Near the end

Afraid this is a rambling and at times barely coherent tale which spans decades and continents but at the end I will give you a really good salmon fly pattern. Trout and Salmon magazine was an integral part of my angling education. When I was still living at home with my parents my bedroom had […]

Tactics for Mayo salmon loughs

Carrowmore and Beltra It is that time of the year again, the salmon season is opening here in the west. I want to just go over a few points which may help visitors to catch the elusive fish on a couple of the western lakes. I know I have touched on this subject before on […]

Simple Beltra Badger

I am guessing that most of you reading this are already very familiar with the Beltra Badger salmon fly. Although it is a pretty easy fly to tie in its original form I make a simplified version for tying on small hooks such as a size 10 trout fly hook. This makes a very useful […]

2020 Beltra boat lift

You all know by now we lift the boats out of the water on the Glenisland coop side of Lough Beltra. Here are some photos of the efforts this morning on a beautiful autumn day in the west of Ireland.

Club waters

It’s that time of year again, angling AGM’s are in full swing here in Ireland. There is always a rush to hold the annual general meetings just before the serious fishing starts. I recall that back in Scotland these meetings generally took place at the end of the previous year so that all the agreed […]

Between Ciara and Dennis

This craik of ‘naming’ windy days is a nonsense to me. I live in the west of Ireland and guess what? It gets wet and windy during the winter. The near constant weather warnings and maps with shaded areas where it is going to rain are over the top in my opinion. Anyway, Ciara soaked […]

End of season boat lift

Today was a big day for the Glenisland Coop, we lifted all the boats out of the lake. As many members as we could muster gathered at 3pm and amid heavy showers we rowed the boats to the bank, dragged them to the shed or the space behind it and turned the boats over. Heavy, […]

All quiet on Beltra

Tried a few drifts on Lough Beltra yesterday evening but there was no signs of any salmon. Jackie and Connor Deffley landed a fish apiece the day before in good conditions so there are still one or two sneaking up into the lake. Here are a few photos anyway.

Bibio Dabbler

There can’t be many Irish lough fishers who don’t have this fly or something very like it in their fly box. Perhaps one of the earliest variations on the Dabbler theme, this one is a good early season pattern for trout. Use black tying silk, an 8/0 for preference. Hook sizes vary depending on what […]

Will Beltra be worth a try?

Where is this year going? We are about to enter the last week in February. January, that laggard of a month, is a distant memory and the weather has already decided it is spring here in Ireland. It was 17 degrees the other day and the exceptionally mild weather seems set to continue for a […]