Early Season
Top Ten
Flies for Ireland
Hilariously funny, seriously, this is angling's answer to "Last Of The Summer
Wine"! .....Ray Robinson is a real life "Compo" who goes fishing with Dietrich
Bohnhorst.....I give it 10 out of 10.....a must have DVD for all the
family.
Roger Baker, Irish Angler Magazine
...I was very impressed by the DVD. Very good filming.
B. Brasseur, Aachen, Germany
This DVD is a must for every fisherman who wants to learn the delicate art of
flytying.
The beautiful scenery enhances the pleasure of this film, as does the dry
humour of his eccentric English friend "the great Raymondo". Watch as they
tramp the landscape, dressed as if extras in Monty Python's Quest for the Holy
Grail, (which in a sense they are, in a fishy sort of way).
Great Entertainment for all the Family
114 minutes of fly-tying and fishing. Dietrich Bohnhorst's entertaining and
practical guide for every game angler. On DVD for only EURO 20
or order by phone
Tel.: ++353-(0)74-97 36922
Early Season Brown Trout
For the brown trout angler, winter and closed season are always much too long.
Sometimes you don't really know how to cast a proper line, after all these
months of abstinence.
The flies you have tied, during long winter evenings, are all in their boxes,
waiting to be tried and tested.
Then the first of March comes along, like a saviour, but alas, it is mostly
much too cold, much too windy, much too wet, or a most complicated mixture of
everything.
"Usually it picks up after St. Patrick's Day", a fellow angler told me once.
That was about twenty years ago, and global warming with greenhouse effect have
obviously not changed that fundamental wisdom regarding Donegal brown trout one
bit.
Though this year's weather and water levels permitted a few hours of fishing on
the first of March, apart from a few pulls and some very small trout, there was
nothing in it to make the pan smell. They were just not ready for it.
In these early days of the Brown Trout season I love to fish little mountain
streams. They are so fresh and lively, just like the trout in them. Very often
you will be surprised at the size of fish coming out of these little waters.
Brooks, often not wider than a few feet, can provide great sport for those who
know. Particularly when there are pools. And the fish in these little rivers
are usually the earliest trout you can catch in any season. When they are still
lying deep in lakes and bigger rivers, not going for the fly at all, the
mountain stream fellers are already on the go.
Now, since these bubbling brooks are so very small, you will find yourself
easily over gunned with the usual 9 or 10-foot class 8 trout rod. Something a
bit more petit is called for. Like a class 4 or 5, 7 to 8 foot long rod with a
simple, matching DT line.
Long distance casting is not necessary at all. The art of casting is here often
restricted to hitting the water, instead of the banks.
Once you have found your mountain stream, the most likely place to catch that
early trout is where it shoots into a pool. The slow and deep stretches, where
you would expect the best fishing, are mostly very unproductive this time of
year.
Depth and speed are other factors to take care of. Slow and deep is all I have to say to that.
To get down there, a weighted nymph is all you want. For me a pheasant tail
nymph, the thorax made up from copper wire, has served best. It sinks pretty
good and the fish like it.
When you prefer the two fly set up: a Butcher, tied in only two feet above the
nymph, works wonders.
So, when the early season blues hits, pack your bag and head for the hills. I'm sure there is a mountain stream near you, where lively trout will take the fly.
Where to Fish in Ireland
You will find all information plus useful phone numbers, e-mail - and web addresses on our DVD; 2 hours packed with fish, fishing and where to go in County Donegal for only € 20
or order by phone
Tel.: ++353-(0)74-97 36922
...affable presenter ...a wonderful contrast to the posturing ninny of so many
such productions ...hard facts presented clearly with precise details
...photography is at time stunning ...what else could an angler desire
...
Trout and Salmon Magazine
.....a class on its own.....many beautiful waters.....of interest to every
angler
Fliegenfischen Magazine
Nick Love Award Winning Programme
Time for the Butcher
Once St. Patrick's Day (17 of March, for those who aren't too familiar with
Irish peculiarities) is over and the weather picks up a bit, the keen angler
can't wait to get at the lakes. "They are still laying deep", may some people
say, of course that is nothing but a lame excuse for sitting by the fire,
having a lazy afternoon.
The passionate angler is different he has to be out fishing. Storms of wind,
rain, low temperatures, big waves on the lake, nothing can hold him back. This
is not a day to be out on a boat. You are walking along the shore, trying to
get the wind from behind. There is no chance casting into it. You are looking
for some shelter, maybe a little cliff or a line of trees, anything to break
the wind a bit.
Memories of other stormy March days come up, telling you where to try
particularly hard, where to persist that bit longer. At this little bay, near a
boulder, by that little island or under that lone sally bush, where the little
stream runs in. You have fished all these places in the past, and you have
caught fish in all these places. You can remember when the surface of the lake
was alive with rings of rising trout and every cast rewarded with a take.
Today is different though. Mid March is not the time to expect many rises. Deep
and slow is the rule of the day. You would think a weighted nymph should do the
trick, but you have tried that again and again with very little success. What
works so perfect in the rivers doesn't do the trick in our lakes. Obviously the
lake brown trout is not in the habit of taking insect larvae early in the
season. Flies imitating little fish prove much more catchy than nymphs. One
pattern, now over 170 years old, does exactly that and has produced time and
again the first lake brown trout of the season for me. The Butcher.
The standard Butcher that is, with the red tail, silver body and rib, black iridescent duck feather and black hen hackle. If you prefer the two fly set up, a Bibio as dropper works very well. Fished deep and slow, I often caught fish in March, when most anglers thought it is still much too cold, much too wet and much too windy. So, when it is March again, and you look out of the window, trying to make a decision, for fishing or for sitting by the fire - go fishing. Put a few Butchers in your fly box and head for the lake.
DEDICATION
In 1995 Dietrich Bohnhorst and Ray Robinson produced DEDICATION, a four part movie, following two dedicated fly-fishers through various entertaining and exciting expeditions on land and sea in the North-West of Ireland.
After DEDICATION was shown on European TV via French Station AB-Sat and in
North America via a cable network it became somewhat of an angler's cult film.
All 107 minutes of DEDICATION are available for only €20 on DVD in library
case;
or order by phone
Tel.: ++353-(0)74-97 36922
DEDICATION is not a how to or where to go program. It's a slice of life.
DEDICATION is a rambling fishy tail of two awld fellers as grizzled as the
hills they roam, searching for the ultimate fish.
Indispersed with the actual fishing are numerous fly-tying tips, essential to
every madman, crazy enough to follow their examples.
What is not in doubt in DEDICATION (apart from the stunning photography) is the
sheer joy of fishing in all weathers by two men who know what they are talking
about, - and can (almost) convince even the most sceptical about the "one that
got away".
