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Shad on the Fly, St. Mullins, Co. Carlow

May 15th, 2012 by wgsten

Ever since i was a young lad i have been hearing about and from anglers who fish for Twaite Shad at Saint Mullins in Carlow. Over the years i have thought many times of heading down to Saint Mullins and having a go at fishing for the Shad. Each year has come and gone since then but alas i have never got to fish for them. During last year i drew up a list of places and species to fish for my “wish to fish list”. I have ticked off a few places on the list so far and Saint Mullins and the Shad have now also been ticked off the list.

River Barrow

I had been doing  lot of research on Shad fishing over the past couple of weeks and what i found out was that most anglers use light spinning gear and the most popular lure seems to be a blue/silver Tasmanian Devil. While i was researching I did not come across much information regarding fly fishing for the Shad. My thoughts were of fishing for them on the fly rod, but how would i go about doing this? I started preparing for my planned weekend trip to Saint Mullins in the week prior to it. I checked out for the times of the tides and the weather forecast. Everything was right with the exception of what type of lure would i use  and which weight of fly rod would suit for the day.

Early morning mist on the Scar.

My thoughts on a lure for Shad were based on tying up some type of minnow fly but i had to decide what materials and what colors would be best suited to use. I eventually settled on using Bucktail along with crystal flash tied up in an assortment of colours on a size eight straight eyed lure hook. I tied up three different color combinations of lures to try out on the Shad. I wanted to use as light a rod as i could but i was restricted to using a minimum of a seven weight as i needed at least that weight to turn over the large lures i would be using. I matched the rod with a fast sinking line as this would get the lure down in the water quickly. The night before my outing i got everything ready for an early start on the following morning. The morning started off with clearing the ice from the windscreen of the car. It was a clear cold morning with no breeze at all and the air temperature was at minus one degree.

Flat calm Barrow

After a drive of an hour and a half i arrived at Saint Mullins and i was not the first angler there. I was greeted with the sight of several anglers setting up their gear beside the tents they had pitched on the green. I drove on down the hill to the river and met with more anglers who were already spinning away. As i had checked on the tides i knew i had a few hours at low which according to all reports is the best time to fish for Shad. Before i got set up i had a chat with some of the other anglers enquiring about how the fishing was going. I must say i was a little disappointed to hear there was very little action about. I was feeling a little disheartened as i set up the rod but it was a nice day and i was in a beautiful place so i carried on getting ready. As i always say “if the fly is not in the water you are not fishing …. so get fishing”.

Blue/White Minnow

I decided to use a short fluorocarbon leader of six pounds breaking strain about a meter in length. My thinking on this was a short leader would help turn the heavy fly over and i would also help with getting the fly down quickly in the water. The first minnow fly i tied on was a Blue and white one. I cast this up and across the river to give it a chance to sink before i started to retrieve it using various retrieves from slow to fast and including a figure of eight. I fished with this fly for about  half an hour without as much as a pluck on it. I changed over to a Black and Yellow one and had the same result with this  one, things were not going as i thought they should. I took a break and went for a wander up river to see if there was any fish getting caught up that way. Reports were not good with only a few fish getting caught. I again changed over the lure, this time choose  an Olive and White one. I fished on with this for another half an hour or so but this time i did get  a small pluck on the lure. I could see the tide was now rising behind the Scar and thought my time was running out for catching a Shad. I fished on for a while more and then just as the tide made it over the Scar i hooked into a fish. Was it a Shad i wondered? I soon knew it was a Shad as it leaped clear of the water and tail walked, much like its larger relation the mighty Tarpon. After a good fight i soon had my first Twaite Shad safely in the landing net. I took  a few pictures of it before i released it back to the Barrow.

Olive/White Minnow

In the next ten minutes i hooked and landed two more Shad before all went quiet again. The best fish on the day tipped the scales to nearly three pounds in weight. It was a new experience for me to catch a Shad and especially catching one on the fly rod using a lure that i tied up myself. It gave me the lift i needed. These little fish arrive in the River Barrow to spawn each year around the time of the first spring tides near the end of April into early May. They should be treated with care and make sure they are fully recovered in the water before you release them. Some of them will take time before they are fully recovered after they are caught. Treat them with respect as they are a rare species. I certainly will be looking forward to their arrival again next year. It turned out to be a great days fishing for me  in the end.

Twaite Shad

This was not my first time being in Saint Mullins as i spent a few hours there last year although i was not fishing that time. I spent a morning there taking photos of the wildlife and wild flowers as i strolled up though the Barrow Valley towards Graiguenamanagh and back then to the Mullicháin Cafe. I passed some time outside the cafe relaxing over a Coffee and a hot fresh scone while reading the complimentary broad sheet. It is worth while visiting St. Mullins even just to admire the beautiful scenery that it has to offer along the Barrow valley.

 

Graiguenamanagh

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Posted in Carlow, Flyfishing, River barrow | 4 Comments »

Rivers, Suir and Tar, Kilmaneen, Co. Tipperary

May 8th, 2012 by wgsten

It’s not often that i get to fish on two rivers in the one outing so on hearing about an opportunity to fish on the river’s Suir and Tar at Kilmaneen, i was glad to accept it. Kilmaneen Farmhouse Accommodation is a four star family run bed and breakfast along with self catering cottage. Run by Kevin and Bernadette O’Donnell it also offers fishing on both the Suir and Tar rivers to guests staying at the Farmhouse. It also offers day permits to anglers like myself that want to avail of the fishing but dont require accommodation. On arrival at the farmhouse i met with Bernadette who invited me in for tea. I had a great chat with her about the history of the place and of the fishing on the farm. Bernadette then introduced me to her husband Kevin who showed me around the farm and pointed out the extent of the fishing to be had.

Kilmaneen Farmhouse

After showing me around the fishery Kevin wished me luck and headed back to the house and left me to get on with the fishing. While setting up i was taken in by the beautiful setting of the fishery, the fabulous Knockmealdown mountains providing a wonderful backdrop. As Kevin was showing me around i made up my mind as to which river i would fish on first. The river Tar was flowing downstream towards the Suir so i set up the rod with a team of wet flies. The team comprised of  a Yellow Jack on the point an Iron Blue pattern (trial pattern) in the middle and a Parrys spider on the top. Walking down along the river bank i came to a nice pool which had a long fast run under the the opposite bank. I started my days fishing there and i managed to catch and release a nice wild brown trout on the Yellow Jack. Moving on downstream i noticed that Kevin had done work on the fishery by providing entrance gaps in the fencing which made for easy access to the water and easy on your waders too. As i fished my way down the Tar to its confluence with the Suir, i caught and released another two trout on the way both on the Yellow Jack.

Suir tranquility

At the confluence i came across a bench seat nicely nestled in the shade so i decided to have a rest from the fishing and take in some of the fabulous scenery. A Kingfisher passed by skimming low along the river with its beak crammed with minnows heading downstream to feed its offspring. A pair of Swans then swam past, the cob displaying himself to the pen. A Sparrowhawk then appeared swooping along the bankside vegetation trying to flush out its prey. I then noticed a few fish rising to my left upstream and i wondered what they were rising to. A few minutes passed and the numbers of fish rising increased so i decided it was time to take a closer look at what they were feeding on. As i got closer i could see  it was Iron Blue Duns they were busily feeding on. I then set up the rod to fish with an Iron Blue Klinkhammer. First cast and i had a fish on which i landed unhooked it and released him back to the river. The amount of Iron Blues steadily increased and so did the amount of rising fish. I was witnessing an incredible hatch of Iron Blues the likes of which i had not seen in a good many years. During the hatch which seemed to continue forever i caught and released twelve wild brown trout, the best fish going over a pound in weight. I noticed a large number of bigger fish rising to the iron Blues but i found it was hard to get them as the smaller fish were getting to the Klinkhammer first.

Large dark olive, Iron blue dun

Hunger got the better of me so i took time out for some lunch. The only sounds i heard during my lunch break were of the song birds in the hedgerows, Ravings calling as they soared above the Knockmealdowns and the cattle as they grazed on the lush leafy grass in the next field. After lunch i changed over to fish a Light Cahill Klinkhammer as i noticed during the hatch of Iron Blues there were also some Large Dark Olives hatching. My thinking was to try target some of the larger fish i was hoping to see rising in the afternoon on both rivers. I headed off to see if i could spot a rising fish. With both rivers running pure clear, stealth was the only way i was going to have a chance of picking up a good fish. Starting with the river Tar i sneaked along the river bank casting the fly over each fish that rose. I brought up several fish on the Tar but failed to hook any.

River Suir Trout

On to the Suir applying the same sneak tactics and also casting to rising fish. It was not long before i hooked into a good fish but alas he got the better of me. I hooked and lost two more good fish before i managed to catch one, another nice fish of around the pound weight. I had one more fish before it was time to end a fabulous day. The River Suir is one of the finest wild brown trout fisheries in the country and it is well worth fishing on it. There is no finer place to experience it than at Kilmaneen where you can also sample fishing on another fine river, the Tar.

River Tar

I am already planning another trip to Kilmaneen only next time i will avail of the accommodation as i want to fish on an evening rise and i have imagined myself early the following morning strolling down through the fields rod in hand to sample some early morning fishing before breakfast. My thanks to Kevin and Bernadette for a wonderful days fishing at Kilmaneen. You can contact Bernadette and Kevin for details if you are interested in fishing on their fabulous fishery.

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Posted in River Suir, Tar, Tipperary, Trout | 3 Comments »

Mixed Reports

Apr 26th, 2012 by wgsten

Over the past few weeks i have been busy with lots of fishing. I spent Easter week down in the “Kingdom” Kerry, where i was staying in the Kenmare area. My first outing in the Kingdom was to Cloonee Lakes which are situated about eight Kilometres from Kenmare on the Bearra Road. There is boat hire available from the nearby Cloonee  Lake House. The day of the outing was one of mixed weather with a strong wind blowing up the lake and bright sunshine along with some cloud cover. The lake, at the time i was fishing on it, was at a very low water level. It is a shallow lake which has a lot of rocky out crops which calls for great care when boating on it.

Cloonee

I had no success on the first few drifts of the day. I stopped on the island for lunch which has a well sheltered anglers hut on it. After the lunch things picked up and i had fish on several of the afternoon drifts. In all it was a good day out on Cloonee. I would like to fish on it again only next time for to have a higher water level and maybe later in the season.

The next outing i had was to another lake called Gleninchaquin. It is a wonderful lake set in a beautiful location among the mountains and again not too far from Kenmare. I purchased a day permit from the local tackle dealer John O’Hare who also gave me some good information on the lake, directions, flies to use and where was fishing best. It was another day of mixed weather with conditions similar to the previous day. Kenmare Trout Anglers Club have a boat on this lake but you have to be accompanied by a member to use the boat so i was bank fishing for the day.

Gleninchaquin

I set up the rod with a team of wet flies consisting of a Claret Dabbler on the point, Bibio middle dropper and Zulu top dropper. I had a few fish during the morning to each of the flies, best fish being about the half pound mark. After lunch i changed the team of flies to include an Olive Dabbler on the point, a Hot spot Duck fly on the middle and a Sooty Olive on the top. I choose to tie on the Duckfly pattern as i had seen some Duckfly as i walked along the bank. I set off along the opposite bank casting as i walked. The fishing picked up. I was catching some nice fish on the Duckfly and the Dabbler. When things were getting good my fishing day unexpectantly ended abruptly. I packed up and headed off feeling rather disappointed at the way the day had ended. I have reserved my opinion on this and i will spare you the details of the abrupt ending.

River Sullane

After the disappointing end to the previous day i decided to travel over to Macroom to have a look at the river Sullane. I have never fished on the Sullane so i was hoping the water level would be good and i may get some fishing done. The last time i checked out the Sullane it was in flood. On arrival at the river i was delighted to see it was in great condition and there was some fish rising. Time to get me a day ticket so i headed out to Masseytown to Mary Annes Bar. You can get your day tickets from the bar or phone Tom Sweeney on 026 41566. It is best to phone first as i found out the bar was closed when i got there. It seems it opens later these days. It was off to the Main Street to Macartys shop which also sell day tickets. I eventually got my day ticket and headed back to the river.

I had noticed when i first looked at the river there was some Large Dark Olives about so i set up the rod with an Olive Klinkhammer to fish dry. The first pool i checked out was just below the bridge and i could see some nice fish rising to take the Olives which were hatching. I cast my Klinkhammer upstream towards a rising fish but i soon found out there was a strong wind swirling under the bridge which messed up my casting. The weather again was mixed with sunshine, strong winds accompanied with heavy showers. I managed to catch some nice wild fish here before i had to take shelter from a very heavy shower. While sheltering i changed over to a team of wet flies consisting of a trial pattern (Yellow Jack) on the point another trial pattern in the middle (iron blue) and my old favourite the Waterhen Bloa on the top.

Sullane Trout

When the rain cleared  i started to fish with the wet flies casting  them down and across the river. On my third cast i was rewarded with a nice wild brown trout of about half pound weight which took the Yellow Jack. After about tens minutes i noticed plenty of flies coming off the water, Large Dark Olives along with Iron Blue Duns. It was not long before the flies drew the attention of the Sullane Trout. The river burst to life with fish rising all along the river. They were taking both the Dark Olives and the Iron Blues. I was having a fish on nearly ever cast and some casts produced a double hook up. I fished on for most of the afternoon and had fish after fish as i made my way down stream. I finished the day with over fifty wild brown trout caught and released, the best fish being a pound and a quarter. The Yellow Jack produced most of the fish on the day with the Iron Blue pattern second best.

Large Dark Olive

On the next day which was the last day of the holiday i was wondering where i should head to for fishing, thinking of the wonderful day previous on the river Sullane i decided to give it another go. Sure who knows when i will be down this way again. It was off to the Sullane i headed and into McCartys for another day permit. On getting to the river i had a look about to check on what way the wind was blowing and to look for any signs of life, fish or fly. My luck was in as the wind was a lot slacker than the day before and it was blowing across the river, just what what i wanted for fishing dry flies. I set up the rod with a Klinkhammer (Greenwell) and headed for the nearest run. There was a few fish rising in the run i chose so i cast the Klinkhammer up over them to see could i fool any of them. I caught five fish in this run before i moved on to the next one. I changed the fly to another Klinkhammer but this time i tied on the Light Cahill. My first cast in this run was taken by a nice fish of about three quarters of a pound. After about an hour or so a hatch of Large Dark Olives started to happen which brought on a lot of fish feeding. Another great day on the Sullane followed, i caught and released over forty fish. All of the fish were caught on the dry fly. The best fly on the day was the Light Cahill Klinkhammer. I had to renew the fly five times during the course of the day the trout chewed them up. I had to do the same the previous day with the wet flies. While on my way back to the car i met the club water keeper while he was out doing a check on permits. It is always good to see a club being active on their waters with regular checks on permits, this discourages the illegal anglers/poachers. In all i had two great days fishing on the wonderful Sullane river both to wet and dry flies. I was delighted with how the Yellow Jack  fished so much so that i have now added it to the list.

Lakes of Kilarney

Later that evening while i was packing up my gear i received a phone call “how are you fixed for Roundwood on Sunday”? It was Ashley Hayden inviting me to the launch of his guiding service on Roundwood Lake. Without hesitation i answered “yes indeed”. Roundwood Lake is one of those places that is high on my to fish list and this was an excellent opportunity to fish on it from a boat. I have fished Roundwood many times but never fished on it from a boat. In the past i have enquired about fishing on it from a boat and found that the boating on it was under control of Wicklow Anglers association. To fish on it by boat you had to  be a member of the Association or be accompanied by a member, this criteria  unfortunately ruled it out for me.

Boat Launch

Another call from Ashley the following day “have you got any Silver Dabblers, you are going to need them size ten”. ” Size ten, is that not too big” i enquired? “No tens it is” said Ashley.  We finalised the arrangements for the following morning. I then tied up the Dabblers in size ten. After meeting up at our destination we got the boat and gear ready, the set off on our first drift. The weather on the morning was cold, wet and wild with some sun and cloud cover. The morning drifts were unproductive for us with only one fish showing any interest so we headed to the shore for some lunch. During lunch i changed around my team of wet flies to having the Silver Dabbler on the point a Zulu in the middle and an atractor pattern on the top. Ashley said we should take some different drifts along the near shore as it usually fishes well this early in the season. We finished up our lunch and headed out towards the near shore.

Roundwood lake

It was not long before Ashley was into a fish a nice wild brown trout of about which we photographed and then released. Then it was my time to get into another Roundwood trout which again was released. Ashley then suggested we should try another drift off the point so we headed to fish there. We both had fish on that drift all of which took the Silver Dabbler. We finished up the day with five fish caught and released. Ashleys knowledge of the lake and of the choice of flies added to the enjoyment of the day. My first time to fish on Roundwood Lake was thoroughly enjoyable spent in excellent company. The boat is a nineteen foot Lough Arrow built and is very comfortable with a snag free clean floor which drifts nicely along no matter what the conditions are.

Roundwood Trout

Roundwood Lake is fly fishing only and a permit is required to fish on it. I would like to thank Ashley for a wonderful day out on the lake, it was a place that i always wanted to fish on from a boat. I also want to wish him all of the best this new service he is providing on Roundwood. Whether you are a resident or visiting angler i can highly recommend spending a day out in the beautiful and tranquil surroundings of Roundwood lake. Ashley has secure permission to provide his services on the lake through all proper procedure with the stipulation of fishing on a catch and release basis. Contact Ashley on 086 869 7370. Best of luck Ashley.

River Suir

My next outing was a return trip to fish on the beautiful river Suir near Holycross in Tipperary. Since fishing on this water last year i have wanted to get back down to fish on it before the weed growth got too high. I got to Holycross shortly after ten am and organised my day permit for the Thurles Suir and Drish Anglers Association. Having a look about before setting up the rod i noticed a few fish rising but i could not see what they were rising to. I then decided to set up the rod for fishing dry flies, i started with a Light Cahill Klinkhammer. I managed to rise a few fish to the Light Cahill but failed to connect with any of them. The weather on the day was typical Irish weather giving all of the seasons in one day. The wind was not in my favour for fishing dry flies but i kept at is as i could see there was several good fish rising.

Suir Trout

I saw a few Iron Blue Duns about so i changed over to an Iron Blue Klinkhammer which i cast to the next fish i saw rise. This time i managed to connect with a nice wild brown trout of about half pound weight. After i released the trout i cast again to another rising fish, missed that one. I got two more fish on the Iron Blue before things went quiet. I moved on upstream looking out for more rising fish. While moving upstream i came upon a lot of fish rising at the head of a fast run so i watched them for a while to see what they were taking. As i watched the fish i noticed that there was Large Dark Olives coming off the water so on seeing the Olives i again changed the fly. The next fly i tied on was the Greenwell Klinkhammer, this was  the fly the fish were on. I caught and released seven nice fish from that run all on the Greenwell, best fish pictured above nearly a pound in weight. It was time for some lunch by the river.

River Suir Holycross

After the lunch the wind had got stronger and was blowing full downstream so i changed over to fish a team of wet flies. I tied on the Yellow Jack on the point, a Iron blue spider (trial pattern) on the middle dropper and a Waterhen Bloa on the top dropper. I fished the team down and across the river, on the third cast i caught a nice fish which went for the Yellow Jack. During the afternoon i caught and released twelve more wild brown trout. The Yellow Jack accounted for nine out of the twelve fish. All too soon it was time to pack up and head for home. I have plans to get back down to fish on the river Suir in early May when i will fish the Thurles Holycross and Ballycamus anglers waters. Already i am looking forward to it.

Roundwood Lake

After receiving some discouraging information Ashley Hayden has withdrawn his service as a ghille on the lake. I am saddened to hear of this news. I think the service Ashley offered was first class and a benefit to both the resident anglers and the tourist anglers. I had waited many years to have the opportunity to fish on Roundwood from a boat and was looking forward to a second  outing on it. Ashley has put a lot of effort into this and went through all proper procedures to secure permission on the lake for his services. I hope that i will see his services once again on Roundwood Lake in the near future. I am so disappointed on hearing this news.

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Posted in Cork, Fishing Wicklow, Kerry, River Suir, Tipperary | 7 Comments »

River Liffey Early March

Mar 7th, 2012 by wgsten

I spent my first two days of the season fishing on the wonderful River Liffey in Co. Kildare.  I had been looking forward to getting out for some fishing for some time now so when the weekend arrived i was all set to go. The first day i spent in the excellent company of Ashley Hayden, a fellow angling enthusiast and guide. We arrived at the river Liffey shortly after midday and got ourselves set up to head upstream. I set my rod up a Klinkhammer to fish dry and Ashley set his up with a team of wet flies. The day was cold with bright sunshine along with a strong upstream wind. The weather conditions were to make the fishing hard going on the day. Ashley wrote a full report for the day on his website.

Early season Trout

The next day i headed out to the same part of the river, this time unaccompanied. I arrived at the river and started to get set up. While i was setting up i wondered if i should start off with the same set up i used the day previous. I decided to start off using a dry fly and wondered which one should i choose? I chose to tie on one of the experimental patterns that i had tied up during the off season. Each year i tie up a few patterns for trial during the open season. I have had some degree of success with a few of these trial patterns over the years along with some failures. The trial pattern i tied on was tied Klinkhammer style to imitate an emerging Olive, a light coloured one.

Bright day on the Liffey

The weather conditions were similiar to the previous day only for the wind was stronger and a lot colder. While i was checking out the first pool i arrived at, i noticed a fish rising close to the far bank. I had to have a go for this. The wind was blowing strong up and across  the river which made covering the fish rather difficult. I made several casts to this fish before i rose and hooked him. A nice little fish near the half pound mark which i safely returned. I rose two more fish in that pool before the wind got the better of me and i moved on. I was a good start to the day and the trial pattern was successful, the day was full of promise! Moving on upstream to the next pool, i tried a few casts to check it out. I stirred nothing in that pool so on to the next one all the while the wind was getting colder and stronger. I fished on for another hour and a half without stirring a single fish, the promise had gone from the day. If i thought the previous day was hard going this day was even harder going.

Moon over the Liffey

I moved on upstream towards a sheltered pool where i noticed a few Olives coming off the water so i had to have a few casts here. On my way upstream i was changing from a single dry fly to a team of wet flies to see if i could manage to tempt a fish or two. To fish this pool i tied on a new team of wet flies to include a Waterhen Bloa, a Winter Brown and a Hares Lug and Plover. I fished these down and across the pool and on my third cast i was rewarded with a nice little fish which took the Hares Lug. I caught and released two more fish in this pool before moving on. I headed on further upstream to where it was even more sheltered. There i came upon a a nice stretch of water which had a high bank on one side and overhanging Beech trees along the other side. I noticed a few fish stirring under the Beech trees but to cast over these fish was not going to be easy. My only option was to cast a team of wets across the river and let them drift down over the fish. I changed the team of wets around keeping the Hares Lug on the point and changing the other flies for a Snipe and Purple and one of my trial flies. Keeping low i sneaked up to where i could make a cast to these fish. I made several casts before i got a take but i failed to connect with the fish. Casting again i let the flies drift down over the fish and when the flies were almost straightened out i pulled back the rod to raise the flies up through the water level to try induce a take. After several other casts i eventually got a tug and tightened into a nice fish. A fish of almost a pound weight which was in fair condition for this time of the season. This fish was tempted by the trial pattern another success for this same pattern. I caught another fish using this method, it was tempted by the Hares Lug.

Early Wild Brown Trout

After i finished fishing that pool i decided to call it a day and make my way back to the car. Thinking over the weekend as i walked back to the car, it was great to be back out on the river again. As far as the fishing went it was hard going but it is only the start of the season so there will be better days than these. The water temperature  (8 degrees Celcius) on the last day was warmer than the air temperature (5 degrees Celcius). I have not come across many of those days. On the results with the trial patterns i was quite pleased but again it is early days, i will be trying them out again throughout the season. Already i am looking forward to my next outing.

Co. Kildare

Lastly i would like to thank those readers who have supported the blog by purchasing flies from me. I am only tying up the flies for readers of the blog, if there any readers who would like to purchase flies you may do so through the contact page at the top of the site.

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Posted in Fishing Kildare, River Liffey, Trout | 2 Comments »

Looking Forward.

Feb 23rd, 2012 by wgsten

As the 1st of March approaches, i am looking forward to to the new season ahead. But before i look ahead too much i feel i should have a look back at last year. It was a year that i wish i could skip as i had many set backs and great losses during it. Early in the year my wonderful partner of seven years decided to call it a day and move out, this totally devastated me. Once again in my life i was left alone and wondered could i manage to get through it again. Lots of self questioning and not many answers! I tried to keep myself busy with work and with fishing but my heart was not in it. Yes i did go fishing both locally and up and down the country but i was not getting anything from it. It felt like i was only going through the motions.

My sadness and emptiness was added to in May by the sad loss of my dear father. A second bright light in my life had gone out, things were dull now. Very dull indeed. As the year progressed the financial pressure of running a household alone became a major strain on the purse strings. Time for cut backs and change, all outgoing expenses were looked at and all luxuries were done away with. One of the things which was looked at is this Blog. Would i have to cancel it? I considered cancelling it as i was not keeping it updated and in general it seemed like i had lost interest in it.

While looking back through the Blog along with all the comments, messages and emails i received through the Blog, i noticed that i had several requests from readers asking would i tie up flies and sell them to readers of the Blog. I also had a few requests asking about guiding on some of the waters i write about. Noticing these requests set me thinking “would it be a good idea to make up flies and maybe do some part time guiding”? The money generated by doing this could got to off setting the costs of running the Blog i.e. hosting, domain registration, broadband fees etc.

I gave mention about tying flies to order in one of the posts late last year and thankfully i have received some orders for them. I am now thing of setting up a page for buying flies. In the mean time for any reader who wishes to support the Blog by buying flies you can contact irishflyfisher[at]gmail.com for details or click on the contact page here. On the idea of guiding i will be doing it on a part time basis throughout the season i.e. weekends, half days or full days. I will also be guiding on the longer week day evenings during the peak season.

I want to thank all those who have supported me this far and thank all for their well wishes and kind words of support.

Time now to look forward to the approaching new season and to some of the places i would like to get to fish on this year. On my “to fish wish list” there are lots of places some of which i have never fished on before and some places to which i want to revisit. Places i have not yet fished on include the Erkina river, Blackwater at Kells, River Nore, and the Little Brosna to mention just a few.

Lough Dan is another place which is high on my list and this year i have an invitation to fish on it with Ashley Hayden. It will be one of my highlights of the season. Another place that i have a longing to return to fish on is Vartry reservoir (Roundwood Lake). It has been a long time since i have fished on there. In the past i have fished many times on Roundwood always fishing it from the bank. This year i will be fishing it from a boat, thanks again to Ashley for this wonderful opportunity. Ashley offers a guiding service on both of these lakes and further information can be found here.

There are many other places on my list that i may get to fish on this season, for the moment however i will be trying to get to the few i have mentioned earlier. I would be grateful for any information on those places or any other places , day tickets, permits , best places to enter from and safe parking etc.

Tight lines to all and here’s to a successful 2012.

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Posted in Fishing Kildare, Fishing Offaly, Fishing Wicklow | 12 Comments »

2011 Season in Pictures

Jan 5th, 2012 by wgsten

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Happy new year and tight lines to all.

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Fly Casting Lessons.

Nov 12th, 2011 by wgsten

With the wild Brown Trout fishing season now closed for 2011 i was toying with the idea of taking some fly casting lessons. I have been fly fishing for nearly forty years now and i never had a casting lesson. I mentioned to some fellow anglers about taking some casting lessons and i got some varied responses. “What are you taking lessons for?”, “have you lost your mind?”, “look at all the fish you catch you don’t need lessons!”, “you could teach fly casting”.  A few however were in agreement saying they thought it was a good idea. Most of those that were in agreement admitted that they also had taken some lessons at some stage or other. I finally made up my mind and set about booking a few lessons. Myself and two other anglers booked a weekend in the west of Ireland with Declan Hughes. I had seen Declan casting on many occasions and only i recently found out that he is a fully qualified game angling instructor (APGAI approved).

Lough Conn, Co. Mayo

I headed over to Foxford on a Friday evening after work, and i arrived at the pre booked B&B shortly after ten pm. After dropping off the bags at the B&B i headed down to the town for a few beers and some craic. The next morning after breakfast i met up with Declan at the local GAA pitch. It was a bad morning weather wise with persistant heavy rain and a strong wind. This was not going to deter us so we put on the rain gear and got the fishing rods ready for some casting. We started the morning  with single handed rods.

River Moy, east Mayo

As we all have experience in casting, the lessons were aimed towards improving whatever aspect of casting each of us felt weak at. The area i wanted to improve in was my distance casting. Most of the fishing that i do during the open season hardly ever calls for any distance casting. With the season now closed i am now fishing for Rainbow trout on private fisheries which are open throughout the year. Over the years i have caught many Rainbow trout at close distances but there are times when that extra distance can give you some advantage, like when lure stripping is the order of the day. The style of casting i wanted to achieve was to gain as much distance i could but without the need for too much false casting.

Lough Cullin, Co. Mayo

I am sure that there are many anglers who whilst bank fishing have come across other anglers who in order to achieve distance continually make false casts. While many will agree there is nothing wrong with this, i think that there are times when this continuous false casting does put the  fish down. This is more obvious when the fish are near the water surface and even more so when you are fishing in clear water. I also think that over the course of a days fishing if an angler is false casting 6/7 times for every cast this takes up a lot of time when your fly should be in the water fishing. The longer the fly is in the water the more chance there is of it attracting fish.  Time is scarce especially for those anglers who fish in competitions.

Declan Hughes

I asked Declan about ths style of cast that i had in mind and would it be possible to achieve. First he took a look at at the way i usually would cast when i want to get distance. He then pointed out a few errors he noticed in my casting technique whilst demonstrating how to get more distance from the style of cast i use. He left me to it and set about instructing the other two anglers on their particular needs. Declan kept an eye on us correcting each of us if needed while we were changing to different weights of rods and lines. We spent the morning practising on the football field before we had a break for lunch.

087 764 9571

After lunch we headed out to Lough Cullin to get some practice on water. The weather in the afternoon was the complete opposite to the mornings weather, full sunshine and a slight breeze. I stayed with the single handed rod while the others changed over to using double handed rods. I wanted to brush up on my roll cast and also on Spey casting for the single handed rod. Declan showed me a few tips on how to cast in these styles and the demonstrated them to me. He then left me to it and set about instructing the other lads all the while keeping an eye on my progress correcting me and giving me pointers. We practised in the beautiful surroundings of Lough Cullin until the sun started to go down. After packing up Declan suggested we meet up again at the football filed the following morning, we all agreed on this.

Casting on the Moy

Meeting up at the field the following day the weather was wild, wet and very windy. While deciding what we should set up for, Declan suggested setting up all singled handed rods and practice casting into the wind, good idea we all thought. He then instructed us on the technique for casting into the wind and then he demonstrated the the technique to us. We then all set about putting the instruction into practice. I was delighted when Declan suggested this to me as there are numerous times when casting into the wind will give an angler an advantage on a given day. I have noticed on many days, especially when i was bank fishing while it was windy, the fish were gathered feeding along the shore line on to which the wind was blowing. Along with a lot of insects getting blown on to the water and being swept across the lake towards exposed bank, the shore line was getting stirred up thus exposing lots of feed for the fish.  Days like these called for casting into a strong wind.

APGAII

We spent the morning practising at casting into the strong wind  which was blowing across the football field. After a break for lunch we headed out to Lough Conn for more lessons casting on water. I again stayed with the single handed rod while the others changed over to the double handed rods. Declan demonstrated a few more tips to me and then left me to get on with it. He then set about instructing the double handed rods. We stayed practising on Lough Conn for a few hours before calling an end to our weekend of flycasting tuition. It was an enjoyable and worthwhile weekend spent in excellent company.

Lough Conn

Thinking about the weekend as we drove home my thoughts were of why did it take so long for me to take some fly casting tuition and of what i had gained from the weekend. I have been fly fishing for a long time now without ever having a lesson on single handed rod casting, did i think that i did not need lessons because i thought i was good enough without lessons? I guess my answer to that is yes i did think there was no need to take lessons. My mind has certainly been changed after this weekend of tuition so much so that i am now going to book more lessons with Declan. I have come back from the weekend away with a sure sense of having gained valuable knowledge with which i can improve on the knowledge i already have. I can now reccommend to any angler be they a beginner or even experienced caster to at least take some lessons on their fly casting as it will give them further knowledge of their casting.

The lesson i had with Declan were enjoyable and i found his style of instruction easy going very informative. He instructed us in a very professional manner which put us at ease and he managed to correct us and give tips without being obtrusive. It was a great weekend of craic and banter mixed with gaining more knowledge of my hobby.

Contact Declan Hughes on 087 764 9571. email declanhughesfoxford@gmail.com. Check out Facebook.

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Posted in Fishing in West of Ireland, Fly Casting | 2 Comments »

Late Season, River Liffey (Upper)

Sep 23rd, 2011 by wgsten

With the end of the season fast approaching i managed to get out for a few hours on the River Liffey (upper). I had been quite some time since i had fished on this particular stretch of the river so i was glad of this opportunity to wet a line on it. I had been over a few times during the mid season to check it out but each time i did the river was running low and looked very stale so i considered it not worthwhile to fish on. This time however i was pleasantly surprised to see the river was in great condition, flowing nicely with plenty of fresh water which added a rich amber colour to it.

Ballyward

On seeing the river with a strong flow to it i decided to set up the rod to fish a team of North Country wets flies and fish the team down and across as i made my way downstream. The day itself was one of very mixed weather conditions which included heavy showers some sunshine and a strong warm breeze. The strong breeze mostly favoured my choice of method as it was blowing downstream for most of the day. Fishing through the first pool on my third cast i was rewarded with a small wild Brown Trout of about twelve centimeteres which took the point fly as it swung across the riffles.

Dipper

The team of flies i had chosen consisted of a Hares Lug and Plover on the point,  a Waterhen Bloa on the middle dropper and a Snipe and Purple on the top dropper. I caught another four small fish in this pool before i moved downstream. As i was moving downstream i noticed some small Olives appearing from the water. The Olives were very small and not having my insect net with me to capture one to identify it, i chose to change the Waterhen Bloa for a smaller sized one (sz.16). This change brought instant results with seven more small wild fish falling for it. The day was looking good so far and i had only started fishing.

Wild Brown Trout

On reaching a stretch of broken water which is fast flowing over a stony bed, i noticed a lot of Needle flies coming off the water. On seeing these Needle flies i change the Snipe and Purple which had not been successful for a Dark Spanish Needle fly. This is a fly pattern that i mostly use late in the season or when there are Needle flies or Willow flies about. The Dark Spanish Needle is another North Country Spider pattern of which i always keep a few in the fly box. I managed to catch two more fish with the Needle pattern. Looking further downstream i could see a few fish rising in a slower stretch of water. Taking a closer look at the rising fish through my binoculars i could see they were taking what looked to me like an Olive which was larger than the first Olive i noticed.

Needle Fly

My first thought on seeing the rising fish was of setting up the rod to fish a dry fly but when i got to the fish i realised dry fly fishing with my four weight line was out of the question because the high wind was blowing the wrong direction for it. I tried a few casts over the rising fish with the team of wet flies but i only succeeded in putting the fish down. Before moving on i again changed the Waterhen Bloa to a larger size (sz.14) to match the size of the larger Olives that i had seen. I fished the team through a fast run and caught another seven fish, five to the Hares Lug and Plover and two to the Waterhen Bloa. With so many fish taking the Hares Lug i decided to change the Needle fly for another Hares Lug to see would this combination attract more fish.

Ragworth

The next stretch of water i fished on was a long pool which was fast flowing and had a lot of overhanging broad leaved trees over hanging it. It is usually a productive stretch on which i often caught the best fish of the day. After a few casts i hooked into a good fish which fought hard using the strong current resulting in me loosing it. I caught another few nice fish before i again was into another good fish which i also lost. I had several more fish before i hooked another nice fish only this time i landed it a beautiful wild Brown Trout of about a pound in weight. I had many more fish from this stretch before it was time to call a halt to the fishing. All of the fish were taken on the Hares Lug and Plover on either the point fly or the top dropper. In all it was a great outing on the beautiful upper River Liffey.

River Liffey (upper)

Tying flies to order :

Ever since i started writing this blog i have been receiving requests about the flies i use when i am fishing. A lot of these requests ask about where do i get these flies or where can anglers buy them. During this season i met several young anglers who were only starting to get into fly fishing and were asking the usual questions including where do i get the flies that i was using. A few of these anglers asked me would i tie up some flies for them and also would i not consider tying up flies during the closed season and offer them to other anglers through my blog site.

I started thinking about his suggestion and i have now decided to tie up flies to order through my blog. The flies i will tie up are only the flies i have had success with and have mentioned them in my blog posts. Naturally i will have to add a charge for the flies to cover my expenses. I am not tying up flies for a money making excercise. The flies will be all hand tied by myself and not cheap imports from other countries. At the moment i am in the process of setting up a page dedicated to the ordering of these flies. In  the meantime any anglers who may wish to order some flies can get in touch with me through the contact page at the top of this site or email irishflyfisher@gmail.com.

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Posted in Fishing Wicklow, Flyfishing, River Liffey | 3 Comments »

River Suir, Holycross, Co. Tipperary

Aug 26th, 2011 by wgsten

Recently i had the pleasure of fishing on the River Suir at Holycross in Tipperary. I have fished in many places along the River Suir but this was my first time to fish on it at Holycross. I arrived down in Holycross just after ten thirty Sunday morning and my plan was to fish on until late afternoon. After parking up the car i headed to the bridge to have a look at the water to see whether there were any signs of fish moving and also to see if there was any insect life about. On looking at the river i could see it was running low and there was a lot of weed growth in it.

River Suir.

The river was also gin clear and there was a lot of Olives about along with plenty of fish rising. Looking from the bridge i could also see several good trout which were feeding just below where i was standing. Some of these fish were around the pound mark. Things were looking good so far so time to get myself sorted out with a permit and get down to some fishing. Day tickets are available from Hayes shop or Glasheens pub in the village. I got a day ticket for Thurles Suir and Drish Anglers waters which are upstream from the bridge. Thurles, Holycross and Ballycamus Anglers have the waters downstream of the bridge.

Wild brown trout

After purchasing the permit i got ready and set up the rod to fish a dry fly as i made my way upstream. The fly i chose was a size sixteen Olive Klinkhammer to try match the Olives that were on the water. I made my way to the river and had a look for rising fish to have a cast to. I made several casts to the fish that were rising and i only managed to tempt one fish which i missed. The clear water and weed growth made for some challenging fishing. I changed the fly over to another Klinkhammer only this time it was a size smaller and tied up as per a Greenwells Glory. The pattern is an old favourite of mine and usually works well when there are any of the smaller Olives about.

Holycross

I found the fish were easily spooked and took cover once they were cast over. Again i made several casts to rising fish and only succeeded in putting them down. It was time to rethink and make some changes. I was fishing with a Fluorocarbon leader which went down to a two pound tippet so i decided to change over to a monofilament tippet of the same breaking strain hoping that this would not be as reflective as the Fluorocarbon was in the sunlight. I kept faith in the same Klinkhammer and again i started to cast to rising fish. Several casts later i was rewarded with my first river Suir wild brown trout of the day.

River Suir Trout

I had another few fish including a number of Salmon Parr before it was time to have a break for a bit of lunch. After the lunch i headed off upstream to where i saw some good fish moving earlier. Some of these were big fish well over the two pound mark. As i was making my way to these fish i noticed a lot of Sedges appearing on the water or should i say flitting about above the water. I captured a Sedge to have a closer look at it and identified it as a small Brown silverhorn. As no fish were showing any interest in the Sedges except for a few small fish i decided to stay with the Klinkhammer. When i got to the pool where i previously saw the good fish i noticed one of them was still rising across the river close to the bank. I had several cast to him but to no avail so i moved on again looking out for an easier target.

Juvenile Pheasant

Casting to a few more fish without any response at all it was time to sit down and take stock. I decided to tie on a Sedge and have a go at the smaller fish to see were they easily fooled. I managed to fool many of the smaller trout as i was making my way back to the car. My best fish on the day was just over the half pound mark. Bright sunshine, clear water, low water temperature and lots of weed cover made for a very challenging but very rewarding day out on this wonderful stretch of the river Suir.

Glasheens

Holycross is now ranking high on my list of places to fish on in the early part of next season. If any anglers are looking for some challenging fishing in fabulous surroundings i can without hesitation recommend heading for the river suir at Holycross. It is very much akin the chalk streams of Southern England except  for it is here in Ireland and does not cost and arm and a leg to fish on it.

Holycross bridge

Guiding ;

Over the past few months i have had several enquiries through my contact page about doing guide on some of the rivers i mention in my blog. I decided to look into it and i have taken a few anglers out on the rivers so far this year. Being in full time employment has meant that i was only available for guiding at the weekends and for some of the long evenings during the peak of the season. So far i am happy with the response i have received from those anglers i have guided for and this has given me the encouragement i needed to put more thought into the guiding for the next season. During the closed season i am going to work on setting up a page here solely for guiding. Any feedback would be welcomed and appreciated. Thank you.


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Posted in Flyfishing, River Suir, Tipperary | 3 Comments »

Evenings on the Liffey

Jul 6th, 2011 by wgsten

Over the past week i managed to get out fishing on most evenings. This is the first week of the season that the weather was kind enough to bring on some great evening rises. Up until then the air temperature was well down on previous years. The stretch of water i chose to fish on is controlled by Kilcullen Anglers and is my local club. Each year this stretch always produces some great fishing for me. Will this year produce the goods again?

Four Spotted Chaser

My first evening outing was one of bright sunshine accompanied with a warm breeze blowing upstream. I decided not to set the rod up with any particular fly until i got down to the river and had a good look around at what was happening – fly life, fish rising etc. On looking around i noticed some fish rising across the river under overhanging trees. It looked liked the were taking the small brown Silverhorn sedges that were flitting about under the trees. Time to have a go at these fish so i tied on an imitation that usually works when there are sedges on the water. After a few casts a fish rose to the imitation and i missed him, a few more casts another rise and another fish missed. Not a great start to my outing!

Swan Family

My only success was that of putting the fish down. I moved on up river on the lookout for more rising fish. I came across some more fish rising steadily at the tail end of a nice run, they appeared to be sipping down a small Olive. I changed the sedge imitation to an olive Klinkhammer in a small size (18) to see could i tempt a take. It was as before fish rose and again i missed my chances and put the fish down. I moved on again to another pool with fish rising in it but still could not manage a hook up. Things were not looking good. As it was now nearing dark i decided to try my luck with a Balloon Caddis in some of the slower pools. Disappointment came again with no fish being hooked. I finished off the evening with a blank. My first in a long while.

Beautiful Demoiselle

Two evenings passed before i got back to fish in the same part of the river. Thinking about my blank on the previous outing, i ran a lot of things through my mind as to why the blank. My solution was one of a rod change from the soft actioned rod that i had a blank with to stiffer one with more back bone to it. I had a look around before i chose the fly i was going to use this time & i tied on an olive comparadun in a size 18 to suit the small olives that were lifting off the water. After a few casts success came to me in the form of a nice little wild brown trout about twenty five centimetres in length which i released back to the water. I took nine more fish on the comparadun before it started to get dark. I headed down to a pool in which on my previous outing i had seen what i thought was a good fish rising to sedges. I changed from the comparadun to a Balloon Caddis to have a go at this fish. Two casts later and i was into a fish which i measured at thirty eight centimetres, a nice fish. I cast again a couple of times before i was into my next fish. This was a fish. A cracking fish at that. I battled with him on my four weight for over five minutes before i netted him. He weighed in at over two and a quarter pounds. After taking a photo i returned him safely to the water. The photo taken on my mobile phone does not do any justice to the fish.

River liffey Trout

I went out again the following night to the same stretch of water hoping for more success. I had seen on the previous night another good fish which i thought was feeding on the Black Gnats that were about in good numbers and i was going to have a go at him with my imitation of the Black Gnat. As i made my way to where i saw the fish, i was having a go at some of the fish that were rising in pools along the way. I caught and released five nice little wild brown trout before i got to my target. I sat on the river bank overlooking the pool in which i saw the good fish watching to see could i spot him again. I sat and watched for about fifteen minutes with no sign of any good fish. As i had my camera with me i was able to get some photos of the wildlife that was around me. Out of the corner of my eye i caught a glimpse of a fish rising so i packed away the camera and took up the rod to have a cast over where the fish rose. On my second attempt a fish rose and took the Gnat, it was a good fish by the feel of it. After a long battle i eventually netted the fish which weighed just under two pounds, another cracking fish. I took a photo of him before i returned him safely to the water.

River Liffey Trout

 

I managed to get out again for one more outing after that to the same club waters only this time i went a little further up river. Fishing with the black gnat again i had success with seven fish caught and released, the best weighed a pound and a quarter. The water temperature is now at eighteen degrees Celcius which has brought on some very good evening rises. In what started out as being a bad week with my first blank day the week certainly finished on a high with some great fishing and great fish. Was it changeing from the soft action R. L. Winston Boron IIX rod to the stiffer Action Sage XP rod that gave me my confidence back or is it all in this anglers mind? I still question myself after each outing as to the hows and whys of what went wrong or right with the fishing. Sure who knows maybe some day the answers will come, until then its on with the fishing.

River Liffey Trout

 

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Posted in Fishing Kildare, Flyfishing, River Liffey, Trout | 8 Comments »

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