Jackie Mahon writes from his blog at jackiemahonfliesandguiding.com…
Looking forward to the 23 Season and some notes about fishing in April
2023 started off for me with an email from Fulling Mill to say that my fly patterns have just arrived in the UK and are up on the Fulling Mill website. The range consists of wet Mayfly, Spent, Stimulators and Daddies. The patterns have been working the last number of seasons throughout Ireland, the United States and the UK with great success. I will also be working closely with Fulling Mill on some new products which will be launched soon, so keep an eye on my page for updates.
A client recently asked me what are the best months to fish Lough Arrow and I found it hard to answer because I just love every minute I spend on the lake. There is something special about Arrow and it’s hard fighting Browns, so if I had to pick a month it would be April. It’s a great time of year to flyfish on Lough Arrow, it may take bringing extra clothes and layering up but the results are worth the extra effort. In April with bug life starting to appear and hungry Trout starting to feed after a long cold winter, it results in some extraordinary opportunities to flyfish.
The best news is the Trout have seen little pressure with Arrow only opening on the 1st of April, and the Trout are hungry and eager to grab a fly. A typical day on Arrow involves Buzzers, Dries or Wets depending on how cold the day is. During April hatches of Olives start and offer good dryfly or Buzzer fishing. On the colder days we pull wets in the shallows in that few feet of water for that pull back at you.
When a guide gets a day off the first thing that’s on his mind is to go fishing. Last season, some of the days that I’ve had off I headed back to Arrow in the afternoons for some dry Buzzer fishing into the evening. This fishing consists of some of the bigger resident fish coming out to play and it’s something I love doing in the evenings.
Go fishing…
You can purchase some of my patterns in the new Fulling Mills brochure for 2023 which will be out soon.
For guided fishing please do not hesitate to contact me as there are still some dates available for 2023.
