Outside, there is only what can be described as a storm blowing. Trees are bending in the wind and sheets of cold rain are filling the gutters to overflowing. While the east coast of Ireland is just breezy and cool we here in the west are being well and truly battered and soaked. It isContinueContinue reading “Holiday weekend (1) a Dabbler pattern”
Category Archives: wetfly
After the rain
The rain finally stopped last week and the rivers have been slowly dropping back to more reasonable levels. I had a look at the Robe last weekend but she was over the banks and in the fields in most places so there was no chance of fishing. Today was a beautiful spring day though andContinueContinue reading “After the rain”
One for Lough Beltra
I have been thinking about variations for the basic Green Peter for some time and finally made up this one today. It’s a mash up of a normal Peter and hair winged Doctor. This gives the pattern a bit more colour and also adds to the movement. Does it work? I have no idea yetContinueContinue reading “One for Lough Beltra”
How to tie a bead thorax nymph
I use this style of nymph a lot both in ‘traditional’ nymphing and as a point fly on a wet fly cast. Obviously other tyers have developed this style and it is commonly used in different parts of the world for trout and grayling. I love the extra ‘kick’ the bead gives to the hackleContinueContinue reading “How to tie a bead thorax nymph”
The final link
I found this old spool of tippet material and it got me thinking about the huge changes in the line we use these days compared with when I started fishing in the late 1960’s. When I began to fly fish for trout the only line available to make leaders was nylon, and some of thatContinueContinue reading “The final link”
Super Daddy
We are well into the month November so it is high time to get the fly tying gear out. Let’s start off with by tying a daddy imitation. With so many different ones to pick from there hardly seems to be any requirement for a new pattern but this is one which I made upContinueContinue reading “Super Daddy”
Hold your horses
The trend these days is for more and more synthetics in fly tying. While I use a wide range of these wonders of the chemical industry I still fall back on more natural materials for most of my tying. Let’s take a look at a very old material which has fallen out of favour, hairContinueContinue reading “Hold your horses”
All quiet on the western lakes
Sunday was a fishing day. Thick clouds scurried across the sky, driven by a strong south-westerly. The air was warm and moist. There had been rain last week and the ground was still damp. Yes, Sunday was most definitely a fishing day. The only trouble is that nobody had explained this to the fish. ContinueContinue reading “All quiet on the western lakes”
Sea trout flies for Beltra
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”
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”
Claretbumbler 