Richie Ryan of Eire Bass sent a report on his recent forays with clients on Cork Harbour. Richie takes up the story…
“It’s great to see youngsters coming aboard Sea Hawk to try out saltwater fly fishing. As stated many times before, for amateurs there’s no casting involved, the wind and tide do the work. Later on casting lessons can convert an enthusiastic youth into a pure fly fishing addict. Some of you may remember a recent report by me on my grandson’s experience of fly fishing for pollack A visit to Canada last month entailed a fly fishing lesson for Seán, aged 10. Thirty minutes into my lesson he turned to me and said “Granddad, this is so therapeutic”! A few hours later his cast was near perfect. He caught 14 Mountain Whitefish that day, mainly on a fly he tied himself. He’ll never forget that days sport I reckon.
And so it was last week that 2 youngsters tried out saltwater fly fishing for the first time. Xavier Foley joined his dad Jody for a weekend trip. His dad was obviously a keen and experienced angler albeit he had not tried saltwater fly fishing before. The sport was good, even a few fine kelpy cod helped to brighten our outing.
A few days later Jim Barry organised a fly fishing trip for his son in law and his grandson. Conditions were difficult but numerous pollack fell to the fly and young Ben and his father Tony were hooked ! Ben’s enthusiasm was obvious and the excitement was palpable.
I can still see his infectious beaming smile as he enjoyed what he deemed to be the best part of his holiday. In fact both sets of clients vowed to return again as the experience was so gratifying ! It’s nice to see things picking up after Covid and some young anglers happy to try a different type of angling.