The River Whispers 6

This week I fish with Georges Milan from France and a very interesting week it was. Martin Barrera Oro will be talking to us about getting kids involved in fishing. Maddison Lewis from Long Island joins me an evening’s fishing and speaks a bit about how it went. Anthony is back and speaks a bit about his winter plans. Then it’s my turn to bore you all with a little river insight and talk about the past couple of weeks.

Firstly, I am going to take a look at fishing with my now good angling friend Georges Milan from Lyon, France. Georges and I had some phone conversations on the build-up to our trip. Georges asked all the right questions and it was obvious from our conversations he was quite a competent angler. For our 6 days of fishing i had picked 6 different locations and mixed up the difficulty of the locations. Dry fly was George’s passion which was obvious once I spent some time with him. We discussed leaders and set ups, we didn’t always agree 😊 but tried each other’s set ups and caught fish on both which is all a part of angling, don’t be afraid to try new ways. The only way to get different results is try something you never have. The results may be positive or negative compared to your standing results but always keep an open mind.

We started at 5/6pm most evenings until dark, mostly dry fly fishing with some wet fly fishing also. We tried dry dropper also and had some nice fish. I have mentioned before how angling has a habit of bringing people together and making them share an angling bond. Heading to pick up Georges each evening i now miss, we would talk about fishing, get our waders on and then fall into the zone and almost the river on a couple of occasions.

Having a record of 28 trout on the dry fly on our final day and a lovely 38cm brownie our trip came to an end. Georges is due back at the end of September for 3 days where we will try to beat our existing records on his leader set up.

Martin Barrera Oro doesn’t really need much introduction he is very quickly becoming popular. Martins company Ireland Anglers Flyfishing based in Dublin works a lot with beginners, children and advanced casters. Martin also hosts trips to various destinations but this week I wanted to hear from Martin about getting kids and beginners involved. This will be a 2- or 3-part series and is very interesting.

“As with all sports, the sooner you commence with your children, the better. Instruction will teach them the important skills of patience, accuracy and persistence giving them a great head start in this very fun and rewarding activity. Clearly, it can be challenging on the outset, due to the fact that they have a small window for attention and patience. However, speaking from experience if you make the activity like a fun game, everything is possible.

I always start my classes with “let’s play with the rod, let’s throw a line in the air”. I keep reminding them it is a fun game and if they play hard and practice then they will catch some fish. The best and most important part.

Every child is different but I feel that anywhere between 7 and 10 is perfect. My five-year-old started at the age of 4 and has already picked up some important techniques and experience.

I like to encourage the parents to join their kids, taking some time out of their schedule to take the kids to local fisheries where they have stocked ponds where they can hook some fish. At this age hooking a fish can pique their interest in the sport.

Based on experience, a very important factor is choosing the right venue to take your budding anglers. Look for facilities that have an area where you can rest and take a break or shelter if needed. Lots of short breaks can be the key to success.

Always remember kids are more sensitive to the elements such as rain, wind etc and in Ireland we have plenty. Make sure you and the budding angler are well prepared for the elements. If you have experience in angling try not to get frustrated with your Childs lack of experience, remember this is their time to learn and progress.

Maddison Lewis was in Ireland to celebrate getting engaged. What better way to do that than on the River Nore with his best friends casting a fly. Maddison usually fishes the snake river which is a destination I will one day get to. We spoke about fishing and of course his upcoming wedding which I assured him would be one of the best days of his life and to enjoy every minute as I did with my wedding day.

“I generally fish the snake river, the trout there can be large, and my preferred method is dry fly or dry dropper. I was excited to fish the Nore as i heard so much about it from a friend that fished with Dan last season. Using an 8ft 6in 3wt was for sure different for me and it took a few mins to get used to it. The delicate presentation took time and I did spook some fish on my first attempts but eventually cracked it. My first trout was about 28cm and fought so hard on the light set up. The first thing to hit me was the colours of the fish. I usually catch brookies which are beautiful, but the golden colours of the trout were fantastic and their spotted patterns were unique. The fly we were using was a simple CDC sedge pattern that i will copy for sure. The fish really hit it and the takes were so exciting. We used a small emerger also pre-rise and the takes were very delicate which made for some eye-straining fun. I’m not sure I will get away with spending my honeymoon here but it will be up for discussion at least”

Anthony is now back to school so last-minute fishing trips are off the cards for now. We have planned to take another trip this season with Ronan Murray from Irish pike guides. The Barrow will be re-visited and perhaps some lake trips for Rainbows. All very exciting and a tackle turnover in the gear bags will be happening soon.

“I used to hate winter times but now that I have started predator fishing i look forward to it. I really enjoyed my trip with Ronan last season on the boat for pike. I caught lots of pike and perch to. My dad said we will go again this year so am looking forward to that. I want to try dead baiting and hope to beat my pb pike this year.

We will also be fishing the barrow for roach and bream. I enjoy fishing for them and find that there is usually a pike nearby the shoals. I am going to reline all my reels at the weekend and make sure they are all ok. I will check my tackle bags to so i have all the stuff that i will need for the winter.”

Irish fly fair 2024 Killyhevlin Hotel Enniskillen

I have been lucky enough to be invited back to give a demo at the Irish fly fair. I really enjoyed my time there last year surrounded by passionate anglers. I will be there with Cadence and Apgai Ireland also so make sure to stop by and say hello. A great event to get to speak to some of the best in the business and gain some hints and tips as I will be doing.

Tip for the week

So, with many of us getting ready to switch to heavier rods and cast some hefty flies, it may be time to do a little practice. Let’s take those rods out and go for a cast over grass. I sacrificed a pike fly by cutting off the hook so I just had the shank with the pattern attached. I have been using a 3wt with size 22 dry fly the last 3wks so switching to a large fly on an 8wt can be a shock. An exercise i do with people to speed up their adjustment to a different rod or set up is i underline a rod and also overline. I put a 5wf on my 8wt rod and an 8wf on my 5wt rod. This will get the caster use to adjusting quickly and really working on adjusting technique to suit the rod / set up. If you have a few friends then really mix it up and don’t tell them what’s on what, they have not got a clue what to expect but only allow the 4 casts to adjust. Fun game during the off season and will really strengthen your casting when your blessed with a balanced set up.

So here we are at the end of August. Fishing has been good overall over the past couple of weeks with some great trout. Dry fly fishing has been good but in the past few days at about 8.50/9pm it cools a little and the rise shuts off that bit quicker. I have been lucky the past couple of weeks and got to meet some great anglers. I enjoy watching them fish without interfering, perhaps they will approach something differently or try something that I would be afraid to try. Some want to progress and learn, they say that when a child is young their mind is like a sponge and it’s very easy for them to pick up new languages or such. How about we look at our angling journey through the mind of a child, allow ourselves to gain all that extra information. Really break down what we are trying to achieve be it a cast or a method. If you are struggling then ask a fellow angler or me, anyone that reads this can contact me and I’m happy to speak and learn. As an instructor it makes me stronger and more knowledgeable by teaching as many people as I can, in fact i get more from the person I’m teaching than they get from me mostly. Explanation is key but it must be remembered there is always more than one. With a busy and exciting couple of weeks ahead i look forward to updating you all in the next edition.

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