2016

Fishing has been very slow to start so far due to fluctuating water temps and while I managed a couple of March Springers the year, April has been difficult to date with lower temps making fish reluctant to run or even enter the rivers in great numbers. Give us a week of temps above the 10 degrees and they will come  !

A River Slaney Springer

and one from the Drowes.

Guideline LXi T-Pac 12'9 8/9

This is a cracking rod for our Irish waters. A super light rod thats easy to use though well able to deal with sinking heads and any tough conditions our Irish weather is likely to throw at you. I think I have found a new favourite.

Upper Bridgetown Salmon Fishery, Munster Blackwater

2015 So Far

Well after a poor Spring here with hot weather in April and cold weather in May giving poor water levels for our April & May fishing, the first few months of Summer despite no big floods has produced some great Grilse fishing with the odd big fish here and there. A few photos probably sums it up better than any text I could write.

Magic

Well I finally found myself  in the right place a the right time today.

I arrived at Bridgetown Beat of the Munster Blackwater, fishing the upper section. This Beat consists of classic flywater pretty much from top to bottom.

I went straight to the top of the beat to fish a pool which has a lovely run into a sweeping bend and a tail out to die for.

Weather conditions where perfect, a mix of sunshine and cloud and the odd shower, but more importantly it was mild. Olives hatching off and the Trout making splashy rises after the swiftly moving Duns. The Weekends flood had fined of beautifully giving  a nice whiskey tinge to the water.

Fishing a LXi 13'9 9/10 coupled with a 3D F/H/I , tapered flouro leader and an Improved Tummel Tube.

A couple of casts at the top of the run produced a good strong take followed by a spirited fight resulting in my first Blackwater Salmon if the season.

After returning the fish I rested the pool for 20 minutes and started back in at the top. Half way down I noticed a fish show in the tail tight into the far bank. This fish was moving fast so I moved down a bit in an attempt to meet him half way. A good cast putting the fly tight to the far bank and  a good down stream mend to accelerate the fly across the current resulted in a very aggressive take. This fish wanted to go back to sea and did his best to get out of the pool and into the fast run below which is where the fight played out. A couple of powerful runs later and a beautiful bar of silver flanked in the shallow water. 

We spend so much time ensuring we have the right gear, lines , flies, time spent practicing , blank days, floods and yet much of our success still comes down to making the right choice of where and when to fish and being there and then when fish are present and all the little environmental factors come together to give us that window of opportunity. For me thats the magic of Salmon Fishing.

Guideline Demo Day

This will be a great day, with all the latest Guideline gear to try including the flagship Reaction FRS fly rod, LXi and Exceed range.

All the current lines from Scandi to Skagit.

The will be two main demonstrations, one am and one pm with plenty of time to try the gear in between.

Looking forward to seeing everyone there.

Munster Blackwater

Despite lovely weather today heavy showers over the last few days and prolonged rain last night brought the river up again and adding quite a bit of colour, only giving about 1.5 feet of visibility.

However even at these water levels there are still areas worth a go. We gave the castle flat and the tail of the wood pool on Ballyhooly a good going over this morning and the jole and tail of the island stream on lower Kilmurry this afternoon. While there were a few hungry Trout showing an interest things were quiet on the Salmon front.
Ideally we need levels to drop and settle however the forecast for the next day or two are not likely to help with this.
However there is a marked improvement from late Tuesday onwards which provide for much better conditions for the later part of next week.

Putting  a line out over the tail of the wood pool on Ballyhooly. This can be a great spot for running fish.

Nice conditions on Woodstream today

Finally managed to get out for  a few hours this afternoon. It was great to see the river finally come into reasonable order for the fly. With the gauge just under the meter at Ballyduff conditions on woodstream were just about right.
Several fish have been caught spinning over the last couple weeks and its only a matter of time till one is caught on the fly with conditions improving daily.

I fished I/SI/S2 and I/S2/S3 heads with a 4" black and yellow monkey and while the Trout were very eager I was unable to a find a Salmon with the same enthusiasm. Still it was great to be on the river again.
Will get out again before the weekend is out so with a bit of luck !

Blackwater, First Salmon of the Season

The Munster Blackwater's first Salmon of 2014 was caught today on the Blackwater Lodge's lower Kilmurry Beat. A nice fresh fish of about 6lbs. With water levels dropping this should be the start.I'll be getting out on Saturday to give it a go myself. There is not too much rain forecast between now and the weekend so conditions should improve further.

Guideline Diver Sonic Waders - Long Term Test & Review

Ok so I got a pair of these wades last year with about six months left in the season. I teamed them up with a pair of Alta V2 boots with felt soles. They have seen about 60 outings, have not been cleaned or treated, though they are hung up when not in use. Leaving waders especially when wet scrunched up in the boot of the car or wader bag is a guaranteed way to shorten the life of the waders.

As a guide & instructor my waders see a lot of use and to be honest abuse.  Clambering up or sliding down steep banks, long distance walking through fields, forests and scrub. Worn when giving lessons &  courses  throughout long demonstration days. You name it they see it and I can honestly report I’ve not had so much as a pin leak.

The diver Sonic waders are 4 layer though they remain light, have  a good comfortable  shape in the body and bootie with built in gravel guards that do what they are supposed to do “keep gravel & silt out “. There are no signs of tearing around the guard hooks, a common failing on many waders.

The breathability is excellent and kept me nice and dry throughout one of the hottest Summers we saw in a decade.

There was several times when I thought right  I 've put a pin hole in them either via the hook or thorns that moment when your sure you've done it an you spend the next hour checking every ten minutes to see if your lovely new waders are leaking, but to my delight the waders are very tough despite their lightness.

The two front exterior pockets are ample, with a mesh lined outer on one allowing for flies to dry, tippet material, spare heads etc and a waterproof pocket which is great for the mobile and keys or anything else you wish to keep dry. There is of course the ususal handwarmer style pocket that will be ideal in colder conditions.

The belt loops are ideally placed at the right level allowing for the waders to be worn rolled down either with the use the easily adjustable straps or without.

What has impressed me most are the new sonic welded seams. Through my own mistake I ended up with a pair that was one size too small ( a little short) and this is normally the kiss of death for waders as getting up and down banks, kneeling  etc puts large amount of strain on the seams and will invariably end up with leaking seems with the older  style of seam. Not these waders however which have held up very well with no signs of imminent failure. The two images below clearly showing the difference between the older  style and the new sonic welded seam. I would say it's clear as to which is more likely to suffer from leaky seams.

The Alta V2 boots have also proved themselves to be well up to the task of heavy duty use, despite being one of the lightest & most comfortable boots I have worn to-date. Giving ample support to the ankles without an overly tight feeling. Now mine have the felt soles which will be a little lighter than the rubber soles but not by much. I screwed 10 carbide tipped studs into the soles of each boot and the grip has been excellent making for some very comfortable & safe wading regardless of the type of terrain. The studs also providing for good grip on wet grass ensuring I don’t end up getting down the river bank quicker than I want to.

All in all an excellent pair of waders & boots that do what they are supposed to do, keep me dry and comfortable.

Bear in mind that these are a mid range wader and very competively priced. Would I get another pair ? Definitely.

A New Year & A New Season

Ok so the 2014 season is here at least with the main rivers now open since the 1st February and  some since early January.

The Laune system saw fish caught on the opening day on the Flesk along with several more fish in the opening weeks. High water levels meant fish were not holding on the Laune itself and running straight through the river into the lakes and upper systems.

Now since mid January we’ve had some of the most consistently high water levels that I can remember in many years and which meant opening day on the Blackwater and Lee was a non runner and have been ever since, with water levels remaining well over the 2 meter mark, and over 3 meters on many days.

As I write this the wind is howling and rain pouring down outside so there seems not to be much chance for a change of prospects for the coming week or so at the very earliest. So I guess the hunt for that elusive early Springer will have to wait for a while.

Still a little more time is now at hand to plan the season ahead, rods, lines , flies and perhaps most importantly tactics and approach.

This year my approach will be to  use lighter rods where at all possible, 12 – 13 foot 8  and 9 weight double handers along with switch rods, short shooting heads and indeed skagits and generally a more delicate approach.

The plan is for light shooting heads in the 30 – 35 foot range for delicate work with smaller flies and skagits when larger flies are called. Don’t forget an 8 weight skagit correctly set up will easily cast any fly a 9 or 10 weight speyline will, and with a fraction of the effort.

Effort that’s the key, with the hours that we need to put in to catch fish particularly during the spring it’s all about reducing the amount of effort.

Less effort means the ability to fish effectively with higher levels of concentration for longer periods of time. To think about our fishing and to plan each cast in each pool. The lighter outfits also allow for more feel, letting us know what the line is doing and more importantly the fly, ensuring it’s fishing correctly in an attractive manner so when we do cover a fish we are giving ourelves the best chance possible.

In other words to maximise our time on the water and not to fall into that robotic routine of cast and wait. Be proactive rather than reactive.

So lets hope for better conditions in the coming weeks and especially coming into March when numbers of fish entering the river should be on the increase.

 On another note I have made myself a promise  this year to spend more time chasing our wild Brown trout and more so to get back to hunting down the larger specimens using lightweight switch rods and skagits to fish large baitfish patterns and minkies which have worked so well in years gone by. Though with a few tweaks here and there. Watch this Space !

Fort William Fishery Open Day Sunday 28th July

 Fort William Fishery Open Day

Fort William Salmon Fishery in Lismore will be holding a open day this weekend.

Casting Demo and Clinics will be conducted by Andrew Ryan of Clonanav Flyfishing Centre and myself (Guideline Power Team).

All the latest gear from Guideline will available to try from LXi rods to Scandi and Compact lines.

Everything kicks off at 10am with a BBQ on the day and FREE fishing on all the Fishery.

With the weather on the turn this will make a for a great day hopefully a few fish caught too.

Not to be missed.

K.

22nd June, A Day to Remember

Munster Blackwater, Bridgetown Abbey Beat, Two Salmon 12.7 (pictured) and 17lbs approx, Guideline LXI 13'9 9/10, 3D F/H/I head & size 11 cascade, PERFECT !!

There are some very good fish running the Blackwater over the last few weeks and some great fishing to be had. Saturday saw me on Bridgetown Abbey catching two cracking fish and meeting two more.
Now all  I have to do is to find the time to get back out there again.

First of the Season

WoodStream on the Munster Blackwater (Blackwater Lodge)

Fishing woodstream beat on the Blackwater today accounted for my first Salmon of the season. A little later than ususal but it was great to feel the solid pull of a Spring Salmon and to hear the reel sing once again.
Despite the water being a little high for the fly (70 on the Ballyduff gauge), the clarity was excellent so I tackle up the new Guideline LXi 13'9" 9/10  and a compact sink 1/2 and a copper Banana tube on a short tapered flouro leader.
The Salmon took towards the end of the bottom run just were the heavier water starts to tail out, about were I'd expect for the water level in question.
I saw two other fish down the flat though they seemed to be moving through very quickly.

Approx 7lbs and safely returned

Hopefully water levels will continue to drop steadily as this can only improve the fishing. With numbers of fish being caught and seen increasing this can only bode well for the coming weeks and into May which given the right water can be the best Spring month on this river.

Hopefully time permitting I'll get back out again later in the weekend or early next week.

On another note this was the first chance I had to fish with the new LXi rod and I must say it was a joy to use with very little effort required on my behalf. I had it paired with a 9/10 compact head and compline shooting line.
This rod has loads of power in reserve and will have no problems with faster sinking heads and larger flies. Indeed I can't see myself with much requirement for my 10/11 rods for much of my fishing.

Guideline Open Day, April 20th

Clonanav Flyfishing will be hosting a Guideline open/demo day this coming Saturday the 20th.
The new LXi rods and Scandi lines will be available to try along with the ever popular Exceed rods.

The LXi rods are getting great reviews from anyone who has tried them, and really are a rod to be experienced.

There will be Demos by Andrew Ryan and I throughout the day and plenty of opportunities to try the new gear.

Guideline LXi 13'9 9/10

I had the pleasure of trying one of the new Guideline LXi rods on Friday. It was the 13'9" 9/10 coupled with a 9/10 F/H/I 3D line.

I must say it was one of the nicest rods I have tried in along time. 

With a 10/12 Quadra the rod felt incredibly light in the hand and gave great feedback when casting.

This is a rod that would cover most of our fishing in this country and its one I'll certainly be getting for myself.

The LeCies that these rods replace were great rods but the LXi are in a different class and indeed  will put many of the top end rods out there  in their place.

A rare combination of Power, Delicacy and Poise.

February 16th Munster Blackwater

February 16th

Munster Blackwater

Ballyhooly Beat

Height 1.19 meters

Temp 7.9 celcius

A damp & misty but mild morning greeted us on the Woodpool and depite levels being a little high for this pool clarity was excellent.

I fished through the bottom half of the pool (the best bit at this height of water) using a Guideline 3D S1/S3/S5, short leader and a Silver Grey in TD style. This pool has a classic “V” tailout and sure enough just where you'd expect the line tightened a pulled away, unfortunately it turning out to be a kelt though at least it confirmed that I was getting the fly deep enough.

Tools of Choice for the day; 15' LPXE, SI/S3/S5 and a selection of medium sized tube flies.

A few more runs through the pool and down the Gurteen Stream produced a couple of dropped takes which I am pretty sure were spent fish. The morning was soon over and after a quick coffee it was of up to the Castle Flat for the afternoon.

As we passed the Bridge Pool Paul tried a Spinner across the tail and promptly hooked something very large which he played for a few moments before parting ways. Presumable a very very large kelt but your never quite sure when you don't get a glimpse, was it a Springer ??

The Castle Flat produced a couple more kelts over the afternoon but no sign of the one we were looking for.
There's always next time.

A Parting Glance at the top of the Castle Flat

Opening Day 2013

 Searching for that ever elusive early Springer

Opening day saw very high water levels on the Blackwater. However clarity was good so we decided to head of upsstream and try the Ballyhooly Beat.

Levels were just a little too high for the wood pool so we tried the Castle Flat above the bridge. This is a great flat for high water.

We landed several Salmon and Seatrout kelts but that an opening day springer eluded us.

Hopefully waterlevels will continue to drop over the coming week. With all the high water over the previous month I’d be very surprised if there wasn’t a few Springers about, though levels will need to drop in order to have a chance of locating them.

It’s worth noting that depsite the high water levels the I was still able to catch on the fly using one of Guideline's Skagit heads and 15 feet of  T14 with a Banana Fly.

The River Lee accounted for an opening day Springer of 8.5lbs caught below the Ballincollig Weir spinning.

Blackwater Lodge Salmon Fishery

Where will you be fishing in 2013 ?

The Blackwater Lodge Salmon Fishery is with out doubt the preeminent salmon fishery in the country. Comprising 11 fantastic beats from a few  kilometres above the tidal limit to 45 kilometres upstream.

The Blackwater Lodge is now leading the way as a fishery in this country offering not some but the best value fishing. They have slashed prices for 2013 starting at €15 per rod per day in February. There is no  where else that you can search for a springer at that price.

The possibility to be able to search for fish depending on water height and temperature in the Spring months is a big bonus with Springers holding back in the lower beats in cold lower water conditions or running through to the middle/upper beats if we have a milder Springer with higher water levels.

A full days fishing during peak periods will not cost more than €80 for 2013.

To fish such hallowed beats as Upper & Lower Killmurry, Kents and many more at that time of year at these prices is not just a bargain but an opportunity not to be missed.

Looking upstream towards the Wood Pool on Ballyhooly

I am not someone to blatantly push anything onto others, however I can say with all honesty that The Munster Blackwater is one of the great rivers of Ireland and the Blackwater Lodge one of the Great Fisheries. I know where I'll be fishing in 2013,  where will you be ?