Caught loads of them – and once got one of two pounds – but never particularly wanted them. After the initial novelty to an 11 year old, they were too easy to catch. And brown trout are much better eating.
Have a particularly pleasant memory from August 1985. Went down to Jerpoint early in the morning, caught a dozen brown trout, stopped at a particular field on the way back, picked a bag of mushrooms. Home and fried up a rake of them with a nice plump trout.
Back in 1980, word had got out that the stretch below the fish farm was teeming with rainbow trout. A group of lads started driving up from Cork. I suppose they were twenties and thirties.
Anyhow, those lads were fishing with cheese on a small treble hook and slaughtered god knows how many rainbows. The cheese intrigued me – was used to worming and wet fly – and I gave it a go. The brown trout were wary, as is their nature, and I sometimes saw them knocking the cheese off a hook with their tail before pouncing on the freed morsels.
But there were spots where the flow of water meant cheese could be effective. I could still take anyone to the spot where I landed a pound and a quarter brown trout, a big fish in Kilkenny terms, during the summer of 1980. The river enters a bend and there was an overhang on the near bank. I flicked in the cheese and let it sail under the overhang.
Kept an eye on the pale blink. Blinked off – and I pulled. What seemed a massive trout to a 13 year old sailed out over my left shoulder.
I’m surprised you taking good size trout out of a river that small with a rod. I’d be familiar enough with the Kilfane Stream on the other side of the Nore and there was nothing in it only sprats. We did most of our fishing down through the woods in Dysart.
I haven’t fished in years. Discovered i was highly allergic to what I think is called Hemlock that grows along the river. I used to spend a lot of summer nights from 9:30 till about an hour after dark. The most peaceful time of my life.