Comments on: River Liffey, Kilcullen (pre season)

By: Frank Farrell

Frank Farrell — Sun, 29 May 2011 07:06:50 +0000

A Liam, A chara

It is only when I logged on to your blog that I learned of the death of your Father. I am sorry to hear this terrible news. You had mentioned to me at an earlier point of him being unwell but it is never easy to lose a loved one. I am sure he is very proud of you and that he will be thinking fondly and constantly of you in his new found paradise.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.

Frank Farrell

By: wgsten

wgsten — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 20:53:56 +0000

@David. An Otter is a wonderful sight to see. We have a few of them visiting our waters but each time i get to see one i never have my camera to hand. I think the most damaging predator to our fish stocks is the Cormorant. On several occasions i have come upon large numbers of them (15+) along the river bank and as these are a protected species you need a permit to cull them and even then the number you can cull is very low. They are a problem on most waters including stocked fisheries. I have had many reports from fishery oweners about the amount of predation by them. Tight lines for the coming season.
wgsten.

By: David

David — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 01:12:23 +0000

Thanks, I know that many mink are trapped on our river because it is thought they are detrimental to the fish stocks. We don’t have the crayfish or duck population so maybe they are feeding solely on trout. It’s very difficult to fight the cause of an introduced species when they are portrayed as killing machines I suppose. I did see an otter last September while sitting on a rock midstream tying up a leader, don’t think I breathed for the couple of minutes it was working the water around me. Keep going with your great blog. David.

By: wgsten

wgsten — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 20:32:51 +0000

Hi David. Kilcullen anglers does not have a policy of trapping mink. Over the years i have been checking Mink spraints/scats i have noticed in the majority of them were Crayfish remnants whilst only a small minority of them contained fish bones. I have also been keeping an eye the wildfowl on this stretch of water and noted there are still fairly abundant. I have only heard of one report from another angler on how he observed one day a Mink take a duckling from the water surface. Good to see you back at your Blog.
wgsten.

By: David

David — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 16:41:56 +0000

I often walk the dog in the usual fishing spots on the River Sullane here in Cork, they look totally different in the deep mid winter close season. Does the club trap the mink on their stretch of River as the affect on the small fish stocks by mink can be quite severe I think?