What I bring for a day afloat

I was out on lough Conn yesterday. My usual routine of lugging all the gear out of the car got me thinking you might like to know what I bring with me on when I head out for a day on the Irish loughs. Rather than a boring list I will run through what eachContinue reading "What I bring for a day afloat"

Lost in Leitrim

It has been a tough season so far for me. Oh, I have caught a few fish alright but with the exception of a good afternoon with the brownies on lough Cullen there has not been much to write home about. With salmon scarce and the trout not much better, I decided to try forContinue reading "Lost in Leitrim"

Third time lucky?

Those of you who have been following my fishing exploits recently will know that I fished a little lake in Co.Sligo twice recently, neither time being a particular success. Finlough looks like it should be a good spot and I have it on good authority that it can be excellent on its day. Ever theContinue reading "Third time lucky?"

Dead cat and snotties

Lacking any better ideas, I made my way up to Ballanascarrow lough near Ballymote in county Sligo today. I had hoped to be doing a bit of trout fishing, but a few phone calls yesterday evening put paid to any notions there were brownies to be caught. Conn and Mask are both fishing very poorlyContinue reading "Dead cat and snotties"

Blackrock

Is it just me or has this year been uncommonly windy? It feels like every day there is a gale blowing. The weather forecast, never overly accurate at the best of times, seems to be totally out of touch with what actually happens this season. Here we are in July and the weather remains coldContinue reading "Blackrock"

Triple shot

An unremarkable trio of short outings over the past few days least got me out in the fresh air if nothing else. I seem to be stuck in some sort of glitch in the fishing matrix these days, my only solace being the all my fishing acquaintances are similarly struggling to make decent catches. 1.Continue reading "Triple shot"

A day of two halves

With the game fishing around here still in the doldrums I decided to get out the coarse rods again and try a couple of venues in south county Sligo. Firstly I planned to give Finlough one more go, mainly on the back of word from a fellow angler that there were tench in that weeContinue reading "A day of two halves"

Finlough

Yesterday was supposed to be spent ghillieing on Lough Conn, but the client had to postpone at the last minute so instead I had an afternoon to myself. Half a tub of maggots were still in the bait fridge so it made sense to use them up, the question was where? As you drive northContinue reading "Finlough"

Corgar

As promised, I headed off for a spot of coarse fishing today. The trout fishing on the western loughs is poor to say the least so I figured I would get back into the float and feeder game again. Anyone with any sense would have picked a venue close at hand for their first sessionContinue reading "Corgar"

Change of tack

Nearly 6 solid weeks of ghillieing had left both me and my gear in a mess. Today was spent addressing the resultant carnage and planning my next move. My right shoulder aches after days of pulling hard on the oars. I usually try to turn the boat so anglers take turns fishing from each side,Continue reading "Change of tack"