It is raining today. It rained yesterday and the day before that. The countryside around here in Co. Mayo is totally waterlogged and serious flooding is occurring as I write this post. People’s livelihoods and homes are threatened by this prolonged period of wet weather and they are understandably angry with a government who theyContinueContinue reading “Dredging is not the answer”
Author Archives: Claretbumbler
Clousers
The weather started off fine this morning but shortly after Nessie and I had completed our walk in the woods our latest weather system hit Mayo with a vengence. ‘Frank’ is now blowing a hoolie and depositing an impressive quantity of rain on us, so I took to the vice in the afternoon and tiedContinueContinue reading “Clousers”
It’s that time of the year
I have never liked Christmas. Even as a kid I found the whole thing a waste of time and once I had discovered fishing this time of the year became unbearable. No fishing to be had, terrible weather and still the seemingly never-ending month of January to suffer until the new season opens. With nothingContinueContinue reading “It’s that time of the year”
Flies for Lough Conn, part 1
Every year hundreds of anglers from every corner of the world travel to County Mayo to fish Lough Conn. I used to be one of the hoard and can remember the intense excitement preparing for the trips, that deep rooted anticipation of each detail of how the fishing would be. Perhaps the greatest thrill wasContinueContinue reading “Flies for Lough Conn, part 1”
Invicta variants
Possibly one of the most effective all-round wet flies every concocted, the Invicta will catch trout from the first day of the season to the last. Invented in the mid nineteenth century by a chap called Ogden, it has spawned a wide range of variations and I want to share a couple of those withContinueContinue reading “Invicta variants”
Golden Olive Shrimp
A confession first – this is not one of my own patterns. It was devised by my boat partner and top salmon angler Ben Baynes a few seasons ago. Since then, it has become a firm favourite with anglers on loughs such as Beltra and Carrowmor. As shrimp flies go it is pretty simple toContinueContinue reading “Golden Olive Shrimp”
After the rain
The weather Gods have pissed on us for more than a week now and the county of Mayo is sodden. Rivulets of water are still running across roads and the fields are flooded. Most of the rivers around here have burst their banks and spilled their contents across the landscape. And amidst this deluge we hopedContinueContinue reading “After the rain”
Connemara Black Dabbler
I admit to absolutely loving this fly. Over the years it has given me so many trout in all sorts of conditions that I reach for it when I have no real idea what else to try. I place huge faith in it and it very rarely let me down. The dressing is almost theContinueContinue reading “Connemara Black Dabbler”
Pass my hammer, it is getting cold
It’s mid-November and the year is showing its age. Leaves clog the drains around the house now and the heating boiler had to be coaxed into life again with some deft hammer blows to the pump housing and a liberal stream of expletives. We were blessed with an unusually calm period of high pressure duringContinueContinue reading “Pass my hammer, it is getting cold”
Fly tying season
Now the angling is over for another year I will start to post some fly patterns and tying instructions on this blog. Here in Ireland we are quite conservative when it comes to different styles of fly but I use a wide range of different flies to meet the conditions so don’t expect just DabblersContinueContinue reading “Fly tying season”
Claretbumbler 