I tied these few dry-flies for John O Malley to try on Corrib. I have no doubt that they will work. The mayfly patterns are an adaptation of my NZ emerger. They’re tied with a tail to keep the body on rather than in the surface film. The little ones are that same emerger, just tied in black and much smaller to represent caenis. Caenis time of year in Ireland is rapidly approaching!
Tight Lines.. Ronan..
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The Caenis patterns are tied on a Kamasan 175 size 16 hook, black squirrel body, dear hair wing and white post.
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Size 10 Kamasan 175, Red rib, deer hair and/or red game tail, mayfly colured body, Deer hair wing, high viz or white post.
It was yet another big weekend on Corrib starting at 5am on Friday morning. We first targeted pike to no avail, then John went to work and I focused on trout. The mayfly is up early this year and thankfully the trout are responding to them. For the first time this year I really want to be trout fishing. Gales, thunder, rain and squalls made the going tough all weekend. I met about 12 or 15 trout on Friday but only landed 2. They were good fish though, the best was around 3lbs. I hooked another of about 4lbs on the middle fly (a long shanked invicta) which quickly broke at the knot, then foul hooked him on the tail fly which also broke at the knot! Bad leader i fear. There were not huge numbers of trout showing but there were enough to keep me interested and focused.
No joy for me on Saturday but John had a great fish around the 4lb mark on a wet Green Drake. There were much fewer fish showing. I only moved a few and straightened a Royal wulff in one! Angling author Nicholas Kearns joined us and moved a few fish to the dap..
Sunday was blowing a gale so we decided to avoid the main lake and target Pike in a sheltered bay. We had 2 and lost a few more.
All in all it was a tough weekend on the water but I’m glad to say trout are finally feeding on the top.. not many but enough to fish for and they are catchable. Also, from the fish I’ve seen and heard about, the average size must be up at least 1lb.
All the best! Ronan..
Ps. If the wheels on your vehicle take 5 nuts, 4 wont do.. i nearly learned the hard way…. again!
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Putting the boat in at 6am on friday morning..
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One of Corribs many limestone boulders..
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These clouds carried terrential rainfall!
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Commitment!
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A healthy Corrib Brown..
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Back he goes..
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A fishy looking drop off..
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This trout took a dry as the wind temporarily dropped (one from the flyswap 2 years ago..)
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This is the one.. thanks to the fly tier!
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Day 2.. John into a great fish on the first drift..
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Beautifully marked fish..
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Years of erosion leaves some interesting shapes and forms in the limestone.
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Nicholas Kearns and John!
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Enjoying the spray from the waves!!
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Deserved.. note the old till in the background, still working!
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Preparation for tomorrow!
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The best of 2 fish on day 3.
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The boat back on the trailer ready for another day..
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..
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Almost impossible Corrib conditions..
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Come on wind…
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Renvile in North Connemara, Co. Galway.
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Hunting..
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Fuzz and Puca..
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Fishy looking area but no sign of insect or fish life..