Articles

River Barrow, guiding for Shad
River Barrow, guiding for Shad   A couple of angling friends, Shad virgins shall we say, asked me to join them on the mighty River Barrow for an introduction to targeting Twaite Shad. How could I resist the opportunity to re-visit one of my favourite Irish venues?       I missed my chance to fish for Shad on the Barrow last year, and hadn't actually planned a trip for this year, 2018. But on the years that I don't visit the Barrow Valley at St.Mullins, I always feel th...

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Uptiding for Undulates
Uptiding for Undulates   With a matching pair of new Greys Toreon GR75 Uptide rods to put a bend in, I was on the look-out for a suitable venue to play with them, and it wasn't long until I found one.       I was thinking of towing the Fast Fisher down to Kerry in search of Stingray and Undulates, a great test for the rods, and I happened to mention this to my good buddy Sid Kennedy based in County Cork. He had already decided to tow his Quicksilver across to Fenit in T...

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Trip to County Clare
Trip to County Clare   I first met Florian Peter at the Pure Fishing Trade show towards the end of last year. He owns and runs a tackle shop in Ennis, County Clare.       From our chat, it was obvious he was big into predator lures, but it was also obvious that Florian was a knowledgeable angler, a nice lad and importantly, someone I would like to fish with. I love fishing outside my comfort zone, learning new methods (new methods to me, that is) from experienced angle...

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Into The Mist
Into The Mist I recently bumped into Harry Clinton and his son Michael in Alastair Smyth’s tackle shop, “Tight Lines” on the Albert-bridge Road, Belfast. I hadn’t seen Harry in a while, and although we threatened to fish together on a few occasions throughout the years, it had never transpired. It was time to rectify that, so I made a promise to take them out a run on my next sea excursion.     Until now, the weather for the beginning of 2018 hasn’t ...

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Yearning for the Erne.
Yearning for the Erne.   It has been a while since I wet a line, and an invite from an angling mate Simon Gibson saw us heading for the Erne in County Fermanagh in search of Pike, hopefully on the fly. A large fish would be sweet, but to be honest, I am at the stage so far this year where any fish and any size would be more than welcome!       Simon recently bought himself a wee boat, it’s fast and stable and easy to fly-fish or cast lures from and on this day, w...

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Pike Angling at the Melview Lodge, Longford
Melview Lodge, Longford. As I write this article, I face a dilemma. On the one hand, I wish to extol the virtues of Kevin Lyons, his guiding capabilities, his excellent range of boats, superb accommodation and huge wealth of angling possibilities that surround him.         On the other hand, until now, I have had Kevin mostly to myself, and would like to keep it that way! However, Kev has become a good friend over the years and in fairness to him, and any budding or exp...

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Is it too late?
Is it too late? If you never read another article of mine again, please take the time to read this one. It is not happy reading, but it IS a reality.   We are on the cusp of a change in times, and have the power to steer our sea angling towards sustainability. After many years work, we are now being listened to by government departments.     They realise that, as recreational sea anglers, we have a case to be heard and should be fully included in these changes. They also acc...

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Specimen Hunters Diary 2017
Specimen Hunters Diary 2017   A look back over the trials, tribulations and memories of the season past.         As usual at this time of year, whilst watching the blizzards and rainfall beating against the windows, and feeling sorry for myself, I tend to reminisce of my angling memories created the previous season. As a dedicated specimen hunter, the emphasis is always placed on the spectacular catch, that “fish of a life-time”, but that shouldn&rsquo...

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The Hardy Zephrus Fly Rod
The Hardy Zephrus Fly Rod   Testing the Zephrus against another wily predator.   Towards the end of summer 2017, I was delighted to receive a twelve weight version of the Zephrus from Hardy Tackle, and told to bend it into some decent predators and give an honest appraisal as to its performance! Combined with the Fortuna Reel, although expensive, is un-doubted a top-class fly combination.         I put the thinking cap on, and for an initial field test, too...

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Targeting Specimen Roach
Targeting Specimen Roach or “Get your waggler out” (Written in 2012)       Throughout the month of March I concentrated my efforts almost entirely on the pursuit of Perch, in an attempt to find the elusive three-pounder. Unfortunately I failed to hit this target, but with my angling mate Glenn Drennan joining me in the challenge, we caught so many Perch and bonus Pike in the process that our exploits were far from disappointing. We both learnt a great deal ...

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