GUIDING & FISHING ON THE WESTERN LOUGHS

Lough Corrib is one of the finest wild brown trout lakes in western Europe offering the angler to fish for indigenous trout that have been present here for thousands of years. Along with her sister lakes, Loughs Mask and Carra which make up the Corrib system they are known as the ‘Western Loughs’

The Western Loughs are big and we need to get around easily, therefore the boat is King on the lakes and virtually all our fishing is done from it. For fly-fishing the method is, ‘Lough Style’, this is done from a drifting boat using the wind to carry us over the hot spots.

I am based on Lough Corrib but I also guide on Loughs Mask and Carra. Mask is only a ten-minute drive away and Lough Carra is forty minutes away.

Our quarry is wild brown trout. The average size varies but we are looking at fish in the 1lb-2lb class. On occasions we will be targeting larger trout in the 3 to 5lb range. There is always the chance of a Trout of a lifetime, a double figure leviathan. The Corrib is renowned for huge Brown trout and every year several lucky Anglers land these monsters on the fly, it could be you next!

Catch and release is greatly encouraged on the system but there is still a tradition of keeping the occasional fish to be eaten and should the angler wish to do this I have no problem.

The fishing can be challenging and we are very much at the mercy of weather conditions which play a huge part on the chances of success on the Western Loughs. However, when it comes right it can be very rewarding.

We have three main methods of fly fishing, Wet Fly, Dry Fly and Nymphing. Depending on the conditions, time of year and fly hatches this will dictate the most successful method. Wet fly tend to be the go to method but not always. Some of the early season nymphing to Buzzers (Chironomids) and Lake Olives can only be described as phenomenal! Also the dry fly sport can also  be fantastic, check out this link for a piece I did on how to fish dries on the Loughs:  www.thefloatingfly.com/new-page-91

The outfits we use would be single –handed trout rods, 9.5’ -11’ in length, with 10’ being the favourite. The AFTM weights range from #5 through to #7. The heavier weight rods enable us to use lines other than a floating line when conditions dictate that we must. The lighter weight rods come into their own for dry fly and nymphing tactics.

We also have the option of Dapping which is a very old form of fishing for trout and this can be very successful even in the hands of a novice. I have all the equipment needed for it, the rods are between 4 to 5 metres length and we can do this from May to the end of the season. It can be great fun and productive.