All blogged out for the day

The wind picked up again in the afternoon and I had some phone calls to make which could not be put off any longer so I failed to make it to the river today. Maybe tomorrow I will wet a line for the first time this year. I'm sure that most of you can empathiseContinue reading "All blogged out for the day"

What to use in March?

Early season mean low water temperatures and not much surface activity so my normal approach to trouting on rivers at this time of year is either upstream nymphing or wet fly fished up/down/across/anyway I can get it in the water. Let's start with the nymph. I fish almost exclusively with bead-headed nymphs these days. ThereContinue reading "What to use in March?"

Black Doctor

I think I would right in saying this is a fly which does not get used as much as it used to. More modern patterns has taken its place on the cast of most anglers and it is slowly but surely slipping into oblivion. This is a shame as the Black Doctor can still foolContinue reading "Black Doctor"

The Beltra Badger

Picture the scene, you are drifting on a salmon lough in the West of Ireland. It is a bright, breezy day with a little high cloud and the water levels are good after recent rain. There is a bit more sun than you would like so what fly do you reach for? It has toContinue reading "The Beltra Badger"

Fly patterns – the Claret Bumble

Since I tie lots of flies and use a small proportion of them when actually fishing so it seems only sensible for me to show you all the patterns that I and my fishin' buddies use. Let's start with the Claret Bumble since that is where the name for this blog comes from. I useContinue reading "Fly patterns – the Claret Bumble"

Later the same day……………….

So I have been punching buttons like a lunatic for an hour or more, swapping different backgrounds and trying out the various tools available and I think I am getting the hang of it now. I now need to figure out exactly what I am going to post on this blog! I don't fish nearlyContinue reading "Later the same day………………."