tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38135973019495701812024-03-13T20:49:54.962+00:00Andy's Fishing DiaryWee blog about fly fishing in Northern Ireland. Maybe by keeping a blog I can figure out any bad patterns I’m getting into or other readers can help out. Hopefully I can also use this to record any successes at the water’s edge (however minor).thebigandythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01370569985337994729noreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813597301949570181.post-37217792020599053962010-07-07T22:21:00.003+01:002010-07-07T22:55:15.523+01:00John Wilson's 501 Fishing Tips<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_U0nwA24y-FE/TDTwr9mckwI/AAAAAAAAAK8/2a61V0QMppQ/s1600/fishing2.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 123px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491278483732337410" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_U0nwA24y-FE/TDTwr9mckwI/AAAAAAAAAK8/2a61V0QMppQ/s320/fishing2.jpg" /></a><br /><div>I've long been a fan of Mr Wilson's, his enthusiasm for any type of fishing and the constant chuckling has got me through many a Saturday morning watching TV because the weather/child care/laziness has prevented me actually fishing for real. This meant I was especially pleased to receive the latest Magbook from Dennis publishing. </div><div></div><div></div><div>The magbook concept is a new one for me, but one that I've found highly agreeable. It's been a continuing trend over the past years to fill magazines full of advertising, but the magbooks are relatively ad free and jammed full of high quality content. This magbook in particular represents great value for money. Each tip is informative, the instructional illustrations and pictures are of the highest quality and Mr Wilson's charismatic style of teaching shines through on every page. </div><div></div><div>Every major species of fresh water fish has a couple of pages of invaluable tips devoted to them, i paid special attention to the pike sections as hopefully I'm going to targeting these boyos next season. There are also sections on techniques for boat fishing, all the different tackle available and the multitude of baits.</div><div></div><div></div><div>For further information on this product you can visit <a href="http://www.magazine-group.co.uk/magazine/books-and-directories/sport-books/john-wilsons-501-fishing-tips-2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">magbooks.com</a></div><div></div><div><strong>John Wilson’s 501 Fishing Tips is available from WH Smith, magbooks.com and amazon.co.uk</strong></div><div></div><div></div><div></div>thebigandythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01370569985337994729noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813597301949570181.post-1627033647882143642010-05-13T21:05:00.004+01:002010-05-13T21:20:37.595+01:00Macmillan Big FishIn an effort to sneak off and spend a day fishing and rekindle the Joy of fishing, i've put myself forward for a fishing competition in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support. It's on the 12th June at Murloc Angling in Aghalee and i'm really looking forward to it. It's my first competition so any pointers on how to make a decent account of myself would be greatly apprecitated, any donations would also be great. To make a donation please use the link on the leftthebigandythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01370569985337994729noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813597301949570181.post-85848156448828332652009-04-18T10:15:00.005+01:002009-12-09T20:28:42.417+00:00Quitting smoking finally pays offI've been a smoker for most of my adult life now. I always knew one day I'd give it up but I've dreaded it. I have not been blessed with good willpower at all.<br />Fortunately i was able to combine two of my major life goals; quit smoking and owning a <a href="http://fly.hardyfishing.com/en-gb/products/reels/performance-reels/demon-reels/">Hardy demon reel</a>. I have lusted after this reel since it's release two years ago, the only problem being that i couldn't justify owning one, the price of the reel was pretty much the same price as my current whole outfit.<br />This is where the big quit came in. I had only been dimly aware of the amount i spent on tobacco, for as long as i can remember the cost of my habit was borne as would bare the cost of food, utilities and petrol. Once the connection was made between not smoking and owning this object of desire, the rest was easy.<br />A couple of months later and I'm now the proud owner of a Hardy Demon Outfit and after a fly fishing packed Easter weekend, the sacrifice has definitely been worth it.<br /><br />I plumbed for the Hardy demon 9'6'' 7wt rod as i would mainly fish small stillwaters and was looking for a rod that would allow me to cast into a decent headwind and yet still be subtle enough to present a couple of dries. The rod excels at both, i wouldn't be a great caster but the rod is definitely alot more forgiving than my previous Greys GRX one.<br /><br />The smaller Demon 5000 reel was chosen as i would rarely need to go into the backing and I just thought it looked <del>prettier</del> more balanced. The drag is fantastic and the cartridges are easy to change. the only don side is that a rubber ring is used the cushion between the cartridge and the locking ring and I've almost lost this once already.<br /><br />I matched the outfit up with a WF floating two tone hardy fly line. This final extravagance was the sweetener on the deal I got from the tackle shop and I'm really pleased with it. There is very little memory, you can easily tell when the running line starts and it picks up off the water brilliant.<br /><br />So far I've managed to bring it out to two fisheries <a href="http://www.woodfordfly.co.uk/">Woodford</a> and <a href="http://www.murlocangling.com/">Murloc</a> both times there were active fish near the surface that were responding well to buzzers. The rod and reel have preformed admirably and whilst i struggle to justify the expense I am glad I went the extra distance and bought something i know I'll use and cherish for the next decade or sothebigandythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01370569985337994729noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813597301949570181.post-34472444382660674022009-03-10T20:20:00.005+00:002009-03-10T20:37:21.990+00:00If you're lazy...If you're lazy and a little bit cack-handed like myself I thought i'd recommend <a href="http://www.theflyfactory.co.uk/">The Fly Factory</a>. I've ordered from them a couple of times now and each time I'm amazed at the prices they can offer. To top it off each order i've received has come in a plastic box with the flies arranged neatly on rows of foam. This is excellent for the hackled and the more delicate flies but also looks durn pretty.<br /><br />They've recently started a loyalty scheme and offer some discounts to repeat customers and have a great postage time. The only drawbacks I've found so far is that with the amount of different flies on offer it can be hard to find specific types but the search function is very useful if you know exactly what you're looking for.<br /><br />So until i figure out how to tie me own, I'm going to stick with these guys.thebigandythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01370569985337994729noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813597301949570181.post-31994649480205318822009-02-21T23:10:00.002+00:002009-02-21T23:58:14.968+00:00There are two activites that will make you go blindThe first is widely known.<br /><br />The second is staring at a fishing float for two long.<br /><br />As my buddy Ali has recently taken on a slightly less labour intensive job we decided we should celebrate by a wee fishing excursion. As usual the weather didn't play ball but as both of us had already received our day release passes from our significant others we were determined to make the most of the day.<br /><br />The venue chosen was once again Murloc Fishery in Aghalee, I'm a big fan of this place, the lodges faculties are great, the owner Fred is always on hand to help you out if you're struggling and possibly because it's new the other fishers are even more friendlier to new faces.<br /><br />To begin the day we started in the more sheltered side, left of the jetty. There was a slight breeze that was building up quite quickly. This enabled us to get our casting fine tuned and quite quickly I got into a plucky rainbow of about a pound on an apps bloodworm. After a fishless half an hour afterwards it was suggested that we try the opposite bank. Usually I'll avoid casting into wind as I'm a bit of wimp and it upsets me when my casts end up in a heap at my feet. It was a nice surprise to find that my casting must have improved as with a couple of tips from Fred and a little change in style i was almost able to get a decent cast out. <strong>Yay</strong><br /><br />Unfortunately the task of catching more fish didn't have the same progress as my casting. The remainder of the day was pretty much fishless for myself and was spent going cross eyed staring at my bobbing but not sinking pimp. Ali on the other hand was still in strong fish fighting spirits. With short casts around the weeds and the pontoon he managed to get two strong takes. The first he managed to lose after a knot gave way, bloody amatures ;), and the second he miss-timed the strike even after it had been pointed out by a passing fisher tsk tsk.<br /><br />With the gusting wind we faced I'm not surprised we didn't get more fish. It was a day where everyone seemed to struggle. There was one noticeable exception one fella, John, had managed to crack the code and to get all the ingredients right, the wind seemed to be funneling the fish at him and whatever he was presenting to them (rumour was it was some strange leggy claret goldhead hopper thingy) was working extremely effectively. By the time we left he had a tally of around forty eight!!<br /><br />A special mention I feel should be made to Alan Coleman, not only was he the fella who almost caught Ali his second trout, he's the first person to recognise me solely from this Blog. Cheers for your kind words and I hope the rest of the day was more productive for you.thebigandythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01370569985337994729noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813597301949570181.post-35942432217868653622009-01-24T21:08:00.007+00:002009-01-25T13:53:52.339+00:00It's a bit like waiting for a bus...<div><div>Murloc fishery 24th January<br /><br />With the temperature rising, albeit barely, I figured a spot of fishing was in order. As Wifey was heading across town this gave me a perfect excuse to have a go at Murloc Angling and Rural Pursuits Centre. I've had a <a href="http://andyfishing.blogspot.com/2008/08/murloc-angling-and-rural-pursuits.html">brief scouting opportunity</a> here but this would be the first time fishing in Aghalee. I'll be moving house nearby soon so it would be great to check out my new local fishery. </div></div><div> </div><div>A quick chat to the bosses and a bite to eat and I was soon on the water. Fred had filled in me in on a couple of possible tactics and also informed that an angler had just managed to catch 20 fish during the morning, things were looking promising. </div><div> </div><div>Even so, after an hour of nothing I had settled myself into accepting the fact this could be quite a slow day for me. Soon after, Fred joined me to see how i was getting on, we talked through the rig I was using, apps bloodworm and black buzzer under a small bung, and he seemed sure that I was using the right tactics. It became clear what was going on after he twice noticed the bung going under in a very short space of time, true to form I hadn't noticed either take. Oops. The fish were taking the flies so gently the bung was just dipping under the water. It wasn't long after I started striking at the slightest movement that i started getting into the fish, although even though I was getting bites I still couldn't strike fast enough to set the hook. </div><div> </div><div>I moved up a size of bung to let me see it more clearly and was advised by the ever helpful Fred to move to a better position and it wasn't long before i was into a fish. After striking and having a few nervous seconds praying the fish wouldn't slip off like it's brothers, it became clear the fish was securely caught and I could start bringing him in. </div><div>Within a few yard off the jetty it started getting a bit more complicated, I couldn't get him any closer to me to land him. As usual Fred and Fly were on hand to help as Fred grabbed a landing net it soon became clear why i was struggling to move such an average sized fish. There was a Monstrous Leviathan attached to the point fly. <strong>Yay a double Hookup!</strong> After quickly detaching the first fish from the line we manged to net the Biggest rainbow I have seen live, let alone caught. Fred assures me it was well over 3lbs, although if i was to use my tried and tested fishing measuring ability I would say that it was surely over 20lbs. </div><div><br /><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294973261253646050" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_U0nwA24y-FE/SXuGIIw3FuI/AAAAAAAAAJw/cDqkuV2tEw8/s320/Image011.jpg" border="0" />This was definitely the spot. Fred had positioned me over a deep hole where the trout were sheltering from the cold. After the excitement of a double hookup I needed a quick cup of tea so i retired back the lodge. In the meantime we directed another frozen fishless angler to the same spot and sure enough he was almost straight onto the trout. <br /><br />After warming up in Murloc's luxurious log cabin I was back onto the jetty fishing over the same spot as before. And sure enough the rest of the day was spent with plenty of rod bending action.<br /><br />A big thank you to Fred and his wife and of course Fly the springer for such a wonderful day, I can't wait to frequent Murloc more often.<br /><br /><br />inspired by my successful days fishing, that night i spent a couple of hours sorting out the crap in my <del>portable ashtray and used line holder</del> fly fishing vest. As you can see i tend to carry far too much stuff around in it<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294973451116091410" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_U0nwA24y-FE/SXuGTMDmGBI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/sJGfzWJskf4/s320/Image062.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /><br />No wonder i can't find anything. Annoyingly once everything was sorted out, the jacket felt heavier than it was when i started. Also judging by the rate I've been buying tackle over the winter it could be set to become even heavier.thebigandythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01370569985337994729noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813597301949570181.post-36455560803398394412009-01-14T23:19:00.003+00:002009-01-14T23:22:40.710+00:00Fly fishing substitutionOkay I know i've posted this before, but after spending a great deal of time trying to substitute real life fishing with youtube videos. I still rate this as my favorite. <br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/M4wuQblQmH0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/M4wuQblQmH0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />I hope to get out soon, I'm going a bit cabin crazy without regular fishing expoits.thebigandythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01370569985337994729noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813597301949570181.post-15102338228698515142008-12-31T21:00:00.004+00:002009-01-01T14:21:11.918+00:00Roll on 2009As it was the last day of my DCAL license I figured I had to at least spent a couple of hours on the only public water still open nearby - Woodburn Reservoir.<br /><br />I haven't been out for ages so I was quite excited at the prospect of spending a couple of hours by the water. One silver lining of being a father is that I'm getting slightly more used to getting up earlier. This led me to being beside the water at the ungodly hour of 10am. Blurgh, i didn't know you could fish this early. One of the downsides of being there that early was that it was c-c-c-cold. I wrapped up pretty good, I'd tonnes of warm Christmas presents but one thing that let me down was the fact that my hands were freezing. I'd gloves with me but wearing them I had absolutely no line control, so off they came.<br /><br />From the outset i knew the day was going to be difficult but judging from the number of <del>fish stealing bastards</del> cormorants, there did seem to be fish in the water. These proved to be a mile from the bank though. I mainly stuck to sinking lines and lures, but if I'm honest all this did was highlight a couple of casting deficiencies as i struggled to cast to the horizon. For a while it looks like fish had moved in to the shallow end of the reservoir and in calm water too. I had a crack at them with a bloodworm under a pimp but alas the activity turned out to be a family of duckings practicing their diving.<br /><br />Unfortunately this ended up another fishless day, which meant i still haven't had an opportunity to try out an ingenious invention by Steve Dobson the <a href="http://dobsonclip.com/">Dobson Clip</a> which holds your rod securely allowing both hands to be used to unhook the fish.<br /><br />After noticing the varnish chipping off near my rod rings this has further prompted me to get a new rod for 2009. At the moment I'm dreaming about a Hardy Demon setup, but as this is a little out of my price range I'll have to settle for something else.<br /><br />Therefore from today I've put together my Fishing New Year's resolutions<br /><br />1. Get a new Rod (something pretty, that makes me cast like an expert)<br />2. Get some casting lessons, I'm dreading this, I've a sneaky suspicion I'm unteachable<br />3. Post to Blog more frequently<br />4. Stop Blanking<br /><br />I'm not too sure how I'll manage the last one, but the first two are quite obtainable. <a href="http://www.anglingclassics.co.uk/tuition.html">Stevie Munn</a> is rumoured to be an excellent casting instructor who also happens to be a online tackle dealer, I'm hoping that besides trying to break me out of my self-taught bad habits he can bring along a couple of rods for me to try out. <br /><br />All in all, I'm quite looking forward to the new fishing year.<br /><br /><h3>Tight Lines to you all for 2009</h3>thebigandythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01370569985337994729noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813597301949570181.post-641800750936509352008-10-07T20:29:00.004+01:002008-10-07T21:15:22.329+01:00A life on the Ocean Wave7th Oct, Belfast lough<br />After a miserable week of showers and gales a small break in the weather was predicted for this morning, Da had mentioned that he was taking his boat Mufti for a spin so I jumped on board to experience a spot of sea fishing.<br />Soon after setting sail, my level of optimism was high, this may have been due to the fact Da had installed a new fish finder or that he was serving Irish coffee at half ten in the morning.<br /><br /><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5254497795416578946" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="Da playing with his new toys" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_U0nwA24y-FE/SOu558jg24I/AAAAAAAAAI8/mEydv1I8390/s320/DSCF3885.JPG" border="0" /></p><p>After a quick dash across the shipping lane in Belfast Lough we arrived at the first mark just off Bangor Bay. Da was soon into his first mackerel of the day<br /><br /></p><p><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_U0nwA24y-FE/SOu54GzAMdI/AAAAAAAAAI0/96F-CIS4wE4/s1600-h/DSCF3884.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5254497763806163410" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="First fish of the day" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_U0nwA24y-FE/SOu54GzAMdI/AAAAAAAAAI0/96F-CIS4wE4/s320/DSCF3884.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />The first fish I managed to stick into was a very sorry looking herring, somehow the suicidal fishy had managed to impale himself onto the hook by his eyes. Upon removal of the hook both his eyes remained on the trace and he was left with a gaping hole right through his head. This was one fish that wasn't going to get put back in. After some more herring I finally caught up with Da in catching mackerel.<br />We were doing so well, I decided to handicap myself by using a fly rod with a fast sinking line, this proved to be near impossible as the boat drift didn't allow the line to sink, so I soon switched back to a heavy spinning outfit coupled with feathers. After a productive couple of hours we decided to head home. Whilst making our way back across the channel my <del>galley slave</del> Da prepared his speciality fried mackerel and a cup of tomato soup.<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_U0nwA24y-FE/SOu56ZncKOI/AAAAAAAAAJE/00U0ieFDjv4/s1600-h/DSCF3889.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5254497803217676514" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="Lunch - before and after" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_U0nwA24y-FE/SOu56ZncKOI/AAAAAAAAAJE/00U0ieFDjv4/s320/DSCF3889.JPG" border="0" /></a> We managed to time our exit well, a mist came down and the winds, which had been absent for most of the day, re-appeared. Below, if you squint you can just about make out Carrickfergus Castle.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5254497823401742162" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="Carrickfergus Castle" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_U0nwA24y-FE/SOu57kzsj1I/AAAAAAAAAJU/oi6YyBr4wvs/s320/DSCF3891.JPG" border="0" />Since the last time I was afloat Da's boat handling skills has improved a great deal, we managed to berth her again without even touching another boat, jetty or tender.<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_U0nwA24y-FE/SOu57ANZhqI/AAAAAAAAAJM/8v0HuyS1Goc/s1600-h/DSCF3893.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5254497813577434786" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="Da exiting Mufti" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_U0nwA24y-FE/SOu57ANZhqI/AAAAAAAAAJM/8v0HuyS1Goc/s320/DSCF3893.JPG" border="0" /></a>Hopefully after such a successful trip I can get out again soon, next time, though I'll have to make sure I make the coffee.<br /><br /></p>thebigandythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01370569985337994729noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813597301949570181.post-73793310970429124302008-10-07T20:13:00.003+01:002008-10-07T20:29:23.744+01:00Did you ever wonder why you were standing in a gale waving a stick about2nd Oct, Killylane Reservoir<br /><br />After two very tough days, I figured the weather couldn't get any worse. My mate <a href="http://theirishphotographer.blogspot.com/">Andrew</a> and I had planned to reward ourselves for our hard dissertation slog with an extended trip fishing. I had been out the past two days and I knew it was going to be an uphill struggle. So we decided to head to Killylane, as we thought we might get a bit of shelter from the strong winds. We've fished here before but today everything had changed, mainly due to the hurricane blowing straight through the reservoir.<br />Most of the day was spent tramping around the water to find a sheltered spot, this soon became impossible. At the end we were desperate, I chose to try the deep water in front of the dam wall, with a sinking line and boobies and Andrew chose an inlet that you could probably jump over. I managed about twenty minutes without being blown into the water and walked back to join the slacker sitting alongside the inlet. This tactic paid off for him though as amongst the eddies in the inlet Andrew had managed to catch the only trout of the day.thebigandythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01370569985337994729noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813597301949570181.post-6043104443001261382008-10-01T19:17:00.005+01:002008-10-01T19:55:57.474+01:00Bad days<div>30Sept,01Oct Marshalstown and Woodburn Reservoirs</div><br /><div>When i started blogging, one of the aims was to record all the times i had fished. Recently this has changed to writing about only the days I did well on. This has had the side-effect of letting me think i am a better angler than i actually am. Thought I'd better even the balance. The last two days I've been presented with a bit of free time so I used it wisely and went fishing.</div><br /><div>Admittedly the weather has been pish, but i still thought I'd do OK, damn over-confidence. Yesterday my getaway was obstructed by my five year old nephew who had decided that he was coming with me. I knew this wasn't going to be a great days fishing but his optimism was contagious, he wanted to see me catch a fish, the thought that i might blank hadn't even occurred to him. So off we went.</div><br /><div>I opted for Marshallstown reservoir as it has some good platforms so as to not let the child fall in or get covered in mud. My <del>expert</del> adequate control of the flyline was enough to entertain him for about ten minutes. There-after his enquiries of "when are you going to catch a fish?" got him through another ten minutes. After which he tried to take matters into his own hands by throwing rocks into the water to drive the fish closer to me. Bless his cotton socks, he's ever so thoughtful.</div><br /><div></div><div>Although no fish were caught, we all returned with the same amount of eyes we left with and no-one had been in the water for a swim.</div><br /><div></div><div>Today I though I'd make up for the lack of fish and really put some effort in. I even managed to get to the water before noon. I begun at the wild fishery at the top of the three reservoirs at South Woodburn, there is rumoured to be wild trout in here so I thought I'd check it out. I've fished here before a couple of times but had only ever caught fingerlings in a spot we call the nursery. I would have started my day here apart from the fact that there was no water in it.</div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5252258516381248530" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_U0nwA24y-FE/SOPFSwFsrBI/AAAAAAAAAIs/_vh8pkTravQ/s320/Image093.jpg" border="0" />I took the opportunity to walk around the reservoir as the circumference is less with less water in it. I'm quite a lazy bugger. The wind had unfortunately decided to follow me about and no matter where I stood it blew into my face at about 20 knots. All in all, it turned out to be quite a nice walk despite not seeing any evidence of the mythical wild brownies and for once i actually arrived home before the time <del>demanded</del> suggested by wifey.<br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div>thebigandythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01370569985337994729noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813597301949570181.post-88711789828084605862008-09-16T15:48:00.003+01:002008-09-16T15:58:41.017+01:00Mystery Solved<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_U0nwA24y-FE/SM_HeYuL6tI/AAAAAAAAAIk/BG-OMenRpXk/s1600-h/GRXi-Fly-Vest-Medium.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246631415756090066" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_U0nwA24y-FE/SM_HeYuL6tI/AAAAAAAAAIk/BG-OMenRpXk/s320/GRXi-Fly-Vest-Medium.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div><br />Finally I've gotten to the bottom of a little mystery that has bugged me ever since the Fermanagh trip. I had bough a whole rake of new flies for this trip, tonnes of them, mainly drys like daddies and sedges as i was looking forward to some great dry fly action. The problem was, once i arrived at the lake my new fly box had disappeared. I searched everywhere for it. Finally I came to the conclusion It had dropped out of my pocket at a previous lake. Only today i got the urge to investigate all the hidden and not so hidden pockets on my vest, lo and behold there it was. The whole time i had cursed my bad luck at Fermanagh the bloody box was on my person. Considering that the box is a fair size, i am now questioning the usefulness of my vest's 20 odd pocketsthebigandythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01370569985337994729noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813597301949570181.post-45240501513906505912008-08-30T09:51:00.006+01:002008-08-30T10:44:58.793+01:00Enniskillen, Hurray for HolidaysJust back from my Hols, went to the beautiful county of Fermanagh. The Wifey, Ethan and I had to recover from a particularly stressful week away with my family in Donegal and I'm so glad we chose Enniskillen.<br /><br />I had managed to whip myself up into a fishing frenzy by reading about the fishing opportunities nearby, so with the news of crappy weather I wasn't steeling myself for a disappointing week. Luckily it wasn't that bad with just a couple of bad days.<br /><br />We were quite fortunate in our location, we were renting a superb farmhouse near the <a href="http://www.dcal-fishingni.gov.uk/index/stocked_trout_locations/navar_lakes_trout.htm">Navar Lakes</a> so after a bit of research I new this was going to be the first call. One the first day we called up to Glencreawan after convincing Wifey that there was a spectacular view point nearby (there was, it was incredible) and sneakily I brought a light set up with me. As fish rose all around us I knew this was going to be an interesting week. Wifey had other ideas and didn't relish the prospect of hanging around whilst i fished so after a brief bit of fluff chucking and a photo opp we were off.<br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240233850994435106" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_U0nwA24y-FE/SLkM7GyAJCI/AAAAAAAAAH4/CdyFGxR7RpY/s320/ethan+flyfishing.jpg" border="0" /><br />My Buddy <a href="http://theirishphotographer.blogspot.com/">Andrew</a> was nearby for the next day so we set off to explore the lakes properly, He had suggested we try Meenameen but with my typical snobbishness for all methods lake, i over-rode him and we ended up at Glencreawan. Things were looking up as Andrew was immediately into a fish on his first cast at the weeds near the slipway, but after that things got tough we spent the next couple of hours soaked through and miserable but still we fished on. To compound my misery I managed to drop my only lighter into the water and had to spent an uncomfortably long time trying to get it to work properly. Our perseverance paid off in the end though we finally got into a couple towards the end of the day.<br /><br />Enniskillen is the home of the legendary Fly dresser <a href="http://www.fermanaghcraft.com/frankiemcphillips/home.htm">Frankie McPhillips</a> so I knew i had to at least call in. Of course when i got there I had to stock up on some new flies, i picked up some great looking dry daddies and a new landing net. I'd been finding the foldable one a bit crap when wading as unfolding it one handed when playing a fish can be hard work so I wanted a big scoop net that should stick to the back of my vest.<br /><br /><br />Later on in the week I ventured back to the Navar lakes as the weather had calmed down abit. I found the fishing at Glencreawan had turned impossible as the wind was still blowing a gale only this time over my line hand. So after a couple of fly-to-eye near misses I decided to re-locate to Meenameen. This lake, whilst of roughly the same size is sheltered by the forest and looked a great deal calmer. It also looked to have fish at the surface on the far bank. Oh Joy. After a brief struggle through a swamp I ended up on a floating platform of weeds slowly sinking into the vegetation. Although it was hard to cast from behind the fronds this position definitely paid off, within half an hour I had caught two cracking browns and was loving every minute of it. At this point my phone goes off and the wifey reminds my i have fatherly responsibilities waiting for me at home. After i promise to be home as soon as possible i decide to have one last chuck into a feeder stream that i had just seen movement in. After a cast that could only be described as gently lowering a fly onto the water, the previously flat calm water erupted. I was into a huge fish. After quite a while struggling to get the fish in past a tonne of snags I eventually landed it. Most of the time whilst playing it, i cursed my choice of a short handled net and longed for my extendible one.<br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240240279185513474" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_U0nwA24y-FE/SLkSxRqL3AI/AAAAAAAAAIA/xNx8_mOacyM/s320/big+fish.jpg" border="0" />This was probably the biggest fish i have landed yet. The net measures 45cm across and he was longer than it! By my calculations this puts the fish at about 42 pounds (give or take a pound). Fishy went back after a quick breather but by now i was running late so I packed up to go. I spent another day back at the same location and had another very productive session and cannot wait until I'm back.</p><p>The only other water I tried was <a href="http://www.dcal-fishingni.gov.uk/index/stocked_trout_locations/lough_keenaghan_trout.htm">Lough Keenaghan</a> and the weather once again was not ideal and whilst it looked like a great lake I chose to talk fish with a couple of anglers and then sneak off to fill up with cheap diesel from over the nearby border</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><br /></p>thebigandythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01370569985337994729noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813597301949570181.post-38436263051951301382008-08-04T17:17:00.003+01:002008-08-04T17:33:31.029+01:00Murloc Angling and Rural PursuitsWhilst running an errant in Aghalee I thought I would check out Murloc fishery. The fishery is situated within spitting distance of my old house so I was very curious about the setup. It is a newly constructed pond of about five acres and it only opened at the start of July.<br /><br />As I hadn't a rod with me I was just going to have a nosy and bug the owner/manager if I could find him. I immediately bumped into Fred the boss man who was out enjoying a pipe and his randy dog Fly. Whilst chatting away to Fred and trying to avoid the amorous advances of his dog(who incidentally is an excellent fisher, check the photos in the lodge) I was able to experience the quality of the fishing. The beautiful clear lake was alive with activity, there were many anglers fighting with sturdy looking fish and even more rising on the lake. The fish stocked have a minimum size of 2lb and there are a number of doubles. All in all I was extremely impressed with the setup. The lodge looked very comfortable and the staff were really friendly and helpful.<br /><br />Hopefully i can make up some excuse to be out in that neck of the woods again soon, but next time I'll definitely have some kit with me.<br /><br />Murloc Fishery is situated halfway down the Old Church Lane which is just off the Soldierstown Road in Aghalee. You can contact the fishery on 07843632197thebigandythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01370569985337994729noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813597301949570181.post-81802698982506812562008-07-23T12:09:00.004+01:002008-07-23T13:08:44.370+01:00Aggh the dreaded caenis, Straid 21st JulyManaged to escape for a couple of hours in the evening. Everything looked great, the was a slight breeze and the sky was clouded over. Confidence was high for an incredible night fishing.<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Unfortunately</span> their was a big hatch of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">caenis</span> and the fish were on them solidly. Started off with my old favorite the f fly but these didn't even get <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">a look</span> in. Switched to a rat faced <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">mcdougal</span> and tried to fish in the holes in the weed at the far bank. This proved more <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">successful</span> and I was soon into a great fish that took me down to the backing, my backing hadn't seen daylight for a long time.<br /><br />After the first fish the trout moved in close and locked onto the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">caenis</span>. it was incredibly frustrating seeing them so close and have them refuse everything. After a brief <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">conflab</span> with the manager, a shuttlecock fly was used. This proved to be successful and another smaller fish was hooked. By this time the night had fallen in but we still pushed <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">through</span> till we couldn't see the water let alone our flies.<br /><br />We had been at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Straid</span> about a month ago on a boat but as we were bank fishing this time, we were able to see what the new fishery manager has done to the place. The banks are very <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">accessible</span> now, with new paths cut in the long grass and new pegs. Whilst it was alwaays a great fishery, I feel it will get even better over the next year.thebigandythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01370569985337994729noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813597301949570181.post-42845428601286474602008-07-18T22:21:00.007+01:002008-07-19T00:46:32.554+01:00Blackwater Canoe Expedition - The big day<p></p><p><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwErCbV3d6QFFPZp2mLf1sIcb_h1DReEEO5TEk3Ra_wclnq7baOpGyBma1gaUzYgc6ykYB33_zlkLfsvq1hcQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></p><p>After a week of planning we finally made it onto the water. No thanks to some builders at Blackwater Town, the slipway was made inaccessible so we had to chuck the canoes in at a fly tippers paradise a bit further upstream. Once onto the water everything started to go smoothly.</p><p>I had measured the trip using a bit of local knowledge and some common sense, this had lead me to underestimate the length as 3 miles. In the end it was more like ten but somehow we managed to cover it in the time predicted. </p><p>As Paul hadn't been in a canoe for about twenty years I took it upon myself to coach him in my softly softly manner, luckily I've known Paul for some time, so he didn't cry after being shouted at for the first half an hour. I would have tried to teach him some more strokes and techniques but he had stopped listening to me after five minutes. Ian needed no such encouragement, an avid sea kayaker in his youth he was happily zipping up and down the river in no time. It wasn't long before we tried to harness his enthusiasm by tying him to our canoe and getting him to tow us.</p><p>As usual our progress was hampered by our constant need for caffeine and nicotine, this meant plenty of stops to get the trusty stove and camp cow picnic bag out. Also as I had remembered a camera this time every time a photo opportunity presented itself, five minutes had to be spent rummaging in the waterproof bag to get the camera and then a further five minutes extracting ourselves from the foliage which we had drifted into.</p><p>Going at the speed of a one legged tortoise enabled us to appreciate the wildlife and we saw a great many different species such as kingfishers, herons, buzzards and a dead cormorant.</p><p>The luckiest animal conversation was brought up shortly but only to get Paul up to speed with the standard of chat. </p><p>Luckily we all managed to end the day without any major injuries although Paul nearly received some after leaving one of my life jackets at a lunch spot.</p><p>All in all we had a great day and i would recommend this canoe trail to everyone. We wouldn't be of the highest level of fitness, in fact we probably wouldn't even be at the lowest level of fitness, but we covered a good distance and were able to walk afterwards and by the time we reached Bonds Bridge we looked like seasoned pros. </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p>thebigandythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01370569985337994729noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813597301949570181.post-27964307333373028562008-07-11T22:36:00.004+01:002008-07-14T22:37:24.276+01:00Blackwater Canoe ExpeditionThis is it. The canoe expedition of the century.<br /><br />At the moment <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Thursday</span> 17th July is the official date. The plan is:<br /><br />1. Ian the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Intrepit</span> Explorer and Paul the Paddler and I meet at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Blackwatertown</span>.<br /><br />2. Put both vessels into the water at slip way(fingers crossed they both float)<br /><br />3. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Wifey</span> takes car and visits her friends nearby<br /><br />4. We paddle down the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Blackwater</span> river<br /><br />5. Stop for lunch at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Moy</span><br /><br />6. Paddle (or drift, the beauty of going downstream) to the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Argory</span><br /><br />7. Meet <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Wifey</span><br /><br />8. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Wifey</span> takes Ian back to car at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Blackwatertown</span><br /><br />9. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Wifey</span> and Ian drive back to the waiting canoes and we all load up<br /><br />More information of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Blackwater</span> River can be found <a href="http://www.canoeni.com/River_Blackwater.aspx">here</a><br /><br />Also because this is pretty dependant on weather you can check <a href="http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/ni/armagh_forecast_weather.html">here</a><br /><br />Also important to note that we will be covering about six miles of river, even if we fall asleep in the canoes this will take us three hours. I'm expecting to do it less than that once all pee stops and tea breaks are taken into consideration<br /><br />It is also important that Ian doesn't pick any more fights with inanimate lumps of metal. See <a href="http://andyfishing.blogspot.com/2008/05/lower-bann-canoe-expedition.html">previous post</a> for reason.<br /><br />*Update* As usual once you put anything down inwriting the details change. Originaly planned for the 16th the confirmed date is 17th. My Badthebigandythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01370569985337994729noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813597301949570181.post-73341502829611023712008-06-20T11:59:00.002+01:002008-06-20T12:09:08.603+01:00Lough MourneJust to tie up a loose end. I did find Lough Mourne on another day, I've been to it twice now. It is a huge lough and i find it very hard to believe that I missed it. It doesn't seem to get a great deal of fishing pressure, but is probably more suited to the spinning rod as there isn't alot of place to fly cast from. According to those in the know, the water level will drop greatly at the start of the summer and make it far more accessible. if this is the case, I will be paying it a visit very soon.<br />A wee precautionary tale before i go, be careful when wading on the far shore opposite the wall. It gets deceptively deep very quickly. Also if you drive around the dirt track, the whole lake is accessible, the track eventually joins the main road again so don't worry about getting stuck up a country lane.thebigandythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01370569985337994729noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813597301949570181.post-66378725362366749202008-06-10T22:15:00.008+01:002008-06-10T22:38:53.092+01:00I'm not being lazy, honest.Thought it was about time for another post. Since the last post I've been quite busy. I've had a couple of days at the water. I was messing about at the sixmilewater, caught a couple of small brownies on f flies. Went out on a boat at Straid with Andrew and caught some amazing rainbows. The first of which attacked a trout popper, the second a sunken F Fly and the third a daiwl bach. This was the first one, weighed in at around 2 and a half but fought well above it's weight. <div><div><div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210367468011001586" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_U0nwA24y-FE/SE7xm0AMFvI/AAAAAAAAAFY/9LwTpQQREIM/s320/Fish.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div>And of course Tara and I have finally had our first wee fisherman by the name of Ethan Ellis Torrens. I hope to have a fly rod in his hand before he speaks</div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210367792906618722" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_U0nwA24y-FE/SE7x5uVVx2I/AAAAAAAAAFg/5Ff-0aX8yoQ/s320/Ethan2.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div>I've been supplementing my fishing by listening to the orvis podcasts by Tom Rosenbauer. If you haven't heard these yet you can start downloading them for free by the link below. They really are excellent</div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210369428905829234" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_U0nwA24y-FE/SE7zY858o3I/AAAAAAAAAFw/fxNJ2OVL1cE/s320/TomR_podcast_ff.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div><a href="http://www.orvis.com/intro.asp?dir_id=2204&subject=4047&adv=98024&cm_mmc=podcast-_-podcast-_-041608-_-98024">Orvis Podcasts</a></div></div></div></div>thebigandythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01370569985337994729noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813597301949570181.post-16938469577766476542008-05-10T13:05:00.005+01:002008-05-10T13:17:36.058+01:00Middle south woodburn, 7th May<div>looks like another term is nearly finished at Uni. Yay. </div><br /><div>In a brief break from assignments and revising Andrew and I set off to try our luck at woodburn.</div><br /><div>We started of at the Upper south, which is apparently a wild fishery and had some great craic fishing for tiny trout. I eventually caught a little scrapper on an F fly.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>After spending too much time fishing for tiddlers we headed to the middle damn. Andrew racing ahead in anticipation of the prospect of catching something a bit bigger. By the time I caught up to him he was into a fair size of fish, which had fallen to his second cast of a snatcher.</div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198721249679898658" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_U0nwA24y-FE/SCWRbr1x-CI/AAAAAAAAAD8/5vaIfd03bFo/s320/07052008105.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div>It weighed in at about 2lbs but given a month or two probably would have been twice this as it was fairly skinny.</div><div> </div><div>After this fish the reservoir choose not to be very productive. Possibly due to the extremely low water levels and bright sky. We still choose to fish on and pretty much gave every fly we owned a quick dunk in the water.</div>thebigandythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01370569985337994729noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813597301949570181.post-43890460638341489082008-05-04T11:22:00.015+01:002008-07-05T13:35:30.575+01:00Lower Bann Canoe expedition<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_U0nwA24y-FE/SB2WKCHo1gI/AAAAAAAAADs/cPy4KsK2f-c/s1600-h/lower+bann.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196474644167185922" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_U0nwA24y-FE/SB2WKCHo1gI/AAAAAAAAADs/cPy4KsK2f-c/s320/lower+bann.JPG" border="0" /></a> The Lower Bann flows from Lough Neagh at Toome and out to the Atlantic at Coleraine. It is about 30miles long. Ian and I had planned to paddle a very small fraction of this. Originally we had planned to explore Lough Beg from New Ferry, but one look at the strong current and the wind here put us of. We had a trial run in lough Neagh about a month before and the conclusion was reached that paddling into strong wind and currents wasn't that pleasant. In the end we put in at Portglenone marina and planned to head upstream for a couple of hours and come back with the current. <div><div><div><div><div><div><div><br /><br /><div>After a brief fight with the canoe trolley we were finally in the water and on our way. Our first obstacle was the bridge over the Bann at Portglenone, the current was bottlenecked here and very strong, we began to panic that it might be like this all the way up but once through the bridge the current calmed down. </div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196473282662553010" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_U0nwA24y-FE/SB2U6yHo1bI/AAAAAAAAADE/h1UlpJehJ_M/s320/ian+canoeing.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div>We paddled on for an hour discussing what was perhaps the luckiest animal, this started as the heron as it can swim, fly and walk. After half an hour we had agreed that a heron doesn't swim and the duck became the new luckiest animal.</div><br /><br /><div>Finally we reached a spot that we could disembark and have some lunch. After a couple of poses, some coffee on my wonder-stove, some cocktail sausages and a quick pee, we were off again.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196475009239406098" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_U0nwA24y-FE/SB2WfSHo1hI/AAAAAAAAAD0/8s-lP-LQWkA/s320/me+and+kettle+and+boat.JPG" border="0" /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196474042871764434" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_U0nwA24y-FE/SB2VnCHo1dI/AAAAAAAAADU/FO-qORujp2k/s320/ian+pointing.JPG" border="0" />We had brought a small pike rod with us (with only one lure!) so we were having a quick little fish when disaster struck. After struggling to fix the anchor mount, Ian's patience gave out and he head-butted it. I'm not too sure what happened as his back was to me but that's what i think he did.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196474304864769506" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_U0nwA24y-FE/SB2V2SHo1eI/AAAAAAAAADc/FPor_Ppm-1k/s320/ians+injury.JPG" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196474399354050034" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_U0nwA24y-FE/SB2V7yHo1fI/AAAAAAAAADk/4woiX9Ynw70/s320/ians+nose.jpg" border="0" /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br /><br /><p>This of course lead to moments of concern and then onto piss-taking, Ian had been previously telling me how he was going on a date the following night. He really could have done with not picking a fight with a solid lump of metal.</p><p>After the blood was cleared up, we decided this was as good as time as any to turn around and head home. This was on part because Ian was injured, we had eaten all the food and our single lure was stuck in a tree.</p><p>All in all, a very successful trip.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196473802353595842" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_U0nwA24y-FE/SB2VZCHo1cI/AAAAAAAAADM/aOO_UfwF_MA/s320/ian+loading.JPG" border="0" /></p>thebigandythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01370569985337994729noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813597301949570181.post-13388522804387506172008-04-25T20:59:00.002+01:002008-04-25T21:11:04.960+01:00Lough Mourne (sort of)21st AprilAs I haven't been out fishing for a bit, i was looking for the first opportunity for a spot of water thrashing.<br />Getting out early from my class on tuesday afternoon my thoughts imediatly turned to takling Lough Mourne. I had heard very little buzz about this place, this always makes me very curious about a new venue. Either it's pants and no-one fishs there or it excellent and those that fish there keep it secret.<br /><br />So off i went. As usual my trip was meticulously planned, I had a vague idea that it was opposite Upper woodburn. There is a path that leads off from a layby opposite and i figured this was the bunny. So after getting suited and booted off i went. After twenty minutes doubt was beginning to set in that i maybe wasn't in the right place. After an hour I was certain that i wasn't in the right place and as dusk was settling in, I began to worry about finding my way back to the car. Soon I arrived back on the new line a mile away from the car. After a quick march back to Woodburn after giving a couple of speed walkers a bit of a strange site(you'd think they'd never seen a fully outfitted fisherman this far from the water before) I managed to get in about ten minutes of fishing.thebigandythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01370569985337994729noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813597301949570181.post-39504881807205124892008-04-17T12:28:00.003+01:002008-04-17T12:32:41.097+01:00Fly tying fairies, the next best thingFor a long time i've been leaving a saucer of milk out for the coursework fairies, in the hope that i'll get up one one morning and they'll have done the work for me, I may have found the next best thing.<br /><br /><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xkUQshzp-3I&hl=en"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xkUQshzp-3I&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>thebigandythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01370569985337994729noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813597301949570181.post-49374967979740718802008-04-16T17:41:00.004+01:002008-04-16T17:58:56.827+01:0015th April, Killylane Reservoir<div>Just when you think you're cracked this fishing malarkey, a day comes along that puts you right back to square one. After the previous Saturday's outing, I had started to feel like a real fly fisherman, as every fate had decided that she had had enough of my high horsed thinkings. To begin with I had an arranged class that I was considering ditching, the weather was too perfect and i wanted to go back to Killylane. After much internal debate, off I went to class. Luckily though the class ended early and there was still time to hit the water.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>On the way there I was confident that we'd catch quickly and frequently, I was expecting similar conditions to last weekend. In some ways they were, the water was wet and the banks muddy. unfortunately the key ingredient of rising fish was not there. We had a couple of hours before dusk so we circumnavigated (that's a great word) the reservoir to see where to fish from on a better day. David even managed to get in a bit of tiddler fishing in small feeder stream<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189886687651051314" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_U0nwA24y-FE/SAYucfn4NzI/AAAAAAAAACs/hvp6ALJuZMg/s320/Image085.jpg" border="0" /></div><br /><p>Even this was to no avail, although he did manage to get more bites than <a href="http://askyourblog.blogspot.com/">Andrew</a> or I, even a size 16 hares ear nymph was too big to hook one. </p><p>Through-out our evening we waited expectantly for the fish to start to show themselves, but unfortunately this didn't happen. Factors or excuses include, no cloud cover, wind quite strong and finally the time of day. </p><p>At the end we were fairly disappointed, but looking back now, I shouldn't expect fish everytime i bring a rod out and at least we managed a proper recce of the reservoir.</p><p> </p>thebigandythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01370569985337994729noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3813597301949570181.post-20771519492938658432008-04-15T12:29:00.002+01:002008-04-15T12:37:10.568+01:00F Flies and Duck ass juice<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_U0nwA24y-FE/SASTEPn4NyI/AAAAAAAAACk/0n0qAParajM/s1600-h/Image084.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189434371760207650" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_U0nwA24y-FE/SASTEPn4NyI/AAAAAAAAACk/0n0qAParajM/s320/Image084.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div>After the buzz i got on Saturday with fishing with F flies I had decided to replenish my <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">dwindling</span> stock of them. For this I used <a href="http://www.blackwatertackle.co.uk/">Flies buy the dozen</a> they do an incredible service if you are buying in bulk.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>One tip for fishing with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">cdc</span> is to use <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">some</span> ducks ass juice(don't know what else it's called) this is essentially the gland oil that ducks use to keep the preening gland feathers in shape. When <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">applied</span> to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">cdc</span> flies this <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">increases</span> their <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">floatablity</span> tenfold. The one i use is from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Petit</span> Jean, all you do is apply the oil to the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">cdc</span> feathers before fishing and allow them to dry.</div>thebigandythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01370569985337994729noreply@blogger.com2