THE MUCH storied Corrib, a large crystal-clear limestone lough is possibly the finest trout and salmon fishery in Ireland. Here Gavin and his pal are heading out for a day's May Fly fishing on from the Mayo side. Its mid afternoon with a slight breeze and a major hatch is happening out on the lake
Stretching over 200 km², over a limestone bottom, Corrib is an amazingly rich ecosystem which supports a massive population of wild brown trout. They are among of the strongest fighters you will hook anywhere and put up a fight  far beyond their size.
Fish over 10lbs are taken on the fly every year and trout of 5lbs to 7lbs are not uncommon. There are also large ferrox trout caught by deep trolling (the Corrib record was a fish of almost 22lbs and was broken in 2004 ).

The Mayfly are hatching as never before

It may look daft but there is no other way to get the Mayfly
 
Lough Corrib of fishing fame
Sir William Wilde wrote a book on the lake in 1867. Many more have been published since, including the celebrated A Man May Fish, by TC Kingsmill Moore which was described by Hugh Falkus as the greatest book on sea trout fishing and one of his top 20  angling books.

Corrib's fishing season falls into distinctive periods when certain methods far-out fish others. Starting with opening day on 15th February wet fly fishing is the norm when the fish can be found feeding on shrimp, hoglouse and small fry. This is followed by the duck-fly which usually starts in mid-March and continues to mid-April. At this time buzzer fishing is by far the best method but dries and small wets can also work.

From mid-April to mid-May there is 'Olive' fishing on wet, dry and nymphs during which time buzzer can also play a major part. Early May to mid-June brings the famous 'Mayfly' hatches. The fishing at this time can be superb for both wet fly and dry fly, as well as dapping the live insects.

A few casts later...
 

and Gavin is into a nice lake trout

Hatching throughout the olive and mayfly hatches are massive buzzers which trout also feed on. An evening spent gnat fishing fishing is also recommended.

The Mayfly season is such a phenomenon that the local school children get a special week's holiday to collect Mayfly and sell them to the visiting anglers to make some pocket money.

June to mid-August daytime trout fishing depends on weather conditions, whereby early morning and late evening fishing can be more productive when sedges hatch in large numbers. Mid-August through to the end of the season trout can be found over deep water feeding on daphnia as well as on sedges and fry in the shallows.

In summary, throughout the entire fishing season, these loughs offer the visiting angler ample opportunities and varied methods to catch beautiful wild brown trout for which this region has become so famous.

Its all about the Mayfly hatch

At the end of the day, nice Loch Corrib trout

Written in 1960, but with the quality of the great thirties literature, A Man May Fish has a character all of its own. This is probably a reflection of the character of the author, an extraordinary man who served as a judge in Irish Supreme Court.  Kingsmill Moore was an skilled fisherman who had a lifetime's experience of angling for brown trout, sea-trout and salmon in Donegal and Connemara to draw on. He told of a comment made by an old man in the West of Ireland, who remarked in Gaelic to his gillie, 'There goes the last of the ould lot and he's sticking it out well.'

The book begins with the statement: 'It may have been fortunate that fishing was not made too easy.' It ends with a frustrating hint at all the other stories he could have told - '... of the magician of Fermoyle (though that was only one of Jamesie's tales); of the house abandoned when the roof was ready because it had been built across a fairy pass; of the lad who described to me how, as a boy, he had been taken away by the fairies and returned by them because he would not eat or drink, none the worse save that he was deaf and dumb for a fortnight - indeed rather the better for the fairies had given him the whisper and the touch for a sick cow; of the fears and hauntings of that wild upland, and the great grey boulders that play grandmother's steps with you as the night closes in.' In between it is solid gold.

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It is worth quoting a short extract from the preface to the first edition, where Kingsmill Moore describes what fishing meant to him. "What fishing has meant and means, to me may be summarized in a plea and a protest. A protest against the itch to make records, the urge to extract every possible fish in any way that is not illegal, the desire to go one better than the next man; a plea that fishing should be not so much a pursuit as a pastime, calling for concentration sufficient to put all worries out of mind, yet not such concentration as to be in itself exhausting."

In the book he writes: "The angler, like the fish, should always be experimenting, always trying to approach as near as he can to the critical line without crossing it." This is an extract from the chapter Why Do Fish Take? An Excursion into Psychology.

Although Kingsmill Moore is one of a long line of fishing authors who were lawyers or judges, some of whom wrote more entertainingly than others, Kingsmill Moore's writing is  accessible and entertaining. He imparts lots of information on the design and tying of Irish fly patterns. It  is essential reading for any historian of these important flies. Donald Downs painted the Kingsmill and Bumble flies tied by the author that are on display in The Flyfishers' Club.

Fishing in Ireland is never without its characters and Irishman boatmen are no exception. Here we meet Jamsie who is described as having a memory like an elephant, vast knowledge and, I would like to think, a pleasing streak of deviousness. As Conrad Voss Bark wrote in his introduction, Kingsmill Moore has "that rare gift of being able at the same time (as writing about fishing) to illuminate Ireland, and in particular the people of Ireland whom he loved."

Some links

Where Wise Men Fish

The Eden Angler - Geoff Johnston

Recommended Reading

"Flyfishing in Ireland" by Peter O'Reilly

Some Comments:

Fly fishermen have been catching trout and salmon from Ireland's abundant rivers and loughs for centuries. This practical fishing book, written by Ireland's top fly-fishing instructor, Peter O'Reilly, looks at the rich tradition of game angling in the Emerald Isle. This is your perfect companion guide to fishing Ireland's loughs and rivers. Includes details for tying 41 patterns for salmon and trout on loughs, rivers, and estuaries with hints on choosing the right fly.