Blog categories
Blog Archive
Blog, Home
Nymphs, spinners and sedge
Ephemerella ignita
Ephemerella ignita has arrived on the river Boyne in considerable numbers and the trout have responded accordingly. Last evening was my first outing with the bwo and what a great one it was. Trout after trout came to the surface to take this medium sized olive unique on the Boyne as it is the mainstay invertebrate on the diet of Trutta Trutta . The spinner of this upwinged fly is of particular signifigance as dark approaches and the female is the most sought after. Male spinners tend to be more obvious in the early morning as light is coming but from my experience are not taken with such vigour. The sheer volume of the hatch last evening was very impressive and was only shadowed by an equally strong showing of Brown sedge with some Grey flags interspersed. The Boyne is in a very healthy state when one sees these great hatches taking place however this was not reflected throughout the club stretches on the same evening. Perhaps hatches are unique to individual areas of the river just like our large Loughs and that factors influencing the hatch are not just right all at the same time.
The trout I caught were in very good condition, fat and well muscled. Many were from a pound up, of course this was due to selection and all were returned into the luke warm water. I was delighted to see the Boyne in such great order reminiscent of those great days many years ago when islands and secondary banks abounded. The Boyne is coming back and is nearly to where it was over 40 years ago one of Irelands greatest wild brown trout fisheries not to mention its prowess as a salmon river.
May fly time
The May fly hatch
Pike fishing !
Pike fishing for me over the past 8 weeks has been non existent primarily due to high water levels and the knowledge that pike switch off when turnover occurs. This is similar to melt down in North America when Spring temperatures release huge volumes of water into the rivers and lakes.
Towards the end of October I made a couple of trips to Monaghan for pike and had reasonable success with 4 nice fish each day. Both days were bright and with a little chill and fish were at 25 feet and sluggish, responding to smaller lures in preference to larger. Since then I have been on the water only to retrieve boats isolated by the floods and for a little wildfowling. Now that the waters are receeding I will hopefully venture out before the week end.
2009 overall was a good pike year given that waters were high even during July and august not to mention the past month. Waters temperatures stayed well within the limits suitable for high pike activity levels and this also ensured low concentrations of algae bloom making it suitable for fly fishing. I am looking forward to doing some winter piking in the year ahead. Happy X mas to all readers.
Good trout fishing ends abruptly
Last week was one of my best for trout for many years with great numbers and quality. It all came to an end on Thursday with the Boyne raging for most of its 70 mile course . Wednesday the Boyne fished from early morning to late evening despite strong winds and some heavy showers all looked good for another spectacular day on Thursday however it did not happen. Over night the river rose 1 foot and was heavily stained.
Best flies for me where the black knat ( Bibio johannis ) size 18, the BWO ( Ephemerella ignita ) size 18 and the reed smut ( Simulium spp. ) Size and shape were most important and of course good presentation was imperative with .16mm at the tip. The best fish was 2.4 lbs but the majority were in the 12 inch category. Overall the short fishing week was very productive and exciting however it will be 5 days before normality returns provided we have little rain in between. Next week is looking as though we might have more rain and wind so the lake will be the preferred option.
Hungry for wild browns
The past two weeks have been excellent for trout fishing with plenty of fish each day and evening. I fished 3 midland lakes and one in the West of Ireland and can only report positively on all venues. Peter fishing was good on each venue with some nice fish taking whole heartedly when conditions were favourable. Fishing in the big wave was always difficult and least productive given that the trout did not favour it and the angler had some difficulty coping with it. Intermediates fished poorly in these conditions and always came out 2nd best to the floater, despite knowing this I persisted on one occasion and paid the ultimate price, my boating companion kept the flag flying.
Fishing on the Boyne has been very good even with slightly high and marginally coloured water. Plenty of simulium about during the day with a good trickle of olives. Evening time good hatches of BWO with a gradual move to sedges before dark and plenty of fish showing. The Boyne has a good run of salmon presently which is very encouraging and hopefully augers well for the seasons ahead. I am very optimistic that the season will finish very well this year on lake and river something to bring us trout anglers through the long winter.
Good trout on lake and river
Last week was very good for trout on lake and river with lots of fly about. For the lake however it was mostly a case of finding where the fry were and then waiting for conditions to come right for the surface mop up to begin. Trout feeding on fry do so by racing through shoals, scattering them and then picking them off individually. We fished fry patterns for most of our outings but claret dabblers were the most successful with the silver invicta and green peter close seconds. The versatility of the green peter never ceases to amaze me, it must be surely one of the greatest flies on Irish waters. I have some 40 different variations of the peter and all of them have worked at some time or other.
The river scene produced some nice trout with small size ( 20 ) in the BWO. Despite some heavy rain showers and consequent colouration in the water the trout remained active. We also fished some upstream nymphs to size 20 with similar success. Best pattern was the pheasant tail with gold bead. Trout on the Boyne are in superb condition and in good numbers also. We had a good number of fish over 32 cms and a handful over 34. I expect that trout fishing will continue to fish well for the coming week and hopefully for the bank holiday week end and The World Cup on Lough Mask.
Pike shut down
For the past week pike have been very quiet and are not responding to a variety methods and techniques. Pike reach maximum activity levels at about 65 degrees fah unlike Muskie who reach top at around 74. I fished 4 lakes during the week and the average temperature at the surface was 70 and these readings were taken in shallows and over deeper water. The thermocline was different on each lake but averaged at 21 feet and interestingly not overprescribed by any particular species. No blanks on any of the days fished with an average catch of 2 fish per day with weight at just over 3 lbs.
As mentioned all methods were used and therefore all depths were fished, the most productive at 10 feet to lures. There was a total lack of response by big fish which were lying on the bottom. The conclusions drawn from this are that pike become inactive at temperatures over 70, that any activity appears to be with the smaller pike and morning and evening are best. Temperature has a great effect on pike, reducing water oxygen content, increasing algae growth and causing fish to go deeper in search of colder water. All fish caught were healthy however they were heavily infested with Argulus. The rain now falling will rejuvenate fishing for the week ahead.
Sunshine, algae bloom and pike
Last weeks fishing was the most difficult so far this year with sunshine, heavy clouds of algae bloom, high water temperatures and lethargic pike. The answer might be to dust down the deck chair apply the factor and enjoy the good weather. This was nearly the case except the 9 foot 10 weight continued to pound the water with enormous lures some even with rattles until each day produced a pike. Steamy chest waders were replaced by designer shorts and shades with copious amounts of factor 30 applied to milk coloured flesh. This is how we set about our task to catch some pike on the fly.
With visibility well reduced on some lakes to 8 inches and the best to 18 inches we used every trick in the book to get a strike. We fished shallow and deep with equal enthusiasm and always felt that success would come in the 4 to 6 foot depth on the basis of visibility and vibration. This was to be somewhat disproven as we took an equal number in both deep and shallow. Bright greens and yellows were the best colours and the rattles were I think the key however I believe that persistence was the most important factor. Wind at times strong did not help drifting and was certainly more conducive to trout. Best fish 11 lbs, best time evening, best lure chatreuse and red ( with rattle ). In general fishing with fly in such conditions is very difficult but not impossible and can only get better when the weather changes and you can't make hay.
Bert Algeo ( 25th of June 1918 to 11th June 2009 )
On the 11th of June 09 one of my great fishing friends Bert Algeo passed away at the age of 90 . I had known and fished with Bert for over 25 years and he was a true gentleman, a wonderful fly fisherman and a great exponent of Lough style fishing. In 1985 Bert qualified for the Irish international fly fishing team something he was quietly proud of. He was always great company particularly during those long days spent drifting the big Loughs of the West of Ireland when often activity levels were low. Bert could inspire you to renewed enthusiasm and vigor with a few well chosen words.
He was among fishermen an ambassador of resolution and had an inherent talent to mend situations and set arrangements in motion. This ability extended to the physical fixing of boats, engines and fishing rods. I can also thank Bert for fixing me many times when attempting to throw all the line on the reel.
The image I have chosen of Bert is the one I will always remember him by for it depicts what he was, eager for the challenge of life, full of anticipation for the simple things and a quiet appreciation for what really matters. I will miss him dearly
