lures, Flys of the week 99% caught on lures this weekend mostly black and green...
19/01/12 TO 22/01/12
Strong winds battering the lake most of the weekend, but when lt calmed of Friday afternoon we saw a great rise if fish and a couple of anglers changing to dry flys. Billy Hazalett netted 7 on black, red and green buzzers, Barry Mckenna again netted 7 including a 9-10 rainbow a couple of steel heads over 3lb on olive hares ear buzzers, Jim Magill netted 7 of black and green lures, Martin Foster netted 15 on black and green lures and his 2fish bag carrying 2 beautiful steel heads weighed in at 8lb on the dot. Michael Booth netted 12 on buzzers and Michael Wakeland 15 on red and black buzzers and green dawl bachs, Derek Vance 9 on mixed coloured lures including a 4+lb rainbow and a 3+lb steel head, Mark Telford 6 on mostly cats whisker and Davy Couples netted 6 including a 3.4 steel head on olive buzzers and 1 on a black lure, H McMullan landed 5 on his first visit to Craigmore in years on klinkhammers and purple fritzs, Robert Caddie of Bangor netted 2 on his first ever visit here including a 3+lb steel head on okey doky and shell back, Jeff Smith 5 on buzzers and sleechs, Norman Milligan 4 on lures, Brian Robb 5 John Roy 3 on green and black lures and black dry flys, Jim Simpson 4 on hot head damsels, Tommy Wharry 4 on dawl bach, black and green lures and a cats whisker, Leslie Beggs 4 on lures, P Nicell 4 on lures, heres hoping the weather if a lot better next week...Flys of the week buzzers and lures, green black and olive mostly.....
12/01/12 TO 15/01/12
Everything from sunshine, fog and bitter cold winds this weekend but Tommy Wharry still got off to a good start landing 10 including a 5.8lb rainbow on a growler 3+lb steel head on a black and green lure, others being caught on dawl bachs and black cruncher, Jim Simpson netted 3 including a 3.8lb fish on dawl bach and nymphs, A Brown netted 6 on montana nymphs, JIM magill netted 8 including a 3lb and 4lb steel heads all caught on green and black,green and white lures, Keith Richer netted 6 including a 4lb fish on cats whisker, Matthew Stranaghan landed 12, Paul Sinnamon netted 10 on black dancer, Kenny Cowan again netted 10 on assorted blobs, Shane Ash landed 8 on orange blobs, Billy Todd netted 4 2 on small buzzers and 2 on lures, Robert Wilson landed 10 on yellow lures, Bobby Hutton netted 4 on orange lures, Derek Vance netted 13 on mixed lures and buzzers, Martin Foster 12 on lures, Steven Brennan 9 on buzzers and blobs and Neil o'boyle netted 3 on the same, Michael Booth landed 5 on olive buzzers, Michael Wakeland 6 2 on red and black buzzers and 4 on hares ear nymphs, Paul Armstrong stuck with the size 24 self tied black drys and landed 2. Flys of the week lures of all colours...
05/01/12 TO 08/01/12
Very strong winds on Thursday keeping most anglers away but Jim Magill appeared and what a day he had landing 14 fish, including a 2lb brown trout an 8lb rainbow, 4lb and 3.8lb steelheads all on white and green lures and black and green nomads, Robert Paul netted 8 all on size 14 black knat dry flies his 2 fish bag weighted 6lb and all of his other 6 fish came in between 2.8 and 3lb, Steven and Christopher Franklin both netted 3 each on cats whiskers and nomads, Derek Vance landed 7 on lures and buzzers, Martin Foster 10 and Colin Foster 6 on black lures, John Mulvenna netted 11, and lost a few on green and black olive nomads including a 3lb trout, Colin Mcquire caught a lovely natural rainbow just below 0.8lb on an orange nomad proving they are some breeding. Andrew Cauldwell netted 4 including a 4+lb on a yellow lure, Michael Wakeland landed 9, 7 on mixed buzzers and 2 on hares ear, Joe Oneill stuck to the drys and landed 3 including a lovely 4+lb steel head, Paul Magowan landed 7 on black buzzers including a nice 7lb fish (see Gallery) and E and K Brown netted 5 on mixed lures, Joe Thompson netted 3 including a tagged fish on a green fritz £25 to him, lots of small black flys on the water on Sunday lots of fish rising you would not have thought it was early January..Flys of the week lures doing the best this week with black and olive dry flies close behind...
Christmas and New Year Report
23/12/11 TO 02/01/12
I am doing a rollover report as we were shut Saturday and Sunday of last week, First off the winners of the close Christmas competition are Colin Foster who's 2 fish bag was 8lb 8oz gets £100, Martin Johnson 2 fish bag was 8lb 1oz gets £50, and Robert Paul 2 fish weighted in at 7lb 12oz gets a tin of sweets, alot of nice fish there well done lads. A mixed bag in this report some guys doing really well, some unable to work out what they were taking but again about 20 fish were caught on drys flys over the holidays. Jim Simpson 13 on dawl bach, nomads,montanas and cats whiskers 1 at 4lb and most of the rest between 2.8-3lb, T Wharry 10 on red dawl bachs and growlers again 1 at 4lb and a the rest between 2-3lb, Tommy McGrath 10 on ace of spades 1 at 6lb and another just below 4lb, Leslie beggs 8 on yellow dancers, orange beta bloodworm and okey dokys, michael Curry 9 on black and red buzzers including 1 at 4+lb, Adrian Fox landed 15 on his first visit and 6 on his second on red flexy floss and beaded bloodworms including 2 arround 4lb, Colin Foster 19 and dad Martin 12 on mixed black lures, Robert Paul 7, 5 on drys 2 on lures, Martin Johnson 8 on buzzers including 2 around 4lb, Maurice Finlay 6 on black and green fritz including 1 at 4lb, Ronnie Adair 6 on black lures and dawl bachs including a great fish arroung 9lb, Paul Armstrong stuck to the drys and landed 3 on size 20 black shipmans including a 3lb fish, Jeff Kearns landed 6 and 5 on his visits on okey doky and bloodworm including a couple between 2-3lb, Davy Couples 6 on various flys, Jim McAlornan landed 2 on shipmans drys, Jeff Hamill 6 on self tied dry flys, Frank Meekin 6 on dawl bach and bloodworm 2 arround 3lb, Dougie Dunlop 10 on pink,orange black and green lures including a 3.8-4lb fish, William Paddock netted 3 including 1 at 3lb and 1 at 4lb, Steven Brooks 4 on bloodworm and dawl bach. Flys of the week bloodworm and dawl bachs....
5/12/11 TO 18/12/11
Icey conditions and showers not making it pleasent this week again, but still some good fishing going on. Derek Vance on a roll this week again landing 23 mostly on black lures with an intermediate line, Michael Wakeland 12 on red dawl bachs, and 1 on a hares ear nymph, and 1 on a red buzzer,11 of his fish were between 2&3.8lb, Michael Booth 8 again red dawl bachs these included a 4.8lb steel head and a 11.8 rainbow which took him 25mins to land (see gallery), both Michaels using floating lines with 10ft casts, gold beaded nymphs on the point to sink and dawl bachs and hares ear nymphs and buzzers on the droppers then slow retrieve. Jim Magill 4 including a 3.8lb steel head on bloodworms and lures, Edd Brown 4 including a 5lb and 3lb steel heads, John Thompson 7 on red bloodworm and black fritz, Nigel Doran 7 on orange lures and Peter McToal 6 on mixed lures. Remember we are closed 24th and 25th and open again on the 26th to the 1st of January with lots of spot prizes that week. I have to end this weeks report on a sad note after hearing the news that Tommy Tweedy of Antrim passed away last week, Tommy who could be seen on Thursdays or Fridays at Craigmore enjoying the crack and giving us all a laugh, will be missed and myself and a lot of anglers wish to send his family our condolences.
08/12/11 TO 11/12/11
Severe winds, snow showers, and icey conditions kept most anglers indoors this weekend so there is not as many as usual to report on, but again most of those who ventured out done well. Derek Vance could do no wrong when he landed 25 fish on damsels and mixed lures, at least 3 of them were 3+lb and a couple 4+lb, Martin Foster landed 7 including a 9lb rainbow again mixed lures, Colin Foster 3 including a 3lb fish, Dougie Dunlop 8 on mixed lures, Trevor Thompson 5 on brown cats whiskers and orange minky, Graham Smith 6 on cats whiskers, Tom McKeown 9 on ace of spades and green and black fritz,John Smith 7 on orange lures and Paul Johnson 5 on various coloured lures, Some anglers have said they don,t like competitions and some do so over the Christmas period i have decided to please both. There will be a small competition starting this weekend 15th Dec and running over the Christmas period. £20 to enter for a 2 fish bag including lunch, heaviest bags wins £100 first prize, £50 second, and a fly line for 3rd, you dont have to enter and it will not disrupt the fishing, or you can enter as many times as you like over the Christmas period. Also over the Christmas week we will be running the popular spot prizes were I ring the bell and the next angler to catch a fish will receive a small prize its always fun, The fishery is closed Christmas eve and Christmas day, we open again on Boxing day right through to 1st of January we are not closed or usual mon-wed that week, so come over and enjoy fun and games...Flys of the week cats whiskers and orange lures...
01/12/11 TO 04/12/11
Bitter cold winds and snow showers this weekend but there was still between 25-30 fish caught over 3lb in weight. Martin Foster netted 16 on mixed lures including 6 fish between 3.8lb and 4lb, his two fish bag weighted 7lb 14oz, Michael Wakeland netted 6, 2 on mustard nymphs and 4 on custard cream buzzers including a 6.2oz and a 3.8oz fish, Jack Hepburn landed 7 and lost the same again on pink bloodworm, A Hepburn netted 4 on yellow dancers, T Wharry landed 5 on growlers, Bobby Hutton 3 including a 3lb and 2lb 12oz fish on mixed lures, Edd Brown 3 on pink lures including the 3lb 2oz fish he kept, James Owen who was on his first fishing day in years netted 4 including a 3+lb fish on lures and bloodworm, Peter O Neill netted 5 on apps bloodworm again a 3+lb trout, Campbell McMaster did'nt fish for long because of the bitter winds but still managed to net a 3+lb fish, Derek Vance 7 on mixed lures, Matthew Stranaghan landed 6 on hares ear nymphs and cats whiskers at least two of these were 3-3.8lb and a beauty just under 5lb, Stewart McClemments7 on cats whiskers 3 at 3+lb and kept a lovely 2lb 10oz steel head, Jeff Hamill caught 3 on Saturday afternoon all around 3lb in weight on self tied green and pink lures, John Dixon netted 6 on a small black sleech 2 of them were 3+lb, Michael Booth netted 3 again including a 3+lb fish on cream buzzers, Jackie Childs netted 2 on Sunday afternoon but the first was 3+lb and the 2nd 5+lb both on black sleechs, After a very heavy snow shower on Sunday the fish went mad on the surface and Chris Martin caught a 3.8lb trout on a black dry and another on a black and green buzzers, and Paul Armstrong got 2 on black drys again just as the snow stopped,,,Flys of the week... Lures and Bloodworms
24/11/11 TO 27/11/11
Heavy rain and strong winds forcast but again it was not too bad, not as many anglers venturing out because of the weather forcast which in turn affected the bring and buy sale, but still we have already sold £545.00 worth of new and used gear which will make christmas a little nicer for you. We have decided to let it run for another couple of weeks because of the weather and guys calling to say they were working and can they throw stuff down next week etc, Anyway back to the hardy anglers who ventured out this weekend Jim Magill 7 on black and orange buzzers, bloodworm and cdc's, Edd Brown netted 6 four of them were 3+lb in weight on black lures, Leslie Beggs landed 7 on orange lures two were over 3lb and a beautiful 7lb trout, Alan Temple 4 on dry flys, James Harper netted 3 and lost the same again on black wet flys, Derek Vance landed 10+ on buzzers, lures and mixed dry flies, Robert Paul netted 2 on black buzzers and damsel nymphs, Sunday fished better with Michael Wakeland netting 14 on wait for it a custard cream buzzer, Pawel Sinica landed 7 including a 4lb+ steelhead and a 6+lb rainbow all on black buzzers, Martin Duggan netted 9 all on dry flies including a tagged fish netting him £25 well done Martin. Michael Booth netted 8 on red and black buzzers and custard cream buzzers, Davy Couples was'nt fishing for long but still managed to net 3 nice fish, and David Porter got 6 and lost a beauty just as he was about to unhook it, he said it was at least 5-6lb. Alot of big fish must have been feeding this weekend as at least six different anglers told me they hooked big fish and it broke them taking the whole lot, these things are sent to try you guys. If you have any gear you can still leave it down with me or email me you number and the details of any more expensive items that you dont want to leave and i will post it on the website and give you a call if someone is interested. As we don't open again untill Thursday, we held the draw for Novembers ticket winner and James Harpers name was pulled out congratulations James.....Flys of the week buzzers and yes dry flies of all colours caught the most fish this weekend....
17/11/11 TO 20/11/11
Again mild temperatures causing the real small stuff to continue hatching, making your job harder. Jim Magill 12 6 on bloodworm and 6 on olive cdc's, Colin Foster 10 on mixed lures including two at 3+lb and a tagged fish netting him £25, Martin Foster 8 on mixed lures again two over 3lb, Pat Harkin 10 on black and green lures including one over 3.8lb, Tommy McGrath 10 including two over 3lb and one at 4+lb plus one that was foul hooked which Pat won,t count on red and white and black and green lures. Leslie Beggs 8 on nymphs and cdc,s, Edd Brown again 8 on cdc's and blobs, Clifford Gay 7 mostly on lures, I have seen plenty of anglers landing 2 on the one cast but on Thursday Gary Rock of Ballymena 7 but landed not two but three fish on the one cast of buzzers and cdc's well done to him not only for hooking them but managening to get them all in. James Harper 5 on black nymphs including a 4+lb fish, Paul Armstrong got 5 on Thursday and 5 on Sunday all on black drys and cdc's including a couple of 3+lb fish, William Paddock senior netted his first fish at Craigmore on a nymph but it was a lovely 3+lb trout, Billy Todd 5 on various coloured cdc's, The Silver Butchers were with us on Saturday and a couple of them landed nice fish, Wesley Beatty 5 including a 4lb fish on black and green lures, Gordon Dowds landed a nice 4.8lb fish on a bloodworm, Raymond Cherry 4 including a 3+lb fish on dawl bachs, George Walker 5 on cdc's buzzers and bloodworm, Derek Vance netted 4 on lures and buzzers, John Connely 6 again black and green lures, Micheal Griffin 6 including two over 3lb on buzzers, David Porter 3 on buzzers, Gwen McClean landed a nice 3,8-4lb steel head on a sedge. Remember this weekend coming is our sale, bring your unwanted gear and you might get a few quid for it. Do you want a Christmas present you will use well our Gift Vouchers are on sale now, start droping your hints now...Flys of the week cdc's of all colours, bloodworm starting to catch and black and green lures doing well to...
10/11/11 TO 13/11/11
Friday and Sunday the two duller days fished better this weekend but still a staggering 211 fish landed in total this weekend, Fridays forecast was bad which put anglers off, but again it was not as bad as predicted. Jim Magill landed 16 fish on a mixture of drys, bloodworm and buzzers, Jim Simpson of Ballynure landed 5 fish on cats whiskers and dawl bachs including a tagged fish landing him £25, T Wharry netted 7 and his 2 fish bag weighed 5lb 4oz, Edd Brown 6 on cdc's and nymphs, James Harper 6 on drys and nymphs two of them over 3lb, Paul Temple 7 on black spiders, Joe McGonnell 4 on black drys, Joe Mallon 2 on white muddlers including a 3+lb fish, Brian Barron landed 7, 5 on olive buzzers and 2 on ace of spades including a 6+lb trout, Robert Paul again catching on a claret spider his 2 fish bag weighing 5lb 9oz, Pat Harkin 6 including a 3lb fish on green blobs with a black tail, Derek Vance 9 on buzzers and lures, Colin Foster 11 on mixed lures including 4 steel heads at over 3lb each(see gallery). Martin Foster 12 on mixed lures again at least 5 of his fish between 3 and 4lb steel heads, his 3 fish bag weighed in at 9lb 9oz. Tommy McGrath netted 4 and lost the same again on olive wet flys and lures, Jeff Hamil 5 on a self tied orange lure including a 3+lb steel head, Seamus Russell 5 on dawl bachs, Frank Kearny 6 on hares ears nymphs, Davy Couples 2 including a 4lb steel head on black and green lures, Michael Booth 8 on mixed buzzers and his 1 fish bag weighed 3lb on the button, and Michael Wakeland again 8 on mixed buzzers his 1 fish bag weighed 2lb 7oz, Ronnie Dunlop 6 on black drys, Tom Smith 8 orange lures, Jimmy Smith 6 on orange lures, Dougie Dunlop 5 on black lures, A Brown 7 on a small black suspended buzzers including a 3lb steel head, Jackie Childs landed 2 including a 3+lb steel head and lost about 7 on black hoppers, Dessie McCullough 5 on beetles, buzzers and lures with his 1 fish weighting in at 2lb 10oz, Thanks to the guys of Warrenpoint district angling club (see gallery)who visited us on Saturday, hope to see you again guys. There seems to be some interest in this bring and buy sale at the end of the month see news page for details, so you can drop your gear of from this week on as long as you mark your name and how much you want for it clearly on each item and the sale will start from Thursday 24th to the 27th.....
03/11/11 TO 06/11/11
A combination of frost in the morning, bright sunshine, no ripple and a hatch of something white the size of a pinhead, was meaning anglers were having to work this weekend, but saying that a whopping 26 fish of 3lb and above mostly steel heads were netted this weekend. Thursday rained all day but top catcher of the week Leslie Beggs netted a fab 17 fish 4 of them were 3+lb on a mixture of cdc's, drys and lures and as if that was'nt enough he also landed the best catch of the week a green glove well done Leslie, also on Thursday Edd Brown landed 12 on cdc's and lures including a 5lb trout, Tommy Wharry did'nt get fishing long because of the rain but still landed 5 fish including a stunning 7.8lb rainbow on a viva nomad and a 3lb steel head on a growler, Friday again some cracking fish being landed Jim Magill 6 on cdc's, James Harper caught 4 on brown nymphs 1 was 4lb and 2 were 3lb all steel heads, Fred Wilson netted 2 one was 4.8lb rainbow and the other 3.8lb steel head, Trevor Dixon also landed one 3lb steel head, Billy Todd 9 on size 20-22 black cdc's, John Morgan 5 on small buzzers including a 3lb fish, Raymond Leeky 3 including a 3+lb steel head, Tommy McGrath netted 6 including a 4lb and 3lb trout, Robert Paul landed 4 on claret spiders and orange cats whiskers including a 3.8lb steel head, Derek Vance 9 on buzzers and lures, Kenny Cowan and Shane Ash 8 each on lures and buzzers ancluding a 3lb steel head, Joe O Neill back from Scotland landed 4 including 2 at 3lb, his son Peter also netting a 3.4lb fish, Martin Foster 9 on olive lures including two 3lb Steel heads making his 2fish bag 6lb in weight. Daniel Paton picking Sunday which was the hardest days fishing of the weekend for his first visit to Craigmore but he managed to land a 3.8lb trout on the smallest dry he had in his box, Michael Wakeland again fishing tiny drys and buzzers netted 9 and lost the same again, Robert Wilson netted 2 including a 6lb fish on lures(see Gallery). His mate Bobby Hutton landed 8 on mixed lures, and Tim Dogherty netted 4 drys and dawl bachs. We are having a bring and buy sale on Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th November if you have any old reels,rods,nets, wet gear etc that your not using bring it along where you can buy swap between yourselfs, maybe make a few quid for christmas. Flys of the week there was none, anything and everything was being thrown at them. Its always wise to have extremely small buzzers and drys in your box as these seem to be the most consistent in all conditions.
27/10/11 TO 30/10/11
The fish were feasting just below the surface on something tiny this weekend, the sport was mighty one angler said he hooked 8 fish but netted none, i think all anglers lost quite a few fish as only 4 anglers managed to break into double figures, but a lot of anglers catching 3-5lb steel heads which made their day. Most of the fish caught throughout the weekend were on small dry flys, Tommy Wharry landed 12 on growlers, small black cdc's and dawl bachs including a 3+lb steel head, Martin foster 17 on olive and black lures again including a couple of 4lb steel heads, Gordon Wilson landed 25 about 8-10 were on lures and the rest on small dry flys, again a couple of fish between 3-4lb just goes to show get the right fly anad you will do well. Michael Wakeland 12 on buzzers and mixed drys. Edd Brown landed 6 mostly on drys and a 5lb steelhead on a green lure, James Harper netted 6 on griffiths knats, Tommy Spence 9 on size 18 buzzers of various colours, Jim Magill 8, 6 on olive cdc's and 2 on amber shipmans, Derek Vance 6 on a mixture of lures and buzzers, Billy Todd 4 on cdc's, Gary O Hagan 4 on lures, Michael Booth netted 7 but lost more than that on buzzers. Martin McNicholl 5 on buzzers and blobs including a 4lb steel head, William Rollins 6 on olive shipmans including a 3.8lb steelhead again these guys raving about the steel heads, Ronnie Laughlin and Mike Patterson netted a couple each,Ronnie landed a 4lb fish on an orange gold headed fritz, his 2 fish bag weighed in at 6lb 8oz. Davy Couples 4 on drys, Jackie Childs 6 on nymphs and cats whiskers. Flys of the week most were caught and lost on drys. cdc's, shipmans and griffiths knats the most popular......
20/10/11 TO 23/10/11
Rain affecting everything this weekend, making it miserable for the anglers. T Warry landed 8 on a mixture of f-flys, growlers and damsels, Edd Brown 8 on various coloured cdc,s, Leslie Beggs 7 on again various coloured cdc's including 3 at around
3.8lb. Billy Kidd 6 and Alan Coleman 3 on a mixture of drys and lures, Simon McDowell 10 including a double figured fish on a pink bloodworm, Alan Temple 8 on silver spiders, Jim Magil 15, 12 on buzzers, 2 on shipmans and 1 on a lure including a 3+lb steelhead, Billy Todd 6 on buzzers and shipmans, Andy Morrow landed a 4lb steel head on a lure, Paul Armstrong 6 including a couple of 3lb trout on buzzers and spiders, Martin Foster 21 on mixed lures again a couple of 3+lb fish, Derek Vance 12 including a 6.8-7lb fish on mixed lures. Brendan Murray landed a tagged fish and netted £25 (see Gallery), Des Moran netted 4 on drys and montana's, Jeff Hamill had a go at tying his own flys and landed 3 with them good for you. William Paddock landed 4 and lost a couple of cracking fish, Jonathan Mccann netted a 5+lb fish on a gold headed hares ear, Ben and Gareth Francy netted 8 between them on blobs, Hopefully the weather will pick up next week lads, remember this is the last week of free boats call and book them. Flys of the week Drys and buzzers on the better days Lures and sinking line on the wet days....
13/10/11 TO 16/10/11
The fish still taking some dry flys this weekend, There was a small black smut on the surface but they were not taking that they were feeding just below the surface, and again some nice fish being caught. James Harper 12 mostly on red and black nymphs including a couple of 3lb fish, Edd Brown 18 on black and white cdc's, Leslie Beggs 9 all on cdc,s, Billy Hazalett got of to a slow start but caught 8 in the afternoon on black spiders, Jeff Davidson 5 on mixed drys including a couple of 3+lb fish, Alan Temple 9 on mixed drys, Davy Hall 8 on sedges, drys and lures, Albert and jock Hetburn 14 between them including a 4.8lb steel head on a zonker. Jim Magill 7 including a 4lb fish and two above 3lb on black cdc;s, Derek McFarland 9 on shipmans and beetles, Billy Todd 8 on various coloured size 18-20 cdc's, Michael Robinson 16 on his first visit to Craigmore on yellow sunburst and orange blobs again a 5+lb fish, Martin Foster 13 including a couple 3+lb and one at 5+lb on mixed lures, Connor McKavanagh 9 on yellow lures, Jeff Elliot 12 on mixed lures, and James Floyd 10+ on mixed drys, Tom Wright 5 on various lures, Ciaran Cassidy 6 on mixed drys, Martin McNicholl 5 on shipmans and lures, and William Rollins 3 on lures, Tommy Tweedys caught his 3 fish bag on damsels which weighed in at 7lb.12oz all nice steel heads. The fish are up and down at the minute you can't blame them as Thursday was great and Sunday was bitter cold. Flys of the week... it was even between cdc's and lures, it depends on the day its just this time of the year.
06/10/11 TO 09/10/11
Awful weather reports keeping some anglers in this weekend, but apart from Thursday morning it was fine. Again the stock this week were between 2.8-4.8lb in weight and were all steel heads. These steel heads are crossed with blues and are complete triploids, they are very aggressive feeders that fight and look like salmon. They have been seen to leap a few feet out of the water when caught, they are very wide deep fish with firm flesh and a delicate flavour.(see pictures on the gallery). Intermediate lines coming out now and after braving the gales on Thursday, T Warry netted 8 on growlers and mixed lures, J Simpson 4 on dawl bachs and dancers, Edd Brown landed a 5.4lb fish on a size 24 cdc, Martin McNicholl and William Rolins landed 2 each on hares ear shipmans after helping me stock the big fish (see gallery), Jim Surgeoner 6 a couple on drys and the rest on mixed lures all of his fish were over 2.8lb, Jim MaGill persevering with the drys landed 3 on small drys, Bob McCormack 7 on yellow dancers and blue flash damsels including a 3.8lb fish, Peter Glover, Derek Mc Kelvy and Bob Fulton all over from London, landed 10 on a mixture of pheasant tail nymphs, green dawl bachs, cdc's and spiders, with Peter landing a 6lb fish(see them on the gallery). Billy Todd netted 5 on size 20 mixed cououred cdc's including a 4lb trout. Derek Vance 10 on daddys and cats whickers including a couple around 3lb, G Sloan 8 on green dawl bachs, his two smallest fish of the day were 2lb each with his other fish averaging around 3lb including a 4.8lb fish with his last cast, he said all of his fish were superb fully finned bars of silver. John Dixon 5 on green dawl bachs again nice fish with his 2 fish bag weighing in at 5.5oz. Tom Smith 4 including a 5lb trout on lures, Michael Booth netted 8 lost double that on olive drys and buzzers including a 4lb trout, Michael Wakeland netted 10 on olive drys and red and black buzzzers, his 1 fish bag weighted 2lb14oz. and Billy Air on his first visit to Craigmore landed 5, a couple of his fish were around 3.8lb, he said the sport was fantastic if he had landed every fish he hooked he would have been into double figures, and that he could watch the lake all day as there is that many fish rising and the water is so clear you can watch them, he had a great day. Flys of the week if you were sticking to the drys olive seemed the colour, but green dawl bachs catching well.......
29/10/11 TO 02/10/11
I don't know what was hatching this weekend but on Sunday especially the fish were rising all day, i am not joking when i say all day they literally never stopped, it was quite funny to watch the anglers frustration trying to imitate what the fish were taking as they rose all around them. Some drys still working this weekend, a lot of guys are happy to persevere with them and catch less for the last few weeks of the season. Edd Brown 17 on cdc's and drys and Leslie Beggs 5 on daddys, they said that most of the fish they caught were between 2.5 to 3+lb in weight and like bars of silver, this is good to hear as the fish getting stocked now are all well over 2lb and guite a few thrown in at over 3lb, almost all of these are steelheads and are really starting to give a good account of themselves with a lot of anglers thinking they have caught a big fish but when they bank it it is about 2.5lb. Darrin Elliot of Antrim caught and killed a 6lb fish on a black shipmans buzzer (see gallery), remember a fish over 5lb in weight costs you 5lb per lb to kill so a 6lb fish will cost you £30, but as this was the biggest fish Darren has ever caught he wanted to keep it. Tommy Spence 23 on buzzers, nymphs and ace of spades, Alan Temple 7 all on mixed drys, Frank Montgomery 5 on olive shipmans, Paul Armstrong 7 on grey cdc's, Des Rainey 5 on black buzzers, John Bradley 10 on mixed drys, Ernie Kirpatrick 5 on daddys and cdc's, the skillfull Mr Billy Todd landed 8 on size 20-22 buzzers, Edmund Getty 7 on a mixture of everything, Tom Gillan 5 on small cdc's, Derek Vance 6 on tiny buzzers, Martin Foster 7 and his grandson Martin jr 6 all on mixed lures, Paddy Mc erlaine 6 and Gary O Hagan 8 on mixed lures, and last but not least Michael Booth landed 6 but missed about 16 and Michael Wakeland 8 all on buzzers,these guys were two of the frustrated Sunday anglers, who did not land their usual double figures but thoroughly enjoyed the sport and challenge and will be back to do it all again next week, hey thats fishing you cant figure them out all the time.. Flys of the week most were still caught on cdc's with buzzers a close second but very small flys.......