‘Tis the end of January and the time to prepare for the upcoming season is upon us game anglers in Ireland. I know that some early rivers opened weeks ago but for me and most of the lads I fish with the months of February and March mark the true beginning of another year onContinueContinue reading “Getting ready”
Category Archives: Fishing in Ireland
Single hooks?
Any of you tried single hooks on your salmon baits? I have not (yet) but plan to give them a go this coming season so that returning fish is going to be easier Here is an ABU Killer which I have changed the hooks on. To me it looks a bit odd but that willContinueContinue reading “Single hooks?”
The Black Wickham
By simply changing the palmered hackle on a standard Wickham you get a trout fly that works well on summer evenings in fast water. I’ve used this pattern for more years than I care to remember and it has been responsible for many fine trout finding their way to my net. So, instead of aContinueContinue reading “The Black Wickham”
More Dabblers
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”
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”
Claretbumbler 