The River Whispers is compiled by Dan O’Neill of Mount Juliet and South East Casting.
This week I fished with Curran all the way from Maine, Curran speaks of his experience and also a little about the fly rod we were using. Patrick Maye is a trout angler that can be the perfect remedy for a bad day, I fished with Paddy quite a bit and his humour can complement any fishing trip, let’s see how Patrick’s season went. Trout angler Ciaran Maye speaks about his journey so far. Anthony goes through some winter plans and his favorite bank side snack when predator fishing. I speak about my last couple of weeks fishing and upcoming events.
Curran from Maine emailed me some time ago looking to discover what the River Nore had to offer along the lines of trout fishing. With the water levels quite low I needed to do my homework on which location would work best for the duration of the trip. Here is how we got on.
“I have been looking forward to my trip with Dan on the river Nore for some time now. I have been reading reports and saw some articles on the Nore, so it added to my excitement. I usually fish medium sized rivers, not unlike the river Nore in places. I tend to use dry dropper or micro streamers at times. The day we had it was a little overcast early, so I used micro streamers. There was a trunk of an oak tree dipped into the water mid-way up the run. The rooting system left quite a hollow and cut into the bank a bit which just screamed fish to me. I ran the streamers through a couple of times without success. I then changed the streamer to something with a little flash through it. On about the 4th cast I had a good take, I lifted and was into my first brown trout. The fish fought quite hard, and I thought it was larger than it turned out to be, the fish was 33cm which was a nice trout and certainly made me happy as now I know my patterns work on the R. Nore also. The rod today was a Cadence rod which I had not used before. I became very fond of the rod; Dan had a hard time getting me to hand it back after our trip. We also tried some dry dropper and had trout on that method too, though I much preferred micro streamers as it’s what I’m used to. I really enjoyed the Nore and what it had to offer. I have already rebooked for next season.”
Patrick Maye is a superb character and one I enjoy being around while fishing; he is ever grateful for each fish he catches. Behind Patrick’s humour and one liners, there is a very serious angler who pays a lot of attention to detail.
“The 2024 Season started very well for Daddy, Ciaran, and me. From the beginning, my journey into angling in 2023 was with a foolish attitude, concerned that I would be bored and not seeing much point in wasting time or energy getting cold and wet. I didn’t see myself carrying on the hobby my younger brother and nephew had adopted, but as we all know, that changed instantly when I hooked my first trout! From then on, it became my love and passion, second only to my family and children.
I am blessed to be part of Thomastown angling club on the beautiful River Nore and a member of Ennisnag on the Kings River, which boasts fantastic areas to fish and plenty of big healthy trout.
As you all know there are a thousand questions and doubts when casting flies and every doubt I ever had was quashed with simple guidance and methods to improve every aspect of my well spent time on the rivers.
When starting out I was introduced to the dry-dropper method, which I was very successful with once using the black Frenchie Jig Nymph and an indicator. I then had the pleasure of a casting class with Dan on the fantastic Mt Juliet Estate, which I feel turned the tide for me. I had been watching ,YouTubers, like Tom Rosenbauer, and I was trying to match them by casting as far as possible, but I ended up getting tied up in myself, losing many flies and causing insufferable tangles that meant I had to re-tie everything from scratch! This was a huge frustration, whereas Dan taught me to simplify, to get rid of the frustrations and to fish the water in-front of me. To quote him, ‘less is more’, and another piece of gold that enters my thoughts on every cast – ‘flicking the paint off the brush’!
This simplicity changed my cast and whole experience immensely. As for the standard of fish in the Nore, they are big and plentiful at present.
I switched from the dropper to dry fly, especially in the evenings, with a size 12 green Mayfly pattern in the morning and a red/green colour that has been working a treat with my latest (and best) evening being in Mt Juliet (ten beauties in two hours all on the dry).
I know it’s luck and timing, but ever satisfying and I still feel as a beginner that I am always learning and will never master what some call a hobby, now a passion that has become a part of my life.
With three children under three, the escape is sometimes very welcome, and in a very hectic work environment – as a construction manager – fly fishing brings a perfect work life balance; it’s the greatest stress reliever I have ever experienced!
I look forward to teaching my son and two daughters everything I can on angling and I see it now as something essential that I can pass on to them. We, the Mayes, are a fly fishing family, I am regularly out with my father, Johnny, my brothers, Ciaran and Brian, and my nephews, Oisin, Sean and James, and won’t be long until I have the kids in waders beside me.
I have recently started work with Flynn Furney environmental consultants, Simon Furney has been a wealth of knowledge to me on how to look after and care for our residents around the river which is of huge importance. I look forward to continuing my journey in fly fishing and conservation.”
Tight Lines, Patrick Maye.
Ciaran Maye has a strong passion for fishing and began his journey really looking at the technical side off fishing. I found Ciaran to always ask “why” which is leading him to quickly becoming a top fly angler. Let’s see what Ciaran had to say.
“This season went well for us in terms of numbers despite the awful start in March with the rain, for me it was all about dry-dropper. I spent most of my time focusing on the nuances of this technique and honing in on different variations. I’ve found that the dry dropper, requires you to fish either the dry fly or the nymph, but rarely both equally. Throughout the season, I found that small tweaks – whether adjusting the weight of the nymph, the length of the dropper or sizing up or down the dry fly and adjusting my focus on the “main” fly, made a huge difference in how effectively I could target different types of water. It’s a hugely versatile technique but it’s important to remember it’s not a catch all method either, it does have its downsides too, in that you’ll never fish the dry or the nymph as effectively as you would if you were solely fishing it. There’s always some compromise because you’re fishing both.
The most effective dry flies in the setup for me were size 14-16 Klinkhammers and Deer Hair/CDC Sedge’s, and the most successful nymphs were size 16-18 Silver Beaded Frenchies, though I still found some fish with pheasant tails and olive CDC collared nymphs too. For next season, I plan to focus more on dry flies and streamers.
This variability and constant problem-solving aspect of fly fishing is what keeps me hooked. It’s a puzzle where the pieces change every time you step in the river, and that’s something I truly enjoy.
On a personal level, fishing with family has always been a highlight of the season. As my father says, sometimes it’s not about catching fish at all, it’s just about getting out there.
Fly fishing also offers me a much-needed mental reset. It provides a break from the intensity of work and the everyday. Being out on the water, concentrating on the rhythm of the cast and the flow of the river, is the best form of stress relief I’ve found.”
Tight lines! Ciarán Maye
Anthony is gearing up for fishing now during the colder months. Rooting around the hot-press for his hat and jacket. Sorting out the lure box and bait boxes. I asked Anthony what his plans for over the winter were.
“I will miss the summer and stalking carp in the evening times. I love to tench fish in the evening time also. I love watching my float and seeing the fizzy bubbles getting closer and closer, then the float slowly moves away and disappears.
My aim this winter is to target a bigger perch and maybe try to beat my PB pike. I would like to go to the lakes again for a pike in Northern Ireland. Last time I had some nice ones and feel I’d beat my lake PB this time. My river PB is not very big, but I will be trying to beat that this winter also. I really enjoy fishing the canals on the R. Barrow. My dad fished here when he was my age and grandad tells me lots of stories about very big pike he saw around the spots we go. I have seen big pike before, so I know they are there.
Another favorite thing I have is to have some dinner on the riverbank. I help my dad make stew and we take it in our food flasks. It helps me to stay warm on the riverbank and gives me energy and I can stay fishing for longer. When the blackberries are on the bushes, we take some home and make jam from them to, it’s my favorite jam to have.”
Anthony O’Neill.
Finally, a report from Dan himself:
The last 2 weeks have been quite good with some larger trout showing. I have had some good evenings with spider patterns. A lot of my classes now are on grass or on a lake. Usually, clients trying to get rid of bad habits or make casting a little easier on themselves. I always found the winter months to be best for me to fine tune my casting as I couldn’t fish the river. This would ensure my efforts went into casting and not into trying to catch a fish. Learning the stopping points of the fly rod was probably the most beneficial to me. I would record myself stopping the rod at what I thought to be one o’clock which, to my surprise, could be 2 o’clock. Muscle memory will kick in and you will soon be more accurate in where you can stop the fly rod. Why is this important? Being able to open and tighten your loops is very useful for different angling situations. Also correct loading of the rod takes a lot of unnecessary effort away from the caster. I never thought I’d need to know most of the casts I studied but, lo and behold, I use them all quite often now. I use the thumb on top grip with a fly rod so I tend to use the thought that wherever my thumb is pointing my rod tip must be pointing that way to. So, I now have taken everything closer to me. Instead of trying to blindly guess where my rod tip is I can now visually see my thumb and know where my rod tip is pointing. Once my muscle memory kicks in, I will no longer need visual aid for stopping my rod tip. I will simply have to tell myself where I want to stop it and hey presto! It stops there (usually 😊).
Upcoming Events
The Irish fly fair is upcoming, and I have been lucky enough to have been given a demo slot with fellow APGAI instructor Ray McKeeman. APGAI and GAIA instructors will be on hand to give one-on-one tuition which can greatly help anyone on their fly-fishing journey. APGAI have teamed up with Veniard to have a fly-tying competition. I will be also at the Cadence stand doing the try before you buy with the Cadence rod range. A great opportunity to meet our team and discuss the range.
Casting Classes
This winter I will be having some casting mornings mostly on Saturdays. These are a great way to meet other anglers and improve a certain cast or technique. We also discuss leader set ups, fly patterns and techniques for the season ahead. Contact me for more information on the classes and availability.
Beginner fly fishing for pike class
With the predator season looming I remember starting out for pike using the fly, I tended to get a bit lost so have designed a course aimed at beginners and helping them to get into fly fishing for pike. Contact me for more information on the classes and availability.
