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LC blues

The day had to come I suppose. My last outing was a short session after work, broiling under a ferocious sun and wafting a rod at some trout who declined to rise. I fished on lazily, not bothering to change tactics or flies. Work had been tough that day so I was simply unwinding a […]

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Lil’ rainbows

I needed a break from all the coarse fishing I had been doing of late. I love my sessions with the float but a change to freshen things up felt right so I decided to try Pallas Lake near the village of Blue Ball in county Offaly yesterday evening. I will confess that laziness was […]

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Lift off

Most of the visiting anglers I meet on the western lakes are accomplished fly fishers with a vast array of tackle and tactics at their fingertips. Until quite recently they were much more adaptable than the locals who often stuck rigidly to short line wet fly. Switching to lures on HD lines, fishing tiny dries […]

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Cartographic Reminiscences

No fishing today, there is just too much to do around the house. So we slog away at tidying the garden and making some changes to the sitting room. Helen has some lovely drawings which we frame and mount of the walls and that got me thinking about a couple of cardboard tubes containing posters […]

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Fishing from the shore

When we think about fly fishing the Irish loughs our minds immediately leap to lough style from drifting boats and indeed this is the usual and often highly productive approach for most of us. Sometimes though fishing from the shore is necessary or desirable so I thought I’d take a look at that topic today. […]

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32 – Episode 30, Wicklow

Hearing the name Wicklow always conjures up visions of the mountains for me. Rising like some mythical protector of the land, the Wicklow mountains guard the southern approaches to the capital, proud and ancient. These hills and glens are thronged with people every weekend as they escape the city for rest and relaxation – walking, […]

32 – Episode 29, Waterford

Was there an element of exhaustion creeping in? A mental as well as physical tiredness seemed to be growing on me of late. The finishing line is so close but it felt like it would take a herculean effort to complete the next county on my ’32’ list. A second dose of Covid didn’t help […]

Fly reel design

When you think about it the design of our fly reels is very simple. A spool revolves around a central spindle and is enclosed in a close fitting cage, the whole being provided with a foot for fixing it the the rod. Why then do we need modern reels which cost the same as two […]

Coming short

Disclaimer – I do have the answer to this problem but I will give you my thoughts anyway. Also be aware I am going to ramble on a bit (as is my want) because this is a big topic to cover. It is pleasantly warm here in the west of Ireland this morning, a nice […]

In the bag

I was out of action for a couple of days and with time on my hands I took the opportunity to have a mid-season tidy up of my fishing gear. Sorting out that old chest pack the other day had got me thinking about the other bags I lug around. For many of us the […]