Premature end to my season

We were in behind Saints island when it happened, drifting fast in a lively south-easterly with me on the oars. Anyone who fishes the Mask knows this is a great area for trout and on that day the fish were rising to a sporadic hatch of greendrakes. The wind wasn’t quite right, pushing the boat out all the time and away from the indented shore, meaning I had spent the day straining on the oars trying to push us back in. Big, jagged rocks lurk just below the surface, and we had bumped a few throughout the day, adding to the scars on the hull and prop despite my best efforts to dodge them. That is all part of the game on Lough Mask, don’t go there if you are precious about your boat. Two trout had come to the boat, a poor return for the number of offers. A good fish broke Jim when his line snagged around his reel, another threw the hook just as it was coming to the net. Many fish were coming short, just splashing at the flies but not taking them.

The wind, strong and gusty to start with, rose as the day wore on. Heavy showers drenched us a few times but as long as the trout were moving my clients gritted their teeth and fished through the maelstrom. It was tiring work for me in these conditions but I love being out on the lough so didn’t mind the physical effort. Late in the day, we were drifting fast on to a shallow reef which I could make out in front of us. Since it looked like it extended out to our left I decided to pull us inshore where I thought there might be a slightly deeper gap in the rocks. The wind howled and the boat dug her stern into the waves as I pulled mightily on the sodden oars. My first couple of strokes were ineffective but then she grudgingly responded as I strained hard, inching forward while the lads cast on to the shallow. Up until then all was good, my arms ached with tiredness of course but nothing worse, but as we cleared the shallow I felt a sickening pain in my left arm. Switching to use my right arm got me through the rest of the day, but I knew I was in trouble.

The injury was a carbon copy of what happened earlier in the year, I had torn the ligaments in my arm. Painkillers got me through the night and the next day and by the Sunday I could move the arm without wincing in pain, but lifting or pulling anything was, and still is, out of the question. There is no major bruising or other evidence of the injury and if I am not doing anything heavy or awkward there is little more than a throbbing in my forearm for now. All that changes as soon as I twist or clench my arm though, both actions which are required frequently when afloat. I was due to fish on lough Sheelin this past week with friends but had to cancel. Clients who had me booked over the coming months are receiving calls or emails from me to say I’m unable to take them out. In short, my boat fishing is all likelihood over for the year. I’ll arrange for a couple of mates to lift my boat and bring her back to the shed, to prevent me be tempted to go out in her and risk further injury.

It’s only June and here I am staring down the barrel of no fishing for an extended period. Healing is going to be slow and progress hard to measure, but perhaps I will be strong enough to do a bit in September. Until then, friends have offered to take me out on their boats. The idea that others will do the work as I look on feels very wrong to me, but it is nice of them to offer. Instead, I am going to invest any spare time I have into much less physically demanding forms of angling.

Even my ‘normal’ coarse fishing is going to be too much for my dodgy arm. Lugging my usual mountain of gear is not going to work so I am looking to reduce my tackle to the bare minimum. I might not catch as many fish but at least I will be fishing! I’ll also get back into fly fishing on my local streams and rivers where all I need is a waistcoat with a few essentials and a wading stick. Visits to fly fish some hill loughs are within my scope too, so I’ll arrange for a few days around Mayo and maybe further afield. None of this is what I planned to be doing this summer but it will be better than nothing. That is hugely important to me, I have been dreaming of long days on the water for ages and I’m not giving up on those dreams, just changing focus.

I will also re-organise all my fishing and fly tying gear over the coming weeks. It is all in a heap due to the house renovations with rods, reels, nets and boxes of fur and feathers turning up in the oddest of places. And there is a spare outboard which I have acquired which needs to be serviced. Doing these small but necessary jobs will keep me busy and at least involved in fishing in some way, even if I am not bobbing about on Mask or Corrib.

Being more positive, I have time to revisit my almost completed book and push on with it to publication. I’ve been editing it on and off for months so a little more focus should get it over the line. If fishing is restricted I hope that writing about it will go some way to filling the gap.