2026 is whizzing past at a frightening rate, meaning the opening of the trout season here in Ireland is not far away. Early in the season, the Irish fly fisher has four main options, namely pulling lures close to the bottom, traditional fly fishing with dark wets targeting fish feeding on hog louse and shrimp,ContinueContinue reading “Some more duckfly patterns”
Category Archives: Nymphs
1,000 up, and still going strong
Happy to report that I reached my self-imposed target of 1,000 flies this week, a full two months ahead of my plan. I guess it wasn’t too much of a stretch really, given that I don’t tie very complex patterns and had a lot of time on my hands due to the horrible wet weatherContinueContinue reading “1,000 up, and still going strong”
Three quarters of the way there
My target of 1,000 flies tied for the winter is well on course. Indeed, I am far ahead of where I thought I would be at this stage. That will probably change as Christmas hits over the coming weeks, what with shopping , cooking and the occasional libation (hic). Today I cracked the 800 barrier,ContinueContinue reading “Three quarters of the way there”
Tackling tough conditions
When dreaming of days on the big limestone loughs I am willing to wager us fly fishers imagine clouds driven across the sky by a brisk south westerly, the warm air still damp from recent rain and trout splashing as they intercept hatching flies. While we do get halcyon like that sometimes, more often theContinueContinue reading “Tackling tough conditions”
Grey Mayfly Nymph
I guess we are now at the beginning of the fly tying season so I will post a few flies every now and then. I’ll start today with a fly I often turn to when the mayfly fishing is difficult due to calm conditions. This is a very easy nymph to tie but getting theContinueContinue reading “Grey Mayfly Nymph”
First outing
It kind of crept up on me, the realisation that I could possibly go fishing this week. I had become so inured to floods and gales that the opening of the trout season had come and gone without really registering in my mind. This week though saw a change in the weather with cold, brightContinueContinue reading “First outing”
Leaders
Let’s talk about leaders. When I started fishing the fly for trout this was pretty damn straight forward – you tied an overhand knot on the end of the fly line and looped a 9 foot length of 4 pound breaking strain nylon on to it. Life in general has evolved in a variety ofContinueContinue reading “Leaders”
A Sunday afternoon
Sullen, that’s the only way I can describe the weather this morning. No wind to speak of and heavy clouds above. The good news is that it was still reasonably warm, raising hopes there would be a hatch of ephemerids. Off to the Robe! Water levels had dropped since my last visit but the waterContinueContinue reading “A Sunday afternoon”
Monday, bloody Monday
The morning slipped away from me but by 11.30 I was behind the wheel and heading off to spend a few hours trout fishing on the River Robe. All the rivers around here are high and this usually improves the fishing on the Robe, so hopes were high as the old green VW rumbled downContinueContinue reading “Monday, bloody Monday”
Rainy day on the Robe
Rain fell from the battleship grey skies, the day had been damp since early this morning. Leaden clouds poured pewter drops on me as I tackled up at the bridge across the river. Wet and cold before I even started, the day took a definite turn for the worse when I found there were noContinueContinue reading “Rainy day on the Robe”
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