Summer Sedge Fishing

Over the last few evenings I have been out on the rivers doing some dry fly-fishing in the evenings. I have been working on some new leader formulas to suit my 2 weight Syndicate rod with some really fine tippets. 
I have been getting some good success on this sedge dressing fishing smaller sizes before dark and larger ones once the light has gone down. 
It is a simple dressing that is well worth a go and sits lovely in the water. 

To begin place a Dohiku 301 size 16, 18 or 20 in the vice and tie on your thread. For the tail I use three strands of hot orange UV reflective thread from Tommi Fly. Once you tie them in cut to your desired length. Taking you thread split it and add in a mix of natural hares ear dubbing and some natural squirrel, then spin the thread to create your dubbing brush. For the thread I use my silk that is super strong and easy to split. It also gives the body of the fly great strength. You can check it out on my website. 

Wind up your dubbing brush and pull back the fibers of the dubbing mix. Then select 3 small natural CDC feathers and place them directly on top of each other. Tie them in to create your wing. 

To finish off your fly create a smaller dubbing brush at the head of the fly and after one or two winds on the hook use the dubbing brush to complete the whip finish so no thread is showing. To secure the head I normally place a small drop of superglue under the dubbing brush. A simple but very effective sedge that will catch you plenty of fish this time of the year. 

I hope you enjoy tying this sedge fly and enjoy catching fish with it even more. If you have any questions please feel free to give me a shout on my contact details and if you are interested in hooks, beads, or the amazing Syndicate Fly Rods then check them out on my website. Thanks for reading. 

Thomastown National Fly Fishing Competition 2017

This was the second year Thomastown Anglers held their National Fly Fishing tournament. From last year it has grown in to Ireland's first ever two day river competition and it was held on the fabulous River Nore in Kilkenny last weekend. Eighteen teams of two anglers from all over the country took part in the event.

The river was in great condition following a good wash out over the last couple of weeks and there was plenty of fish to be had, but like any other venue they were not going to give themselves up to easy at all. I do often think that the fish know when there is a competition on the water.

The Irish Hookers was the name of my team with my good friend, David O Donovan. We had an ok draw on the Friday night with some good teams in our group C. We had some potentially good beats depending on how we fished them and if of course the fish played the game with us.
Begining our competition on C6, an ok beat by the hurling field it has the potential of producing a good score on a good day. I set up my dry dropper, nymphing rod and a straight dry fly rod and went to work. We got off to a cracking start in the flats and settled down quickly. We kept the score board ticking over throughout the 3 hour session and ended up with a great total of 41 fish, earning us first place for the session. A dream start.
For the afternoon session on A3 the fishing was a bit slower and with a result of 20 fish we only managed a third leaving us in fourth overall for the day. Still in touch with the medals places. With good teams right behind us and great teams in front, it was all to play for on the Sunday.  We drew B6 for the final session and we knew a win would be the only result to push us up the leader board to the medals. We fished our hearts out in deep water and ended up with 28 fish. 

It wasn't enough as Damien Walsh and John Wills won the session with 32 fish and went on to win the overall team event. They were well deserved winners over the weekend with a total catch of 99 fish. With other results going our way in other groups we managed to grab the sliver medals with the superb team of Joe Winder and Peter Doherty picking up the bronze place over all. Mark Driver collect the longest fish prize for a great fish of 44 cm. 

I managed to land the top individual spot with a total of 67 fish for the three sessions, with the help of my team mate Dave who persevered the more difficult water for the three sessions. The method that produced the majority of fish for me,

was the dry dropper. I had my 12 foot aggressive dry fly leader on to a large kink on a short dropper. From here I had 4 to 5 feet of Shogun tippet 0.08 or 0.06 to a Dohiku size 20 jig hook, pheasant tail nymph with a 2.5 mm copper bead on it. The majority of the fish took the fly just as I was slowly lifting the nymph off the bottom after a long drift down river. It was the spring that I put in my leaders and the tippet protection which my syndicate rod offers, allowed me to fish these fine tippets and not crack off when I am hooking fish in the deeper water. 

Here is the fly I used for the weekend:

This competition is something we have been looking for in Ireland for a long time now. Where competitive river anglers get to fish off against each other over two days and multiple sessions. It not only offers us a high level of competition, but it is also a great social event. Where we all can learn and develop as anglers. As a part of a great organisation team I must say the competition went off really well and there was great feed back from all the teams. Our main sponsors for the weekend was Syndicate. They put up some of there cracking rods to the winning teams. These rods have been my first choice of sticks for the last year and if you are looking to develop your nymphing and dry fly fishing then these 10 foot 2 weights and 11 foot two weight rods are the right way forward. They offer great tippet protection, are very responsive and are ultra light in the hand. Truly outstanding rods

and at an affordable price which is always good. You can check them out here: http://syndicateff.com/ and on my website: http://www.piscari-fly.com/store/c8/Rods_.html

What a weekend at this tournament, it was great to meet so many good anglers and friends enjoying the event. A huge thanks to Thomastown Anglers, Thomastown Scouts, all the sponsors and the organizers.  Also stewards were supplied for the competition by the club, which adds to the social aspect of the competition which is highly important and they ensure the fish are looked after and returned safely to the river.
Probably the most important aspect about this comp for me is getting to fish with my good friend Dave, we push each other to fish harder, pick each other up when needed and strive for perfection as a team, this for me is what's it's all about team work and learning,  thanks Dave next year you can have the easy water.
If you are interested in this competition for next year you can give me a shout on my contact details here and I'll pass you on the information required. 

Also if you are interested in the shogun tippet or  Syndicate rods give me a shout here in my opinion they are the best nymphing rods and tippet on the market at the moment.

Thanks for reading and keep an eye out on

the Competitions face book page for lots more pics and information: https://www.facebook.com/Thomastownflyfishingcompetition/

Fishing on the River Nore Tomastown

Located just 30 minutes drive from Waterford and 15 minutes from Kilkenny this limestone fishery is a series of fast runs, rifles and glides, and is arguably the most picturesque river valley in southern Ireland. I have had the pleasure of fishing this fabulous stretch of river over the last few seasons.The quality of fishing here is outstanding to say the least.
The season starts on March 17th and finishes September 30th. There are some eight miles of river to explore; stocked with an abundance of native wild brown trout and prolific fly hatches throughout the season you are promised a memorable outdoor experience.The Brown Trout average from 20cm to 30cm in length and the deeper pools hold some fish in excess of 5lbs. Under certain conditions all of the recognized methods of wet fly, dry fly, and nymph fishing will work successfully for catching trout on this water.

 

The river is quite wide and an angler will have plenty of fishing in a single run. As you begin below the fast water on the dry dropper techniques and when you move into the heavier nymphing water you can spend hours fishing all the pockets and shelves picking up dozens of good quality fish

Salmon fishing is regulated by the local club and national bodies to find out more information on current regulations for salmon fishing please contact the local club or guides in the area. Sea trout have been known to migrate through the waters in this region and with the conditions correct there is a chance that you will connect with some using the right methods at the right time.The river and area offers the angler plenty of variety in there fishing experience and cracking sport in the long, wide glides, smooth flats and fast rapids running of the natural and man-made weirs. 

If you haven't fished here then I would recommend strongly that you give it a day this summer. Day tickets for this section of the Nore are reasonable at 15 euros and I would advise you to contact the local club before you head down. You can contact them through the local guide Noel Molly at noresideflyfishing.com and he will be happy to help you out. Also day tickets can be bought in the local hardware shop beside the town bridge. 

Thomastown Anglers will also be hosting their annual Fly-Fishing competition this July where 18 of the countries top Fly Fishing Teams compete with each other over 3 sessions and two days. This competition is a catch and release bases and it would be an opportunity for individuals to witness some of the top competition techniques in action. Everyone is welcome on the weekend and if you wish to get involved, then contact the club chairman Tom Moylan on 087 7515828 to see if there is spaces available for stewards. It promises to be a great weekend of fly fishing.

Here are a couple of good nymphs that you would want to have in your box before hitting this streach of river:

Caddis are a favorite food of the Nore trout and I would keep several sizes of this simple nymph in my box . These along with simple pheasant tails and hare's ear nymphs you wont go wrong. Over the next couple of weeks ill be getting on this section of river regularly practicing for the coming competition and  I will keep you updated on the progress. Thanks for reading if you would like any more information regarding this venue please give me a shout on my contact information on the right of the blog. 
Tight Lines....