21st Annual Ireland Tour - 7th to 15th May 2011:
Author: Peter Thomason
The forecast was perfect, steady west-south-west winds, mild overcast skies, & this year, no volcanic ash from Iceland to upset our plans. Fly dressings had been shared & tied in expectation of good hatches of lake olives & mayflies. CO2 cylinders had been removed from lifejackets ready for the flight. Favourite hip-flask fillers had been purchased in the airport. All was well. All was anticipation
The gale arrived at about the same time as the intrepid fishing party. It stayed almost for the duration, blasting our dreams & fantasies in a hooley of tangles & black-fingered squalls. Undaunted, this year's party fished on & enjoyed whatever could be hard won from the ever changing Corrib. We were:
Keith Nicholson (Indispensible Organiser)
Mick Priest
Ron Lewis
Keith Lawrence
Russell Bell
Peter Thomason
John Lewis
It was the 21st successive tour for founders Keith Nicholson & Mick Priest; the 11th for Peter Thomason; & the first for Russell Bell. John Lewis made the journey by ferry & car & proved invaluable in transporting quantities of essential liquid refreshment which he kindly & generously donated to our various social events
Some fish were caught, despite the weather. Surprisingly, fishing dry mayfly imitations proved one of the most reliable methods (olive Wulff patterns). The total catch for the week was a meagre 16 "keepers" (i.e. fish over 12 inches in length) all of which were released. The best fish of the week was taken by Keith Nicholson & weighed a splendid 3 lb 14 oz, taking the coveted Ghillies' trophy. Thanks to Keith's ingenuity, we are now able to weigh specimen fish rather than guessing according to length. The "Spotty Hors" trophy for the angler catching the most keepers was tightly contested with three of the tourists catching three fish. The deciding factor was then which three weighed most & the award was presented to Keith Lawrence
The weather had no effect on the levels of conviviality & hilarity & on the time spent with our Irish friends who were entertained in what is now a regular feature of the tour: a barbecue with the best Irish steaks, Guinness, wine & cider. Music & singing featured including a burst or two on the spoons from the Chairman. As usual, the week went all too quickly & the last night saw us in our usual haunts in Galway where we undertook the onerous duty of being preliminary goodwill ambassadors in advance of the Queen's much publicised visit to Ireland. Judging from the publicity granted to Her Majesty, we obviously succeeded & await our rewards in the New Year Honours
Finally, the much avoided TC honour was awarded to himself by the Chairman for several acts of absent-mindedness which he blames on too much wind!
We will return!
Anniversary Irish Tour - 6th to 17th May 2010:
Author: Peter Thomason
The annual tour to fish the mayfly on Loch Corrib was a special one this year. It was the 20th anniversary of the tour with two TWFFS members having been on every tour since its commencement in 1990: Keith Nicholson & Mick Priest, & the tenth successive tour for the Chairman, Peter Thomason
The tour was also special in that the cloud of volcanic ash from Iceland nearly prevented our departure & contingency plans were made hastily for journeying by car & ferry. Fortunately, at the last hour, airports were declared open & we managed to get away on our scheduled flights
This year the party comprised:
Ben Watson (Fly-tyer Extraordinary)
Bob Holland (Fly-tyer Extraordinary)
Colin Findley
Keith Lawrence
Keith Nicholson (Organiser & 20th Anniversary Celebrant)
Mick Priest (20th Anniversary Celebrant)
Micky Heasman
Peter Thomason (10th Anniversary Celebrant)
Ron Lewis
Simon Newman (Chef Extraordinary)
Regrettably, John Lewis (Porridge-Maker Extraordinary & a regular supporter of the tour), had to cancel at the last moment because of ill health. We are pleased to report he has now recovered & we look forward to his company in future years
The tour commenced with two days' fishing out of Headford on the east of the Loch. Here there was good fishing to buzzer patterns & dry fly under the expert tutelage of Larry McCarthy & Andrew Boyd. Corrib had experienced the same cold winter as here in Kent & the mayfly was only just beginning to show. For those that could fish the small dry flies on light leaders recommended by Larry, there could have been excellent returns. Adjusting to very light leaders was a challenge for some of the party whose reactions remained in the industrial or agricultural category rather than the requisite delicacy of touch (much to our tutors' frustration & amusement)
The traditional part of the tour commenced with our arrival at the Dooras Peninsula at the north of the loch. Here conditions remained difficult with cold northerly winds & relatively sparse mayfly hatches but the warm welcome of our regular boatmen & other local friends provided ample compensation. The open fire & liquid refreshment in O'Malley's bar provided much needed physical comfort!
Although the total catch was relatively poor, some very good individual fish were caught (and carefully returned). Best fish of the week fell to a black Diawl Bach fished as one of a team of nymphs on a floating line by Peter Thomason - a magnificent 22.5 inch specimen weighing over 6lb. After an epic struggle assisted by the expert boat handling of Roy Pierce who had to row after the fish at one point, the fish was landed, admired, photographed, revived & returned to grow on to double figures for future years. The Chairman's hands only ceased to shake after the second tot of whisky! There are fish in glass cases around the loch that are not as big!
The total catch for the week was a relatively meagre 48 fish but fortunately no-one blanked. Compared with the usual high productivity of our home rainbow-stocked waters, this is a low catch rate but here we are dealing with wild brown trout in wild waters. That's why we go: some years are plentiful; some are difficult; all are enjoyable!
The tour trophy (the Spotty Hors Cup) was won by Simon Newman with a total of 12 keepers & the runner-up was Keith Nicholson with 10 keepers. The TC award was awarded to Mick Priest for a moment of Sage memory loss & for being the only car pointing west on a one-way street in Galway where all others were driving east. Well done Mick!
Our Irish friends ensure we have a good time. Social events included the singing of the songs, the drinking of the drink, & the telling of the tales. It was our pleasure to arrange a barbeque which our friends made a huge success (including a whole sirloin obtained with the help of Paddy Kineavy & which allowed our extraordinary chefs to demonstrate their talents
On what should have been our final evening at Dooras, the Irish reciprocated with a special meal at O'Malley's pub. After our usual sad farewells & our final night in Galway we were once again under the shadow of the volcano & this time our return flight was cancelled, necessitating an extra night's stay for all but two of the party. Cathy Manion played valiant host by finding us places to sleep on spare beds & furniture & feeding us a full cooked breakfast in true Irish hospitality. A drive across the width of Ireland to Dublin airport found us a flight to London & home at last
Another memorable tour. We shall be back!
Lough Corrib Tour 2009:
Author: Keith Nicholson
The Society visit to Lough Corrib 2009
Seven members of the Society made the 19th annual pilgrimage to Lough Corrib in the west of Ireland on the 7th of May for eight days of fishing for wild brown trout in the most beautiful of surroundings
We were to spend 2 days fishing in the south of the lough from Ballindiff before heading north to fish from the Doorus peninsular for six days
On our arrival we were met with very strong winds & there was debate if we would be able to get afloat the next day. We met with our ghillies at Ballindiff harbour & fortunately for us the wind abated slightly overnight & it was agreed that we would fish. On the second day there was even less wind but still blustery
None of us had fished this part of the lough before so we were totally reliant on the knowledge of our ghillies. We were lucky to have the services of Larry McCarthy, Andrew Boyd, Don Stiffe & Brendan? All knew the lake like the back of their hands & put us on the best drifts. This part of the lough is renowned for its buzzer fishing but the strong winds restricted our ability to fish this method. The main line of attack was to fish traditional Irish wet flies or fish the dry mayfly patterns
The fishing wasn't easy, it rarely is on the Irish loughs, but we managed a total of 15 fish between 1lb 2oz (12") & a magnificent 4lb (20") fish caught by Micky Heasman over the two days - all returned. We were extremely well looked after by our hosts & will definitely be returning to this part of the lough next year
We headed north to the Doorus peninsular, which is our usual destination, to meet our old friends from the Cornamona area. As usual we were met with a warm welcome in O'Malleys Pub & much chat & many beers followed
Our ghillies this year were our usual crew of Dennis Fenton, John Somerville Jnr, Jackie Coyne, & Paddy McKeivy. The lough had been performing well in the Doorus area as it had been relatively sheltered from the strong winds of the previous week
As ever, the ghillies looked after us very well with Jackie Coyne providing the entertainment at lunchtime by singing or playing his harmonica. A big thank you to Katty Mannion for mothering us when needed. A great time was had on our last night in Doorus with much singing in O'Malleys Pub. The presentation of trophies also took place on the last evening & the awards were won as follows:
Keith Lyne Memorial Trophy for the largest fish - Keith Nicholson 6lb
TWFFS Prize for the most "Keepers" in the week - Keith Nicholson with 11
TC Award for misdemeanour's - John Lewis
2010 will be a special year as it's the 20th year we have visited the Corrib. I am sure we will be celebrating the event in style. If you are interested in fishing Lough Corrib next year please let me know