The trout that almost escaped

Scene of the incident: The Clare River in County Galway near Tuam, a great place for trout fishing, and for salmon, too, if you are lucky.

This time I went on a fishing adventure with my dad and his friend Frank. Frank also brought his dog, Lucy. We were fishing with worms, for either salmon or trout.

I got a bite early on in the session. I had just been chatting to people who were passing by, next thing one of them said: “Look, your rod is bending.” I went to grab the rod and I started to feel really excited as I was reeling it in.

It was very easy to reel in... and when I pulled the fish out of the water, it was only a tiddler, a small trout, and my dad said I had to put it back into the water. You are only allowed to keep trout that is more than 13 inches long. So my fishing session started with a disappointment. But the day wasn’t done yet.

Next thing, Frank said: “I am going to catch a big fish.” I copied him and said: “I am going to catch a big fish, too!”  We had hardly spoken these words when Frank got a bite. His rod started bending fast. He said: “Here, Cillian, reel this in for me.” So I grabbed his rod and I reeled.

The fish was very strong. I had to give him some line, otherwise I would have lost him. Then I reeled him in for real. When I had him close to the river bank, Frank told me to put the rod upright. I think I held the rod a bit too high because next thing I lost the fish. I was trembling with excitement.

The fish jumped out of the water. As he came down he probably hit a rock. He must have been stunned because he lay in the water on his side and didn’t move... Lucy was barking at him like crazy to alert us. She gets very excited when she is fishing.

With the fish being stunned we had a second chance, but someone had to move fast. Frank came to the rescue. He grabbed his net and scooped up the fish.

The fish was about a two and a quarter pounder. He had a golden pattern with red dots. Frank gave the fish to me to bring home. Trout fried in butter once more...my dad is a master at cooking fish. I helped him to gut the fish and put the butter in the pan. Then I got to eat it all by myself, and it was scrumptious.

Cong Canal July 2017

19/11/2017

This is me at the Cong canal. I caught my first fish here when I was five years old. The Cong Canal is a good place for catching wild brown trout. It connects Lough Mask and Lough Corrib. In July of this year at the start of the school holidays my dad and I spent a day there. My friend Rowan was also there. 

I caught the first fish of the day, a two Pounder on a rod borrowed from a friend. I caught it on a ledgered worm. This means there is no float. There is a ball of lead which pulls the worm under the water as it rolls in the current. 

Then my dad caught a two and a quarter Pounder trout on a float fished live caddis. A caddis is the maggot of a sedge fly. Trout love all stages of the caddis.

We gave the first fish to my friend, and we brought the larger trout home. My dad gutted the trout, and fried it in butter in the pan. Salmon is my favourite fish, but trout fried in butter is really nice too.