April 2026 – Claretbumbler

Royal visit

Naw, not Charlie being pals with Trump, just me making my first trip to the Royal canal this year. Like an itch that I just had to scratch, the Royal canal was calling me even though the local rivers are fishing really well right now. The day was promised bright, dry and warm but withContinueContinue reading “Royal visit”

Job done

A very quick post this evening. I spent the whole day today working with my mate Ian on repairing my boat and am happy to report she is ready to go back in the water (at last). Last May the old girl was making a funny scraping sound when I was on the lough oneContinueContinue reading “Job done”

The early bird

My last session hunting for big roach has me fired up for more of the same, so I set an alarm for silly o’clock on Sunday morning and headed back to the same spot to try my luck again. I was ghillieing later in the day so this was going to be a bit ofContinueContinue reading “The early bird”

Mayo roach

Brown trout are the staple species in the county Mayo. The huge salmon runs of yester year have gone, wiped out by the industrial fishing around the coasts, so anglers come here to fly fish for the lovely browns which live in just about all the local rivers and loughs. Go back a couple ofContinueContinue reading “Mayo roach”

Being a Boatman

I have documented here in this blog why I don’t fish in the Irish angling competitions. I do however perform boatman duties sometimes, and I was called upon to do just that last Saturday. It was the National finals day and the venue was lough Conn. There was one small problem for me, my boatContinueContinue reading “Being a Boatman”

Changes they are a comin’

After what feels like an eternity, I am finally back driving again. By happy coincidence this dovetails neatly with the much delayed start to the trout fishing in these parts. The prolonged wet spell which has stretched from last October until now has pushed back the usual angling calendar by about a month or so.ContinueContinue reading “Changes they are a comin’”

The wheels on the bus go round and round…..

The current update on my car woes is not good. Still struggling to find the parts for the Yaris and I might need to buy a brand new stub axle. At nearly €500 for a shiny new axle it is a judgement call if I should just ditch the old girl and buy something else.ContinueContinue reading “The wheels on the bus go round and round…..”

Black Gnats

Our terrible weather continues again this bank holiday weekend with storm ‘Dave’ bringing intense rain and high winds to the west of Ireland. I can’t recall such a prolonged period of cold, wet weather even over here where we are no strangers to inclement conditions. The loughs and rivers remain stubbornly high and the fishingContinueContinue reading “Black Gnats”