“Matching what’s Hatching” with Dan O’Neill
Dan O’Neill shares another excellent fly fishing update…
Matching what’s hatching
With a lot of rain falling over the past couple of nights, the river has risen and is continuing to rise slowly. This disturbs the riverbed, dislodging nymphs and other food items, which the trout really tune into. The past few days have seen the trout change from darker patterns to slightly brighter ones, I found. Golden olive and yellow, introduced as hot spots at the tail of the fly, seem to be working quite well.
I like using flat threads for the smaller nymphs I tie, which are usually size 22 or 24. When fishing low, shallow water, I wrap some very thin lead wire on the hook before I dress it. Generally, I use a 1.5 mm bead or a 2 mm bead.
The Nore has had some hatches, but it depends greatly on the day; nothing consistent yet. One day there would be a superb hatch and rise, while on other days it’s very sparse. Sedges are beginning to appear more often and in stronger numbers when they do show. I’ve had some fish take the dry fly more often when dry-dropping, so have begun to tie my indicator fly on a dropper tag now. It gives it a little more freedom to move naturally that way, I think.
My second set of tutorial videos is now being released. Delighted with the feedback so far; it seems to be helping some of the beginners.
Check out the videos on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok using the links below:
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/share/1RDD9oHGmX/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/troutfishingireland?igsh=dDFraDh5M3E3ZjVq&utm_source=qr
Tik-Tok – https://www.tiktok.com/@trout.fishing.ire?_r=1&_t=ZN-96LwEhHtv78
As time goes by and the weather throws up some warmer days, sedges have become more present around the river. Some of you may have witnessed the sedges diving and hitting the water’s surface. When this happens, I use a small pheasant tail on a size 20/22 hook with a 1.5 mm bead. When casting forward, stop the rod high, allowing the fly/nymph to drop into the water with a splash. The trout see this as a sedge hitting the water and will hit the fly hard. Look for groups of sedges and fish this way nearby; it can be extremely effective.
Matthew Cooper of the Kindale fly tying pro team speaks about โthe simple sedgeโ and talks us through the pattern:
As we’re moving towards the warmer weather, I’ll be covering a brilliant dry fly pattern that can be fished in two main ways. You can simply cast it out and leave it alone, usually called a dead drift, or “skate” the sedge/caddis across the surface with small pulls. I find this simple sedge to be one of the most effective dry flies on summer evenings.
A dead-drifted sedge will certainly produce fish, but adding some movement can make all the difference. I’ll fish these close to the edges of faster water and broken water where sedges seem to gather, usually in the last hour or so of daylight. The takes on these flies can be something else. When you introduce movement into the fly, trout just can’t resist it!
Here’s the materials list for a very simple Coachman Sedge:
Hook.ย Size 10-14 dry fly hook
Rib- Small gold wire
Body- Kindale PhD dubbing
Hackle- Coachman brown cock saddle
(Optional) small tag on the fly- Globrite number 12 coated in UV resin or varnish
I choose to tie these with dubbed peacock rather than real peacock, as it gives the body a much buggier look and is also a lot more durable than conventional peacock herl. I’ve left off the wing on this fly, as it can be a bit tricky for beginners, but with plenty of silicone floatant gel and regular applications of dry fly powder, it will float just fine and still produce fish. If you wanted to add a wing, I would go with deer hair, as its colour can match the sedge/caddis wing and it offers great buoyancy.
Matthew Cooper
You Tube – @matthewcooperflies
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Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/matthew_cooper_flies?igsh=MTVqdXR2dmcwdGh5Zw==
Kindale fly fishing – https://share.google/d0TQHVQtatBFuk4gt
Go Fishing…
