Welcome

The Slaney

The Slaney flows from Lugnaquilla Mountain west and then 73 miles south through Baltinglass, Rathvilly, Tullow, Bunclody, Enniscorthy and finally Wexford discharging into a 12 mile long narrow estuary.

The river supports a wide range of wildlife and was until the early 1960s one of the most important spring salmon fisheries in Ireland.

Click here for a more detailed description of the catchment area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Cam

The live river cam shows the condition and depth of the water downstream from Bunclody. The pictures are updated every 5 minutes. The River Cam page has snapshots going back to midday the previous Sunday.

News

See more articles on our 'News & Info' page.

• 2012 redd count

  The redd count for the river for 2012 has recently come to hand and while we are still a very long way off the level of abundance seen in the 1960s the trend is mildly encouraging with a total of just over 1200 redds counted which is the second best result since 2001. You can click though to see details of the 2012 count and the comparative figures for the past 15 years along with an earlier report on the November visit to the redds

• Report week ending 20 May

  Following a bout of heavy rain the week started off with a bang with Tiernan’s big fish in Enniscorthy. A number of other high double figure fish were lost including one by Eanna Murphy which broke him by wrapping itself around a rock on the Farmleigh stretch. The good fishing was spread along the river with one beat producing 4 fish on Thursday and several lost. Also on Thursday Stuart Feeney landed 2 fish at Kildavin,  and Mary Harkin one further downstream on Friday. By the week end the sun and dry weather started to take its toll and I would expect the river to quieten down a bit until we see another fresh.

• New Zealand based scientist writes to Minister re salmon farm risk

  The Galway independent, in an article also picked up by the Atlantic Salmon Federation, reports that Professor Mark Costello  of Auckland has written to Minister Coveney re the risk of mass salmon fatalities arising from sea lice . The departmental response is depressingly familiar claiming that Irish protocols on sea lice represent the best practice internationally.

• Another big springer landed

  Another big fish has been caught, this time by TiernanSludds at Enniscorthy. Tiernan, an experienced angler who has caught plenty of Slaney fish, estimates the fish would easily have hit the magical 20 pounds mark on the scales and you’d find it hard to argue with him on the evidence of this photo.

  He also landed another fish about 12 pounds and lost 2 more during the day. This is the third 20 pounder landed in the space of three weeks on the Slaney and while the river is noted for it’s big Spring fish in recent years it is unheard of for it to produce more than the very occasional fish of this quality.

  What’s the reason for this significant improvement? Many would argue that the banning of drift nets at sea and the absence of draft nets in the estuary has given these fish a much better chance of returning to spawn. Now that the netting gauntlet is gone we can hope to see many more fish like this one in the coming years, and maybe even one or two more this season.

• Scottish Fish fam had pesticide residue levels 400 times above approved limit

  The Herald Scotland reported last week on the fact that Scotland’s environment agency has found 12 salmon farms pesticide residues above the approved level. One Marine Harvest site was reported as having levels over 400 times the approved level!

Events and Notices

• 2012 Trip to the Redds planned for 17 November

  Weather and water levels permitting we are planning the annual  visit to the spawning redds on Saturday 17 November. Stephen Byrne of IFI  has once again kindly agreed to host the trip. This is always an interesting day out  and typically we would hope to see both evidence of spawning and catch sight on a few fish actually on the redds.

  The plan, subject to demand,  is to meet in the Car Park at the civic offices in Tullow at 10am.

  If you are interested in going please email webmaster@slaneyrivertrust.ie with your interest and mobile number so that I can let you know in the event of cancellation due to water conditions or if plans change for any other reason.

• Casting Class re scheduled for 8 September 2012

  The casting class originally set for 23 June has been rescheduled for 8 September. Participants who had signed up for the original event have been notified of the revised arrangements.

• AGMs to be held on 27 July meetings starting at 7 PM

  The notices and Agendas for the AGMs of the Slaney River Trust and Slaney Rod Fishers Association have been posted today. Members will also receive a message from the Chairman providing an update on the year’s activity.  The meetings are being held on will be held on Friday 27 July in Redmonds in Bunclody and will be preceded at 7 pm by presentations by Willie Roche Senior Research Officer IFI on progress in the Celtic Sea trout Program and Proposed scientific work in the Slaney catchment in 2013.

  We are hoping for a large turnout on the night and all members who can are encouraged to attend.

• Casting Class Cancelled

  Unfortunately due to safety considerations associated with the very high river level the CASTING CLASS SCHEDULED FOR SATURDAY  JUNE 23 HAS HAD TO BE CANCELLED. The intention is to try and reschedule and confirmed attendees will be contacted directly if that is possible.

• Casting Class Now Full

  The 20 places for the casting class on 23 June have now been filled. We will file a report on how the day goes in due course. Many thanks to who applied but did not make the first 20.