A side trip to Fermoy and the River Blackwater
I should have written this column for last Saturday. It was St. Patrick’s weekend and I neglected to write on a topic Irish in nature. But better late than not at all, and I do have a few great Irish fishing stories to tell. So, to offer respect for our Irish heritage and culture, here we go.
Goldie and I toured around Ireland in 2006 with a musical group. No, neither of us plays an instrument nor sings for others to hear. But at that time our youngest daughter Allison played and sang in an Ascension Collegiate musical group touring Ireland.
The motive and philosophy of the journey was cultural exchange and the broadening of adolescent minds. Goals and objectives were certainly achieved and all involved had a fantastic experience. The adults gained perspective at least as much as the kids. We all kissed the Blarney Stone, and I caught salmon and trout.
Salmon fishing in Ireland
I have never left home, Newfoundland that is, without a fishing rod. It’s absolutely true, I find fish and angling everywhere I go, even New York City. You know I had to go salmon fishing in Ireland. There are famous rivers on the Emerald Isle, waters I had read about in classic angling literature. This was an opportunity I would not let pass. Actually it would be my first time fishing in Europe.
We landed in Dublin and departed on a bus heading south towards the grand old seaport of Cork. We stopped in Waterford and toured its famous crystal factory. After a long 24 hours in the air and on the road, we pulled into a simple but comfortable youth hostel on a side street in historic Cork. All the crew from Newfoundland enjoyed a late supper of roasted chicken legs and vegetables. The gracious and hospitable staff at the hostel were expecting their closest neighbours across the pond and had kept our food steaming warm until ten at night. It isn’t just us islanders that are hospitable to folks from away.
I ate my supper and found a phone to use. I needed to let my fishing contact know that I had arrived. Tomorrow I was scheduled to fish the River Blackwater. I called up Ian Powell, a retired Welsh chemist, and totally obsessed fly rodder, not unlike myself. He was to pick me up at the bus stop, in front of a small tavern in Fermoy. Eight hours sleep and a hearty breakfast and I was ready for the road again.
The guy driving our tour bus was most accommodating to my fishing. Actually, Tyge was quite fascinated that I had brought along a duffle of fishing gear all the way from Canada just to wet a line in Ireland. “Don’t you have plenty of fish in Canada?” I’ve been asked that sort of thing many times. I tried to explain. Just because we have great salmon angling in Newfoundland and Labrador in no way quenches my thirst to catch fish elsewhere. So Tyge drove me in the tour bus to catch another bus that would take be north on the M8 to Fermoy.
In addition to natural beauty, nestled in the lush and fertile Blackwater Valley, Fermoy is steeped in history and culture. The famous chemist Robert Boyle (Boyle’s Law) was born here. The ancestors of James Joyce, the renowned and prolific Irish writer, built the bridge on the River Blackwater. The main street is quintessential Irish; multicolored businesses with names like Kelly and O’reilly painted over decorative and massive wooden doors. I hopped off the bus and waited in front of a particularly heavy and worn tavern door. In just a few moments Ian pulled up in his muddy four-wheel drive. We shook hands and headed for the river.
Prolific salmon river
The Blackwater is Ireland’s second largest river, rising in the Kerry Mountains and flowing east through counties Cork and Waterford, and finally meeting the sea near Youghal in East Cork. In 1998 the River Blackwater was declared to be the most prolific salmon river in all of Ireland, giving up between five to six thousand salmon to the rods each year. That’s world class, and the season is so long and varied.
There are four distinct runs of salmon that swim River Blackwater. The season opens February 1st and with it come the bigger spring salmon that average from 8 to 20-lbs. The grilse run from late April to late July and are at peak times very prolific. Then there’s a two to three week run of early summer salmon, in the 10 to 15-lb range, beginning in late May. Finally, through August and September larger salmon from 10 to 20-lbs enter the river to finish off the season. That is downright amazing. I’m still temped to move to Fermoy.
In 2006 Ian Powell was running a fishery on the Blackwater with his wife Glenda. Glenda is a native of Belfast, and a very accomplished flyfisher. She is one of the highest qualified and accomplished female fly-casters in the world. I had the rare treat, and privilege to fish under her tutorage for several hours on the Blackwater. At that time I had never fished salmon with a two handed Spey Rod, but when opportunity presents itself, I’m not one to turn it down. I have never looked back.
I didn’t catch a salmon that day, but what a wonderful experience I had just the same.
After I finished up my casting lessons with Glenda, Ian and I drove about 20 miles upstream to Beat 5, Ballincurrig. The upriver jaunt in Ian’s four-wheel drive was quite a spectacle for a lad from “The Rock.” I had been told that Ireland is geo-physically similar to Newfoundland. Not true, at least not the Avalon. The Blackwater Valley is farming country, complete with deep rich fertile soil and the smell of manure and hay hanging in the still afternoon air. It was nothing like Spaniard’s Bay.
Amazing stonework
We parked by an old stone farmhouse and assembled our rods and gear. The barns and cellars were constructed from un-mortared stones and appeared to be almost ancient, likely predating the discovery of the New World. The walk to the river took us through fields of barley lined by a windbreak of huge oak trees. The clear gravel bottomed river, lined with the greenest trees I have ever seen, sparkled in the afternoon sunshine. Wow, what an evening fishing it would be. The sun sank below the trees to the swing of rods and the gurgling of water over rocks, just the way I like to end my days.
I arrived back at the hostel well after dark. I had no cell phone and folks had become quite worried about me. Goldie takes it all in stride. One more cast applies always, even in Ireland. She had told them.
I did catch a salmon in Ireland on that trip, but later and further north, while overnighting in Galway. I’ll save that story for next year. And seeing the Shannon River flowing through Limerick was surreal for me. There’s quite a fly tying history in Limerick, more fodder for another day. Stay tuned.
Paul Smith, a native of Spaniard’s Bay, fishes and wanders the outdoors at every opportunity. He can be contacted at flyfishtherock@hotmail.com or follow him on twitter at @flyfishtherock