Flies for Lough Conn, part 1

Every year hundreds of anglers from every corner of the world travel to County Mayo to fish Lough Conn. I used to be one of the hoard and can remember the intense excitement preparing for the trips, that deep rooted anticipation of each detail of how the fishing would be. Perhaps the greatest thrill wasContinueContinue reading “Flies for Lough Conn, part 1”

Invicta variants

Possibly one of the most effective all-round wet flies every concocted, the Invicta will catch trout from the first day of the season to the last. Invented in the mid nineteenth century by a chap called Ogden, it has spawned a wide range of variations and I want to share a couple of those withContinueContinue reading “Invicta variants”

Three flys from my table

I was trying (unsuccessfully I might add) to tidy up the mess of feathers, hooks and other assorted odds and end which have accumulated on my fly tying bench. In amongst the detritus I found some flies so I thought I would share them with you. First up is a Grey Winged Salmon Gosling. Goslings areContinueContinue reading “Three flys from my table”

Mayo angling update

It has been generally quiet from what I can gather but here is the latest angling news from the area around me here in Mayo. Loughs Carra and Mask are turning up the odd brown trout but the sport is far from hectic by all accounts. Evenings are best. Lough Conn is patchy with someContinueContinue reading “Mayo angling update”

More news from nowhere

Sunday. The weather is promised to get fine again later in the day so I decided to try my luck on Lough Conn for a few hours. The word on the street is that a small number of salmon and grilse has been running the Moy and a few have been landed all the wayContinueContinue reading “More news from nowhere”

A quick update

Just a few lines to update you all on the game angling in Mayo this week. Strong winds have disrupted the fishing on Carrowmore Lake once again. For those unfamiliar with the lake a big wind, which is normally so desirable for salmon fishing on other lakes, churns up the peat sediment on the bottomContinueContinue reading “A quick update”

Conn tricks – catching trout on sandwiches

The word on the street was that there were salmon being caught in Lough Conn so I decided to head out today and give it an auld lash. My boat is on Cullin so it meant driving it across Cullin, under the bridge at Pontoon and motoring half way up lough Conn. The journey wasContinueContinue reading “Conn tricks – catching trout on sandwiches”

Lough Cullin

Many of you are familiar with the great western lakes. Conn, set below the heights of mighty Nephin, the wild Mask with shallows and reefs rising from the depths, beautiful Carra with the near tropical look of the green water and Corrib, huge and daunting too the newcomer. Less well known is Lough Cullin, theContinueContinue reading “Lough Cullin”

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 empathiseContinueContinue reading “All blogged out for the day”