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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 »

River Liffey, Mid Summer 2011

Jun 16th, 2011 by wgsten

I had not been out fishing for some time so over the past weekend i had a outing to my local club waters  the river Liffey at Kilcullen in Co. Kildare. It was one of the better days with bright sunshine, some cloud cover and a gentle breeze blowing in my favour upstream. On my arrival at the river i decided not to set up the rod for any particular type of fishing until i had a look around to see what or if there was any fly life or any signs of fish rising. The first thing i noticed was there were some groups of Brown Silverhorn Sedges flitting to and fro under the trees that were overhanging the river. These groups had attracted the attention of some of the resident trout.

Brown Silverhorn

After watching a few nice trout taking some of the Silverhorns that touched the water, i set up the rod with an imitation of a Silverhorn that i tie myself. I had several good days using this pattern when there were Silverhorns on the water. The way i fish this fly is to cast it low sideways to get it as far under the tree as possible to where the Sedges are skimming the water. This sometimes calls for careful wading in deep water to reach where the fish are feeding. After setting up the rod i made my way to where i could get a cast at a good fish that was regularly rising to the Sedges. After several casts the fish rose and took my imitation. It was a nice fish of about thirty five centimetres in length which gave a good account of itself. I unhooked the fish in the water and released it back to fight another day.

Flag Iris

I caught another five fish with this sedge imitation before things went quiet. I got out of the water and headed upstream keeping an eye out for any signs of fish moving as i went. A Kingfisher passed by me and i watched it through my binoculars to see where it was going to perch itself. When it perched itself i tried to sneak up to it to get a photo of it but they are very wary birds and before i could get near enough to take a photo it spotted me and took flight. I have being trying to get a photo of a Kingfisher for quite a while and as yet i have not been successful. Maybe next time.

River Liffey

Moving on upstream i spotted some fish moving under the overhanging trees on the opposite bank about thirty meters ahead of me, so i took out my binoculars to have a closer look to find out what they were feeding on. On closer inspection i saw a large number of Black Gnats under the trees. They were there in their thousands flitting up and down and skimming the surface of the water. The resident trout had taken a great interest in the Gnats. Several good fish were rising regularly and snatching the Gnats that came their direction. I had to get in on the action so i tied on a Gnat imitation that i use when the fish are feeding on them. First cast and a fish rose and took the imitation. After a short struggle i had a nice wild brown trout in the net. A fish of about thirty three centimetres was released back to the water.

Swan Family

I carried on fishing with the Black gnat imitation and i accounted for another fourteen fish with this fly. The best fish measured thirty seven centimetres, a nice fish on any day. Things again went quiet so i had another look around to see what was hatching insect wise on the river. I noticed some Blue Winged Olives, some Iron Blue Duns and several of the daytime flying Sedges some of which were very small. I also noticed the Yellow May Dun had put in an appearance. Further on upstream i came upon a few Mayflies although there was only a handful to be seen. While i was making my way back downstream to my car i tied on a few wet flies to fish across and down as i made my way.

Yellow May Dun

The team of wet flies i chose to fish with were a Waterhen Bloa on the point, a Parrys Black spider in the middle and a Greenwell Spider on the top dropper. I fished the team down through all the runs, riffles and glides and i was catching a fish or two from each of the runs and riffles. Most of the fish i caught this way were small and nearly all of them took the Parrys spider. I have always found that when ever the Black Gnats are on the water Parrys Black Spider was very successful when i fished it in a size size sixteen. The other  flies i was fishing accounted for another two fish each one of which was a Salmon parr.

Mayfly

I checked on the water temperature and i found it at fourteen and a half degrees Celcius, about average for this time of the year. In all it was a very successful day on the river Liffey. As it had been some time since i had a day out on the river it was great day to get back to the fishing. I am looking forward to getting out for a few evenings on Kilcullen waters during the evening rises.

Lough Dan :

I have booked a day out fishing on Lough Dan with guide and fellow angler Ashley Hayden. Lough Dan is one of the fisheries that i have not as yet fished on and it is also on my list of places as a must fish place. I shall be posting a report/review of my day on the Lough. I am looking forward to the day out on Dan. If you are interested in spending a day out in the wonderful surroundings and superb wild brown trout fishing that Lough Dan has to offer contact Ashley Hayden or check out this website. Ashley can also be contacted on 00353 (86) 8697370

 

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Posted in Fishing Kildare, Fishing Wicklow, Salmon, Trout | 4 Comments »

In Memory of my Father

May 20th, 2011 by wgsten

Michael Stenson

 

In loving memory of my dear father Michael Stenson, who passed away on May 19th 2011, two days before his 88th birthday. You will never be forgotten. Rest In Peace Dad.

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in Uncategorized | 13 Comments »

River Suir, Ballymacarbry Co. Waterford.

May 17th, 2011 by wgsten

Over the weekend i was down fishing on the river Suir near Ballymacarbry in Co. Waterford. The river Suir is Ireland’s second longest river, one hundred and fourteen miles long. It is a Limestone river with clear water and it is an excellent river for fly fishing. It is gravel based which makes for some easy wading, however i would recommend chest waders as there are many deep runs to it. There is plenty of fly life in it with regular hatches of olives throughout the season. The trout from it average from 20 – 40 cms with many larger fish produced each season.

River Suir

The stretch of water i planned to fish is part of the Clonanav Fisheries. Permits can be purchased from the tackle shop in Ballymacarbry. There is also a guiding service available. I arrived at the tackle shop about ten thirty am and was greeted by the owner Andrew Ryan. I have been to Clonanav several times before now but this was my first time to see the new tackle shop. I spent at least three quarters of an hour chatting and having a look around the well stocked shop before i headed off to the river. Andrew informed me as to what was happening fishing wise on the river and where best to find the fish.

Black Gnat

When i got to the river i decided to set the rod up for to fish an Olive Klinkhammer dry. Looking at the water from the river bank i could see that there was several fish rising and taking something from the surface. My first cast was to a fish i observed rising regularly a few meters out from the bank. I took several casts to this fish but my Klinkhammer was ignored, time to change fly. As i had seen some Iron Blue Duns coming off the water, i tied on a Klinkhammer in a pattern i use when the Blue Duns are about. I picked out another rising fish and cast the fly over it, on the second cast the fish rose to the fly but turned away again. I cast the Iron Blue to a few more fish but to no avail so another change was called for.

Wild Brown Trout

I had noticed some small groups of Black Gnats skitting about above the water surface so i tied on my imitation of a Black Gnat to see if that was the fly to tempt a take. I moved on down stream to where i has seen the Gnats and watched to see was there any fish rising to them. A couple of fish rose just at the edge of a riffle so i had a go at these. On my first cast to them one of them rose and took the Gnat but got off after a small struggle. It felt like a good fish as it had weight to it. After a few more casts i eventually had a fish on. It was a good fish that fought hard using the current to his advantage. After a good long battle i netted a fabulous fish of over a pound and a half. I took a few photos before i released him back safely to the water.

River Suir

I had several more small fish to the Black Gnat before the wind picked up and blew the Gnats off the water. I then changed over to fish New Zealand style (duo). This brought me more success with four more fish falling for the Pheasant tail nymph. While i was making my way back to the car i noticed a small number of Mayflies (E. danica) coming off the water so i thought i may tie on an imitation i use when Mayfly are about. I then saw a good fish rising up ahead of me so i sneaked up to have a cast to him. First cast and wallop, a great fish on which fought really hard and i realised that there was no way i was going to land this fish. First of all i only had a two pound tippet on and the river bank was about two metres above the river which was also about two metres deep at that spot. After about five minutes the hook hold gave way and the fish was lost. I did however get a good look at him and i can estimate him at been over the two pound mark. Next time i will be taking my long handle landing net with me.

Yellow Sally

While i was there also i noticed lots of fly life about including Mayflies, Yellow May Duns, Iron Blue Duns, Black Gnats along with some of the Caddis flies (Sedges). I am already making plans to fish again on the Suir, only next time i will be staying over night at Clonanav Lodge with the intentions of fishing during the evening rise. The river Suir is one of the best wild brown trout fisheries this country has to offer and it is a must fish for any angler whether they are a local or a tourist.

Clonanav Tackle Shop

 

There is a lot on offer at Clonanav including the fabulous tackle shop with it online shopping facility. Andrew also offers casting instruction for both beginners and experienced anglers, in single handed or double handed spey casting. A guiding service is also available on all of the Clonanav fisheries these include the rivers Suir, Nire and the Tar. I can certainly recommend a visit to Clonanav Fishing Centre. A must do for every angler.

I would also recommend following Clonanav on Facebook.

 

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Posted in River Suir, Trout | 4 Comments »

Fishing in West of Ireland

May 9th, 2011 by wgsten

I have just returned from a fishing holiday in the West of Ireland. I was staying in Oughterard  Co. Galway which is located on the shores of Lough Corrib. The house that i staying in was set on the banks of the Owenriff river and it also had some wonderful views of the surrounding countryside. Waking up to the sound of the river flowing gently by and the Cuckoo calling out from the woods across the river would put anyone in great form for the day. My plans for the fishing were to fish on some of the smaller and lesser known lakes and rivers in the area. River fishing was ruled out on account of the long dry spell of weather that we were having which left the rivers very low.

Moher Lough Co. Mayo

Whenever i manage to get over to the west of Ireland, i try to get fishing on one of my favourite lakes Moher Lough. This time was no different so i chose Moher as my first lake to fish on. It was a dry day with bright sunshine and a warm breeze blowing across the lake. While i was preparing the boat i noticed there was a lot of fish moving out in the lake. I also noticed a lot of fly life on the lake side with Olives, Duckfly and Alder flies there in good numbers. After noticing the flies that were about, i set up the rod with a team of wet flies. I tied an Olive Dabbbler on the point with a wet Alder on the middle dropper and a Duck Fly imitation on the top dropper.

Alder Fly

I headed out on to the lake to take my first drift over the fish i had seen moving earlier. This drift proved successful as i caught and released five wild brown trout. I took several more successful drifts before things started to slow down. I caught and released a total of eighteen fish for my outing. Most of the fish that i caught were wild fish although i did catch two stocked fish. Each of the flies on the team were successful with none of them outdoing the others. It was another wonderful day out on Moher Lough. I will be checking it out next time i am over that way again.

Lough Fadda

My next outing was to Lough Fadda. It was another bright day with lots of warm sunshine and a warm breeze blowing on to the lake. Looking around when i got there i noticed large numbers of Hawthorn flies flitting about along the shore of the lake and there was a number of fish showing at the surface. No boats were available at this time of the year so i put on my waders and fished it from the shore. I set up the rod with a black Klinkhammer to fish it dry to the rising fish. My thinking was that the fish were taking some of the Hawthorn flies that were blown onto the lake.

Wild Brown Trout

After a couple of casts i hooked a nice little wild brown trout which i released back in to the lake for another day. I walked the shoreline looking out for fish rising and casting to each fish i saw. I missed several fish before i caught and released another wild fish. I had a total of six fish for my outing on Lough Fadda. Clifden Anglers issue permits for Lough Fadda along with many other fine lakes in the area. Permits can be purchased locally.

Lettercraffroe Lough

My next outing was to Lettercraffroe Lough which is way off the beaten path but nevertheless well worth checking out even just for the sheer beauty and perfect silence of it. I did not know what to expect of this lake as i was only going by local knowledge. It was early evening when i got there and the weather was changing with the sky clouding over and soft rain starting to fall. I set the rod up the same as i did for the previous outing and set off to fish it from the shore. There were several fish moving at the surface so i cast the Klinkhammer over them. After a few misses, i eventually hooked and landed a nice wild brown trout of about three quarters of a pound. The fish seemed to me to be coming short to the fly so i decided to change tactics to fishing a team of wet flies. The team consisted of an Alder on the point with a Duckfly imitation in the middle and an Olive Dabbler on the top. A few casts later and i had another fish caught and released which was about the pound mark. I caught and released another four fish all over the half pound mark. All of the fish were taken on the Duckfly imitation. A great outing to a wild and beautiful lake. I went back to Lettercraffroe for another successful outing before my holiday ended.

Seecon Lough

The next day i headed out to check out Seecon Lough which is located above Oughterard. It is another lake that is well off the beaten path and set in beautiful scenery. When i got there i noticed lots of activity with  fish rising all over the lake. The day was another one of bright sunshine along with a warm breeze. I set the rod up to fish a Klinkhammer dry to the rising fish. There was also plenty of fly life about with Olives, Alders and Duckfly there in large numbers. When i got down to the lake shore i noticed the fish were taking the Olives and along the shoreline the fish were busy taking the Alders that were blown onto the water. I caught and released five wild brown trout all caught on the Klinkhammer before i decide to have a go at the fish that were rising closer to the shore. I tied on a brown foam Sedge as it was the nearest fly i had to imitate the Alders that were on the water surface. I cast this over the fish near the shore and it accounted for another fifteen fish the best making the half pound mark. It was another great day out fishing in a truely wild and beautiful  place.

Tackle shop, Oughterard

The local knowledge was given to me by Thomas Tuck who runs the tackle shop in Oughterard. Thomas has firsthand knowledge of all the fishing in the area and he gives it out willingly. It was Thomas who put me on the fish in the local lakes he has first hand knowledge of the area and knows every laneway and track down to the very last detail about each lake. Anyone that is thinking of visiting Oughterard for the fishing should make calling into Thomas Tucks a must as you will get all your needs including uptodate info on what is happening fishing wise in the locality. Ph thomas Tuck: 091 552335 or follow them on Facebook. Thanks Thomas. I will call next time i  am in or near Oughterard.

Trout hatchery, Oughterard

I have fished in many places in Ireland and enjoyed some great fishing but with all it has to offer the fly fisher, Oughterard has become a firm favourite of mine. There are so many wild and remote little lakes and rivers dotted all around Oughterard that i have yet to fish on. I hope that some day i will pack up everything and head for Oughterard and make it my home place but in the meantime i will try to get over to fish on some of it wild places as often as i can.

 

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Posted in Fishing in West of Ireland, Trout | 4 Comments »

West of Ireland

May 1st, 2011 by wgsten

I have been over fishing in the west of Ireland and i have put together a photo slideshow of some of the places i visited while i was there. I am also writing a blog post about the fabulous fishing that i had while i was there.

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