Thursday. I should be out on Conn or Mask at this time of the year but I wanted another crack at the coarse fish so I headed over to Roscommon and a largish lough called Na Blaithi in Irish or Nablahy in its anglicized form. I had read it was a well developed mixed fisheryContinueContinue reading “Lough Na Blaithi”
Category Archives: Fishing in Ireland
Huntin’ hybrids
So, there is this lake near Ballymote which purportedly contains bream/rudd hybrids. I have been hankering to catch some of these relatively rare fish since I took up coarse fishing and today I headed off to county Sligo to try my luck for them on Bellanascarrow. The lough also contains pure strains of both speciesContinueContinue reading “Huntin’ hybrids”
32 – Episode 17, Antrim
Antrim occupies that far north eastern corner of the island of Ireland, an ancient kingdom with strong traditional links to my home country of Scotland. Indeed, I think I am right in saying there are but 12 scant miles of salt water at the closest point between the two countries. I recall being on holidayContinueContinue reading “32 – Episode 17, Antrim”
Fisherman’s blues
Some days everything goes according to plans but then there are other days……….. Researching possible coarse fishing venues near to me often threw up references to ‘Lakehill Pond’ but the exact location of this small lake could not be found. I knew it was between Ballyhaunis and Knock but no more detail than that couldContinueContinue reading “Fisherman’s blues”
A tale of two days
My new found love of coarse fishing has made a right old mess of my normally straight forward season. It is usually a case of no fishing in January or February then a gradual build up during the spring months as I fish for trout and salmon. Some sea trouting in the summer then anotherContinueContinue reading “A tale of two days”
32- Episode 16, Monaghan
Where do you even begin with county Monaghan? Seriously, was there ever a place so well endowed with coarse fishing venues? A hell of a lot of head scratching went into deciding where to fish to tick this Ulster county off my list but in the end I made a decision, well sort of……. MonaghanContinueContinue reading “32- Episode 16, Monaghan”
Tinca time
Awake in the early morning I twitch the curtains open a fraction to check the weather. Bright and calm, well that’s no use! I turn over and close my eyes again for another hour of fitful sleep. The alarm jolts me out of slumber and I pull on some clothes before opening the curtains. LoContinueContinue reading “Tinca time”
32 – Episode 15, Dublin
Part 1, June 2021 ‘And that auld triangle went jingle-jangleAll along the banks of the Royal Canal’ Dublin. The Irish sea to the east, the mountains of Wicklow to the south and the rich farmlands of the pale to west and north. The depressingly inevitable scatter of commuter belt towns encircling it. Capital of theContinueContinue reading “32 – Episode 15, Dublin”
Silver daddies
The silver daddy is an iconic west of Ireland pattern that can be used for salmon, sea trout or brownies. Of course, this being Ireland there are dozens of variations of the fly and it feels like every tyer has his or her twist on the pattern. The basics of a silver tinsel body andContinueContinue reading “Silver daddies”
32 – Episode 14, Laois
Good god, what was I going to do about Laois? As far back as the end of last year I had been looking for a suitable venue there. No major loughs, no coastline, little in the way of rivers either. No canals for me to gently float some maggot down. No hill loughs or rushingContinueContinue reading “32 – Episode 14, Laois”
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