Close season Saturday afternoons are sacrosanct for me. I endeavour to get all my tasks and odd jobs out of the way by 2pm so that I can disappear into the fishing room for the remainder of the afternoon. I am just too old school for the blandishments of SKY TV sports channels and IContinueContinue reading “First fish”
Category Archives: trout fishing
Forward thinking
With the season officially started I need to wrap my head around where I’m going to fish during 2019. Last season was a disaster for me so I need to think carefully about these plans to avoid yet more disappointment. Some venues are just too special to ignore, so the likes of Lough Beltra andContinueContinue reading “Forward thinking”
Watson’s Fancy
A few small spaces remain to be filled in the fly boxes and I made a couple of big Waton’s fancy this afternoon and the heavy mist turned the garden a silvery mossy colour outside the window. The Watson is not a fly I have caught a huge number of fish on but I findContinueContinue reading “Watson’s Fancy”
Getting ready
‘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”
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”
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”
Claretbumbler 