Early season is upon us again and here in Ireland the 1st of March saw nearly all our trout loughs open for business. With that some hardy anglers will start venturing forth. This time of the year gives you a chance to blow the cobwebs off and to get back into the swing of things. If you’re interested in lough fishing in Ireland, this one’s for you!
Wear warm clothes
Before we get into the tactics one important caveat: wrap up well! The damp cold which can be a feature here in our spring will test you. I remember once guiding two Swedish anglers who regularly fished Lapland in the north of their country and (funnily enough) the Baltic. The thermometer that day never climbed above 5 degrees Celsius but it felt a lot colder as the rain was been driven into us by a strong northerly wind. I stated our usual saying in these parts that the weather was ‘positively Baltic’. They told me that they would have fished at sub-zero temperatures in their homeland and not have felt as cold as they did that day on Lough Corrib. One of them commented, “this dampness, it drains the heat from you.” So, more so than any other time of the year we really must be mindful of the weather weather.
Photo: Patrick Tillard.
Traditional wet flies
For quite a number of seasons now my method for early season fly fishing has been based on a tried and trusted format using traditional wet fly methods. There are little or no fly hatches at this stage of the season. However, there are hog lice and shrimp in the water so the fish will feed on these readily. The mindset has been one of copying invertebrates akin to what we do for the rest of the season. I have written on this on previous blogs and how to target these fish, primarily with dabblers. This method is still top notch and works but there are now other options coming into play.
Join Tom with fellow Signature Tyer Jackie Mahon for a day of fishing on Lough Arrow
Fishing lures
Over the last couple of years, there has been a trend towards lure fishing; whereby we are imitating bait fish. Trout will eat these readily and in the early season stickleback feature heavily in their diet. This time of the year there is not the abundance of food for them that there will be later on in the season. So, where they can get protein they will. However, lure fishing with the fly rod is not just for springtime! It has opened up for me another way to target trout right throughout the season. This is especially true where we have coarse fish fry. This is for another day.
When I started experimenting with lures, I went through all the range of lines from floaters down to Di7s. The initial consensus amongst the band of cohorts trying this out was that you would have to get deep for the method to work. We soon found out that this was not the case. I quickly established my go to line to be a fast intermediate. The straight Di3 became my second choice. This is not to say that the faster sinking lines will not work, they do and they will have their moment.
Photo: Patrick Tillard.
Fishing the Bricín
One of the most successful forms of early season fishing practiced on Lough Corrib is fishing the Bricín. Basically, this is fishing a mounted natural minnow deadbait trolled behind the boat. This traditional method has been practiced on the Corrib for over a hundred years. There is no lead used on these rigs and the mounts themselves are light enough featuring only a small conical head made of metal; brass or copper etc. They were never designed to go deep in the water because they did not have to. They fish in water no deeper than probably two to three feet. If the trout are taking the Bricín in this level then that is where you want your lures.
How do you fish lures?
How do you fish the lures? Is there a different technique for them? Well yes and no. There is the really easy method with a lure on the point behind two dabblers or other wets on your wet fly set up. Hey presto! You are lure fishing and this method does work.
Getting specific
There is however a more specific approach that you can adopt. I prefer to fish a two-fly cast, no longer than the length of the rod (10’). On occasions when I am fishing the humungous, I sometimes only fish a single fly on a slightly shorter cast. Personally, I like to have a different mindset on my retrieve than for wet fly fishing. I almost think as if I were spinning. I will on occasion leave long pauses on the retrieve before I start again with short rapid retrieves and then very slow draws. Interestingly, I tend to have more success on slower rates of retrieve.
Photo: Patrick Tillard.
New materials
Another factor which has really progressed the lure fishing along is the advent of new materials and improvements in existing materials. In addition, the expansion of available patterns has helped a lot too. Years ago, a size 8 Alexandra or Silver Invicta was the extent of fry and baitfish imitations. Then, along came the Silver Dabbler and this really upped the ante and is still a go to pattern. Then the Minkies, Zonkers, Humungi and Snakes came on board and broadened our options. In my mind they increased our success rates.
It’s worth noting, there is a misconception that lures have to be large. This is not always the case! I have had as much if not more success on smaller patterns, #8 and #10. Most sticklebacks are in or around that size bracket and I know from my own experiences fishing the Bricíns that smaller minnows do just as well as larger ones.
If you want to see a great example of a fry pattern tied with these materials, watch this video with Tom and Jackie:
The Fulling Mill Micro Zonker strips are ideal for tying smaller patterns as is the Micro Minnow Dubbing which gives fantastic fish like bodies. So, if you are venturing forth for a Mad March Foray, get the box of lures ready, you might be pleasantly surprised.
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