Best freshwater catches of the year 2011.

Now, some people might be a bit surprised to see this title but Ive been given the green light from 2 mods on the forum to have a go at it. Many of us are both sea and freshwater anglers. Myself and quite a few other members enjoyed 'yngkmd's' recent thread for sea fish captures of the year, and I hope more people contribute to that thread.

If you do fish in both the sea and in freshwater then this is an invitation for members to share their most memorable captures in river, lake, pond or canal during 2011. Its not all about big fish, its about the fish you caught that gave you the most satisfaction and you think others may find interesting, so please go for it.

This 2lb 7oz brown trout wasnt the biggest lough brownie I got this year but it is probably the best looking. It was a very satisfying fish to get because it came just after dusk at the end of a 3 day 'end of season' camping trip in September, up until which point only a few tiddlers had been caught. I had long given up hope and was only going through the motions when this thing decided to give me a break and latch onto my size 14 olive dabbler, it made a 3 day camping trip in almost constant rain all worthwhile. Everything, and I mean everything was wet except for my sleeping bag and a pair of shoes which I had to use for a pillow.

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Nice one cathal,

Here is a few of my favourite freshwater fish of the year.

I was very generously given a present of some salmon fishing this year on the River Errif in Galway it was a few days before the remains of the hurricane blew into Ireland in September so conditions were not too promising. Having never salmon fished before I didn't really know what to expect so a bit of internet research and some beefing up of my usual trout gear I set out fishing. The person in charge of the river was very free with his advice and put me onto a very handy little beat. I managed to move a number of fish throughout the day and eventually connected with my first salmon ever, he put up a great scrap in the high water from all the rain. It wasn't the biggest fish I've ever caught but I sure was happy to catch him.



PB brownie from the corrib this year just over two pounds.



Little salmon parr from the Dodder this year



First trout from the Liffey as well,



Overall wasn't a bad year on the freshwater for me lots of new spots fished and some decent sized fish caught. Hopefully hit a few more spots next year, and maybe just maybe catch an Irish char.

Lovely Jack, thanks for posting those, some lovely fish and particularly like your Dodder salmon parr, are there any adult salmon being caught on the Dodder in recent years? Forgive my ignorance, but the Dodder is in Dublin isnt it? Does it go under the Drumcondra road or I am I thinkin about another wee stream?

If people are catching salmon on the Dodder they are keeping it fairly quiet which is probably a good thing at the moment. Your thinking of the tolka which runs through drumcondra. The dodder goes through milltown and Dublin 4 area.

Good topic again Cathal! I didn't get in as much fishing as I would like this year for a variety of reasons....some good, some not so good. But considering I took a 20 year sabbatical until 2010, I can't complain! My best day was in April when I had 3 fine rainbow before 8am. Also had a few nice Pike in Springtime on the Cavan lakes. 5 and 7 up to 7lb. The Pike are all released but the trout are for the pan! Hoping the water will recede soon so I get out for Pike around Christmas and maybe have a new photo of a double figure Pike to post!

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Nice one Stox, a few nice rainbows for the pan there alright, thats a decent lookin pike, yeah hopefully youre stickin up a lump of a pike after your next run out, thanks for sharing those.

not a beast, but a surprise, took a sandine intended for a pike. I had just woken up, been painting til 7am, then went down to lake(corrib), set out baits, alarms, gettin a snooze......
this was jsut 5lb..

ain't gotten out sea a whole lot this year, and when I have, had numerous blanks..

but here's an aul pike , again, a slumber pike =D popped up roach

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Only had one pike trip this winter but had this 15lb-er.

Nice pics, thanks for sharing those pics Spindlefist and Tom H.

Spindlefist thats quite a brownie there, and on a sardine too, brilliant. Nice pike as well, thanks for posting on the thread, please feel free to post more whenever you like (especially big brownies!!!)

Tom H thats a nice shot of a very respectable pike, its about 11lb heavier than my biggest.

Thanks again, keep them coming.

some memorable looking and fine fish there lads, cool. v.interesting topic indeed, nice1 Cathal.
didnt do as much freshwater fishing this year as i have done in the past but did manage the annual trip down to Lough Erne for the mayfly fishing - wouldnt miss it for the world! so the most memorable freshwater fish for the year for me has to be the trout i got.
Erne is reputedly a very difficult lake to get a trout on so i was delighted to get this fella. not a beast (about 1.5lb) but if you get one you are happy, its a great challenge.
i was trying to get the one that got away last year................. a lump of a trout im sure 6lb+ that came out of the water like a dolpin as it swam off with my dry fly, absolute beauty. seconds later it had bitten through my line!
ah, next year!!
oh yeah, i caught this guy on a wet partridge mayfly.. if anyone is interested. u can see it in the photo. a lovely fish i hope yous agree..
cheers

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Charlie, a first class picture of a nice Erne trout, also like the way you included the fly on the side of the fishes head. Its an awful shame you missed that big one, but sure its things like that drive you back the next season, they dwell on the mind, every angler experiences it and it probably motivates like no other thing.

Lovely trout.

even we venture over to the dark side of the freshwater every now and again
our 2 best freshwater catches of 2011 were pike. an 8lb'er for me and a 6lb 4oz pike for jordan. his first ever pike. the wee man was made up and i was proud as punch for him.

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2 nice pike there Al and Jordan, very nice, I think I might have fished those lakes before??????

Cheers.

Didn't catch this myself it was a friend but I thought it was a great pic and the pike was 24lb. There was 3 24lbers caught that day.
Tommy

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was out our local small river with the small fella trying to catch a couple of trout with earthworms and caught a flounder . the water pure fresh. whats up there.sorry no pics

Super picture Tommy, 3 in one day!!! Amazing.

Thanks for sharing that, a quality picture.

Spot the difference! Donegal brownie.

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surely the same fish Cathal? is that a cataract in the eye on the bottom picture? probably just the light tho
did you catch the same fish twice...?
some cracking trout and pike there lads.

surely the same fish Cathal? is that a cataract in the eye on the bottom picture? probably just the light tho
did you catch the same fish twice...?
some cracking trout and pike there lads.

Its the same trout for sure Charlie caught a fortnight apart and released both times, thats the only thing annoys me about the 2nd picture, that oul white thing in the eye, it must be the reflection of the flash, the light was well gone when that pic was taken and it needed flash to get the pic, it does look like some kind of cataract as you say. Thats the only fish ive caught in that wee lough but there are plenty of others there, I had another fish hooked the first day I was there, 14 July this year but the git charged into a bed of vegetation and that was the end of it. I got the fly back but the fish was gone.

was out our local small river with the small fella trying to catch a couple of trout with earthworms and caught a flounder . the water pure fresh. whats up there.sorry no pics

Yeah Robbie flounder are perfectly happy in freshwater, theyll go up rivers til they meet a weir or set of falls they cant negotiate, as far as I know. I think the famous Hugh Falkus holds the record for the flounder caught the furthest up a river, I cant remember how many miles upstream it was but I think it was on the Cumbrian Eden, someone please correct me if Im wrong.

If you dont mind me asking, where is your wee river? No worries if you dont want to say.

EDIT, I think it was the Cumbrian Esk, not the Eden. Not sure, I'd hve to research it a bit. Sorry.