With things hotting up for the season ahead, I speak tactics and how I will be fishing the Nore on day one. A recent trip to the Blackwater Salmon Fishery for trout saw me fish with two wonderful anglers from America. George Burdess and I are hosting a demo day at Southern County Fishing Resort on the 12th of April, which will be full of fishing facts about casting and fly tying.
So here we are, counting down the days to set foot into what, for me, is the Kings River and R. Nore. It’s a long off-season for sure, but unfortunately, the one season being just on the same length will fly past; let’s make the most of it and enjoy what’s ahead. The first day of the season for me will be a throw-up between 3 methods: indicator fishing with a 3.5 or 4mm nymph, wet fly fishing, and streamer fishing with my favourite Kelly Gallup patterns. I usually start out with the indicator fishing runs that are a little deeper. Using a Traper indicator in a yellow colour, I do use a permanent marker to cover some of the yellow up a bit. Does that make a difference? I have no idea, but it makes me more confident when I do it that way. Always fish with confidence, if you have a niggle that something isn’t right, then change it so you fish with confidence, that I feel can make a difference. With wet flies, I mostly use Greenwells Glory patterns and March Browns. Set up on just a floating line, 12 ft leader; sometimes I add a dropper at 10ft or two feet up from the point fly. At times, I will put a 2mm or 3mm tungsten head nymph as my point and a wet pattern as my dropper, just to get down in the water a bit. My final method, and one I like is streamer fishing. I use Kelly Gallups patterns quite a lot, really enjoyable way to fish and an active way. Woolly Buggers are quite fun to tie and fish with. These fantastic flies can be varied by your imagination. I use a polyleader, usually IPS3 (Sinks at a rate of 3 inches per second). From the polyleader I tie about 20inches of 8-pound fluorocarbon but have used Maxima with success, too. I tie a Rapala knot to the streamer to give it a little more movement but again have caught many trout using a blood knot. My free Zoom classes go through the above in more detail; if you’d like to register for them, send me an email at [email protected]
Blackwater Salmon Fishery
I was lucky enough to be able to fish the R. Blackwater with Jeff and Taylor Sargeant recently. To hear their stories from back home was fantastic and made me realize why I love guiding so much. We met in Cork and travelled to Blackwater Salmon Fishery, a favourite fishery of mine and one I don’t visit enough. Jeff and I fished before, and Taylor was keen to learn, and learn she did. It wasn’t long before we had some trout, which were a sight for sore eyes as it’s been a while since I saw the wonderful golden flanks of this fantastic fish.
We had a coffee break and some Hobnobs, the biscuit of champions. After that, we went on to fish further downriver and again met some lovely trout. It’s amazing how fishing with someone leads you to feel you have known them all your life. Armed with some pictures, memories and new favourite biscuits, we hit the road back to Cork and drew a line under what was a fantastic day.
Trout Fishing Ireland Zoom series
In recent weeks, some of you may have seen my free Zoom classes. The classes were designed to help people with fly fishing and different techniques. It also helps people who are travelling to Ireland from abroad to fish here. There are many topics so be sure to check them out and email me at [email protected] for details on times and dates. See below for a list of topics,
- Dry dropper
- Wet fly
- What to expect when fishing in Ireland
- Equipment Maintenance
- Beginners course
Southern County Fishing Resort
George Burdess and I are hosting an open day at the fantastic Southern County Fishing Resort on the 12th of April. At the event, I will be holding casting demos and tuition and equipment talks. We will go through different leaders, line types, etc. George will be holding a fly-tying demo and giving advice on what flies when. Help on how to match the hatch and more. There will also be kids fishing on the kid’s pond, where we will use both bait and flies to try to catch some Roach, Rudd, Carp, Perch and Trout, so be sure to come along to what will be a great family fun day out. For details, contact me at:
Dan O’Neill, 0857652751, [email protected]
Irish Spring Angling Fair
I will be at the Irish Spring Angling Fair with Cadence and my association, APGAI. The full Cadence range will be there to try. The new Predator range is well worth checking out and why not come for a cast with me to test out some of the range. Other Cadence Ambassadors will also be there to give expert advice and talk about the range. Apgai Ireland will be holding a kids fly-tying event, there is also kids casting on site. A great chance to learn the basics for those budding young anglers. A fair not to be missed on the 3rd and 4th of May at Ardaire Springs Angling Centre.
