Ronan's Report

I’m a bit late with the blog this week because i’ve been out fishing every evening. I’ve been chasing small trout from local mountain lakes. They keep me sharp! Anyway, here is the news..

Dad and I enthusiastically set off on Saturday morning hoping for a decent day buzzer fishing on Corrib. Conditions were good. We fished hard all day and rose one fish for our efforts. Reports from the lake are terrible.. Competition results really sum it up. 20 anglers out in a competition on Sunday for zero fish. Yes, ZERO.

As planned John and I set off early on Sunday morning  to meet up with other Irish pike fly fishermen. We are all members of the PFFA, the meeting was arranged through the forum which is for members only. The Irish Pike Fly Fishing Association has very few members so why not join us and come along to the next fishing meet! Here is a link.. http://www.pffa.co.uk/clubmembership.htm

John and I arrived 10 minutes late and the lads were already on the water so we got rigged up quick and started fishing. Johns fly resembled a dead parrot and i suggested he change it.. the words hardly left my mouth and i was made eat them! John was in (he asked me not to tell you that this was his first pike of 2011 so I wont because I’m a true friend). After a good battle I netted johns superb 20lb plus pike. We need a scale (and a bigger net!). That was all our pike action that day. One of the other lads had an 11lb fish and moved lots more.

For the last few hours we targeted trout. This worked out well because they started rising in the evening to adult chironomid (duck fly we call them over here). We had 14 on buzzers, small wets and dries. That was 12 fantastic hours on the water.

Tomorrow I’ll be on corrib (for pike! but I’ll have a trout rod too).. or maybe somewhere new? not sure yet…

Good Luck! Ronan..

I started the day doing a few drifts close to reeds for a pike. John was with me for a while in the morning and moved 3 pike to my 0 but got none into the boat.. when he left i went down the lake in search of buzzer feeding trout, I found none but rose one trout of about 1lb blind. on the same drift something told me (God I think!) to reel in the trout flies and fire out the big dog for a pike. I did. I counted down the first cast for about 5 seconds then stripped away, 1,2,3,4 boom! A super fight followed from a large tail walking pike of about 17lbs. Because it was the first cast in open water more suited to trout (or so i thought) i assumed there must be loads of pike in the area. I did a lot more drifts in similar water but did not get another pull. This day on the water taught me 5 things.

1. I need a bigger net (a weigh net preferably).. two failed attempts because the fish was too long!

2. I need a tripod for the camera so that I’m not fumbling around trying to set it up on a boat seat and I need to know the distance to be away from the camera so that i don’t cut the head off any more fish!

3. While fishing for trout it pays to make a few casts every hour for pike. Pike water can be discovered this way that wouldn’t otherwise be.

4. Don’t hold a pike like a trout. (as in pic!) I reckon the best way to hold them is gently but firmly by the gill cover while supporting the flanks or belly.

5. When God speaks, Listen!

Next weekend John and I are heading to Lough Lene to meet and fish with a gang of anglers from the Irish Pike flyfishers association. More on that in about a week. Have a good one!

Ronan..   PS. I also learned that Paul should send me a free hat!

A good pike finally, and one I'll never forget..

Not many fish to report from the weekend but it was not all bad. I managed one nice trout in flat calm conditions on Corrib with Dad on thursday. I fished with just 2 buzzers on a 5lb flourocarbon leader. If there was any breeze at all  would have been fishing 3 or 4. I’ll tie a few for a blog in the near future.

Friday I was on sea without a flyrod with my good friend Fuzz.. We got a feed the old fashioned way with our hands and spears!

Saturday Fuzz and I fished the Corrib for both pike and trout but we had no success. I did explore a large chunk of the lake i never fished before and did not see a single fish. Conditions were tough once again. I’m really looking forward to a day on this lake when everything is just right.

By the way there are still no pike near Maam! Bad mistake putting my boat there for the early part of the season.. I’ll know better next year!

Enjoy the week! Ronan..

I woke up to a perfect blue sky day with hardly a breath of wind.  I did a little work but could not get motivated because I was inside… so I thought, Dam it. I’m going outside! First I went to Crumpan and and got myself a feed of cockles for dinner, Then went for a snorkel in the same place to see if the fine weather brought any mullet in. It did. Mullet are a bit of a curse because they offer many of the things a fly fisherman looks for but are just about impossible to catch. They can be spotted cruising near the surface apparently feeding. When a shoal is located they draw the angler in completely. Absolute concentration happens without effort. Flies are changed often due to constantly being ignored. They keep your full attention until dark or until you just give up. All of the above happened when I targeted them after I got out of the water. I had one take on a size 14 Green cdc weed fly (a dry because all my best mullet success has been on dries). The hook up was brief and I had no other chance. In my experience with mullet that was a good evenings fishing! Time for dinner…

Ronan..

One small trout is all we landed on Lough Mask last Thursday.. Conditions were ideal. We covered water that should have held fish but it simply felt like they were not there. I think our great lakes are in trouble and i dont know what to do about it besides practicing and preaching catch and release. I believe working on the spawning streams would be a good idea too though. On a brighter note i heard some good catch reports from the lower Corrib on Saturday. Buzzer fishing will soon be in full swing!

Pike fishing on Saturday was great fun. I had 4 and they are much stronger than they were a week ago. I’m yet to meet a really big one but I’m enjoying the search! When john puts his boat in the lower Corrib it will open up many opportunities for big ones i think. Build the dam trailer john!!!

A great win for Ireland in the rugby followed by a few pints in Galway topped of the day beautifully!

Have a great week all.. By the way, I’ll have a sexyloops email address soon so if anyone wants to contact me it will soon be possible. Thanks for reading!

Ronan..

This day last year paul and I were getting ready to leave NZ to head for the Northern Territory in Australia. We arrived in Darwin on Paddy’s Day, Traditionally a fishing day for me but the Guinness got the better of us on that occasion. We were on the water the next morning… afternoon maybe, we don’t wear watches!

Tomorrow is Paddy’s Day once again and also my 20th fly fishing anniversary. I remember that first day very clearly. I was with my Dad and my Grandad on Lough Corrib. I fished hard all day with freezing hands while putting up with some abuse such as “you’ve been watching me casting for fuckin long enough now to know how to do it” and “It looks more like whipping a bull than casting”. It was half in gest… I think! I kept trying and persistence paid off with a 1.5lb brown on a Black Zulu.  All 3 generations were delighted and I never looked back. Dad (Joe Creane) and I fish together in NZ every year. I wish my Grandfather, Paddy, could have been there with us, however I’m thankful for all the great days the 3 of us had on the water together,  Without them I would not be able to think like a trout!

Tomorrow Dad and I are going to take on Lough Mask…

Ronan..

I arrived at Corrib on Saturday morning to find it like a sheet of glass. My plan was to target trout since the season is open again but with bright sunshine and not a breath of wind to push the boat along there was not much point. I set up a rod for trout anyway in case the conditions changed but first i went after pike along the reeds in front of Ardnasillagh Lodge where i rented the boat. I had 3 pike within half an hour all 4-5lbs and then things went quiet. At 2pm I left the bay and ventured out into the lake to inchagill hoping for a breeze to get up by the time I got there. It didn’t! This time of year on Corrib a little wind is essential so I went back to where I started in pursuit of pike and boated one more of about  6 or 7lbs in the evening. It was a great moment, The pike cruised towards the fly from the side with his fins out of the water like a shark, he bumped the fly first so i paused, Then a slow strip away and he nailed it! I enjoy fishing with friends but sometimes it’s great to be on the water alone. I think it gives you a more genuine appreciation of nature and your surroundings. One disadvantage however is trying to photograph fish with the 10 second timer! You have one chance then the fish goes back whether or not you got the fish in the frame. It was great to get a few fish finally. No big fish yet but persistence pays off, or so they say!

I stayed at johns on Saturday night and tied up a few flies for Sunday. We fished out of Maam again and i can safely say there are still dam all pike in this part of the lake. I hoped that in the 3 weeks since we last fished it some fish would have moved in but we haden’t as much as a pull all day. I’ll try it again in a few weeks…

Spring is well and truly in the air and it feels fantastic!

Tight lines All…    Ronan..

Nothing to report from Saturday. The lake was very high and coloured from huge amounts of rainfall all week. Fished hard all day in Oughterard bay but no action. The highlight of the day was a cup of tea!! If anyone has some info they would like to share, or join me for a day, please contact me on facebook.. Cheers!

Ronan Creane

Sunday was the fourth or fifth time out on Corrib from Maam this year.  I put the bad fishing the first few times down to adverse weather conditions but now I believe the pike just aren’t in this part of the lake yet. Corrib is a massive body of water and pike, like trout, probably have movement patterns around the lake throughout the year. I won’t fish out of Maam again for a while. John and I fished hard all day for one small pike. There were 3 polish lads spinning and trolling in the same area and they did not catch any fish at all so this backs up my theory. Next weekend John and Iwill fish out of Oughterard. We’ll crack them yet! Just have to find them first…

I forgot my camera so had to use my phone! My apologies for the slightly dark images.

Later! Ronan..  (stuntman ci)

I didn’t make it out on the water last weekend, no great excuse, just too much partying! Next weekend will see me (and John) back out on Corrib.. and preparation has started.  Here are a few flies John and I tied up.. The weather is getting a little milder here so hopefully that will improve our chances. Time will tell!

I’ll report back on Monday… Stuntman Ronan..