THAMES VALLEY

FLY DRESSERS

BRANCH OF FLY DRESSERS GUILD

Fishing on Lough Corrib Galway

After two years of waiting I finally got the chance to fish this famous and extensive Irish lough on a damp day near the end of April. The morning bode well as my companion and I drove up to the main gates of Ashford Castle to be greeted by the words from Brendan the gatekeeper ‘welcome, but you’ll be having a challenging day as not many fish have been caught up to now!’ Unperturbed, we made our way to the quayside on the Cong River to be met by Frank Costello, our guide and boatman for the day. A stiff south westerly was blowing as we set off downstream in a beautiful 19 foot lake boat built by Frank in a previous winter! Several drifts using teams of wet flies proved unproductive as the weather closed in in true Irish style. However, Frank decided to push on across the Corrib to Connor’s point where he felt there would be a better chance of finding trout feeding on a developing hatch of mayflies and olives. 

The water in this lough is crystal clear and therefore a degree of stealth is key. We quickly changed to dry flies despite the increasing level of rain as Frank said that this brings on the hatch. This quickly proved to be correct as I caught my first feisty Corrib brown trout on a crippled grey mayfly! After lunch on one of the numerous islands we set off for our afternoon session fishing around Connor’s Point. Despite the rain, the views of the Connemara mountains were stunning! The wind died down and rising fish were all around us! Changing to a small size 12 olive emerger quickly tempted a beautiful 2 1/2lb brown trout to my fly. After a considerable fight it finally came to the net!  Several other fish rose to our flies but they proved more difficult to hook. Threatening clouds brought our session to a close as we sped back to Ashford Castle and the the end of a fabulous fishing experience under the tutelage of an expert local guide.