When to fly fish??

boxer.fan

Hey guys,

Just invested in a fly rod. Planning to try it out on some local lakes. Any advice on what is the best time of day to go out or does it vary with location??

Thanks!

experimenter

Can you be more specific as to where you are planning to go?

I fished last weekend to 10:45pm but I have often fly fished well into darkness..

If I was planning an evening on a river I would head off after 7pm and fish until dark...

Enjoy..

boxer.fan

just some small lakes in donegal, had some success with bubble & fly in the past with brown trout.
Went out this evening for a few hours, damn this casting business is not as easy as it looks. Trout jumping right left and centre, kinda got the feeling they were laughing at me

TimMac

If its on a lake the last hour or two before darkness can be very productive, also I would be fishing from whichever side the wind is blowing into your face.

fontanalis

In general I would avoid mid-day to around 3.30, I prefer evening time myself. My ideal conditions would be an overcast day with a North West wind (I always found a North East wind to be bad), bright days in general aren't good for fishing.
If you're starting out on those hill loughs learning to cast is important (actually this is important no matter what) but don't try to go for distance, it's amazing how close in you actually catch fish.
Start of with one fly on a nine foot leader (it should help to avoid tangles and a lot of frustration and wasted time): something like a kate McClaern, Bibio, Butcher or Green Peter.

Here's a good website with Donegal Loughs.
http://www.wheretofishinireland.com/home/index.php?id=144

Happyhunter

Hi boxer fan. As said above, avoid midday, other than that dusk and early morning will be most effective.
As far as casting is concerned, don't try and force distance it will come. A good short cast will catch a lot more fish than a sloppy long cast. I've a good bit of experience bank fishing mountain loughs of Ireland and was brought up fishing the mountain Lochs of the Cairngorms in Scotland. My go to fly fishing a new water would always be a Black Zulu and if that fails a Mallard and Green. If your not tying the flys yourself look for a Zulu with a soft hackle as oppose to a stiif, imho the soft hackle is a much better fish taker.
Another good tip, dull day = dull fly (March Brown, Blae and Black)
bright day= bright fly (Butcher, Dunkeld)
Hope this helps.

Happy Hunter.

stevenmu

Also on a lake you probably don't need to cast very often, depending on the particular method of course. Don't be afraid to let the fish come and find your fly. It's a bit different on a river where the water keeps moving your fly so you have to recast.

boxer.fan

This is great stuff guys, some great information here.

Whenever i manage to present the fly, how quickly should i retrieve it??

280special

I went out for the first time in about 15 years a week ago so am in much the same boat as you....ohh god forgive the pun !!


Due to an inability to sleep i went back out again earlier this week at 06.30 and to be honest didnt get much in the line of bites untill about 7.15...it was a bit cold and a bit misty so I reckon the trout might have been sitting around saying " to hell with this, what hour of the morning do you call this???" LoL

Good luck with it !

slowburner

boxer.fan wrote: »

This is great stuff guys, some great information here.

Whenever i manage to present the fly, how quickly should i retrieve it??

Sometimes, the trout will be feeding specifically on one insect and your only chance is to imitate that insect by using flies that are the same size, look roughly similar and most importantly, that move in the same way.
Non biting midges (buzzers) form a huge part of all trout's diet. These insects are taken on their way to the surface and in the surface film. They hardly move at all.
Then there are days when the trout are free rising and you might have a chance with traditional wet flies. You will need to vary the speed of retrieve to find the one they want on the day. Flies above size 12 are usually too big - size 14 is a good starting point for traditional wet fly fishing.
The depth you fish the flies at can be crucial. A slowly retrieved fly will fish deeper.
I have always fished three flies and find they tangle less if you put the heaviest fly on the point, next heaviest on the middle dropper and lightest on the top dropper.
As you arrive at the lake, take some time to observe where the fish are rising and how you can best approach them without disturbing them. Keeping below the horizon improves your chances. If no fish are rising, try to figure out where they might be.
Your first cast should be parallel to the shore and then a little further out and so on, in a fan shape. Trout in the hill loughs of Donegal always seem to like features such as boulders, so these are always worth aiming for.

If you are not catching fish, there could be several reasons:

• The fish are not feeding (bright sun, easterly winds, flat calm - all bad)
• They are feeding, but you are not representing the food they are after
• They are not there - more common than most people think (usually because they have been frightened away)

Above all, stick at it - in time, people will be asking your advice on how to fish the hill loughs of Donegal

con___manx1

u should find out if there is any sea trout rivers in yr area.. this is the time of year they are running.u have to fish for them late in the evening or after dark. good flys are teal blue and silver, alexandra,kill devil spider,peter ross,wickhams fancy,black pennel..

boxer.fan

At long last!!!!

After some serious perseverence, frustration and patience I managed to land my first brown trout this morning on the fly rod.

The fine 3/4 lb specimen fell to a blae & black fly roughly 30ft from the shore.

Thanks for all the good advice guys.

slowburner

Delighted for you. That's a good trout from anywhere.

thehamo

boxer.fan wrote: »

At long last!!!!

After some serious perseverence, frustration and patience I managed to land my first brown trout this morning on the fly rod.

The fine 3/4 lb specimen fell to a blae & black fly roughly 30ft from the shore.

Thanks for all the good advice guys.

can never figure out if 3/4 is 3/4's or 3 or 4 lb fish. But considering you said specimem il choose to be jealous!!!

Well Done!!

ironbluedun

thehamo wrote: »

can never figure out if 3/4 is 3/4's or 3 or 4 lb fish. But considering you said specimem il choose to be jealous!!!

Well Done!!

i think he means three quarters of lb...nice first trout from a hill lough.

fontanalis

boxer.fan wrote: »

At long last!!!!

After some serious perseverence, frustration and patience I managed to land my first brown trout this morning on the fly rod.

The fine 3/4 lb specimen fell to a blae & black fly roughly 30ft from the shore.

Thanks for all the good advice guys.

Well done, confidence plays such a big part in fishing.
May I ask where the lough was?

280special

Nice one ! Hope this is only the first of the many !

Congrats, still only catching fish fingers here at the moment !