Work has bottled me up for much of the year so far and there is no sign of that changing in the near future. To be honest the recent warm, dry spell all but shut down salmon angling around here with the rivers reduced to mere trickles between the stones. Some thundery rain has fallenContinueContinue reading “Sea trout flies for Beltra”
Category Archives: wetfly
The Soldier Palmer
I like old patterns. Something nostalgic is awakened when you tie on one of the classic flies from the last century or the century before. That link with the past offers reassurance and knowledge if a fly has been around for this long it must catch fish. So my fly boxes bulge with old-stagersContinueContinue reading “The Soldier Palmer”
Trout in the freezer without wetting a line
I know I should have been fishing today. The weather was good, the fish are a bit more active than they were a few weeks ago and I had an open invite to fish Lough Conn. Instead, I pottered around in an inconclusive muddle, half finishing odd jobs and doing bits around the house. ByContinueContinue reading “Trout in the freezer without wetting a line”
Decisions, decisions
It was a very last minute decision. Given the choice I would have been in South East London, at the Valley to be precise, watching Burnley play Charlton Athletic on the last day of the season. Instead, I was at home after working in the morning and felt an hour on the River Robe mightContinueContinue reading “Decisions, decisions”
Half Stoned
One of the great benefits of living and fishing in these parts is the lack of pressure to catch something. There is a strong and highly organised competitive angling scene in Ireland but I am not competitive in life and certainly not when it comes to angling. For me the simple joys of a fewContinueContinue reading “Half Stoned”
New beginnings
I am hopeful that tomorrow I will escape the drudgery of paid employment for a few hours to enjoy a few casts and mark the start of my 2016 season. Before then I need to sort out my tackle and make some final repairs. I am planning a short trip to the River RobeContinueContinue reading “New beginnings”
The Carrowmore Bumble
This fly reminds me of a Mark 2 Ford Escort 1300. A reliable if unexciting run-around which has been tarted up by an enthusiast and is now all bling. The bells and whistles have been grafted on and it is now a much more exciting package all together. The basis of this new fly isContinueContinue reading “The Carrowmore Bumble”
Monkey business
Fly fishing is a strange sport when you think about it. We deliberately set out to make the process of catching fish as difficult as possible so we get the maximum pleasure when we actually hook something in the face of the overwhelming odds we have placed upon ourselves. I am sure we all agreeContinueContinue reading “Monkey business”
Small river fly fishing
Tackling small streams can prove a challenge for anglers who are more used to wide open spaces and plenty of elbow room for casting. Here in the west of Ireland we have a number of small streams, most of which are never fished, yet contain a reasonable head of wild Brown Trout. Rivers like theContinueContinue reading “Small river fly fishing”
Planning for the new season
Don’t you just love technology? OK, so it kind of takes over our lives sometimes and swallows up too much of our free time (if we let it), but on the whole technology enriches our everyday lives. Here in the West of Ireland I use Google Earth to look for likely places to fish. MuchContinueContinue reading “Planning for the new season”
Claretbumbler 