Clogher

A short spin up a narrow road from Westport there is brown sign which points down an even narrower road to a magical little lough called Clogher. Despite having previously lived in close proximity to Clogher I had never wet a line on it, not until this evening.

A single boat resides in the tiny harbour, a boat which you can hire for a small sum. My partner and I loaded up and set off through a maze of reeds to reach the open water, a feat which will become all but impossible in a few short weeks as the reeds grow up.

Light rods and lines are the order of the day on lakes like this where the trout are not large. Anything over half-a-pound is a good fish here so there is no requirement for powerful rods. I was using an 11 footer which cast a number 6 line but I would have been just as happy with a four weight set up.

From the outset there were a few fish rising, just the odd one here and there but enough to keep the interest going. Soon we were rising fish and missing the majority of them. I got one on a Green Peter but he was only a wee lad.

This was going to be the pattern for the evening, numerous rises, tweaks, pulls and every variation in between! Enough of them stuck to keep us both happy though. Early on I had an unusual catch – a very small sea trout>

Most of the action was to be had close to or even in amongst the reeds which fringe parts of the lake. Trout and vegetation were hooked in equal measure.

In the three hours we were on the water I had two trebles and two doubles, none of them big trout but they gave a good auld pull when two or three of them were on at once.

There seems to be good fly life on this lough with a near constant stream of buzzers hatching all evening and some small sedges skittering along the surface. It is also a lovely place to fish, the lush, rolling farmland around the shores is very easy on the eye.

The action came in spurts with spells when nothing looked near our flies and then suddenly both rods were in action at the same time. I kept a couple of the better fish for the table but the rest were safely returned. The trout did not seem to be too fussy when it came to fly selection but I found anything with a silver body was boldly taken.

So, if you find yourself in the Westport area and fancy some not-too-taxing fishing I can humbly suggest that Clogher is well worth an hour or two of your time. A lovely spot with a scatter of free- rising trout in it. What more could you ask for!