Articles

Mackerel on the fly
Mackerel on the fly   Having recently achieved an old ambition of landing a Blue Shark on a fly rod, it led me to fondly reminisce of a trip some time ago when I had the opportunity to target Mackerel on the fly.         As I prepared to launch the Fast Fisher at the slipway in Portaferry, my angling mate Ryan Jones rang to ask if there was anywhere worth shore fishing. He was feeling a bit low and wanted to “get his head showered” as they say here in ...

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Early season Carp angling
Terry’s Travels   Carp   Originally written for Irish Angler Magazine, back in 2011.       With new JRC "Razor" rods and Abu Cardinal reels just in from Pure Fishing Tackle Company,  I had to go carp angling, and waiting for a break in the bitter cold weather was a luxury I no longer had. With a few days free, I rang Sid and told him I was on my way. He voiced his concerns that it was still quite cold, and it could be a wasted 290 mile journey, bu...

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Fly Fishing for Shark part 2
Fly Fishing for Shark part 2 Featuring the Hardy Zephrus SWS and the Hardy Fortuna XDS reel The final part of my recent challenge in “hooking-up” a Blue Shark on the fly rod, featuring the amazing new Hardy Fortuna XDS reel and Hardy Zephrus salt water series fly rod. Check out the video clip at the end of the blog!       Back in May of this year, I received my Hardy fly kit in preparation to target a Shark on the fly. I have always wished to do this, and with th...

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Wreck Trip
Wreck Trip   A recent invite from my angling pals down south saw me loading up the jeep once again and heading for Cork Harbour.         This would be an off-shore trip, and at long last, a chance to put a bend in the GX2 30-50lb boat rod from Shakespeare. I have had the opportunity to play with most of the range, from the short Kayak Rods right up to the 20-30lb class, and cannot fault the product in this price range. The 30-50lb is ideal for off-shore wrecks, re...

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Dont forget the C Word
Don’t forget the “C” Word!   As an “all-rounder” specimen hunter in Ireland, when I hear there are sizeable fish being caught on a venue somewhere in the country, it is extremely frustrating that I cannot drop everything immediately and hit the mark! And I realise that all anglers suffer from the same complaint. (For further info..click on highlighted subjects throughout this blog)     Only last week for example, large Spurdog were showing locall...

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Carping and kipping
Carping and kipping   Continuing on from my West Cork adventure, despite not having had my fill of chasing Mullet, Mother Nature had other ideas!           Wind direction swung from Northerlies to straight South and increased in speed dramatically. This was her way of saying “enough for now”! Stalking Mullet with finely tuned tackle was no longer an option. These are the moments when a contingency plan is necessary, and mine was already in place,...

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Finding my mojo!
Finding my mojo!   A few weeks ago I stated on social media that I had lost my fishing mojo! This symptom is without doubt a combination of many variables. The loss of several top angling marks due to some immigrant fish munchers and law breakers along with numerous bouts of bad luck that simply kept “knocking me down in 2017”.     As anglers, we all take a few knocks in search of dream catches, with weather conditions being one of the biggest “hitters&rdqu...

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Offshore, Antrim Coast
Ballycastle It has been quite a while since I ventured out to sea but with a brief weather window available I decided to give the Fast Fisher a much-needed run out.   Andrew Wolsey joined me to see what was about, and we decided on trying the deep water reefs of the Antrim Coastline.     There hasn’t been much news of Mackerel shoals but we were delighted to run into some large Mackerel quite quickly, most tipping the scales at around a pound. These larger examples hav...

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Decoy Lake
Terry’s Travels Decoy Lake   My initial introduction to Decoy Lake was back in May of 2011, through my involvement with Inland Fisheries Ireland and a chance meeting with local angler and instructor Philip Maher.     We had been successfully surveying the possibility of Twaite Shad on the River Suir, when Philip invited Mark Corps and I to have a look at this particular Carp water situated a few minutes from Carrick-on-Suir. Of course, although never having seen this ...

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A look back over 2010, a specimen hunters diary
Terry’s Travels   A look back over 2010, a specimen hunter’s diary       As I sit here preparing to write this article, I can see my lough boat in the garden through the side window, and to my dismay, it is still almost un-recognisable, covered in ten inches of snow, as indeed, is the rest of the country. The last of the rivers have finally frozen over and the thought of heading to sea is a daunting prospect, especially towing a large boat in these treachero...

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