Fishing in Ireland – Page 2

Back at the vice

After a l-o-n-g hiatus, I have returned to the vice and started to do a bit of fly tying. 2025 will go down for me as the year when I hardly fished, did almost no ghillieing and tied virtually no flies. The good news is that most of the big non-fishing jobs required of meContinueContinue reading “Back at the vice”

Autumn coarse fishing

It had been an odd sort of a weekend, and by Sunday I was jaded and restless. A decision was taken to move my neglected boat off lough Conn for the winter, so my mate and I drove out to Pike Bay with my trailer on a bright but cold autumn day. The car parkContinueContinue reading “Autumn coarse fishing”

Acres and Acres

It stopped raining this morning. Given that it has been pissing down for days on end this was big news. All my local rivers are over their banks, the loughs are full to overflowing and still rising. The forecast was for the rain to return by 4pm, so there was a wee window of opportunityContinueContinue reading “Acres and Acres”

Another tough day on Carra

My plans to do a lot of fishing on Carra this season turned to dust, but I did manage to get out one last time last Sunday. It was the final competition for the club, a day which the forecasters had predicted would be one of gales and torrential rain. Strange as it may seem,ContinueContinue reading “Another tough day on Carra”

A long day

One advantage of my former career as an Interim Manager was that I got to meet a huge number of people. Some I had only minimal interaction with, but many others became friends who I am still in contact with. My last assignment in Clara, Co. Offaly was supposed to last three months but IContinueContinue reading “A long day”

Red or white?

A big change in the weather this past week has seen the blue skies replaced with angry grey clouds and the bone dry fields have been well watered at last. In normal times I would be reaching for my salmon rods and confidently casting over the well known lies of my local rivers, but thisContinueContinue reading “Red or white?”

Whole lotta’ fizzing going on

I snuck in another canal session today, which was very bold of me considering the heavy schedule of jobs I have to do around the house. In my defence, the outside painting has been coming along nicely with a solid week of me up ladders with brushes or wielding my latest toy, a paint sprayer.ContinueContinue reading “Whole lotta’ fizzing going on”

That difficult second book

Well, I did it today. I sent the manuscript of my second book to the publishers for their initial review. Email confirmation was received this afternoon that they had got it along with the usual waffle of terms and conditions etc. It usually takes them about six weeks to make a decision about whether orContinueContinue reading “That difficult second book”

Knock Knock, what’s there?

The spire of the Basilica comes into view as I round the bend a mile, or maybe more, from the village of Knock in county Mayo. The shape spire points heavenward, a beacon for the faithful. Many travel far to pray at this holy site. Why here, in this remote, poor part of western Ireland?ContinueContinue reading “Knock Knock, what’s there?”

Down on the ditch again

Canal fishing is regarded by many Irish anglers as a waste of time, just angling for tiddlers while being pestered by dog walkers. Indeed, the Royal Canal is often condescendingly referred to as ‘the ditch’ in some quarters, but I know different. Feeling a bit burned out after 7 uninterrupted days of sanding and paintingContinueContinue reading “Down on the ditch again”