Reports from Corrib are that the duckfly have been hatching off well for the past week, although cold easterly winds have meant the hatch has been localised, with some areas faring better than others. For those not aware of the duckfly, this is a large chironomid midge that hatches in huge numbers at this time of year, ans is the first major hatch on the lakes.
They can be imitated using buzzer nymph patterns, which imitate the sub-aquatic nymph form, buzzer emergers, which imitate the hatching insect in the surface film, or adult buzzers – dry fly patterns imitating the adult fly on the water surface.
Headford angler Conor Ledwith kindly sent us in a short clip of a buzzer nymph that he “rescued” from a trout he caught this week on Corrib – anglers and flytiers may be very interested to see the insect their buzzers are trying to imitate.
Angling guide and B&B host Larry McCarthy, from Corrib View Lodge www.corribangling.com, reports good fishing since Wednesday last. Saturday was the best day with 10 trout to the boat, although he forecast more challenging fishing this week with the change in weather.
Basil Shiels from Ardnasillagh Lodge (tel. 091 552550) was out on Tuesday, and despite Arctic conditions in a biting easterly, his client landed 8 trout to 6lbs on dry buzzer – a fine achievement in those conditions!
Elsewhere, Galway angler and well-known flytier Robbie Pitman landed a cracking trout of 63cm on buzzer from Corrib on Easter Monday, estimated at 6lbs+. The fish put up a great fight on light fluorocarbon tippet, and Robbie showed his skill to land the fish. Conor Ledwith landed 3 fish on dabblers on Wednesday in a nice wave suitable for wetfly (2 returned). Conor was very happy with his short (3 hour) outing, considering he could see snow on Nephin in the distance and it was freezing cold on the lake!
With a rise in temperatures forecast for the weekend, I would anticipate a lot more anglers being out, and I hope to have a lot more sport to report next week. Saturday and Sunday are set to be a lot milder, with light variable winds making for perfect conditions for buzzer and dry fly fishing.
#CPRsavesfish
