Hello Dear Friends, I hope this post finds you in good health and in good weather. Here we are at the end of another season and I find myself in the winter rhythm of odd jobs I’m too busy for in the summer!
Yesterday was an interesting day; I drove to Dublin to purchase a little flyfishing boat I had my eye on for the past few weeks. It’s a 13ft Sheelin boat-they are a renowned, agile little craft for navigating the rocky inlets and points of our Irish lakes, crafted out of fiberglass and teak with flyfishing and easy rowing in mind. I have decided to call her “Burren Rose”, and she will accompany my clients and I on our outings to the secluded Burren lakes in 2026 and beyond.
The whole journey for this little boat began earlier this season 2025, while out walking my dogs. As a guide, I often spend my evenings researching fresh and new places to fish so I can give clients the edge and the best chance of landing one or two of our native fish. I had read about one particular lough or lake only 20 mins from home which “hold a good stock of wild trout to 1.5lbs and has been known to produce trout up to 5lbs“, according to Peter O’ Reilly’s book, Trout & Salmon Loughs of Ireland (1987). Although out of date, it is a fine reference and starting point to discover the potential of some of the forgotten fishing hotspots of yesteryear.
I find it on Maps and we strike out one mid October morning. It’s a bit of a hike cross country and through a woods to find it but we spend an hour one morning watching the morning rise for trout. We arrive at about 9:30am which is normally quite early for the mercury to climb up anywhere close to bring on a decent hatch. I patiently scan the surface for any sign of life across the expanse of water. It’s a beautiful, peaceful scene – a pair of swans elegantly gleaming in the morning light, a little kingfisher whizzes by in the balmy softness of a rare, warm October morning.
Another 10 minutes goes by and just as the day begins to warm up, suddenly there is a flurry of rising trout which goes on for 30 or 40 mins. I watch joyfully, wishing I had a rod in hand but we are out of season by about two or three weeks. There are undoubtedly some fine specimen in this lough and I witness some sizable fish feeding and wapping the morning hatch with gusto. I’m stoked, it’s a success, however, the only way to fish this lough is by boat. The surrounding shoreline is too steep for wading but to get into it you need to go up through a lower lake and into the main river, up the river channel and finally into the butt of this particular lake. It has a lot of potential and I decide there and then I need to get a boat up there for 2026..enter Burren Rose! I hope you can join me on an adventure there some time, I’m very excited to share this one with you 🙂