A Hard Day

Today I fished three different beats on the Blackwater (Blackwater Lodge). Starting this morning on Ballygally the lowest beat all was quiet with nothing seen or met.

After lunch I went to Kents a few kilometers upstream of Ballyduff and while I failed to catch anything  I did see one very fresh fish. Not quite sure if it was a small Springer or an early Grilse. The fish was about 4lbs.

Lower Kilmurry this evening looking upstream to the Island, great water for the fly.

I then went to Kilmurry after 6pm for the final few hours. Trying both the Hut pool on Upper and the Island stream on Lower with F/I/S2 head and a 4cm Silver Grey tube, A good setup for searching out the faster water in lower levels though to no avail on this occasion.

I decided to rest the Island Stream before giving it a final run and swapped over to a F/H/I head and a 10cm black/green Samurai. This is a fly that works best casted more squarely and stripped back across the current.

Getting back in at the head of the Island stream I quickly contacted a fish though it was a tentative affair and failed to hook up, still the method worked where 15 min before the standard tactics had moved nothing.

I fished on down the stream getting a good take opposite the bench, just where you'd expect however after a brief fight it turned out to be a Seatrout, unexpected though not unwelcome after along day on the  river.

The Seatrout that fancied a 10cm Samurai

While water levels are very low for the time of year, there are still a few fish coming into the river and while  a good flood is definitely needed, it's still worth a cast on the lower beats. Hopefully I might get out for a few hours tomorrow evening.

There is a great stretch to the evenings now, despite a lot of very dark clouds about this evening it was 9pm before  I stopped fishing.

A Great Morning

The Hut Pool on Upper Kilmurry early this morning.

Encouraged after seeing a few fish on Ballinaroone Beat on Sunday I returned to the Blackwater today fishing the Kilmurry beats (Blackwater Lodge).

First fishing the Hut pool on Upper with out any sign of a fish, I went down to Lower and Started fishing the Island Stream.

After a couple of casts in the top third of the run I had a light pluck on the fly which turned into a savage pull and a screaming reel.  Five minutes later a solid sealiced Blackwater Springer of about 8lbs was safely returned.

After resting the pool for a few minutes,  covering the same lie I quickly connected with a second fish. Another cracking fish which I retained.

Several more fish were showing in the pool, but did not seem interested. Despite fishing on for the rest of the day no further fish were met. Mind you two Springers for a mornings fishing in low water levels can only be considered a great    days fishing.

One of  a brace

Small Silver Grey Temple Dog which accounted for both fish.

It's very encouraging to see a few fish  coming into the river even in these low water conditions. A good flood now would really get things going. Lets hope the rain forecast for next week will be sufficient to give a decent rose in water levels.

Still there are enough fish about that I'll be out again at the weekend.

Tighlines. K.

Munster Blackwater

Despite low water levels on the Blackwater, there a certainly fish present in the lower beats.

I fished Ballinaroone Beat late yesterday afternoon for a few yours and despite not contacting any fish I did see several fish which seemed to be holding in the beat, one of which was certainly mid teens.

Summer water levels and water temps at 11 degrees certainly call for summer tactics with medium to small flies and sinktip lines.

I saw enough activity today to make me go back on Tuesday and give it a full day and while I'm suer the fishing will not be easy as long as fish are present there's a chance.

On a side not here are some Silver Greys tied on tubes with Discs and Cones. The smallest being about  4 cm wing and no body. The movement from theses small tubes with no body and flying hook has to be seen to be believed. I find myself using flies tied on hooks less and less. Though getting really small patterns converted to a tube could be interesting.

The Silver Grey makes for a great pattern in clear water in all levels and is a fly I wouldn't be without on either the Blackwater or the Laune.

River Lee, 21st March

There was some great water on the river today, with levels up about 18 inches, perfect for the Fly and one or two fish about also.

Normally good fishing can be had from Patrick's day onwards.
Water levels have been very good over the last week with generating taking place from lunch time onwards, which certainly seems to be drawing fish up from the lower and middle river.
I walked the four beats today taking a few still shots and some video footage as I couldn't fish and saw two fine Fresh Springers on Beat 1.

Heres a short clip of the conditions today, Perfect !

Yellow Green TD Turbo Disc

A Yellow Green TD incorporating a small turbo disc allowing for great movement of the soft materials even in the fastest of flows.

Here's a short clip of the same fly in action notice how the very slim profile in the above picture flares out once in the water due to turbulence created by the disc giving that classic tear drop profile.

Rusty Nasty TD

A great fly for both peaty and clear water

Another good flood hit the Blackwater on Saturday after very heavy rain on Friday, this time getting well above the meter mark which has encouraged good numbers of fish into the river.

While Saturday was a non runner fishing wise, I decided to give it a go yesterday despite the water still being quite high and with clarity at no more than 12 inches. It was a glorious day weather wise, into the mid twenties and I wanted to try some high water flyfishing tactics.

After Heading up to the WoodStream beat ( Blackwater Lodge),  I found myself greeted by this view of the wheat field in full flow of the Summer breeze.

                             The pathway through the Wheatfield down to the beat.

Arriving at the river I found it still to be still very high and with the clarity bordering on spinning/worming territory at best.
However I decided to give it a go with a 13'7 10/11 GuideLine LeCie couple with I/2/4 line and a 12cm Flaming TempleDog.
After fishing through the usual spots a couple of times I was happy enough with the depth I was getting.

                                                                    12 cm Flaming TD

Having seen a few fish traveling through with no interest in the fly, I decided to go down one size as I couldn't really get any bigger. Keeping to the same pattern though now fishing  an 8cm version I fished though the run again and right at the bottom  I had the a lond draw followed by the weight of a good fish on the line. Unfortunately after playing the fish for a couple of minutes we parted ways, but at least I had hooked a fish on the fly in conditions most anglers would only have spun or wormed.
Would I have caught fish had I been spinning or worming ? Yes probably a couple of fish. Though personally I 'd rather have hooked and lost the one on the fly than banked two on the spinner.
Still it shows that with modern sinking shooting heads and the right flies  flyfishing can be productive even in flood conditions.
All that being said by Tuesday levels and clarity should be in cracking order for the fly, so hopefully I 'll have another update by then.