Glenda Powell, who is well known in Ireland and abroad as a fly casting instructor and guide on the river Blackwater joins us on this week’s Ireland on the Fly.

 

In recent years Glenda has also been organising trips for salmon, sea trout and Arctic char to places such as Patagonia, Greenland and Iceland and having just spent two months in the land of fire and ice catching her personal best Icelandic salmon as well as some incredible sea trout and brown trout, we decided to catch up with her to find out more about the fishing as well as the ongoing protests amongst the population against the country’s increasing fish farms.

 

Plus, Glenda tells us of her love of travelling to new places to fish and how it also makes you appreciate just what we’ve got back home as well.

 

Keep up to date with all the latest Ireland on the Fly episodes on Apple or Spotify, plus you can sign up for our newsletter on https://www.IrelandontheFly.com and get regular updates on https://Instagram.com/IrelandontheFly.

This week  we speak to Judd Ruane, the well-known sea trout fishing guide on the Moy Estuary.  

 

Judd talks to us about the incredible days he has had as well as some of the famous names that have been in his boat, plus you’ll also hear about 16 years on the road touring Ireland, the UK and America with a Glen Miller style big band.

 

It’s fair to say that Judd has more than a few stories to tell about sea trout and a whole lot more….

 

And if you want find out more about fishing on the Moy Estuary, visit fishingireland.ie

 

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The Dodder is a unique and special river that flows through Dublin’s south city boundaries with salmon, sea trout and incredible brown trout in it – a fact not many capital cities can claim.

 

But as an urban river it faces many, ongoing challenges and Mark McAndrew, who is on the committee of the Dodder Anglers Association and fishes the river practically every day during the season, joins us this week to tell us about the remarkable survival and growth of the Dodder river as well as the challenges it faces in the future.

For more information you can visit the Dodder Anglers Facebook page at:
https://www.facebook.com/dodder.anglers 

 

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Image: Dodder Anglers' Association.

For so many of us, fly fishing is also about the people, places and experiences we have, especially whilst discovering new places.

 

And so, for this latest episode of Ireland on the Fly, we speak to Cork fly angler, Ronan Collins, whom Daire first met in Greenland last year.

 

Ronan has fished in many far flung places around the world and is a particularly keen salmon angler with incredible stories from Russia and elsewhere, plus he also introduced Daire to the wonders of yacht-rock, but more on that later in the show…

 

Speaking to Ronan and hearing his stories about fly fishing around Ireland and the world is a reminder that it’s about fly fishing and about so much more.

 

Rate, review and follow the show to keep up to date with all the latest Ireland on the Fly episodes on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.  

 

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It’s January 2023 and a Happy New Year to all our listeners and to those of you especially who have been in touch with ideas, suggestions and for the competition as well.

 

We’ll be running a lot more comps with prizes of books, flies and fly boxes throughout the year so stay tuned for that.

 

And the winner of Mark Wormald’s The Catch: Fishing for Ted Hughes was Kevin Tripper so congratulations Kevin.

 

But back to this week’s episode and we hear from Shane Gallagher of the Drowes Fishery to hear how the opening few days of the salmon season went.

 

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Christmas 2022 has been and gone, the presents opened and too much eating and drinking gone on I’m sure and you’re probably counting down the days to the salmon season starting, or getting back out onto the water before the hectic work-life schedule starts all over again.

 

And so, for our last episode of the year we’ve put together a collection of some of our guests’ most memorable fish on the fly stories.  

With everything from small fish to giant fish and fishing with family and friends, they give a snapshot into just why we love to fly fish…..

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As it's the run-up to Christmas, we’ve got another instalment of our book club this week on the show and we’re discussing Ted Hughes and the influence of Ireland and Irish fly fishing on his poetry with Mark Wormald, a Cambridge lecturer and fly angler, who has written a superb book called The Catch: Fishing for Ted Hughes.
 
Mark stands where the poet stood, forty years ago, because fishing was Ted Hughes's way of breathing - and because the poet's writing has made Mark understand that it has always been his way of breathing, too. 

 

Using Hughes's poetry collection River and his fishing diaries as a guide, Mark returns again and again to the rivers and lakes in Britain and Ireland where the poet fished.

 

We also have a signed copy of Mark’s book to give away and to be in with a chance of winning The Catch, tell us the name of one of Ted Hughes’s poems and email the answer to info@lastcastmedia.com. 

 

We’ll contact the winner then over Christmas and have the book posted out to him/her.
 

Rate, review and follow the show to keep up to date with all the latest Ireland on the Fly episodes on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.  

 

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If you’re into saltwater fly fishing, by all accounts, 2022 seems to have been the year of the pollock with large numbers and large sizes of the fish being caught right throughout the season.

 

Are we seeing more pollock being caught because more anglers are targeting them on the fly?  And, what’s happened to the bass?

 

To find out more, for this week’s episode, we’re joined by Richie Ryan of Corkbass.com who is a guide specialising in catching pollock on the fly.

 

Richie told us of incredible days with 30-40 pollock being caught, how and when to target them and why, for him, bass is now playing second fiddle to pollock when it comes to saltwater fly fishing.

 

You can contact Richie by visiting Corkbass.com

 

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Another fish to target over winter is pike, with pike on the fly becoming increasingly popular in Ireland.

 

For this week’s episode we wanted to find out more about the set-up, the flies, the tactics and why fly fishing for pike isn’t just for Christmas either and we spoke to Markus Muller, an advisor to IFI and pike fly fishing aficionado, as well as Bodo Funke, the well-known pike guide based in Roscommon.

 

If you’re interested in finding out more or wanted to organise a day out fly fishing for pike, you can contact Bodo at anglingservicesireland.com

 

 

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You might be wondering why we’re talking about salmon for this latest episode in December, but as we get closer to the start of the season on January 1st, the IFI are busy finalising the data from the salmon tags for the 2022 season to make the final decision on what rivers will be open next year.

 

So, we decided to speak to Kevin Crowley from the IFI to find out more about the data they have, to give us some insights into the salmon numbers from this year and how the whole process works.

 

Kevin also has some interesting insights into policy and strategy around the salmon and it’s worth a listen.

 

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Although it’s winter time it doesn’t mean you have to hang up your rods in the close season with a number of stocked fisheries around the country a great place to still catch fish - even if it is sometimes in near freezing temperatures.

 

But with stockies, it’s not just about chuck it out and pull em in as you’ll find out on our latest episode with Denis Goulding, a well-known Irish international angler who has fished for them for over thirty years and who also runs the winter bank league.

 

Denis gives us a bit of a masterclass in how to fish for rainbows and it’s well worth a listen.

 

As he says, just get out there, relax and go fishing on these fisheries over winter time, ‘they’re ready and waiting for you.’

 

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On last week’s episode we spoke to Eoghain Maclean, a ghillie on Scotland’s famed Loch Maree which has collapsed as a fishery since the arrival of fish farms.

 

We wanted a ghillie’s perspective on it to sound a warning as to what could happen to other fisheries in Ireland being similarly affected.

 

And now, as a follow-up, we have a bonus episode from Wild Fish, the UK fish conservation group, which made a video on the demise of Loch Maree.

 

You’ll hear from Jeremy Paxman, Eoghain Macclean and fishery scientists about the effects of sea lice on salmon and sea trout and how this has impacted what was once a jewel in the crown of Scotland’s lochs.

 

It has also happened before in Ireland with the sea trout fisheries in Connemara, and it can happen here again.

The audio is courtesy of www.wildfish.org and you can watch the video on their YouTube channel.

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As fly anglers we have become all too aware of the environmental dangers and unwanted consequences of fish farming and what was once touted as an answer to more productive fish production has now been proved to be anything but.

 

Scotland is a case in point - the west coast of Scotland in particular, where salmon and sea trout runs have practically disappeared – much like what we’ve also seen with sea trout in Connemara.

 

Loch Maree was once the jewel in the crown for Scottish loch fishing but since the 1980s and the arrival of fish farms nearby, its fish numbers have been decimated.

 

So, for this latest episode of Ireland on the Fly we wanted to highlight how quickly a fishery can collapse, the effects on the fishing, the environment and the economy, whilst also finding out about some possible green shoots that are now emerging. 

 

Eoghain Maclean has been a ghillie on Loch Maree all his life and has been outspoken about the damage that has been done to the loch from fish farming and so he joined us to give us his perspective on the changes that he has seen in his lifetime.

 

Rate, review and follow the show to keep up to date with all the latest Ireland on the Fly episodes on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.  

 

Plus you can sign up for our newsletter on IrelandontheFly.com and get regular updates on Instagram.com/IrelandontheFly.

The 2024 salmon season is well under way and we're waiting for the grilse run, but having spoken to anglers around the country it appears that numbers are still down and following a similar path to 2023.

 

However, if you’ve been despondent and down in the dumps about the salmon, fear not, for this week’s guest, Sean McLaughlin, who is a salmon angler based outside Derry and a Loop Tackle ambassador, is here to put some positivity and hope back into the season.

 

He gives us reasons why we should remain optimistic and eternally hopeful and always enjoy our salmon fishing, no matter what.

 

‘Never stop in search of happiness,’ as Sean tells us.  

 

You can follow Sean at:

https://www.instagram.com/sean_mclaughlin21/

https://www.youtube.com/@seanmclaughlin5258 

 

Rate, review and follow the show to keep up to date with all the latest Ireland on the Fly episodes on Apple or Spotify, plus you can sign up for our newsletter on IrelandontheFly.com and get regular updates on Instagram.com/IrelandontheFly.

We wanted to start a bit of a book club here on the Ireland on the Fly podcast to discuss the best Irish fly fishing books and so, for this the 50th show, we’re beginning with an episode on Kingsmill Moore’s A Man May Fish, the seminal work on fly fishing in Ireland.

 

To help us give context and background to Kingsmill Moore, we spoke to Patrick Gageby, a barrister and fly angler who also co-wrote the foreword to an edition of O’Gorman’s The Practice of Angling in Ireland.

 

Patrick reveals some fascinating first-hand insights about Kingsmill Moore and the places he fished as well as how Moore’s background and legal career helped influence his writing of the book.

 

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It’s officially winter and that means, for many fly anglers, the longer nights will see the vice dusted down and plans made for new flies to be tied for next season.

 

On this latest episode of Ireland on the Fly, we hear from one of Ireland’s finest fly tyers, Jackie Mahon, to get some of the secrets to his fly tying success – and he tells us the extent he will go to for just the right shade of magenta!

 

Visit Jackiemahonfliesandguiding.com for more on Jackie’s guiding and flies to order.

 

Rate, review and follow the show to keep up to date with all the latest Ireland on the Fly episodes on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.  

 

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The 2022 salmon and trout season has come to a close and so, for this episode of Ireland on the Fly, we’re doing a review of the brown trout lakes around the country to find out how the fishing has been, what the conditions were like and, most importantly, what the catch numbers were on the different waters.

 

Paul Bourke is a name many of you might be familiar with through his forty plus years with Inland Fisheries Ireland as well as his monthly updates to Trout & Salmon magazine and we thought who better to give us the round-up of the Irish fly fishing season on the lakes just gone.

 

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Keith McDonnell is well known in this country for being one of the early advocates of streamer fishing and his many incredible catches are a testament to his skills and use of the tactic.

 

And having seen his pictures of 20lbs sea trout from a recent trip to Iceland we had to get him on the show to talk about the trip and the experience and to also find out how the 2022 season went for him overall…..

 

For more about the fishing near Reykjavik that Keith mentions, visit the website at svfr.is and can you can also visit StreamerFishing.com for more tips and advice on streamer fly fishing.

 

Rate, review and follow the show to keep up to date with all the latest Ireland on the Fly episodes on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.  

 

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With International Women's Fly Fishing Day held recently, for this latest episode of Ireland on the Fly, we wanted to speak to young Irish female fly anglers to find out about their love of fly fishing, how they got into it and what can be done to encourage more inclusivity in the sport.

 

Almha McDonnell and Rebecca Moffitt McGinn have progressed from the Irish youths teams to currently fishing on the senior Irish Ladies fly fishing team and have a wealth of knowledge and insights about the sport and are still just in their 20s.

 

They tell us about the importance of clubs in encouraging their early interest and how they quickly progressed onto youths and then senior international teams and how they hope they are recognised not just as female fly anglers but fly anglers instead.

 

Rate, review and follow the show to keep up to date with all the latest Ireland on the Fly episodes on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.  

 

Plus you can sign up for our newsletter on IrelandontheFly.com and get regular updates on Instagram.com/IrelandontheFly.

We’re into the last few weeks of the salmon and trout season and for this week’s Ireland on the Fly, we’re joined by Peter Driver, founder of Piscari Fly in Kilkenny, and a highly accomplished trout angler who just recently captured the National River Championship.

 

Peter talks to us about the importance of mindset and mentality in enabling him to capture the national title, plus he talks tactics for September river fishing and how the 2022 season went for him.

 

Peter is also returning with his popular, weekly winter fly-tying on Facebook from 8th October so keep an eye out for those video demonstrations.

 

Rate, review and follow the show to keep up to date with all the latest Ireland on the Fly episodes on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.  

 

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For this latest episode of Ireland on the Fly, we're focusing on, what some might say is a bit of an esoteric branch of the sport – tenkara - and the art of fishing on mountain streams with minimum line and no reel that first developed in Japan.  

 

So, what is it, how does one do it and most importantly, how relevant is it to Irish waters?

 

David Anchell is a passionate fly angler in south Tipperary and knowing he was a keen advocate of tenkara, we decided to find out more from him and why it works so well on Irish mountain streams.

 

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This latest episode is a little bit different and a bit more far flung as I’ve recently returned from a week’s fly fishing for sea-run Arctic char in Greenland and what an experience it was.  

 

You’re going to hear from the local Inuit, the Danish chef, the German camp manager and the Welsh guide to get an insight into what made the trip so special and what it’s like catching char in one of the remote fly fishing destinations in the world.

 

Rate, review and follow the show to keep up to date with all the latest Ireland on the Fly episodes on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.  

 

Plus sign up for our newsletter on IrelandontheFly.com and regular updates on Instagram.com/IrelandontheFly.

One key aspect of the Ireland on the Fly podcast is to also bring you information and insights into the different fisheries around the country and so, every few weeks we will be bringing you episodes focusing on fisheries from those who know them best.

These fishery focus episodes will help anglers who are maybe thinking of visiting a new river or lough, to find out when it fishes well and where to get good information also 

 

And if you want your fishery to be featured on future episodes then you can get in touch with us on Instagram.com/IrelandontheFly

 

This episode is on the River Bandon in Cork and we speak to Jason Nash, who grew up fishing the river along with his father and grandfather and where he is now a guide and fisheries consultant as well.

Keep up to date on IrelandontheFly.com as well as on Instagram.com/IrelandontheFly

River Suir angler George McGrath got in touch about an issue that has energised him and many of you in the Irish fly fishing community in recent weeks in relation to weed growth in Irish rivers and lakes that has been as bad in living memory.

 

So, what’s going on?  Who’s responsible and more importantly, what can be done about it?

 

George McGrath joins us to tell us what he has seen and fisheries scientist, Ken Whelan, gives his scientific explanation as to what is most likely the reason, plus who to contact and what pro-active measures can be taken to ensure that this problem does not go unaddressed.

 

If you have seen similar weed growth and conditions that George McGrath has described, then get in touch with LAWaters.ie to start the investigation.

 

Keep up to date on IrelandontheFly.com as well as on Instagram.com/IrelandontheFly.

Internationally renowned fishery scientist, Ken Whelan, issues a call to action on the latest episode of The Last Salmon.

 

He says that ranching can and will work to help improve salmon numbers in relation to supporting a rod fishery for anglers and he explains to us the background to its successful development and implementation – albeit with caveats and cautions.

 

Likening it to racehorse breeding, he points to the Burrishoole ranching programme and the work of Dr. David Piggins and says this is the model that can be followed for supporting a rod fishery in lieu of wild stock.

 

Whilst wild fish conservation measures must continue to be carried out, drastic and innovative action is needed, says Ken, if we are not to see entire salmon stocks disappear.

 

Image: Burrishoole Fishery

 

#thelastsalmon #fightforthewildsalmon

 
The Last Salmon is a new podcast hosted by renowned actor, Jim Murray, and award-winning producer, Daire Whelan, which offers hope and solutions to the tragic story that is unfolding for an iconic species in crisis - the wild Atlantic salmon.  Listen and follow on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts, and for regular updates, follow the show at Instagram.com/TheLastSalmon.

This week’s guest is Garrett Fallon - someone who grew up in Ireland fishing the Boyne, Corrib, Deel and other rivers and lakes around the country but since the 1990s he has been in England working in publishing and design. 

 

The last few years however has seen him combine his love of fishing, writing and publishing to create the very popular fishing quarterly magazine, Fallon’s Angler, which is dedicated to longform writing about every type of angling with the likes of Chris Yates and Kevin Parr featuring in each issue.

 

Garrett is also the son of Niall Fallon, an Irish Times journalist who wrote the well-respected Fly Fishing for Irish Trout in 1983 and we speak to Garrett about his father’s influence growing up, his own memories of fishing in Ireland and why Fallon's Angler has helped him find the soul of angling along the way.

Keep up to date on IrelandontheFly.com as well as on Instagram.com/IrelandontheFly.

The mid-summer St Johns Eve celebrations at the end of June signalled the traditional start of the sea trout run in Ireland and if you’ve read Kingsmill Moore’s A Man May Fish you’ll get some idea of just how magical and plentiful the sea trout fishing in Connemara once was.

 

So for this latest episode of Ireland on the Fly, we wanted to find out more about that time, what made it so special and just why it all collapsed so dramatically in the late 1980s and we spoke to Joe Creane, a lifelong Connemara fly fisherman who is now a guide on Lough Inagh.

 

Keep up to date on IrelandontheFly.com as well as on Instagram.com/IrelandontheFly.

It’s summer and while brown trout anglers might be taking a hiatus and salmon anglers complain of low rivers, these summer months are an opportunity to escape to the ocean in pursuit of a different type of silver – that of the sea bass.

 

Jason O’Riordan is a well known Dungarvan-based angler and guide with Mackenzie who throws a fly at pretty much anything that swims, including bass around the famous Copper Coast and he joins us on this week’s show to tell us more about the bass and how to catch them.

Don’t forget to rate, review and follow the Ireland on the Fly podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts from.  Plus you can keep up to date on IrelandontheFly.com as well as on Instagram.com/IrelandontheFly.

To hear how the mayfly season went this year on Lough Sheelin, for this episode we spoke to Eamonn Ross from the Lough Sheelin Trout Protection Association.

 

Eamonn describes it as a tough time for him on the lake with the better days coming at the start of the mayfly period while it was hard to get the trout to move for the fly, he says, unless it was right on them.

 

Eamonn also talks about his memories of Sheelin from the 1980s to its current popularity and he explains why it is so special and magical for so many fly anglers, especially during the mayfly.

 

Don’t forget to rate, review and follow the Ireland on the Fly podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts from.  Plus you can keep up to date on IrelandontheFly.com as well as on Instagram.com/IrelandontheFly.

To celebrate and raise awareness of the recent #WorldEnvironmentDay the IFI’s National Fisheries Habitat Development Manager, Declan Cooke, gave a webinar on ‘Habitat Restoration in Irish Rivers’.

As a bonus episode for Ireland on the Fly listeners, this is the audio from Declan's webinar which you can also watch in full on the IFI's YouTube channel at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAniQ2RZbBc

Don’t forget to rate, review and follow the Ireland on the Fly podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts from. 

Plus you can keep up to date on IrelandontheFly.com as well as on Instagram.com/IrelandontheFly.

Darren Maguire is not just a good angler, he’s also the youngest captain of an Irish loughs team to date and for this episode, we spoke to Darren about his mentorship under his father, how he started guiding at the age of just 10 on Lough Melvin, and how his passion for the sport has remained undimmed since he first picked up a fly rod as a young boy.

At 33, Darren represents the next generation of fly anglers in Ireland and it is his enthusiasm for the sport that should serve as an advertisement for getting more kids and youth involved in the sport.

Rate, review and follow the Ireland on the Fly podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts from, plus you can keep up to date on IrelandontheFly.com.

Plus we delve a bit into the why rather than just the how of salmon fishing…..

Don’t forget to rate, review and follow the Ireland on the Fly podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts from, plus you can keep up to date on IrelandontheFly.com as well as on Instagram.

‘The mayfly is up’ – the four words that spark excitement and magic in a fly angler’s mind and it’s that time of year when the mayfly is now up on the jewel of Irish lakes, Lough Corrib. So to get a taste of how the mayfly action has been so far this year and to find out why it’s such an important time – both culturally and economically - for local communities, we’re joined on this episode by Roy Peirce, the well-known angler, guide and owner of Grasshopper Cottage on the shores of the lake. Don’t forget to rate, review and follow the Ireland on the Fly podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts from, plus you can keep up to date on IrelandontheFly.com.

For this latest episode we speak to Stan McArt, a hugely successful loughs angler who has been capped 29 times for Ireland and at 78 is still going strong on the competition scene. Stan talks about some of the highlights from his competition days and how new techniques and tactics have emerged from the meeting of other teams and other fly anglers, including the day when he first fished boobies for a wild brownie in Ireland and the reaction it received. Stan’s passion and love for fly fishing also shines through so strongly and he says he gets as excited still about a day’s fishing as he did fifty years ago. Don’t forget to rate, review and follow the Ireland on the Fly podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts from and you can also keep up to date on IrelandontheFly.com as well as on Instagram @IrelandontheFly.

Paul Procter, the well-known UK river angler, whom you might recognise from his regular articles in Trout & Salmon magazine joins us on the latest episode of Ireland on the Fly. Paul talks about his early fly fishing career as well as his tactics for early in the season on the rivers near him in Cumbria. We also discuss the cross-over between lough and river fishing as well as the special place that is New Zealand for wild brownies. Paul is also going to be speaking at the Irish Spring Angling Fair at Ardaire Springs at the end of this month with fly tying, fly casting and fly fishing talks all on at the fair. Go to ardairesprings.com for tickets and more information. Don’t forget to rate, review and follow the Ireland on the Fly podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts from and you can also keep up to date on IrelandontheFly.com as well as on Instagram @IrelandontheFly.

It’s time for our second and final mayfly update from around the country and this week we’re hearing how Lough Sheelin and Lough Arrow fared with Eamonn Ross and Jackie Mahon.  

 

Eamonn explains how the fishing was fantastic the first week the mayfly was up with some incredible fish being caught, but it’s been tougher since then.

 

Meanwhile on Arrow, Jackie describes it as patchy, and similar to many other places, if you were able to hit it at the right time, the fishing could be top drawer, but outside of the windows it was proving to be much harder.

 

 

Rate, review and follow the show to keep up to date with all the latest Ireland on the Fly episodes on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
   
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With the rivers around Ireland having opened since St. Patrick’s Day, this episode of Ireland on the Fly is with Tipperary’s George McGrath of Gundog and Fly YouTube fame. George has fished for over fifty years on the River Suir and he gives us an insight into what works for him on the water, plus he laments how wet fly fishing has fallen out of vogue in recent years in favour of a culture of Euro nymphing and instant gratification. Don’t forget to rate, review and follow the Ireland on the Fly podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts from and you can also keep up to date on IrelandontheFly.com as well as on Instagram @IrelandontheFly.

If you've been following the Inland Fishery Ireland news recently you will be aware of their digital publication of the 1902 Cork Salmon Flies collection. These flies had been feared missing for over a century before the persistence and diligence of the late fly tyer and fly angler, Ted Malone, unearthed them in 2007 and was able to view them in person three years later. Now the IFI have brought the collection of flies to the public via a digital publication with plans to bring the trout flies from the same collection to light later in the year. We wanted to delve a bit deeper into the story to find out how the flies were rediscovered after over a hundred years and what is in the collection exactly and so we spoke to Shane O'Reilly from IFI who was involved in bringing the digital book together as well as Peter Kealey, a fly tier from Armagh, and friend of the late Ted Malone who was central to the Cork collection being recovered. You can view and download the digital book here: https://fishinginireland.info/2022/fishing-updates/new-book-brings-long-lost-treasure-of-irish-angling-to-new-generations-around-the-world/ Don’t forget to rate, review and follow the Ireland on the Fly podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts from and you can also keep up to date on IrelandontheFly.com as well as on Instagram @IrelandontheFly.

David McEvoy Fishery & Estate Manager at the Delphi Fishery joins us for this episode of Ireland on the Fly. It’s a fascinating interview with someone who has a wealth of knowledge about salmon and also has some great insights into the success of the hatchery there. David talks about the early days of Delphi under the guise of Peter Mantle, the collapse of the sea trout runs and how the salmon hatchery helped to bring new life - and anglers - to the Delphi Valley making it the renowned fishery it is today. Don’t forget to rate, review and follow the Ireland on the Fly podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts from and you can also keep up to date on IrelandontheFly.com as well as on Instagram @IrelandontheFly. Pic: DelphiLodge.ie

Shane Gallagher from the Drowes Fishery joins us on the latest Ireland on the Fly podcast as we get an early season salmon report from the Drowes. We speak to Shane about the first few weeks with springers being caught in January and February and we also discuss the effects of the lockdown on the fishery, as well as delving into the history of the Lareen estate and find out how about the blank days from the record books in the 1900s. Don’t forget to rate, review and follow the Ireland on the Fly podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts from and you can also keep up to date on IrelandontheFly.com as well as on Instagram @IrelandontheFly.

It's a new episode for 2022 and the well known guide and fly angler from Lough Corrib, Tom Doc Sullivan, has joined the podcast as co-presenter. Tom brings his years of trout and fly fishing expertise to the show and will also give us some of his insights and advice for lough and river fishing along the way too. For this latest episode, we're joined by Mike Keady, who hails from Galway and has been a former Irish international angler and team captain. With Lough Corrib opening for the season on 15th February, Mike and Tom discuss early season tactics as well as the flies and set-up to use. Plus, Mike delves into his time as a competition angler, detailing the work and preparation that goes into the elite level of fly angling and he also remembers some of the great wins the Ireland team had. Don’t forget to rate, review and follow the Ireland on the Fly podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts from and you can also keep up to date on IrelandontheFly.com as well as on Instagram @IrelandontheFly.

After a bit of a hiatus, Ireland on the Fly is back for a one-off episode in the wake of COP26 In and the world’s attempts to try and halt climate change. Renowned international fisheries scientist, Ken Whelan, spent the week in Glasgow as part of a delegation highlighting the plight of the Atlantic salmon in this changed world and I wanted to catch up with Ken to find out what the week was like, how much was achieved and just what a 1.5 degree increase in global temperature would mean for the future of the Atlantic salmon. Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to the Ireland on the Fly podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts from and you can also keep up to date on IrelandontheFly.com as well as on Instagram @IrelandontheFly. And my latest book on a year spent fly fishing around Ireland, called Haunted by Waters: A Journey into the Irish Countryside, is out now in all good bookshops and on Easons.com or Amazon.co.uk.

This latest episode was recorded as a video webinar in conjunction with the 2020 Virtual Irish Fly Fair which has been organising talks and fly tying demos online in place of the usual fair in Galway that was postponed. I was joined by renowned fisheries scientist, Ken Whelan and well known guide and instructor Jason O’Riordan, from GameFishingIreland.com, as they discussed What Lies Beneath - the lough trout’s underwater larder and how to imitate it. You can also view the video webinar itself at: http://irishflyfair.com/what_lies_beneath.html And Jason and Ken will be back for a follow-up session next week when they answer any questions you may have in relation to the topic and you can email them to info@lastcastmedia.com. Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to the Ireland on the Fly podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts from. You can also keep up to date on IrelandontheFly.com as well as on Instagram and I’ll be back with another episode about the people and places of fly fishing in Ireland.

Earlier in the year I caught up with the casting instructor and guide, Robert Gillespie, to find out more about his life and career in fly fishing. Since then he has changed his career path as a chef, but he is still a mine of information when it comes to improving your casting and salmon angling, and for this follow-up interview I wanted to glean some nuggets from Robert around tactics and technique. Robert places great emphasis on knowing the type of water you’re fishing, the light conditions and timing of the salmon runs, and listening to him speak you can’t help but come away with tips and advice that will definitely improve your fishing. Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to the Ireland on the Fly podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts from. You can also keep up to date on IrelandontheFly.com as well as on Instagram and I’ll be back with another episode about the people and places of fly fishing in Ireland.

This latest episode is one of my favourites…..earlier in the year when I spoke to the fly fishing historian and writer, Andrew Herd, about his monumental William Blacker trilogy, he had mentioned the Limerick born Edward Fitzgibbon aka Ephemera, whom he described as one of - if not the most - influential angling writers ever. I had to find out more and so I caught up with Andrew to find out about the life and times of this often-forgotten Irishman who at the time of his death in London in 1857 was spoken of in the same breath as Izaak Walton. Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to the Ireland on the Fly podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts from. You can also keep up to date on IrelandontheFly.com as well as on Instagram and I’ll be back with another episode about the people and places of fly fishing in Ireland.

James Barry and Jason Nash are two prominent and successful anglers based in the south of the country and for this week’s Ireland on the Fly, I caught up with them to find how their 2020 season went. Jason is based on the River Bandon with occasional forays for bass while James Barry fishes the Copper Coast with salmon fishing on the Suir. They are both also fishery scientists and immersed in fly fishing with many successful catches throughout the season. But reading the conditions, timing it right and putting in the hours are all important as they explain to me. Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to the Ireland on the Fly podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts from. You can also keep up to date on IrelandontheFly.com as well as on Instagram and I’ll be back with another episode about the people and places of fly fishing in Ireland.

Hatcheries.  It’s a contentious issue amongst the salmon angling community and with numbers of salmon continuing to drop, more and more anglers are asking can and should it be introduced to their river?

 

For this week’s episode of The Last Salmon, we wanted to find out more about the pros, cons, nuances and science behind it and are joined by David Summers, Fisheries Director of the Tay Fisheries Board, where they run the very successful Kelt Reconditioning Project

and Professor Phil McGinnity at UCC who has been working in fisheries research and management for more than quarter of a century.

Image: tayrivers.org

 

#thelastsalmon #fightforthewildsalmon

 
The Last Salmon is a new podcast hosted by renowned actor, Jim Murray, and award-winning producer, Daire Whelan, which offers hope and solutions to the tragic story that is unfolding for an iconic species in crisis - the wild Atlantic salmon.  Listen and follow on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts, and for regular updates, follow the show at Instagram.com/TheLastSalmon.

Monica Hayes has produced a six-part radio documentary series on the salmon for KCLR called Make Way for the King. It is a documentary series that not only informs and motivates but also calls for action, in protecting and conserving the salmon population in the River Nore. Monica spoke to scientists about the future of our iconic fish and also captured the memories of days gone by from local ghillies and anglers whom you’ll also hear from in this podcast episode. Make Way for the King is a documentary of interest not just to salmon anglers but to those worried about protecting the fish and I spoke to Monica on the latest episode to find out more about the past, present and future of salmon on the Nore. To listen to the full series visit KCLR96FM.com. Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to the Ireland on the Fly podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts from. You can also keep up to date on IrelandontheFly.com as well as on Instagram and I’ll be back next week with another episode about the people and places of fly fishing in Ireland.

Although we’re experiencing something of an Indian summer this week in September, the rains in August were anything but seasonal and I wanted to get some more insights and tips on how to approach high rivers at this time of year. Keith McDonnell, aka Fluffchucker.com, is a recognised expert on streamer fishing in high waters - and the size of the fish he has caught this season is testament to that. I spoke to Keith back in the Spring but this around Keith explained how you should be approaching high rivers in the summer and when you can be catching them on dry flies despite a flood. With two over 6lbs in the last few weeks, Keith is definitely worth listening to….. Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to the Ireland on the Fly podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts from. You can also keep up to date on IrelandontheFly.com as well as on Instagram and I’ll be back next week with another episode about the people and places of fly fishing in Ireland.

It’s been the strangest of summers what with the pandemic, lockdowns, and now reports that the salmon runs have been the best in years. Was it because the rivers and lakes had been rested earlier in the year and do we need to preach caution that one swallow does not a summer make and that the decline in salmon stocks is still terminal? Noel Carr, National Secretary with FISSTA, the Federation of Irish Salmon and Sea Trout Anglers, joins me on this week’s episode to discuss green shoots from the summer runs – which he describes as the most hopeful time for salmon in Ireland since 2007 - whilst also outlining the more deep-seated problems and threats that still exist in the fight for our wild salmon. Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to the Ireland on the Fly podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts from. You can also keep up to date on IrelandontheFly.com as well as on Instagram and I’ll be back next week with another episode about the people and places of fly fishing in Ireland.