Continuing a long tradition, German angling writer Uwe Pinnau and his mates flew over to Dublin shortly after Easter to enjoy their annual irish fishing trip and hopeful of meeting some of those brave and hard fighting toothy beauties of the esox familiy, the waters on the emerald isle are famous for…
As often the weather situation on the arrival was quite nice, but the further we approached towards our final destination in Cavan, the worse it went. When we finally arrived at Carafin Lodge, our host Pauric McGearty honestly admitted that the weather forecast wasn’t really promising and besides that we would have to deal with high water levels from the heavy rain the weeks before. Not the best outlook, but as Ireland veterans we were used to the typical irish phenomenon of all seasons on one day and that being said we strongly believe in the irish saying: “it could be worse”.
The first day saw us fighting heavy winds, so strong that we decided to give it a shot from the bank and it didn’t take long to encounter with the first green and yellowish spotted irish beauty, followed by some more soon after. These were mostly greedy jacks that obviously tried to figure out how much they could eat at once.
Day number two allowed us out in the boats, but generously provided us with water from above and we witnessed many different levels of rain over the day. Small few drops, many heavy massive ones, spray like rain, or just rain, you name it…
We failed figuring out where the big female pike might hide.
Back at Carafin Lodge we were soaking wet and praised the dry room there. The pike were still not really cooperative or easy to convince, apart from the numerous jacks one of us caught on small lures. But even on dead baits those jack pike ruled the scenery and it almost felt like spawning had not been finished yet. The high water levels seemed to have a really bad impact on our project, but every now and then the odd mid sized esox grabbed a bite and fed on the offered dead baits. We were mostly using small mackerel and sections of lamprey, which, eventually, found their way into the mouths of hungry pike more than once, but not really often.
The following days offered stormy winds, heavy rain, or both at once. Not the best conditions for long rides to other parts of that huge amount of different sized lakes the area is known for. And when we tried it didn’t really pay off, but gave us a good share of soaking wet clothes. The best part of a stormy and rainy day on the lake is the moment when you step into your warm, dry and cozy cottage, eating some good food from the perfectly equipped kitchen and having a nice drink while enjoying the breathtaking view on the lake from the front window, taking in the pastoral landscape.
Time was passing by and the final day was about to come sooner than it felt in the beginning, same old story. As the forecast suggested rain all day long again, we decided to make the jetty our peg of choice, to avoid carrying unwanted extra weight in our luggage the next day, mainly consisting of irish water in our soaking wet clothes. Fishing deadbaits was slow until I set the float at mid water depth and literally saw it disappear right away. Again Pollan did the trick and my best pike of the trip couldn’t refuse to grab the generously sized bite, decorated with two small and barbless trebles. I managed to catch two more pike that left me quite happy and satisfied as they considerably increased the average size of esox caught during that week, hence the jetty saw me sporting my pb of the entire trip, now finished with a happy ending.
I’m already looking forward coming back again, the sooner the better.
Slan
Uwe
Go fishing…
Notes
Pike Angling Guide and Coarse Angling Services
Pauric is based on the Upper Erne system near Lough Oughter castle and has great knowledge of the maze of local waters on his doorstep.
He offers pike fishing by boat to his clients on the river Erne and lakes of Cavan and further afield.
He also provides pre-baiting of private pegs for coarse anglers.
Accommodation, boat hire, pre-baiting and ground bait are all available at Carafin Lodge.
Located in Irelands Hidden Heartlands, and along the Border Region on the Shores of Carafin Lake on the upper reaches of the mighty River Erne. Carafin Lodge offers the perfect location for Anglers to get easy access to the many lakes and rivers by bank or boat, or for those who just want to kick back and relax with the panoramic views over Carafin Lake.
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