Lough Fishing Buddies

The May Fly on Sheelin is now in full swing with clouds of spent in abundance dancing along the tree lines of sheltered bays. Sedges including Welsh Man’s Buttons and the occasional Murrough had also made an appearance through out the week. So where are the fish you may ask? – Well I have spent the last few days on the lake with various well respected anglers to try and answer that exact question. May time temperatures for this time of the year are close to March time temperatures averaging only 11C -Strong squalling wind directions also have played an important factor as well as the water temperature which at its peak reached only 6C for the last week. Trout are extremely sensitive to ever changing weather and will swim out to deeper water and will remain almost in stasis until the temperature of the water rises to approx 8-10c. They will also feed in deeper water on nymphs and food that is in easy reach not expending too much energy – Why go out for dinner when the food is in front of you. The fish dont need to surface at present as may fly nymps and sedge pupae are still in plenty of supply below the surface. The current wind conditions have also coloured the lake blowing consistent from a southwest and westerly direction. I remember listening to Dr Martin O Grady earlier this year about Zebra Mussel and the feeding habits of wild brown trout in general. In particular he spoke in dept about Lough Sheelin explaining that the mussel took between 6to12 days approx to filter the lake. Sheelin itself also drain’s into the Inny Systems which is in the opposite direction of the current wind direction. This explains why the lake remains coloured from above the Stray Rock to the North Eastern Shores of Dinner Island. Good news however is on the horizon - “The weather is set to change from Friday the 3rd of June” Wind direction is also set to change, blowing from the east which will most certainly help clear up the very much coloured Sheelin. Day time temperatures are also set to reach 24c which will certainly raise water temperature up to the magic 10c. I just hope that the May Fly will present as the Holy Grail of fly fishing this year has yet to happen. 

The latest loughfishingbuddies video is now available on www.youtube.com- Type in loughfishingbuddies in the search bar and enjoy. This week, watch the May Fly on Sheelin.

If you would like more information about this article or wish to arrange a guided day’s angling on this lake, please feel free to contact me.

Damien Willis +353(0)868012546

E-mail info@loughfishingbuddies.com

WHEN DECIDING which flies to use there are a number of different ways to choose.

The first and best way of choosing is by “matching the hatch”. First, you find out what type of food is on the trout’s dinner table. Next, check out the fly patterns you currently have and see if there are any that are similar imitations in your fly box.

Sounds simple enough. I try to keep it as simple as possible and find a fly pattern that is closest in size and colour to the hatch. A good place to find out what is working beforehand is from your local fishing club or tackle store shop.

Knowing the fly seasons ahead of time makes matching the hatch easy. Another method is to acquire some flies that others recommend. When I am not fishing I often take digital photographs of insects, or anything that I think a trout might find appetising. Later I download the pictures to the computer and start researching. It is then possible to find fly patterns that match all the stages of the insect’s life. I would recommend keeping a fishing diary and have this information handy before you endeavour out. There are some good fly-fishing books from Peter O’Reilly available on sale in most good book stores and angling shops, which provide useful information and makes a good bedtime read.

For more information about matching the hatch, please feel free to contact us.

Damien Willis +353(0)868012546

info@loughfishingbuddies.com

Presenting the fly.

The definitive goal of fly-fishing is to imitate a fly or other insect so closely that it fools the trout into thinking that its next meal is being served. In order to do this you must present the fly in such a way as to not scare the trout. Easier said than done – beware of the dreaded drag. This will occur when the fly moves across the water, leaving a V-wake. The easiest way to detect drag is to compare your fly’s drift with the drift of a living insect next to it. Drag will most certainly spook the trout and will reduce your chances of catching one dramatically. When dry fly-fishing casting up and across the river will reduce drag, this will take practice.

 The fly will follow its initial path and flow of the natural flow once you have stopped the cast. This will give the fly more time to drift without drag. The next technique is called “Mending your line”, this will also reduce drag and will help to prolong the fly’s drift by adding slack into the fly line. To mend your line on the water, point the rod tip at the line just before it begins to tidy out, then flick your forearm and wrist up-current. This motion is easy but does take some practice to get it right. Mending absorbs the current’s thrust so the water cannot straighten the fly line out too quickly, improving your chances of catching tremendously. Practice makes perfect and using these simple presentation techniques will soon have you catching in no time.

For more information about fly presentation, please feel free to contact us.

Damien Willis +353(0)868012546

info@loughfishingbuddies.com

Catching trout by using Wet flies dates back hundreds of years, well before the method of dry fly fishing was introduced.

Wet fly fishing is one of the best ways for budding male and female anglers to be introduced to sub-surface fishing. Unlike dry fly fishing, where skill and practice and precise imitations are needed to effectively catch trout consistently, wet fly fishing can provide results quickly to even the beginner angler.

Many wet flies imitate a struggling nymph as it attempts to reach the surface of the water. These same wet flies also suitably imitate dead or drowning insects. Either way, one thing about wet flies is that they generally imitate aquatic insects in transit. For new anglers, an adequate cast and presentation is all that is required when wet fly fishing. The reason for this is because of the way most wet fly fishing is carried out. It neither requires perfect casts or timing when presenting the fly.

By using two or more flies an angler can improve their chances of finding fish. There are a countless flies obtainable for wet fly fishing. Most wet flies have soft hackling. The explanation for this is because this type of hackling has fibers in it that moves about in the water tempting the trout to seize it.

Additionally most wet flies are designed to sink rather quickly. For this reason, many wet flies tend to be a little heavier, tied in a wide variety of ways, each way designed to sink the fly in a particular fashion. Wet flies are generally fished in areas that have fast moving water or in a wave on the lake.

Fishing a sink-tip fly line will assist the fly in getting down to the right depth; a floating fly line can also be used with a weighed nymph on the point. When a second, or third, fly is used, it is called a “dropper fly”. When setting up a dropper fly, simply attach the first fly onto the end of the tippet. Then, for the second fly, take a 12 inch of tippet material and tie it to the leader about 24-36 inches above the first fly.

Attach the second fly to the end of that line. You now have a dropper fly set up. A note for beginner anglers, “to avoid tangles it is probably best to start with one fly”, and then graduate to two or more flies when comfortable with basic casting and wet fly fishing technique. Either way, one nice thing about a dropper fly is that it allows anglers to test out flies at the same time. It’s a great way to quickly experiment around to see what works and what doesn’t when covering the water.

There isn’t really anything fancy about wet fly fishing. As long as an angler can do even just a basic cast, an angler can catch trout using wet flies. There are numerous other methods for fly fishing with wet flies. However, these methods tend to be rather more demanding, requiring greater skill on the part of the angler. Wet fly fishing used to be the most popular type of fly fishing. Today, it comes in a distant third to dry fly fishing and nymph fishing.

Nymph fishing is now often times considered to be wet fly fishing. While the more precise fly imitations and more precision methods used in nymph fly fishing do indeed generally work better for catching larger, more wary trout. Anglers should never overlook fly fishing the traditional wet fly. This is especially true for beginner anglers, whom by wet fly fishing can be introduced to some of the basic principles and techniques used in nymph fishing while actually catching fish in the process. – Tight Lines.

For further information about wet fly fishing or any of the other services which we provide, please feel free to contact us.

Damien Willis +353 (0) 868012546

e-mail info@loughfishingbuddies.com