The end of the season has come for Paddy Dunworth of Celtic Angling but he has one last report for us…
Our game season end on 30th September and as usual the latter weeks of the season saw improved river levels, but ironically our rivers were too high for a lot of it. This impacts river trout anglers more than those seeking salmon or sea-trout, lake fishers aren’t as affected either. The trend of long dry spells and summer-levels by mid-April continued, this mix of drought combined with rain when we would not usually get it is a clear sign that all is not well with the World’s plumbing department.
James McDonagh was gifted an Intro to Flyfishing with me for his 16th birthday back in early June, we finally got around to organising his session a few weeks ago but such was the topsy-turvy nature of the river and windy conditions we had to cancel numerous times. Luckily James lives locally, the visiting Yanks only get one shot at it and have to take it or leave it. As school-goers James and his mate Harry were also confined to Saturdays so that narrowed our choices, but the final Saturday came to our rescue.
Both have never fly-fished but have done a bit of spin-fishing, we used the ideal learning water at Adare, post tide to give us a decent flow. James, at 16 and Harry nearly 15 are destined to be anglers, textbook students, they were keen and attentive and casting a good line within an hour, not over-anxious to catch, both recognised that to be a good fly-fisher one needs to be a good fly-caster. Springtime is the ideal start point for budding fly-fishers, good water levels, no weed nor overgrown banksides, and a whole season ahead to improve one’s skills whilst fishing.
Too few young people are availing of our great outdoors, we don’t realise how lucky we are here in Ireland, most of my clients can only fish when on vacation, and back home fishing is crowded and fish are stocked rather than wild. It was a pleasure to introduce the boys to fly-fishing, they are already looking forward to next season and it’s great that they’ll carry the flag, and keep a watchful eye on our wonderful waterways too. There’s no better antidote to today’s angst-ridden and toxic social media mad World than spending quality time on a river, communing with nature…it’s a Mindfullness us fly-fishers always knew about……a secret of sorts long before the greedy marketeers cashed in on it. Way to go James and Harry!
PS Thanks to James’ mum Caren for her patience with my insistence on ensuring we got a suitable day.
Go fishing…
Notes: Based near the picturesque village of Adare (Ireland’s Prettiest Village)
