Nearly 6 solid weeks of ghillieing had left both me and my gear in a mess. Today was spent addressing the resultant carnage and planning my next move.
My right shoulder aches after days of pulling hard on the oars. I usually try to turn the boat so anglers take turns fishing from each side, but the last few days were on a boat which is specifically set up to fish from the port side only. That meant me mainly using my right arm on the oars, hence the worn out muscles in that shoulder. My right knee is similarly not great after days of loading and unloading boats, despite me keeping it heavily strapped up. This getting old lark is not funny.
It was not just my body which was falling apart. My main wet fly box suffered a broken latch. The middle section would not remain closed and this would have allowed water in if I wasn’t careful. The latch came apart easily though and I soon had the two parts married up and squeezed together with a pliers. That done, it was the turn of the contents of said box to be re-organised. Flies had been tied on anglers lines only to be removed and hastily stowed in all sorts of places. They were in my chest pack, tucked out of sight in the pockets of my jacket and even in the cupholder in the car. Gathered up, each was inspected for damage. A few did not make it and have been put aside so the hooks can be recycled once the damaged dressing has been removed. Dry flies had found their way into the wet fly boxes and vice-versa, so some sorting out and organisation was required. I also made a short list of flies which are running low and will try to find time to tie them up soon.
Next it was the miles of line. Leaders which have become tangled can sometimes be quickly returned to use. Others are beyond salvation and these were hastily cut off and were tucked away in my bag so they did not get lost and pose a danger to wildlife. Now gathered up, out came the scissors and I chopped the useless leaders into tiny strands then put that in the bin. Then I moved on to re-organising my main tackle bag. Over the past weeks I have been watching what is frequently used and what is no longer required. Spools of line for tippets seem to have multiplied to the point where every pocket I open contains more of the little rascals. A cull was required and in no time one pocket on the bag had been emptied of spools.
Although I only made a few casts recently, I was not happy that my old fly reel was as smooth as it should be. While it is sidelined for a lube job I replaced it my bag with a another reel and spare spool, both loaded with AFTM 7 lines.
As all of this was going on my mind turned to what I should do now the mayfly is over. The loughs are simply not fishing well so I will turn my attention to coarse fishing for a while, starting tomorrow! Once the game gear was sorted out I grabbed the float and feeder equipment and gave it the once over. Everything looks to be in good condition so the seatbox is now packed and loaded into the car along with rods, net and waterproofs. I’m off to county Leitrim in the morning, wish me luck!
Claretbumbler 