Johannes Bulfin takes us in search of a lake run brown trout in the Republic of Ireland known as the croneen.
The brown trout (Salmo trutta) has to be one of the most fascinating species of fish. It has been introduced into many an exotic location because of its sporting appeal to the settlers of the time. This however is not an article about the rights or wrongs of introducing a species into a foreign environment. I know that every fly angler is well aware of the varying appearance of brown trout depending on where the fish is caught, as a drastic comparison take a 20lb silver sea run brown from Patagonia and compare it with a dark backed, golden bellied and crimson spotted tiddler from a highland stream in Scotland.
This is an article about a trout that is a little different again. A fish that doesn`t grow to enormous proportions or inhabit the most breath taking landscape in the world but is still pursued with relentless passion and enthusiasm by those who know of it. The fish is the “croneen” and has been mentioned previously by myself within the digital pages of this ezine (see Issue 32).
Ireland is well known for having many different species of trout, Lough Melvin in County Leitrim is renowned for holding three distinct species of trout; sonaghan, gillaroo and the mighty ferox. On a par with these fish would be the dollaghan of Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland which can also grow to impressive sizes. Alongside these fish the croneen is quiet and often forgotten.
So what is a croneen, where is it, how and when can they be caught? I´ll endeavour to answer all these questions through the course of this article.
The croneen is a slender torpedo shaped trout, it is characteristically silver with dark spots and no red spots. They are a pelagic fish that inhabit Lough Derg in the Republic of Ireland, which is the largest lake on the Shannon catchment system. For the majority of the year they are thought to inhabit the lake but during July they begin their spawning migration upstream into the tributary rivers of the Little Brosna and Camcor. The croneen average around 1lb in weight, although there are plenty of much bigger specimens (up to 5lb) in the shoals that run upstream.
So where can these fish be caught? Well you will have to travel to Ireland and to a very specific location too. At this point maybe I should explain the work that has gone into identifying the croneen has a unique species, the species diverges from resident brown trout genetically and therefore morphologically too. Natal homing (something akin to salmon) has had a crucial role in preserving this genetic individuality. The town of Birr, in County Offaly sits on the confluence of the Camcor and Little Brosna rivers. From here the croneen predominantly run up the Camcor to spawn. This is where you want to go to catch croneen. The months of July, August and September are the best times. If you are visiting Ireland then Birr is never far away as it is in the heart of the midlands and a day or two of fly fishing on these two rivers is well worth your while.
I´ve included a detailed map of the area immediately around Birr, and I will go through these locations. First though let´s talk about tackle and tactics. A 9`5 weight is an ideal tool for the Little Brosna below Birr and all the way down to the Shannon. However the Camcor is a small river by any measurement and a shorter rod is my recommendation, don´t go too light though as the croneen is a powerful fish especially in close confined areas. Personally I never use less than 6lb breaking strain for the tippet. A floating line is usually all that’s required, perhaps a sink tip if the river is in flood. Fly size depends on water level and clarity, a size 6 wet fly is not too large when the water is high but a much smaller size 12 is probably called for when the water is low and clear. Regarding patterns; well in all honesty it´s all about confidence! Each local angler seems to have his own favourite that: “I´ll only ever use this one fly and just vary the size! The rest are rubbish!”. For some this is an Invicta, others a Black Pennell. Think along the lines of traditional sea trout flies and you won´t go wrong.
The most common method used is fishing down and across with the aforementioned wet flies. In some of the deeper water there isn´t much of a flow to swing the line, in this case you want to retrieve and twitch the fly to give it some life.
Alternative tactics are skating a large sedge pattern across the surface or upstream nymphing during daylight hours.
Most people will head out onto the river to fish when it is well and truly dark. This is an indication of the spooky nature of the fish. However during the past season I had most of my success between the sun going down and total darkness. Having said that I have also caught croneen in bright daylight, there are no hard and fast rules but any local will tell you to wait until darkness. I have one tip though that is worth remembering, if it is extremely windy, then drop everything and go fishing. The reason is that the croneen hold in deep still pools, the wind breaks up the surface making them feel more secure and also hiding you (same thing), but also the wind knocks in all sorts of terrestrials from the overhanging trees and can actually spur the fish into feeding.
As the river is clearing after a flood is a prime time to fish for croneen, a dark peaty tea stained colour is perfect. If there´s even a few inches of visibility it is more than adequate. A rising flood works too but the problem is that the window of opportunity is very limited before the river colours up and becomes unfishable. I mean an hour is all you might get on a rising flood, so you really have to be out there fishing as the rain starts to fall.
Fishing for croneen is very much like fishing for other migratory game fish; they like to throw away the rule book, behave unpredictably and can at times be frustratingly difficult to hook! When you hook one landing it is not guaranteed either! They have a tendency to rocket out of the water when hooked, this creates all sorts of wobbles into the line and a loose hook hold usually falls out at this point! At least you got to see the fish!
When you land one though, the feeling of elation is indescribable.
There is a lot of mystic and magic surrounding the croneen. Scientific studies have tried to shed some light on the species and have concluded that they are indeed a genetically unique species. However these studies have also raised more interesting questions; why are there predominantly only female fish that run to spawn? Do the males stay in the river as river dwelling fish? Do the males run up later in the year after the season has closed? Where are the male fish? The stomach content analysis of the sampled fish also makes for interesting reading (the sample size was 18 fish), 27% had something in their stomachs, only one fish had a full stomach. The most common food items were freshwater shrimp (Gammarus duebeni), stonefly (Leuctra), midges (Chironomids) and mayflies (Ephemerella).
If I have piqued your interest enough to give croneen fishing a go then this is what you need to know: the fishing is open to anyone who holds a Midlands Fisheries Group permit. This can easily be purchased online for a day (15e), 21 days (20e) or the year (40e). The beauty of this is that it not only entitles the holder to fish the Camcor and Little Brosna but a whole host of rivers and lakes in the midlands of Ireland. These are all listed online and on the permit but to mention a few of the more famous lakes: Sheelin, Owel, Ennel and Derravaragh are all included. The permit covers all types of fishing and species so if you fancy some pike fly fishing in the area then fire away, (fishing the River Shannon is entirely free). Just to mention that the croneen run is extremely well monitored by Inland Fisheries Ireland officers and last season I met them on the river more times than I can remember off hand, so do have your permit printed and with you at all times.
Below is a map of Birr town with some of the prime locations for croneen fishing on the Camcor marked.
Croghan Bridge to the Maltings is within Birr Castle Demesne and fishing is forbidden here, it´s a lovely place for an afternoon walk with the family but they may get frustrated as you´ll be constantly peering at the trout in the river or feeding the enormous roach in the estate lake with the family´s lunch sandwiches. At least I hope it´s not only me that does these things!!
Below Croghan Bridge and all the way to Derrinsallow (off the map) is beautiful, beautiful fishing water. This is the Little Brosna river and especially around Derrinsallow is stunning and good fishing too. The Maltings is situated right in the heart of Birr town and is a very popular location to fish for croneen, too popular for my liking. I have caught croneen all along the stretch from the Maltings up to Elm Grove Bridge, this is all within the town but well worth fishing. Upstream of Elm Grove is “fly only” water for the entire rest of the Camcor and any joining side streams. One of my personal favourite stretches of river is between Elm Grove bridge and Syngefield, here the river meanders wonderfully, there are deep holes, fast rapids and the river has retained its natural character, you´ll like it too. Above Syngefield bridge is “The place” where anglers target croneen! My recommendation is to go here for a walk to see the fish holding up in the slow sections of river, whet your appetite, talk to a couple of locals but fish elsewhere! It´s again too popular in my opinion but I do like my own space when fishing. Don´t get me wrong it´s not always packed but it can be. Moving on upstream we get to the Red Bridge, below this is some of my personal favourite places to catch croneen.
This where our map leaves us but purchase an Ordnance survey map of the area and go explore the rest of the Camcor and Little Brosna system. The Little Brosna would deserve an article in its own right and has been barely touched in this one. It is a worthy river even without a croneen run. However I recommend that if you have made it to Birr to fish for croneen then don´t limit yourself to where I have mentioned. Of course it depends on where the fish actually are at the time too but DO go crawl underneath barbed wire, wade through ditches and fight off hawthorn trees to get to those places and gems of pools that haven´t seen an angler since I was last in Ireland.
I´ve enjoyed writing this and hopefully a few readers have even made it to the end of the article! If even one reader was to be inspired to give this a go based on my article I´d be over the moon!! To read through a few first-hand accounts of my croneen fishing in 2014 have rummage around my blog below.
To read more from Johannes please visit his excellent blog Road to Water