Annual Report for the year 2013

1

Dublin Trout Anglers’ Association FOUNDED 1929 AFFILIATED TO I.T.F.F.A. AND N.A.R.A. www.dtaa.ie

Great turnout for end of 2013 season Mc Carron Cup Competition

Robert Farrington receiving his trophy for winning the

2013 Youth National Final from George Behan

Paul Delaney, Sean Goulding and Mick O’Toole enjoying

lunch during the Elvery Cup Pike Competition last year

It is my pleasure to introduce this year’s

annual report to break up the off season

while we all eagerly await the start of

fishing in 2014!

Dublin Trout members had good success

again this year in ITFFA competitions

with Gerry Heaslip captaining the Irish

Team and also qualifying again to fish on

the National Team in 2014, well done,

another fantastic year Gerry. There was

good success in the Leinster Champion-

ships, National Qualifier and juvenile

members had some fantastic results in

the Youths Qualifiers on Lough Owel.

Fran Nugent finished 2nd in the Leinster

River Finals, Gary Coakley was 3rd in

the Leinster Lough Championships and

Robert Farrington won first place in the

Youths National Final. Fran Nugent has

full details in his competitions report.

It is great to see the success at national

level, particularly for our juvenile anglers

who have been regulars at our annual

Juvenile outing at the Southern County

Fishery, Garyhill, Co Carlow. Special

thanks to one particular member who

always makes a special donation for the

event.

Early in the year the DTAA Committee

decided that it would be recommending

members adopt a ‘catch and release’ pol-

icy for both the upper and lower reser-

voir at Bohernabreena. Due to difficulties

at weigh-in the policy adopted on com-

petition days is being announced on the

day.

I hope like me, members found the new

access arrangements at Bohernabreena

satisfactory this year. I did get reports of

Honorary Secretary Introduction

2

some glitches but generally I believe the

new system works well. Just a reminder if

you want access you must contact Gerry

Heaslip (086 2253126) to get your mobile

phone and car registration registered in

advance of access.

In relation to concerns expressed last year

with regard to the number and size of fish

in the Upper Reservoir at Bohernabreena

there were some signs of a slight improve-

ment this year but no real conclusions can

be drawn and we look forward to the find-

ings of Dr. Martin O Grady’s DNA study

which included Bohernabreena.

Unfortunately the fishing in Boherna-

breena was somewhat disrupted again by

anti-social behavior which saw the facility

closed for a period. Tony Butler, Water

keeper, dealt with some difficult situa-

tions and we thank him for that. Also

thanks to Gerry Heaslip who, together

with Tony liaised with Dublin City Coun-

cil, the local Garda and even local media

to address the problems.

Unfortunately due to some of the activity

that was taking place, the ‘Bohernabreena

Challenge’ between DTAA and Dodder

Anglers had to be cancelled this year.

There have been suggestions that the

competition could be run as an early sea-

son event or a summer evening competi-

tion in 2014, let a committee member

know your view.

As mentioned above competitions Secre-

tary, Fran Nugent has included a very

comprehensive report on the DTAA com-

petitions in 2013. I would like to join oth-

ers in complementing Fran on the excel-

lent organizing and running of the associ-

ation competitions, which has been borne

out by the record turnout at the competi-

tions this year. The ‘Teamer Texts’ and

website were a great help particularly on

the couple of occasions when competition

dates had to change for reasons beyond

our control. For members who don’t regu-

larly attend these competitions I would

recommend you come along to one or

two. They are great opportunities to meet

up and enjoy the fishing, share fishing

reports, stories and most of all have the

‘craic’.

Highlights this year have to be the LM

Byrne held for the first time on Lough

Lene (and I understand by no means the

last time), and of course another great

Crossmolina weekend with Lough Conn

and Cullen Anglers. As you will see in

Ronnie’s report DTAA nearly did it this

year, we are getting closer, 2014 is going

to be our year!

It was also great to see so many attended

our end of year dinner in the Greville

Arms Hotel, Mullingar after the Mc Car-

ron Cup. The new format for the prizes

seemed to go down well. It was a nice

opportunity for members to enjoy a meal

together after a long competition day to

close out the season.

For 2014, the Elvery Cup competition is

being considered for a winter trout com-

pletion so keep an eye on the website and

teamer texts for next year.

Peter Brown, Dermot Flynn and Brian

Payne have included very informative

fishing reports for 2013 which are a very

welcome addition to the annual report and

I thank them for their contribution. In

particular Brian’s account of early river

fishing in the snow, he kept that one qui-

et! , although I hope it is a long time be-

fore we get that weather again in Easter.

DTAA were successful at getting a 5 year

licence for our IFI Liffey waters this year.

This was a result of including a develop-

ment plan with our application which re-

quires annual review and updating. Any-

one interested in getting involved can you

let me know.

Our president Mr. John Harrington assist-

ed PhD Trinity student Meadhbh Moriarty

with her thesis “Restoration of Floodplain

Habitats in the Liffey Valley”. I went

along to some of the field surveys which

were all located on our Association wa-

ters. It is fascinating to listen to the huge

variety of flora and fauna both natural and

introduced when looking over the parapet

on Straffan Bridge looking downstream.

And hearing about up 10 varieties of

grasses in once square meter of riverbank

at the Kings River. HLM Peter Brown

joined us on one of the evenings and ex-

plained his great knowledge of how the

fly life has changed on the Liffey over the

years.

Many thanks to all members who contrib-

uted scale samples to the IFI, DNA Micro

Satellite Analysis on the River Liffey,

River Tolka and River Dodder. We were

recently informed that the IFI have ex-

tended the timescale for submission of

samples to June ‘14, so anyone looking

for more envelopes just let me know. We

will consider arranging a day early next

year with the specific purpose of collect-

ing scale samples for this worthy project,

let me know if anyone is interested.

The National Anglers Representatives

Association (NARA), with which DTAA

is affiliated, is looking into arranging

training evenings at different locations

around the county for club anglers look-

ing to learn more from professionals in

the industry in relation to a range of topics

such as fishery management, water keep-

ers and coaching. At this stage they are

gauging the level of interest from clubs so

if anyone would be interested please let

me know. Thank you to John O’Neill who

represented DTAA by attending the first

introductory meeting with NARA in

Lough Owel Angling Centre in Dec’13.

DTAA were represented at the consulta-

tion meeting held in Lucan Spa Hotel in

May ’13 in relation to the upcoming

‘Modernisation and Consolidation of Leg-

islation Governing the Inland Fisheries

Sector’. Following the meeting clubs were

invited to make a submission to inform

the upcoming legislation and the DTAA

committee made a detailed submission.

Following this consultation process the

Dept. of Environment and IFI plan to is-

sue the draft legislation and anglers will

get another opportunity to comment. I

recommend Anglers follow this one dur-

ing 2014 and let the committee know of

any view you would like expressed.

Whether we like it or not it seems the

issue of an anglers licence/fee will be part

of the proposals. While it is not a recent

issue that has been discussed by the com-

mittee at any length, personally I would

agree with the view that if anglers have to

make a contribution they should have

control on how funds are spent to ensure

necessary works are carried out in the area

of fisheries and habitat protection and

development.

HLM Ronnie Miley and Paddy Conniff

were among members who attended the

protest during the year in Galway against

the proposed Salmon Farm Development.

Reading recently Derek Evens weekly

angling article it appears some progress

has been made in preventing the develop-

ment where an EU inquiry which had

been closed since Sept ‘12 has been reo-

pened investigating the prevalence of sea

lice around salmon farms and their impact

on wild salmon.

In last year’s report I mentioned an issue

in relation to our Liffey waters in Staffan.

The issue is in relation to access rights to

the river where we lease the fishing from

one bank and Straffan Anglers have fish-

DTAA members at end of season din-

ner at Greville Arms Hotel, Mullingar

3

ing on the other bank. This issue should

not be affecting members who should con-

tinue to enjoy the fishing. We hope to have

a meeting with Straffan anglers to clear up

any outstanding issues.

Could I again remind members fishing in

Clane to park in the DTAA designated

parking areas and to only enter the River

from the DTAA side.

Great to see the DTAA fly tying evenings

commenced early this year. Within weeks

of the fishing season closing John O’Neill

had arranged the Oct. evening. Unfortu-

nately I could not attend that one but I did

get to the November evening and came

away with some great tips for tying Haw-

thorn fly from John Harrington and John

O’Neill demonstrated how he keeps his

hair down when tying a deer hair sedge.

Fran Nugent was doing lovely river dry’s

with two keen juvenile members. The Jan-

uary and February evenings are dates for

the diary and all welcome, from beginners

to fanatics.

We don’t want to dwell too much on fi-

nances, particularly this time of year but I

have to say I think the Committee have

taken a very responsible approach here.

Under the stewardship of our treasurer Des

Taylor, our deficit in 2013 will be about

half the deficit in 2012. The decision to

wave the €50 joining fee appears to have

been successful in maintaining good mem-

bership numbers, and the committee has

decided to continue to wave the joining fee

into 2014. Did someone once say ‘a lot

done more to do’?

In last year’s report I included some ex-

tracts from the DTAA archives and I

thought I would include some more again.

I was very interested in some of the DTAA

competitions in the early days. For exam-

ple the Ryder Cup in October 1954 was a

bait casting competition with points

awarded for both distance and accuracy.

The rod, reel, 4lb line and 1/2oz weight

were provided to be used by all competi-

tors. Anyone interested in a copy of the

poster for the event just let me know.

There is also a paper giving a very good

account of the history of Poulaphouca

Lake. I’m not sure where it originated,

possibly commissioned by the ESB. The

paper explains how the Liffey valley was

flooded by the construction of the dam in

1939. In the early 40’s the newly flooded

land, provided an enormous pool of new

and rich feeding for fish. Trout averaged

2lbs and specimens 5 to 7 lbs. were fre-

quently caught. Daily bags of 30 to 40 fish

weighing over 100lbs were not unknown!

The bag limit was dictated only by the

angler’s ability to carry his kill to the near-

est bus stop rather than any official limits.

Late in 1943 larger fish started dying

caused by tape worm which attacked only

the sizeable fish. By 1947 fish of over 2lb

were rare.

In 1949 disaster number 2 struck, anglers

started to catch perch in the lake, previous-

ly unknown. Suspicions came from a flood

from an ornamental pond in Russborough

House during winter of 1946/’47 (it’s not

just invasive plants that come from orna-

mental ponds).

The perch numbers multiplied rapidly and

distributed all over lake. During the 1950’s

attempts were made to keep perch popula-

tion within acceptable limits by holding

open competitions (there is more on these

competitions below), but the perch popula-

tion increased and the trout declined. A

survey was carried out in 1957 with a final

report issued in 1961, recommending

perch traps be set up. This was done but it

seems to have been on too small a scale,

and it was further complicated by the in-

troduction of pike in 1962 (I am quoting

from the report here, as an aside I believe

there has been very interesting findings by

IFI in relation to the origins of pike in Ire-

land). The Trout declined to almost nil. In

1968 trout anglers got good news, the ESB

planned to rehabilitate the lake, they sup-

plied equipment to DTAA and Kilbride

Anglers to trap and net perch and pike in

addition to introducing a restocking pro-

gramme.

At this point the report ends but there are

other records that from 1969 to 1975(?),

where over 80,000 perch weighing approx.

4 tons were removed from the Lake and

about 1600 pike weighing 2.5 tons were

removed. And as they say ‘the rest is his-

tory!’.

Back on the theme of competitions in 1952

DTAA held an open public perch competi-

tion at Poulaphoucha. Day permits were 3s

and the competition was scheduled to run

from 10th May to 30 Sept 1952. 100 tagged

perch were released and anglers who

caught a tagged perch, could post it off (I

expect only the tag!) to collect a prize of

IR£10. There was one tag worth IR£100 so

total cash prizes came to IR£1,100 plus 14

other tackle prizes donated. Quite a prize

money in 1952! The rule was that all perch

caught must be removed from the lake and

anglers were asked to transfer fish to ca-

nals around the city.

This story has a bit of an anti-climax from

a fishing point of view in that it seems

very few actual tags were returned. To add

to the woes there was such a turnout for

the competition that there was damage

done to fences and meadows due to num-

bers fishing in addition to alleged pollution

of the lake by the public. A dispute result-

ed between DTAA and the ESB as to who

would be responsible for the damage.

There was potential for the dispute to go

legal however an agreement was reached

based on a number of conditions which

included that any perch competitions in the

future on the lake should be for members

only.

In relation to the tagging there was a view

expressed that the fish were tagged too

low and left with a fatal wound. Shortly

after the competition started there was a

proposal to provide new fish with new tags

and distribute the prize money between the

two types of tags but it was not imple-

mented. It must have been a surprise when

one angler did present 3 tags, there is rec-

ord of the Garda needing to be consulted

before awarding the prize money!

I don’t see much further mention of how

the fish got on with the ‘low tags’, it

sounds like it was an embarrassing ordeal

in the history of the Association. I would

be interested to know if any members have

any other recollection of accounts of this

story.

Anyway back to the present, I would like

to thank the Committee most sincerely for

the sharing of the administrative workload

of the Association during the year. Also

thanks to all the contributors to this report,

it is a great help to have the variety of en-

tries to share their experiences of the year

with the membership. Special thanks to

John Farrell who recently stepped down

from formal Committee duties due to work

commitments but has offered his services

to the committee in the future.

Oh yes, we should also congratulate David

Canning for winning the Chairman’s

Choice 2012 award. David won a lovely

alarm clock for his timekeeping skills at

one of our club competitions. Looking

forward to Gary’s Choice for 2013 which

will be announced at the AGM on 31st

January 2014, Lucan Spa Hotel, hope to

see you all there,

Tight Lines Cathal Mc Donnell,

Hon. Secretary DTAA Brian Payne at DTAA fly tying evening

4

Report from Dermot Flynn Dear Cathal.

As Johnny Logan used sing “what’s an-

other year”. So another season has come

and gone so quickly. It seems only a

short time ago that I was looking forward

to opening day. I changed venue this year

and went to fish on lough Lene. It was a

comparatively pleasant day for the 1st of

March, and I was lucky enough to catch 2

rainbows and 2 brownies, not very big

but nevertheless very satisfying for my

first outing.

BOHERNABREENA

A week later I made my fist visit to Bo-

hernabreena, boy it was coooold. I tried

my usual cormorant patterns using a di3,

but to no avail, changed to buzzers/

bloodworms /diawl bachs etc. Not even a

pull so I left there that day cold and mis-

erable and empty handed. It took a few

more visits before I had any luck at all.

Later on when the weather became a little

kinder I started to catch the odd overwin-

tered rainbow. And then came the lovely

warm days which unfortunately brought

its own problems, with the sun worship-

pers who just took over the only place

available to fish from. They just came

and started jumping into the lake with

absolutely no regard for anyone trying to

fish. Also the amount of rubbish they left

behind had to be seen to be believed. The

whole situation was very intimidating.

Later when the weather was a little bit

cooler and the lake was quite a bit lower,

it became easier to move around the lake,

which made it easier to target fish. One

of the days I went up to the river entrance

and on my second cast caught two lovely

brownies on the one cast (about 1 and ¼

pounds each) I thought I was going to

have a bumper day but you know how

the story goes that was it.

CLANE

Clane, without exception is probably the

best section on the Liffey for catching

quality trout. This season was no excep-

tion, from the earliest days of the season,

when fishing wets and spider patterns to

later when the weather was warmer using

dry flies it never ceased to give satisfac-

tion (with the exception of the Anna Lif-

fey trophy competition where I just could

not catch a keeper). I would like to reiter-

ate that I still advocate the return of all

fish to fight another day to keep the stock

of fish at the level it’s at for the present

time.

GALLAGHERS LANE

I only had one trip to Gallaghers this sea-

son. I caught a few small fish. Apart from

the first two fields down river from the

entrance at Sils, the access to the river

Hello everybody. It is hard to realize it is

a year since I have written an article for

our annual magazine. I enjoy the fishing

and company of my fellow anglers while

on the water’s edge or boat fishing. I

believe it cannot be beaten after a hard

week’s work or any stressful situation.

With that in mind I was hoping you

would have enjoyed the article I wrote

last year on the observation of the wild

flowers and birds linking in with our fly

life season and about which show next in

their sequence of species. Even on a bad

day’s fishing these observations are very

useful for your future fishing. Some of

the observations I have seen trout feeding

on greenfly at blue winged olive time,

behind an overhanging horse chestnut, on

warm days and evenings feeding on cat-

erpillars of moths and other insects main-

ly under an oak tree. The greenfly I used

was tied on size 14 B160, body 4 fibres

of cartouche swan flank feather wound

around the body with a grey hackle

fished dry on 3lbs b.s.

This year I started late in the season mid-

May as I had an illness earlier in the year,

but my spirits were kept up by the fly-

tying nights, We had good craic in shar-

ing our experiences of the year, tech-

niques in fly-tying and those fishing(or

fishy) stories told. I would like to thank

you all.

My first days fishing were on Corrib at

mayfly time (3rd week) fishing was very

good on wet fly and dry fly mainly in the

evenings. My successful flies were

r.a.Green Peter and a rollover mayfly

b170 10/12 tied tail bronze mallard, body

white p.t.f.e tape (Plummer’s tape), small

light badger body hackle tied sparsely

ribbed with waxed black tread, wing tip

of mallard white & grey barred flank

feather tied curve sideways or forward,

hackle badger. This fly is moved by the

wind giving a life like image.

During the year we did a survey along

our waters to get some kind of an idea of

the life in the river and the support sys-

tems surrounding fisheries. Our objective

was to get as much information as we

could on the flora (trees shrubs, perenni-

als on land and shore line and water

plants submerged floating and river edge

including mosses lichens) these plants all

contribute in some way to supporting the

food chain mainly insects and inverte-

brates. The greater the selection of plants

the greater will be the selection of in-

sects. We also did a kicker survey in

which we stirred up the bottom for 20

seconds with a fine net held downstream,

we then identified and counted the spe-

cies with some amazing results. Good

populations in Clane, and Celbridge with

many species. The Kings River (July)

showed mainly big brown sedges and

large black midge type fly. My most

amazing observation was shown to me by

Peter Brown at the confluence of rivers

Lisheen and Liffey where an acid and an

alkaline water meets. What it means to

trout survival, a clean alkaline waterway,

a brilliant nurse stream. I could go on all

night about this. But we will have a chat

about it at the AGM. I would like to

thank Meadhbh Moriarthy who is study-

ing this subject for her masters who sur-

veyed with us, Peter Brown for all the

knowledge he shared with us, Cathal

McDonnell who shared the survey with

us.

Wishing you all tight lines and good sto-

ries for 2014.

John Harrington,President DTAA

Presidents Fishing Season

Reports from Members

John Harrington and Meadhbh studying the results of kicker survey

5

bank became very unfriendly to fisher-

men. To explain! There were new Barbed

wire fences erected along the river bank

which did not allow access to the river to

fish, without climbing precariously over

the fence, and for fishermen of my age

and maybe younger, it didn’t feel very

friendly. I don’t know if other fishermen

had the same experience or felt the same

as me, but it sure did curtail my fishing

pleasure.

BLESSINGTON

I also only had one trip to Blessington this

year, and it was mid September. The lake

as you would expect after the wonderful

summer we had this year was extremely

low. The day I was fishing was anything

but nice, the wind and rain was belting

down. But with information solicited from

other members I had a good idea where

the best place to find the fish. I ended up

with lots of pulls and caught a few very

small, what I reckon were wild brownies

around five or six inches. I caught two

brownie keepers. All the fish I caught

were on claret dabblers. I changed to dif-

ferent flies, bibio, invicta even green pe-

ter’s but not an offer was fort coming so

back to the dabblers for success.

Cathal it was very heartening this year to

see so many anglers attending the compe-

titions. I know the credit must, in no short

way, be due to Fran Nugent notifying by

text the guys who indicated on the renew-

al form their interest in the competitions. I

would take this opportunity to let all

members know if they are interested in

fishing the competitions to tick the box. I

know if you come along you will be made

feel very welcome, and do not think you

are not a good enough fisherman to take

part. It’s a great way to get to know other

members. And have an enjoyable day’s

fishing at the same time.

Kindest regards and tight lines,

Dermot Flynn

Report from HLM Peter Brown

Dear Cathal,

Following are some remarks on my 2013

season, not a good season, perhaps large-

ly, but not entirely, to do with my age, 81

now.

I started at Clane on March 2nd and

caught some small trout on the nymphs.

From then until early June you may recall,

we had a cold spring, and the water was

very cold. There was some fishing, very

few early Olives appeared but a lot of tiny

black flies hatched, and then was dry fly

fishing from mid March through April,

but mostly small trout. There was no good

hatch of the usual good Spring flies, Ol-

ives, Iron Blue Dun, Reed Smuts and

Mayfly. A few individuals appeared but

never enough to bring on a good rise.

In early June the weather changed, it be-

came very hot, we went from winter to

summer with no real spring. There was

evening dry fly fishing, Blue winged ol-

ive, spinners and small sedges. I enjoyed

some fine evenings and quite a lot of fish

up to August. The best evening was July

5th, at Ferris, I caught a returned a num-

ber of quite good fish and kept three, 12

oz, 14oz and 1lb2oz. I kept scales of

many fish for Martin O Grady's project,

and sent in two batches.

The river was very low throughout the

season, too low for its health. Large areas

of shallows dried out completely, proba-

bly causing the deaths of much of the in-

vertebrate life that once lived there. I be-

lieve that the authorities at Poulaphouca

do not let enough compensation water

down, and consequently the river is too

low for good fly fishing. Many years ago,

over 20, when I was a committee member

of N. Kildare AA, we submitted a sugges-

tion to Dublin Corporation saying that

water could be abstracted from about L

Derg on the Shannon and piped via the

grand canal to Leixlip Reservoir. If that

had been done we would be a lot less de-

pendent on the Liffey for Dublin water

supply.

Another thing I must comment on is that

none of the trout I opened to check stom-

ach contents, had full stomachs, in fact

most fish were on the thin side.

I expect you will remember the great

swarms of reed smuts that used to be seen

on fine afternoons and evenings in May

and June? Small black flies dancing two

or three feet over the water everywhere.

The larvae of these insects cling to the

stem of rushes in their thousands. This

year I looked for them as usual but I did

not find a single one. Sand Martins also,

used to nest in holes in the river bank,

especially at Burkes Strand. This year I

did not see any. All of these things point

to a serious decline in aquatic fly life. I

put this down to pollution by agriculture

and I intend to write to IFI about it, but I

doubt that anything will be done!

Yours sincerely, Peter Brown HLM

Letter from Brendan Lynch

Dear Hon Sec,

I wish to inform you of the sudden death

of my friend and fellow member Martin

Tutty of Drumcara Avenue, Tallaght. He

was a common sight around Poulaphouca

for many years and known by many who

fished those waters. A keen fly fisher he

would often catch fish where others had

failed much to their dismay. He will be

sadly missed by all who knew him.

Yours sincerely, Brendan Lynch

2013 Early Season Report by Brian

Payne & Paul Lacey

At the start of the 2013 season we primar-

ily fished the river Liffey in Clane.

The first day in Clane was cold and dry

and the water levels were perfect for a

spot of brown trout fishing. A number of

DTAA members joined us on March 1st

and we all had fish. Spiders and Gold-

head nymphs were the main attraction

however Matt Milling had the fish of the

day (2 lb +) using a small black lure.

March 5th was another visit to Clane

where the conditions were once again

perfect. It was cold and dry and we had

plenty of fish. Brian had 14 good-sized

brown trout using a gold and black spider

(size 16). We met Fran Nugent on the

water who was setting up a long leader for

a bit of French Nymphing. It looked like

he was getting one or two!

March 9th saw the temperatures drop to

around 4 degrees but didn’t affect the

fishing as Brian landed his first 2lb brown

trout of the season. The fish was in pris-

tine condition and was tempted to a size

16 gold head Hears Ear.

On a freezing cold Tuesday (12th March)

when temperatures struggled to get above

freezing the fishing became very difficult.

The afternoon session produced some fish

for both of us but nothing like the quality

of the previous session a couple of days

previous.

Saturday 16th March was sunny and a

balmy 1 degree. We both had plenty of

fish and Paul landed a beautiful dark and

heavily marked cock fish in the region of

1½ to 2lb. That evening the weather fore-

cast looked very bleak as the temperatures

plummeted and snow was on the way!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow …

Brian has always wanted to fish the

snowy peaks of British Columbia and got

pretty close to his dream on Tuesday

March 19th as he now reports.

It was a crazy day in Clane today with

very heavy snowfall. What a surprise to

see fish rising everywhere. It was like the

best evening rise you can imagine. It was

difficult to actually see through the snow

and it was impossible to guess what the

fish were feeding on, as it was now a full-

scale blizzard. This had a major impact on

the surface and the fish couldn’t get

enough of the Olive Spider and the Grif-

fiths Gnat. With well over 50 fish for the

day it must be recorded as one of my best

days on the Liffey in Clane.

The snowy weather lasted for about two

weeks and I would seriously recommend

a visit to Clane if we have the same again

in 2014. Don’t forget to wrap up well and

avoid leaky waders if at all possible.

Tight Lines for 2014 Brian & Paul

6

Yes, already, I am looking forward to

the DUBLIN WEEKEND 2014 in

Crossmolina, the attraction of this annu-

al function never wanes. It is not, I can

assure you, for the lots of fish I catch on

Lough Conn, because I have a rather

dismal record in that field. It is because

of the opportunity of meeting up, once

again, with the members on the Lough

Conn and Cullin Anglers’ Association,

who, for the past forty-one years have

welcomed us and fished with us in

friendly competition. That welcome has

helped to cement many true and lasting

friendships. There is also the pleasure of

fishing in a most beautiful and pictur-

esque setting with experienced compan-

ions who know the lake so well. Eight-

een members of DTAA took part in the

Dublin Weekend in Crossmolina in

2013.

A most unusual situation occurred in

2013 insofar as there was a tie in the

results. Each team had an equal number,

27, of fish and an equal number of

points, 9130. Accordingly it was decid-

ed to include the competition for the

Dublin Bowl in the Sunday fishing. Alt-

hough each team took the same number

of fish, 12, on the Sunday, the home

team carried the day with the heavier

weight, 7.665 Kgs. to Dublin’s 6.995

Kgs. I have been dreaming, for some

years now, of bring the Rose Bowl back

for a holiday in the capital. We did our

best, although the writer and a few oth-

ers on the Dublin team blanked. Of

course, as invariably happens some

members on both teams blanked on ei-

ther one or both days. As you know, the

Saturday fishing is competed for by the

two clubs for the Dublin Rose Bowl,

which was brought by DTAA on the

first visit in 1973. Since then it has re-

sided more in the West than it has in the

Capital.

Michael Monaghan, who has been Hon.

Secretary of the Lough Conn and Cullin

Anglers Association for the past twenty

years, tells me he is retiring from that

office in 2014. In my opinion he has

been an excellent Secretary of a busy

club and has not spared himself in at-

tending to the multitude of jobs that had

to be done. He has been an ardent sup-

porter of the Dublin Weekend in Cross-

molina, for which I thank him. He and

the members of his club in general have

also been successful in promoting the

prosperity of the area by attracting an-

gling functions to Lough Conn.

So, now, for some statistics of the fish-

ing:

Saturday, 4th May: DTAA: Best Dublin rod was Karl Mur-

rin with 6 fish which qualified for 1,890

points. Second was Michael O’Toole

with 4 fish earning 1,150 points and

third was Noel O’Neill with 2 fish and

880 points.

Lough Conn and Cullin A. A.: Best

rod, Joe Quinn with 7 fish for 2,100

points, Second was Joe Ferguson with 4

fish for 1.340 points and third was Mi-

chael Rutledge with 2 fish for 930

points.

Sunday, 5th May:

DTAA: Best rod, Sean Goulding with 3

fish for 2.02 Kgs. Second was Noel

O’Neill with 2 fish for 1.025 Kgs. and

third was Jim Keeshan with 1 fish for

0.69 Kg.

Lough Conn and Cullin A. A. Best

rod, Joe Quinn with 4 fish for 2.49 Kgs.

Second was Michael Rutledge with 3

fish for 2.415 Kgs., and third was Mi-

chael Monaghan with 2 fish for 0.955 Kg. Overall, 78 fish were taken for 61 rod

days. The 54 fish boated on the Satur-

day were returned to the water after

being measured.

Ronnie Miley,

HLM & Membership Secretary

Following some enjoyable sessions last year the

DTAA evenings commenced again in October

this year. They are being held monthly between

October and February, generally on the 3rd

Thursday in the month, 8pm at Ballyroan Com-

munity Centre. Great opportunity to catch up

with friends and share tips and jokes with each

other. Members interested should indicate it on

their membership renewal form or contact me

on 0876316987 for further information.

John O’Neill

Fly Tying Evenings Finally, before I finish, I

wish to show the members

a picture of the beautiful

piece of bronze art present-

ed to me on the occasion of

my retirement from the

post of Hon. Secretary of

DTAA by the members of

the Lough Conn and Cullin

Anglers’ Association. I

find it a great reminder of

many happy days spent in Crossmolina and fishing on Lough Conn.

Wishing all members tight lines for 2014. HLM Ronnie Miley

CROSSMOLINA

Padraic Traynor and Michael Monaghan, Crossmolina weekend, May ‘13

7

SUMMARY OF COMPETITIONS Robert Farrington had a fantastic win at the All Ireland ITFFA Youths

Qualifier event on L Owel on 6th April. The event decides the National

Youths team for the 2014 International. Robert’s first place awards

him a position on the team and fellow DTAA member, Owen O’Dris-

coll also secured a place as a sub for the team. After cold and changea-

ble weather conditions leading up to the event, fish were proving very

difficult to locate but Robert managed to catch an impressive 6 fish to

win 1st place and the cup. Owen’s two fish secured him his position as

a sub for the team. The third DTAA angler to take part, Almha Mc

Donnell moved a few fish but unfortunately none made it to the net.

The DTAA entered two teams made up of Cathal McDonnell, Gerry

Heaslip, Donal Rafferty and Eoin Dunne for the ITFFA Charity Pairs

Competition on L Owel on 7th April. Both teams managed to catch

fish but unfortunately they weren’t enough to receive prizes.

The Pasker Cup Competition was held on L Owel on the 20th April.

It was a good fishing day with plenty of duck fly hatching in certain

parts of the lake. We had a fantastic turnout of members with 27 an-

glers weighing in 21 trout between them. The winner was Ed Golding

with 3 fish for 4.705 lbs. Ed was fishing in sheltered water behind

Lady Island where there was some duck fly hatching. He caught all

his fish on an emerger pattern which secured him the first cup of the

year. Second was new member Trevor Winders also with 3 fish weigh-

ing 4.560 lbs and third was Eoin Dunne with 1 fish weighing 3.58 lbs.

We also had 2 juveniles fishing and the winner of this section was

Almha Mc Donnell with 1 fish for 1.38 lbs.

The 2013 Leinster Championship was held on L Owel on the 12th

May this year. 120 anglers took part in the competition all trying to

secure themselves a place on the 2013 Leinster team to fish in the in-

terprov. on L. Mask on the 7th Sept this year. DTAA had 3 anglers

making the 3lb 11oz cut off who also are ironically the same 3 anglers

who qualified to fish this years National Final. Gary Coakley with 5

fish for 8lb 8.8oz was 3rd over all and Dave Canning with 2 lovely fish

for 4lb 5oz qualified in12th place. Gerry Heaslip had already quali-

fied as he was the top Leinster rod in the National Final last year. John

O Neill was 2nd sub and eventually gained his place on the team.

The ITFFA Leinster River Finals were held on the R. Liffey at

Ballymore Eustace on 19th May. Fran Nugent was the only DTAA

member but secured second place overall with four first placings.

The L M Byrne Cup Competition was held on L Lene on the 26th

of May this year. It was one of our biggest attended competitions for

several years and I am sure it was all down to the venue. L Lene is a

fantastic trout fishery stocked with top quality brown and rainbow .

There were 27 anglers taking part in the competition which was to be

decided by the heaviest fish. Some cracking rainbows were landed

during the day but as we decided to keep fish kill to a minimum only

11 trout were weighed in. The two Juvenile anglers who en-

tered, Robert Farrington and Owen O Driscoll caught fish and both

received a prize. The winner overall with a super trout of 4.075 lbs

and a L Lene regular was Paul Dunne, 2nd with another beauty

of 3.895lbs was new member Fergus Byrne and 3rd, also a new mem-

ber, Paul O Brien with a fish for 3.360lbs. We would like to thank L

Lene Anglers for the use of the fishery and to thank Tommy Fagen for

allowing us to cross his land and for the use of his boats.

The 2013 National Final was hosted by L Owel Trout Preservation

Association and took place on Saturday 8th June. Fishing conditions

were extremely difficult with blinding sunshine, temperatures in the

mid twenties and little or no wind. Well done again to one of our most

experienced DTAA anglers Gerry Heaslip who qualified to fish for

Ireland for the second year in a row . Gerry caught 2 fine fish that were

good enough to give him 6th place overall. Gary Coakley also had a

lovely fish of about 2lb but it was not good enough to secure him a

place on the 2014 Irish team. Dave Canning hooked a lovely fish but

unfortunately for Dave when he landed it “it was a 3lb pike”. Well

done to all who took part.

Our Anna Livia Trophy Competition was held on the R Liffey on the

26th June. Weather conditions were perfect and the water levels were

ideal for this time of year. Most anglers caught plenty of 10”+ fish but

a lot of them were just shy of the 11” limit . We had 19 anglers taking

part and between them they weighed in 19 keepers. The winner on the

evening with 3 fish weighing an incredible 5.05lbs, the best bag of

fish I have seen in the Anna Livia for some years, was Terry Walsh.

Also a well deserved 2nd place goes to Richard Duggan with 3 fish for

3.51lbs and 3rd Fran Nugent with 3 fish for 3.075lbs.

The ITFFA Leinster Shield was held on L Ennell on 24th August.

The DTAA entered a team for this competition but unfortunately

didn’t do well enough to win the trophy. The event was won by North

Kildare Anglers with the only 2 trout caught for the day.

We had a great turn-out of juniors for our Ryder Cup which was held

in Bohernabreena on 1st September. Four of the most experienced

juniors took part to try to win one of our junior prizes. Owen O’Dris-

coll won the event with a fish of 1.140lbs. Second was Mark Curran

with a fish of 0.965lbs and third place was our National Final winner,

Robert Farrington with a fish from the top lake weighing 0.37lbs.

Almha McDonnell brought a lot of fish to her flies but luck wasn’t on

her side and unfortunately didn’t land one. All juniors received a fly

line and we hope to see them at our competitions next year. The win-

ner of the senior competition was Gerry Heaslip with a fish weighing

2.915lbs, second with 2 fish for 2.88lbs was Gary Coakley and third

was Cathal McDonnell with 2 fish weighing 2.30lbs.

The ITFFA 2013 Interprovincials was held on L Mask on 7th Sept.

The DTAA had four members taking part, Gary Coakley, Dave

Canning, Gerry Heaslip and John O’Neill but unfortunately none of

them qualified from this event to fish for Ireland in 2014.

We had twelve members taking part in The 2013 National Qualifier

which was held on L Owel on the 28th Sept. Although the fishing was

very difficult, DTAA still managed to have three members qualify for

next years National Final, Gerry Heaslip, Eoin Dunne and Tom

Hipwell. John O’ Neill secured a place as first sub and hopes to get a

call up for next years final.

We had our annual end of season McCarron Cup Competition on L

Owel on 5th Oct this year. Although fishing conditions were near to

perfect the return of fish for the weigh in was very poor. We had a

record turnout of 40 anglers (including 3 juv.s) taking part and they

weighed in only 12 trout between 9 of them. The winner on the day

was Dave Canning who weighed in 2 lovely trout for 4.435lbs. Sean

Goulding was second with 1 trout for 2.105lbs and third was Paul

Dunne with 2 trout for 1.935lbs.

The DTAA competitions this year were very successful and I would

recommend to all members to come along next year.

Fran Nugent, Competitions Secretary

Juvenile Outing 2013 We held our annual juvenile outing at Southern County Fishery, Garryhill, Co. Carlow, on Sunday 14th April this year. Although it was a very windy day, we had a great turn out of enthusiastic young

anglers taking part in this event. The wind, which was blowing from behind us, was in our favour for

most of the day and made casting for the juveniles a little easier. By the end of the day all juveniles were casting unaided and 23 of them had a whopping 200+ trout between them. The longest fish of the day,

measuring 40cm, was caught by Dylan Clancy and his sister Kate got second prize in the juvenile catego-

ry with a fish also measuring 40cm, making this a family affair to remember. Conal Bennet won the junior juvenile section with a trout measuring 39cm and second in this category with a trout measuring

38.5cm was Fionn Quinn. All juveniles received refreshments during the day and went home with a

prize. This is the third consecutive year to hold this competition and it is going from strength to strength. All juveniles are urged to come along to this event in 2014 as it is a great way to improve your fishing

skills, meet new friends and to get involved in the club. We would like to thank our sponsors, Pat and

Mary Cleare of Cleare’s Angling Centre, Hardy/Greys and of course the owners of Southern County Fishery, Pat and Anne for their continued support of this event. We also receive an anonymous donation

from one of our members and we would like to sincerely thank him.

Fran Nugent Competitions Secretary Ben O’Brien at Garryhill Fishery with his dad Paul

8

Results of Association 2013 Competitions

Elvery Cup Pike Poulaphouca 9th Dec ‘12 Not won.

Pasker Cup Trout Lough Owel 20th Apr ‘13

1st Ed Golding 3 Trout 4.705

2nd Trevor Winders 3 Trout 4.56

3rd Eoin Dunne 1 Trout 3.58

4th Tony Mc Gratten 2 Trout 3.455

5th Dave Canning 2 Trout 3.22

6th Fran Nugent 2 Trout 3.13

7th Gary Coakley 1 Trout 2.145

8th Donal Raftery 1 Trout 2.045

9th Declan Mc Gibben 1 Trout 1.805

10th Gerry Heaslip 1 Trout 1.635

10th Jim Keeshan 1 Trout 1.635

12th Dermot Flynn 1 Trout 1.465

13th Justin Clarke 1 Trout 1.44

14th Cathal Mc Donnell 1 Trout 1.265

Juv. Almha Mc Donnell 1 Trout 1.38

L. M. Byrne Cup Lough Lene 26th May ‘13

(Heavest Fish)

1st Paul Dunne 4.075 lbs

2nd Fergus Byrne 3.895 lbs

3rd Paul O Brien 3.36 lbs

4th P J O Driscoll 2.685 lbs

5th Gerry Heaslip 2.425 lbs

6th Chris Meadows 2.395 lbs

7th Eoin Dunne 1.48 lbs

8th James Doyle 1.435 lbs

9th Dermot Flynn 1.405 lbs

(J) Robert Farrington 1.765 lbs

(J) Owen O’Driscoll 1.600 lbs

Anna Livia Trophy Liffey 26th Jun ‘13

1st Terry Walsh 3 Trout 5.005

2nd Richard Duggan 3 Trout 3.51

3rd Fran Nugent 3 Trout 3.075

4th Eoin Dunne 3 Trout 2.33

5th Paul Dunne 3 Trout 2.12

6th Tony Doherty 2 Trout 1.285

7th Kevin Tipper 1 Trout 0.825

8th Mark Ryan 1 Trout 0.675

Ryder Cup Trout Bohernabreena 1st Sept.’13

1st Gerry Heaslip 1 Trout 2.915

2nd Gary Coakley 2 Trout 2.88

3rd Cathal Mc Donnell 2 Trout 2.3

4th Fran Nugent 4 Trout 2.19

5th Paul Delaney 2 Trout 1.78

6th Colm O Rielly 1 Trout 1.06

7th P J O Driscoll 1 Trout 0.995

8th John O Neill 1 Trout 0.7

(J) Owen O’Driscoll 1 Trout 1.14

(J) Mark Curran 1 Trout 0.995

(J) Robert Farrington 1 Trout 0.37

McCarron Cup Trout Lough Owel 5th Oct. ‘13

1st Dave Canning 2 Trout 4.435

2nd Sean Goulding 1 Trout 2.105

3rd Paul Dunne 2 Trout 1.93

4th P J O Driscoll 2 Trout 1.915

5th John Harrington 1 Trout 1.875

6th Dermot Flynn 1 Trout 1.85

7th Terry Walsh 1 Trout 1.27

8th Bobby Woods 1 Trout 1.09

9th Gerry Heaslip 1 Trout 1.025

Dave Ring Cup: awarded to the member scoring the most aggregate points in

Association fly-fishing competitions. This year with 24 Points

Angler of the year: Mr. Paul Dunne

Martin Donohoe Trophy (presented by Tara Mines). Awarded to the mem-

ber catching the heaviest trout in Association fly fishing competitions.

Winner: Mr. Paul Dunne: 4.075 lbs. in the LM Byrne Cup Competition.

Bob Allen Cup: Awarded to the juvenile based on competition results and

general commitment to the club. This year we have a joint winner, Robert

Farrington and Owen O’Driscoll .

Chairman's Choice Award; To be presented at AGM.

Well done to Gerry Heaslip who captained Ireland in 2013 and qualified to

fish for Ireland in 2014. Also well done to Gerry Heaslip , Eoin Dunne and

Tom Hipwell who qualified to fish in the National Championship in 2014.

1st Paul Dunne 24 pts

2nd Fran Nugent 20 pts

3rd Gerry Heaslip 19 pts

3th Eoin Dunne 19 pts

5th P J O’Driscoll 18 pts

6th Dave Canning 16 pts

7th Terry Walsh 14 pts

8th Gary Coakley 13 pts

9th Ed Golding 10 pts

10th Sean Goulding 9 pts

10th Richard Duggan 9 pts

10th Fergus Byrne 9 pts

10th Trevor Winders 9 pts

14th Paul O’Brien 8 pts

14th Cathal Mc Donnell 8 pts

I appeal to members to let me have their Mem-

bership Renewal Form with payment of their

annual sub as soon as they can after the AGM, or,

even before it, if possible. This will help me to

compile the statement of fish caught and make

the necessary return to the IFI in good time.

Thank you, Membership Secretary

16th Tony Mc Gratten 7 pts

16th Dermot Flynn 7 pts

18th Paul Delaney 6 pts

18th John Harrington 6 pts

20th Tony Doherty 5 pts

20th Colm O’Reilly 5 pts

20th Chris Meadows 5 pts

23rd Kevin Tipper 4 pts

24th Mark Ryan 3 pts

24th John O’Neill 3 pts

24th James Doyle 3 pts

24th Donal Raftery 3 pts

24th Bobby Woods 3 pts

29th Declan Mc Gibben 2 pts

Table of Aggregate Points scored by members in Association Fly-fishing competitions 2013:

APPRECIATION

The committee wish to express the gratitude of the Association to the following:

Mr. Dan O’Brien, our Waterkeeper in Clane.

Mr. Tony Butler, Waterkeeper in Bohernabreena. Mr. Peadar Moran, the ESB Warden for Poulaphouca Reservoir for his advice and co-operation

during the year.

Rory’s, Southside Angling and Pat Cleere, for their generous donation of prizes for our weekend trip to Lough Conn and Juvenile Outing.

The Angling and Shooting Centre, Lucan, Crauls Shop, Manorkilbride, and Charles Camp-

ing, Blessington for selling our day permits for the Liffey fisheries. Mr. Peter Ganley, Lilliput, who looks after our boat requirements on Lough Ennel.

All the Landowners, who facilitate us in getting to the river bank.

The Managers and Staff of IFI, for their help and advice during the year. Mr. Jack Doolan and his son Michael, who look after our boat requirements on Lough Owel.

Mr. and Mrs. Peter and Tina Deane, in the Texaco Lake Service Station, Blessington, who man-

age our boat lettings for Poulaphouca Reservoir.

Mr. Tommy Fagan, who looks after our boat bookings on Lough Lene.

Ms. Gabrielle Leahy of the Crover House Hotel for the arrangement for boat hire at a reduced fee.

The Many Members who contributed generously to the Association’s Fishery Development Fund.

The committee wish to thank all the members who helped in various ways dur-

ing the year and wish all the members a prosperous and peaceful 2014 and many

fishing outings with tight lines. The DTAA Committee

DTAA Angler of the Year, Paul Dunne,

winning the Dave Ring Cup and the Martin

Donohoe Trophy for the heaviest trout.

DTAA Chairman Gary Coakley with a

presentation to Gerry Heaslip for his cap-

taincy of the Irish National 2013 Team