In this case ‘PC’ stands for ‘post Covid’. I contracted the dreaded lurgy last week. Thursday was the day it played its hand and I became quite ill that night, forcing the cancellation of two days on the loughs which I had been so looking forward to. Sleep was impossible, uncontrollable shakes were followed byContinueContinue reading “PC fishing”
Author Archives: Claretbumbler
Casts and retrieves
Some thoughts on traditional boat fishing Casting and retrieving in traditional lough style. Now here is a subject we fly anglers can really get our teeth into! As someone who fishes a fair bit with other boat partners I get to see first-hand the wide variation of casts and retrieves employed. Experienced anglers find whatContinueContinue reading “Casts and retrieves”
On the mend
As always, I was late. A couple of rod repairs had to be done before the season started. It is March now and anglers are out in force once again yet I had still not done my duty and repaired the rods. As a youth I loved making fishing rods and eschewed beautifully crafted Hardy’sContinueContinue reading “On the mend”
Tactics for Mayo salmon loughs
Carrowmore and Beltra It is that time of the year again, the salmon season is opening here in the west. I want to just go over a few points which may help visitors to catch the elusive fish on a couple of the western lakes. I know I have touched on this subject before onContinueContinue reading “Tactics for Mayo salmon loughs”
Cloondroon
The last couple of days has seen a change in the weather with hard frosts at night but lovely bright days with light winds. I had initially planned to go trout fishing on the river Robe but the cold meant it would be unlikely the early stoneflies would hatch in any numbers so I headedContinueContinue reading “Cloondroon”
Join the club
On a windy day last weekend I tried fishing lough Aclaureen near Tuam. I failed to register even a single bite there and so headed off to try my luck elsewhere, eventually spending a couple of desperately cold and windswept hours on one of the Castlereagh lakes near Irishtown. On the way there I checkedContinueContinue reading “Join the club”
Blowing away the cobwebs
Tuam, brought to the world’s attention many years ago thanks to the Saw Doctors, lies to the south of where I live, a little way down the famed N17. The grass is indeed very green and hemmed in by old stone walls but it was not the pastures of north county Galway I was goingContinueContinue reading “Blowing away the cobwebs”
Small devons
Confession, I found this in my ‘draft posts’ folder. I was simply going to delete it but then thought it was just a saunter down memory lane, so some of you may enjoy the read. Some seriously old minnows We all have them, those tiny metal devon minnows which used to be so popular. I’mContinueContinue reading “Small devons”
The wind it doth blow
The storms of last week continued to batter us here in the west over the weekend and my plans to go fishing had to be abandoned. Getting wet/cold at this time of the year in blustery showers is expected and if you can’t face those discomforts then spring fishing here is not for you, butContinueContinue reading “The wind it doth blow”
Simple Beltra Badger
I am guessing that most of you reading this are already very familiar with the Beltra Badger salmon fly. Although it is a pretty easy fly to tie in its original form I make a simplified version for tying on small hooks such as a size 10 trout fly hook. This makes a very usefulContinueContinue reading “Simple Beltra Badger”
Claretbumbler 