Weather: 15.5° Partly cloudy, with possible afternoon and evening showers. Westerlies, dying out this evening. Lows of 4°
River Flow: 26.9 Cumecs (m³/s)
A few cloudier mornings have started to creep in lately, along with the odd chilly breeze. A sure sign that the seasons are beginning to shift. While reports have generally been positive, it still sounds like anglers are having to work hard for their fish at times.
The smaller rivers in particular have been fishing well, with a noticeable increase in the number of fish being landed, which has been great to see. Even on those bright, clear days the fish are still moving through the systems, but they tend to become much more approachable when the light levels drop. Early mornings and the evening sessions have definitely been producing the better opportunities, especially when there’s a bit of cloud cover around.
Hayley popped into the shop today and kindly shared a photo of this lovely fish she landed on a Slushy pattern. Like many of us lately, she’s been spending plenty of time at the vice tying them up and for good reason too. These flies have been incredibly effective over the past few weeks and are quickly becoming a go-to pattern for a lot of anglers.
The boys have been hard at work restocking the bins this week, tying up a fresh batch to keep up with demand. They’ve been flying out the door like hotcakes, so it’s safe to say the Slushy craze is in full swing at the moment.
Looking ahead to this weekend, for those wondering, we’ll be open on Monday from 8:30am–5pm.
There’s also finally a bit of rain on the forecast for Sunday and Monday, which has us pretty excited. After an incredibly dry month, the rivers are well overdue for a freshen-up. A decent bit of rain should hopefully encourage a stronger push of running fish into the systems, while also giving the rivers that winter flow and touch of colour we’ve been hanging out for.
Like many of you, I’ve been checking the forecast daily, hoping the rain doesn’t dodge us yet again. If it arrives as predicted, conditions could shape up very nicely heading into next week, with every chance of some proper quality fish turning up in the mix.
On the international fly fishing front, my dad Charlie (aka Dinny) headed back home to Ireland at the end of April and has been keeping me updated with a steady stream of photos from his Mayfly fishing adventures.
He’s mainly been fishing the traditional lough style over there, and it’s been fantastic to see what’s happening on the Irish fly fishing scene this time of year. The fishing looks incredible, and the trout themselves are absolutely stunning, beautifully marked fish in some seriously scenic water. It’s always interesting seeing how different the fishing is on the other side of the world, especially during such a famous hatch period.
On another note, for those on the hunt for a good deal, I’d definitely encourage you to jump onto our website and have a browse through the sale section. We’ve got a heap of fly lines, rod combos, and plenty of other gear that needs to find a new home.
There are some seriously good bargains in there at the moment, so it’s well worth a look before it all disappears.
Tight lines everyone!
~ Niamh (Bluey)