I have documented here in this blog why I don’t fish in the Irish angling competitions. I do however perform boatman duties sometimes, and I was called upon to do just that last Saturday. It was the National finals day and the venue was lough Conn. There was one small problem for me, my boatContinueContinue reading “Being a Boatman”
Category Archives: trout fishing
Changes they are a comin’
After what feels like an eternity, I am finally back driving again. By happy coincidence this dovetails neatly with the much delayed start to the trout fishing in these parts. The prolonged wet spell which has stretched from last October until now has pushed back the usual angling calendar by about a month or so.ContinueContinue reading “Changes they are a comin’”
My fathers old rod
My mobile rang on Saturday afternoon as I was tidying up in the kitchen. Frank was on the other end, asking if I fancied some trolling on lough Conn the next day. After some deliberation, and checking herself had no plans for the Sabbath, we agreed it was worth a lash. It looked like itContinueContinue reading “My fathers old rod”
Dry day, dry net
The river Robe opened for trout fishing on Sunday but it was a yet another day of incessant rain. Monday was supposed to be a dry day but the cold wind brought in more rain from the south in the form of squally showers. I baulked at getting soaked and so delayed my first outingContinueContinue reading “Dry day, dry net”
Balling Buzzer
Today I am going to take a look at a simple fly which is used in very specific circumstances, the Balling Buzzer. Here in Ireland we see huge hatches of chironomids on our large loughs. Hundreds of individual species share these lakes, each with their own season and preferred habitat. Of course, these small creaturesContinueContinue reading “Balling Buzzer”
Badger Bibio
Who doesn’t love the Bibio? Many anglers here in Ireland swear by the original Bibio and use it almost to the exclusion of other black flies on their trout cast. Of course, such a popular pattern has spawned countless variations, many of which I have detailed in earlier posts. Here is one which can beContinueContinue reading “Badger Bibio”
Some more duckfly patterns
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”
Tying the Raymond Variant
This fly seems to strike fear into the heart of fly tyers so I thought you might like to see how I make the Raymond Variant. It is a good wee fly to have in the box for the mayfly and it catches fish when tied on the bob position and fished in a goodContinueContinue reading “Tying the Raymond Variant”
Resurrection
My failing memory was brought sharply in to view when I started to write this post. The story of my favourite fly rod began so long ago that it took me a while to figure out when and how it all started. As near as I can recall, I purchased the Hardy back in 1978ContinueContinue reading “Resurrection”
Silver Blue Bumble
I am risking life and limb here as I commit fly tying heresy. The ‘bumble’ patterns devised by the late, great Justice T.C. Kingsmill Moore were ahead of their time in many ways. His use of multiple different coloured hackles to impart ‘life’ into his flies were an inspiration and his prodigious catches of troutContinueContinue reading “Silver Blue Bumble”
Claretbumbler 