I’ve been bust at the vice again and the fly boxes are filling up nicely now. For me, Saturday afternoons are my preferred time to tuck myself away with the radio on, happily snipping and whipping away. Steam rising lazily from my umpteenth mug of coffee while the room around me gradually fills with halfContinueContinue reading “More Dabblers”
Category Archives: Fishing in Ireland
Bloody Dabbler
On holiday now so I am busy tying flies for the upcoming season. I have lots of ideas floating around in my head and one of them took shape this morning in the form of a Bloody Dabbler. This is loosely based on the Bloody Butcher, a great old pattern which used to work forContinueContinue reading “Bloody Dabbler”
Western Lakes Dabbler
Here is a dabbler pattern I created some years ago to use during the mayfly hatch on Lough Carra. It’s proved to be a consistent killer and has taken trout from the other lakes too, so I can vouch for its effectiveness. A calm start to a day on Lough Carra I used to keepContinueContinue reading “Western Lakes Dabbler”
Why do we go fishing?
Many anglers and writers have addressed this question over the years but I thought I would chip in with my own thoughts on the matter. People who have never fished frequently fail to see what all the fuss is about and it can be hard for us anglers to articulate exactly what we see inContinueContinue reading “Why do we go fishing?”
A sedge for Lough Mask
I recently tied up a small dry sedge pattern for one of the lads. Think this is one of the late Rod Tye’s patterns and the style is the same as the Simulator. It looks good and I will make a few for my own fly box too. The fly has natural deer hair wingsContinueContinue reading “A sedge for Lough Mask”
Tying for Carrowmore
‘Tis the season for fly tying and my thoughts have turned to what to try on Carrowmore next season. When fishing that lake I firmly believe I could get by with a cast of a Claret Bumble, a Green Peter and a Bibio and catch just the same number of fish but that would takeContinueContinue reading “Tying for Carrowmore”
Repurposing
€5. A fiver. That’s all I spent to buy a box of old flies and lures on fleabay. There were some photos to accompany the listing and staring at it I homed in on one fly in particular. It was tied with feather which are rarely available these days. The blue elver fly is aContinueContinue reading “Repurposing”
Last casts
Last Saturday was earmarked for a sea angling session but other commitments got in the way and instead I ventured out with the beachcasters on Sunday. The weather forecast was for a fine day but the wind was due to strengthen from the east overnight. It didn’t look too bad when I left town inContinueContinue reading “Last casts”
Oddball baits
I own a ridiculous number of old baits, most of which will, in all probability, never see the water. They dangle from racks on the walls of my fishing den, jostle for position in numerous tackle boxes or lie sedately on the bench awaiting refurbishment. Plain silver or gold ones, brassy and coppery ones, multi-huedContinueContinue reading “Oddball baits”
Zoom
Wind the clock back many, many years to the 1970’s and you would find me on the banks of a Scottish salmon river clad in a worn Barbour coat and thigh waders. Depending on the conditions I’d either be wielding a 15 foot Hardy fly rod or my trusty ABU Atlantic 423 Zoom spinning rod.ContinueContinue reading “Zoom”
Claretbumbler 