Paddy Dunworth of Celtic Angling reports from the Maigue:
Rob and Sue O’Meara are on their 4th May visit in as many years and staying at my local; Mustard Seed Country House and Restaurant. They now reside in Whitstable, Kent, UK and Rob likes to fly-fish whilst Sue likes Spas and sight-seeing.
It’s a lottery with weather and weather and river levels have a bearing on good fly-fishing, provided one can fly-fish that is. Rob struck silver this time last year with the rivers high after rain and the Mayfly hatch at it’s peak. He had 8 trout on his day with me and next day on his own had some more.
This year is the polar opposite. Spring is still with us and we’ve had chronically low river levels for over a month now, accompanied by a heat-wave in Irish terms. Sea-side rather than bankside conditions, but when you’ve booked your day you must sally forth and so it was that I introduced Rob to a new venue yesterday, Ballyallinan on Deel. Low clear water and rapid growth all round in the shape of overhanging bankside bushes and trees together with beds of mansize rushes and reeds gathered round you, tough for the advanced fly-man, never mind a man more used to reservoir boat fishing.
This is what I term micro fly-fishing, casting within very claustrophobic surrounds to fish who’ll detect the caster’s tiniest error. Shrunken, clear, bright and motionless water, wild easily-spooked trout, and in near jungle surrounds, make no mistake this is as difficult as it gets and is at the pinnacle of skill where fly-fishing is concerned. Those not in the know equate size of fish with difficulty of catching, balderdash… salmon can be notoriously easy to catch, provided they are there and are taking, they even hook themselves if you have the presence of mind not to strike.
Needless to say we drew a blank at Ballyallinan on Deel and hurried to fish a leaving tide at Adare, we were an hour late perhaps as the Maigue had almost dropped back to low water. Rob is an understanding guy and of the same vintage as myself, so he does recognise how various variables impact on fishing prospects.
The second day he goes it alone with gear provided by me, and he likes Adare, arrived in plenty of time today to avail of good ebbing water, for a couple of hours at most….if the bath is low it empties in no time. And Rob’s persistence was rewarded in the guise of a nice brown trout, just the one….but in the land of the blind the one-eyed man is king, Slán Abhaile Rob and Sue, two Whitstable Pearls!
Go Fishing…
Notes: Based near the picturesque village of Adare (Ireland’s Prettiest Village)
