The Anglers Rest - A plaice :-) for fishy tales - it was HOW big !!

Doc Farrell · 04-09-2009 10:03pm

SeaFields wrote: »

If you are heading that direction bring the trout fly gear. There's a lake there called Ballinlough lake, just north of Leap. I have vivid memories of the legendary Jim Maxwell, a renowned fly angler, showing me how to cast a fly when I was about nine or ten. I think there are permits in a b+b close to the lake and theres a healthy stock of brownies in the lake stocked at bout 1/2 pound. Its a gorgeous spot but i haven't been there in five or six years.

great advice, was gonna visit shepperton lakes nearby. might try the b&b too. tyvm.

oh please god don't let it rain all day.

SeaFields · 04-09-2009 10:28pm

Doc Farrell wrote: »

great advice, was gonna visit shepperton lakes nearby. might try the b&b too. tyvm.

oh please god don't let it rain all day.

Best of luck and hopefully you will have a few pics to post next week.

Tight lines

SeaFields · 05-09-2009 11:00pm

I'm just back from an evening after mackerel. Brought down a buddy that has recent acquired himself his first rod and reel and the mackerel obliged. Heres the thing tho...

I had a red flying c up and got a few mackerel as well. However, and very strangely, I caught a plaice, around 1lb, on the flying c. Thats weird!! I know we used get flatties while fly fishing for seatrout in a local estuary but this stricks me as weird.

Opinions anyone?

Doc Farrell · 06-09-2009 9:55pm

SeaFields wrote: »

Best of luck and hopefully you will have a few pics to post next week.

Tight lines

well, what a disaster.
forgot my flies so stopped off at a great angling shop in a place called Halfway which is halfway between Bandon and Cork on the Owenboy river.

then the car broke down, and it's seriously broken, smoke everywhere, burning a litre of oil every few miles.
left it in Leap in West Cork, have to collect it tomorrow.
then the rain came down and stayed down, massive clouds of it.
just spent the last 9 hours on the buses and trains and taxis.

Went to Cork station and they asked for 66 euro one way to get to Dublin! It only costs 40 to fly! Had the laptop with me so i booked a ticket next to the machine for 36. Which means that if you are too old or infirm or poor and uneducated or have a family emergency and can't book online then you have to pay extortionate fcking rates from Iarnrod Eireann. I was nearly physically sickened by their policy. I'm reading a biography of the great Tom Barry from Cork who grew up poor like his neighbour Michael Collins and did so much for Irish Independence and I was thinking what would he think of this pathetic gombeen extortionate greed by Iarnrod Eireann. How typical of the greed and sickness of the bloated Celtic Tiger.

On a good note,
stayed in a great little B&B in Leap called the Leap Inn, only 35 euro with a full brekfast.
also had a lovely pint in O'Casey's in Glandore which is a little gem of an old-fashioned pub.
also had a lobster dinner in a great pub called Mary Ann's in Castletownsend which cost 58 euro with dessert drinks and coffee, which is a big reduction in their celtic tiger prices. they were voted best pub food in Ireland last year and in fairness their food is something special and thats what the girlfriend wanted so that's what i had to do but if i was on my own i would have gone to a chipper in Rosscarbery called Roc's which take 20 minutes to make your fish and chips coz they cook everything fresh and they are the best chipper in Ireland. And this village was also the home of the very dangerous Tom Barry, which is interesting to me anyhow.

here is a picture of one of the finest standing stone circles in Ireland, please note the weather. It is called Drombeg, just outside Glandore, one magical and deeply unsettling place.

hang on and i'll upload the pic in the next post, computer giving me trouble.

paddy2008 · 06-09-2009 10:13pm

then the car broke down, and it's seriously broken, smoke everywhere, burning a litre of oil every few miles.

sounds like you need a new turbo as well(more bad news)

Doc Farrell · 06-09-2009 10:23pm

thats what i'm hoping it is paddy and not anything to do with the piston rings!

here's that picture of Drombeg.

going back to the lakes tomorrow for 2 hours please God.

btw i'd like to upload better pictures but only the camera phone pics are small enough to attach, am i doing something wrong? help me jd and all the rest of u picture uploaders!

Doc Farrell · 06-09-2009 10:55pm

SeaFields wrote: »

If you are heading that direction bring the trout fly gear. There's a lake there called Ballinlough lake, just north of Leap. I have vivid memories of the legendary Jim Maxwell, a renowned fly angler, showing me how to cast a fly when I was about nine or ten. I think there are permits in a b+b close to the lake and theres a healthy stock of brownies in the lake stocked at bout 1/2 pound. Its a gorgeous spot but i haven't been there in five or six years.

seafields i heard from a local angler that ballinlough lake is no longer stocked and that the angling club has disbanded. Also there's a beautiful lake near reanascreena called Corran lake which is a stunningly beautiful lake on top of a hill, but because of litter, damage, open gates etc the local land owners have closed it off.

now this should be depressing but these lakes are so stunning and angling is such a wonderful past time that I'm convinced that these lakes, along with all other lakes, will be treasured and properly respected by future generations. they are literally priceless. And they get along just fine without us humans, thank god.

the angler i was talking to was forced to sell his boat by his wife because he was spending to much time on the water that it was destroying his making a living. i think he still sneaks away when he can....

Itsdacraic · 06-09-2009 11:14pm

Doc Farrell wrote: »

then you have to pay extortionate fcking rates from Iarnrod Eireann. I was nearly physically sickened by their policy. I'm reading a biography of the great Tom Barry from Cork who grew up poor like his neighbour Michael Collins and did so much for Irish Independence and I was thinking what would he think of this pathetic gombeen extortionate greed by Iarnrod Eireann..

Tom Barry, great man.

SeaFields · 07-09-2009 12:31pm

Doc Farrell wrote: »

seafields i heard from a local angler that ballinlough lake is no longer stocked and that the angling club has disbanded. Also there's a beautiful lake near reanascreena called Corran lake which is a stunningly beautiful lake on top of a hill, but because of litter, damage, open gates etc the local land owners have closed it off.

Ah Jesus thats a pity. Its a stunning lake and used fish very well all the time. Its where I caught my very first brown trout - albeit a stockie. I imagine that there must still be a few brownies in it and they may even start spawning.

My experience with farmers like that is that if you ask permission, even if they are after closing a place, they will let you fish away if you are genuine. Having a fly rod in tow generally helps (as opposed to a bait rod and a bag of cans).

Disaster of a trip Doc but shur there's a couple of weeks in the season left and with the weather supposed to settle there may be some good fishing to be had in next few weeks.

mp22 · 07-09-2009 12:47pm

[quote=Doc Farrell;61982852
then the rain came down and stayed down, massive clouds of it.[/quote]
It seems every time you put foot in west cork the rain gods are out to get you:p (they get us nearly every day down here)

SeaFields · 07-09-2009 2:16pm

+1

We could do a poll....Is Doc Farrell the unluckiest angler you ever heard of?!
:P:D:D:P

mp22 · 07-09-2009 4:55pm

SeaFields wrote: »

+1

We could do a poll....Is Doc Farrell the unluckiest angler you ever heard of?!
:P:D:D:P

Consider this i live within 25 miles of leap and i had to bring some one who was staying with us for the weekend up to the railway station yesterday evening.A taxi from leap to kent station is not cheap.On the plus side the fishing is cr*p at the minute rivers and lakes are very high.

Doc Farrell · 08-09-2009 12:10am

I was talking to an english angler today on shepperton Lake and he said that Ballinlough is open if you have the permit given out to fish shepperton, he said it's all under the remit of the SWAFB.

got no fishing in again because as soon as i touched a rod, in the boot of a broken car on the back of a lorry it would start to rain.

i went down to the Long Strand near Rosscarbery and it lashed down just as i was tying on an unsuitable fly for sea bass.

i found a beautiful labrador who had a phone no on her collar so i rang the owner and she was very grateful. i shared a bun and a packet of chicken flavoured crisps with her, the dog that is, not the owner.

five hours in the truck and here i am. now i have some pictures of ballinlough lake (the lake part of the name is redundant, isn't it?) and Shepperton Lake. excuse me while i fiddle with these.

Doc Farrell · 08-09-2009 12:15am

there were a series of a dozen floating barrels on ballinlough, i'm hoping it is something to do with a fish or environmental programme and not just randomn barrels!

here's a picture, not very good.

Doc Farrell · 13-09-2009 10:08pm

well lads,
its all over, the season on my little river is finishing tuesday the 15th. I hope you managed to get out. I was out each day and i have news. I think i've finally started to fly fish. I got plenty of takes on a size 12 Olive Klinkhammer dipped in floatant. I studied the water first, watched the fish, stood in better spots, allowed the fly to drift down to the fish, and didn't rush anything.

I would have been better off using smaller flies but other than that I'm happy enough with my fishing. After 60-80 hours I'm just beginning to get the hang of it.

here's a couple of pics, needless to say, i didn't keep either of the little fellas.

edit: embarressed about the little guy, at least i pinched the barb down, hope i didn't hurt him too much...

Feyy · 13-09-2009 11:23pm

Very tastey river there Doc, makes me wanna pull out the czech nymphs :cool:

Lets hope you didnt strangle the small fellow

Itsdacraic · 14-09-2009 1:34pm

Got out for the first time in ages yesterday evening. Caught two trout, one small fella and the other roughly 10". Ended up calling it quits after getting in a tangle just as it got dark. Will give it another shot this evening.

Tinytony · 15-09-2009 9:07pm

Frustrating evening this evening. Caught two smallies but must have lost 5 or 6 decent ones. Cinamon Sedge was doing most of the damage. Nice to get out for the evening though.

stevenmu · 16-09-2009 2:53pm

I've been thinking, with the sea angling competition attracting a bit of interest (and a big thanks to the organisers for putting it together), would people be interested in a similar fly-fishing comp?

Just something small and for a bit of fun more anything else. I'm thinking the best way to do it would be on a commercial fishery, that would make it a bit easier for us to fish in fairly close proximity, and with the season coming to an end it could provide some out-of-season sport. Any interest in this?

SeaFields · 16-09-2009 3:11pm

I was thinking the same thing stevemu but was considering proposing a fly tying challenge for the winter months. Don't know how that would suit people but might be something to keep the interest up during the off season....

Obviously a fly fishing outing would come first given the time of year we're in but all in all a few of these outings and challenges would be good craic me thinks

And yes, credit to those who are organising the sea fishing comp

stevenmu · 16-09-2009 7:43pm

That's a nice idea too, I haven't started tying yet but it would be nice to give it a go over the winter months.

Doc Farrell · 16-09-2009 8:12pm

i'm interested but will be a last minute addition because of work, but Annamoe or anywhere actually would suit me. i got me the fly tying tools but not the space but i gotta start somewhere. if you want to start fly tying please google David Cammiss and follow to his site. He is my latest hero. His son updates his free site.

stevenmu · 18-09-2009 10:44am

I was thinking of Annamoe myself as well. The layout would work quite well for a group of people fishing together, and it's very easy to get around so if anyone's doing really well it'll be easy to pop over and spy on them

The only downside would be if people from around the country were interested it might be a bit out of the way and somewhere a bit more central might be better.

If a few people will be interested I'll start a thread with a poll to see what dates will suit people.

DVD-Lots · 18-09-2009 7:38pm

I have been fishing Cloghan lake recently and it is quite good, not too far from the big smoke and might be more central for us culchies. Just a thought....

Doc Farrell · 19-09-2009 8:31pm

looks like a nice spot.
annamoe getting a little expensive.

here's a great list of fisheries:

http://www.cfb.ie/fishing_in_ireland/putandtake.htm

Doc Farrell · 19-09-2009 8:48pm

this site contains malware - fishingireland.net, watch out for it.

exact page.

www.fishingireland.net/fishing/salmonandtrout/dublin/dargle.htm

Doc Farrell · 20-09-2009 10:28pm

is that a tumbleweed i see ablowin' through this forum?

very quiet, especially considering that this is one of the best islands in the world to fish and we're into that last week of most rivers...? spooky

got my dodder membership today, i think i'm the last member of the club since there's only a week left!

went to bohernabreena but there were families there (and a lot of drinkers) and i was looking for some peace so i drove to the source of the Liffey and listened to the gaa finals. filled half a bag with plastic and cans and left for home.

went down to the Dropping Well for a delicious pepper sauce burger and was going to take out the rod but i left the little trout in peace. may get a chance to fish one more time before Sept 30th but its not really likely.

i thought, by now, there'd be dozens of people like me around the country posting their own nonsense about disappearing into the natural world, maybe they're all out fishing!

resolution: next time i see someone making a mess and leaving it behind them i'm taking their reg plate numbers and calling the cops. tired of asking people to clean up their own sh!t.

what constantly amazes me is that a human trasher will drive for miles to find a beautiful place and then leave its own crap behind. is this a lack of education or is there something seriously amiss in the psyche of the human species that does not bode well for this planet?

On a wider scale what will happen to this planet when the population doubles and then doubles again. Is this the real face of Armegeddon, with so many billions living at a subsistence level, that the next time there's a major pandemic, or food shotage caused by disease (probably man made) there will be international revolutions that no state can control?

the irish are fortunate in that they are cut off from mainland Europe. we are protected by our isolation. i was in Barcelona for a weekend a while ago and was shocked by the poverty, thousands of North Africans and Algerians working in the black market, i even saw a genial mugging, two young guys just took the two older tourists stuff left on a table and ran off laughing. i understand that there is no dole in Spain?

if i were a poor French Algerian in the South of France surrounded by wealth and idleness i would be organising teams of people to flood the markets with whatever contraband people wanted. my point being that national borders are nonexistant in a time of crisis and many crises lie ahead and populations are expanding. history has been quiet in western europe for the last half century while the rest of the world has been changing at a speed never known in the history of man. i'm curious to know what the touchstone will be that will trigger the next mass exodus.

these are the thoughts you have when you end up collecting beer cans in the Sally Gap. :rolleyes:

in fact i apologise for the non-angling nature of this post, this is not the forum for these questions, but i'd be interested in other's opinions as to the long term effect of the misuse of our natural resources. here are three examples:

salmon farms run by wealthy men have destroyed salmon and sea trout populations. they are still running.

commercial fishing has decimated shore fishing. they are still trawling.

river anglers have emptied lakes and rivers without penalty, except for unenforcable fines. They continue fishing and killing.

the answer for me lies not in education but in punishment.

1. move the salmon farms out to sea or close them down.
2. send the Naval service in to confiscate boats fishing illegally.
3. prison sentences for littering and fishing without permits.

we've had since the end of world war 2 to educate our populations on all manner of subjects. zero tolerance cleaned up New York. it can clean up here.

feel free to disagree vehemently with me. it's only the internet.

bitemybanger · 20-09-2009 11:39pm

vehemently:eek:

Great post Doc, its a sad reality but one that will go without response until it is too late which unforuunatly isnt too far away (typical irish attitude)
By the way, you sort out those fleas? :0

Doc Farrell · 21-09-2009 1:03am

all the fleas have gone on vacation!

just read my own post and thought 'there goes a guy who needs to go fishing'.

apologies for the rant. i won't do it anymore. but i will be nailing anyone i find pooping where i fish.

SeaFields · 25-09-2009 2:53pm

Right... we are into the last few days of the trout season. I've just put the fly gear in the car and will be heading out on Mon. Have to work for the weekend unfortunately. Heading to Kerry next week and I'm going to climb to a tiny mountain lake I know which has produced bags of trout for me in the past - little fellas that love the dry fly and love to fight too. Haven't fished it yet this year so it will be my first and last time this season. There might even be a char about the place (hope shines eternal). Will bring the camera and try and get a pic or two for the "post your pictures" sticky.

The Anglers Rest - A plaice :-) for fishy tales - it was HOW big !!

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