Waterville, Kerry, 05 - 12 Sept 2002-10-13

The portents were not good. The check-in queue was very long and very slow moving. The computer at the Aer Lingus check-in desk at Heathrow had broken down. I met up with Ken there, but none of the others flying with us were visible. A call on the mobile told us they had decided to wait it out in the airport bar. Ken and I opted for getting rid of our luggage first.

Andy and Greg just made it onto the plane before takeoff, but Andy started chatting to someone by the plane door. As he made his way to his seat, Greg asked him who that was. "Oh, just someone I met in rehab" came the loud answer. The rest of the passengers began to look decidedly nervous.

The upshot of this preamble was that we arrived in Cork airport with our luggage; Ken and I that is, but none of the other eight had theirs. Worst of all was that most did not have their fishing equipment.

We hired three cars and drove to Waterville. Bob drove our car and all was fine until we met a tractor on a narrow bridge. Bob tried to reverse, but had not worked out how to get the gear lever into reverse.

He had to select neutral and we pushed the car back off the bridge, somewhat ignominiously.

We had a late dinner at the Lobster bar in Waterville, where the food is quite good and reasonable.

Friday

For a day's fishing on Lough Currane it helps to have a good feed at breakfast and we did just that. The Irish breakfast included black and white pudding.

The luggage still had not arrived, so we had to borrow some gear and Ken, Mike, Barry and I drove down to Currane. Ken and I set off with a boat ghillie originally from the English Midlands called Bob Priestly.

Bob explained the technique of loch style short-lining, starting with the rig. The leader is quite short, no more than the length of the rod plus 60cm (2 foot). Then you tie on a three-fly rig with two droppers. Bob tied a variation of the water knot, using a separate length of leader material. This ensures that if the dropper breaks, you still have the rest of your leader intact.

The flies are traditional big water flies including the Silver Butcher, Green Peter, Loch Orchy and Bibio in size 12 or 10. To tie the flies on, Bob uses the Turle knot, very secure and easy to tie.

Drogues are not used on these loughs; there is a real risk of catching a rock and capsizing the boat if you do.

The method is to drift broadside on with the wind at your back. Short casts are made and after a short retrieve of only 3 to 8 strips, you make a crisp backcast and cast forward again without false casting.

This keeps your flies in the water for as long as possible. One other thing to remember is to hang the flies for a few seconds dragging the bob fly in the surface before recasting. Bob manages to keep his line taut while doing that. He appears to do that by continuing to draw in line slowly, keeping the tension on.

We had a bit of rain and a stiff breeze that morning which suited the fishing and short-lining style. The boats used here are a heavy wooden clinker built design, which are intended for slow drifting. If the wind does speed them up, you simply strip your flies in faster.

On the second drift I had a small sea-trout on, which came up to the surface, thrashed about and promptly threw the hook. Ken had a small brownie and Bob had a couple more before we adjourned for lunch.

The afternoon was sunnier and we found that when the wind died down, the short-lining technique became harder. The following wind does help with the forward cast. I must admit, I did not quite get the hang of short-lining that day and reverted to false casting on several occasions.

Ken had another brownie and Bob took a couple more to 0.23kg (1/2 lb). I blanked.

Of the others, Barry also blanked, but Mike had one small sea-trout and 5 brownies. I think he has done this before. They both fished with Vince who has the reputation of catching the most sea-trout in Currane. Bob, is reputed to catch the biggest specimens.

We went back to the Lobster Bar and ordered medium rare steaks. The steaks are locally produced and excellent quality, but were somewhat overdone.

Saturday

Ken, Barry and I fancied trying out some of the local hill loughs for brown trout. We were not convinced that there were all that many sea trout in Currane and it seemed a lot of work for so little return. Besides, we had other days to try our hand there.

We got the local supermarket to make us up some filled rolls and headed up to a sign for Derryana Lough. Following that track, we finally came up to a bungalow and parked there. Alongside the bungalow, a stream ran down to Derryana below. We followed its boggy course upstream until we reached Tooreenbog Lough. This water is just 500 by 225 metres.

We started off dry fly fishing at 10am and took a few brownies to 15cm (6 inches). I used a Klinkhamer initially before switching to a wet fly. I've always done well with a silver butcher and this was no exception.

Moving towards the east of the loch I found a pocket of fish and took over a dozen there in an hour.

The others joined me in time and Barry took a lovely fish of 25.4cm (10 inches) in a small bay. Ken and I determined to check out the next lough higher up in the hills. It was not that far, perhaps 300 metres, but the bog was hard going.

Lough Adoolig is smaller than Tooreenbog, but is boulder strewn and partially ringed by high and sheer rock. There is a waterfall at one side and the water is very deep in places. It has a strangely haunting atmosphere about it which only enhances its beauty.

There is little plant life in the lough and consequently, not many fish either, but they are worth fishing for. My silver butcher made no impression, but Ken had two fish early on. I moved round to the opposite shore and later changed to an all-gold bug pattern of mine which had almost instant results.

Soon after, I took another fish of 15cm ( 6") and we then bog-trotted our way back to Barry. Fishing until 7.30pm we caught very little else and headed back to the hotel and a shower.

Some of the others had a few very small sea-trout and Andy C had a .67kg (1.5lb ) brownie, all on Currane.

The Sheilin Seafood Bar was recommended and the three of us headed there in great anticipation. They were full up, so we rounded the corner to the Huntsman. Now this looked very promising, a relaxed ambience overlooking the bay and a decent pianist to boot. The food was very good too.

Ken had a plate of huge King scallops, the best he had ever tasted, Barry had a beautiful local steak, cooked exactly as ordered and I enjoyed a seafood pilaff with everything except old Neptune himself, from oysters, mussels, crab, clams, squid, shrimps, salmon, sole, a huge scallop and ..need I go on?

My meal with drinks came to 37 Euros, not cheap, but it rounded the day off brilliantly.

Sunday

Ken and I fished with another ghillie called Donald. We started at the mouth of the river running into Currane from Derryana. After a brief flurry with a couple of tiny brownies trying to take our flies, we flogged the water for the rest of the day with no result. We did see a couple of sea trout jumping, but not a touch came our way.

Donald persuaded us to have a troll for an hour, but by 3pm, we called it a day and drove straight up to Lough Tooreenbog again. There were plenty of rises this evening in a still calm, but also a plague of midges of the Scottish variety. We had a few fish, but they were not taking as readily as yesterday.

Ken and I had another excellent meal at the Huntsman, steak this time. Mick, Greg and Andy C followed us in and things took a bizarre turn culminating in Andy leaping out via the French windows, AFTER paying his bill.

Back at the hotel bar the stories and jokes were in full flow. Bob R had three seatrout, Barry had two and a few of the others also caught. Behind the fishing hut beside Currane there is a convenient ditch which is gratefully used by anglers after a long spell on the lough. Mike alias Andy Warhol was having a sly waz when he stumbled and fell in. He thinks no one noticed.

A certain regular visitor for 15 years was showing his daughter and son-in-law round the lough and grounded the boat on one of the many rocks. He asked Hughie to tow him off and when he refused, told him not to be an ar**hole. Hughie found that somewhat ironic.

Monday

Ken, Barry, Andy C and Greg left today and Bob R went to pick up his wife who was joining him from London.

The day started with a brief shower, then turned into glorious sunshine. I fished with Donald again and we both persevered with the short-lining technique, fishing hard all day. My technique was getting reasonably good by now, but we still did not connect with anything all morning.

In the afternoon, I felt a bump on the line and a sea trout around 3lbs shot out of the water, pricked but not hooked. Another fishless day on Currane for me. Mike had a sea trout and salmon, both miniatures and the others rose a few fish, but had no takers.

Hughie and Martin went horse-riding today. They had a great day, trekking over the hills and then along the beach. The hotel receptionist booked the day for them and described them to the stables. "One of them is a wisp of a fella and the other (Hughie) is a figure of a man."

After the day's riding, they let the horses back into the paddock. Hughie's horse lay down straight away.

This evening Hughie, Martin and I drove along the ring of Kerry to the Sacre Coeur, a great restaurant at Sneem, a village 20 miles away. The steaks and black pudding are famous all over Ireland, prepared by the local butcher. The black pudding is steamed and better than any I have tasted.

Tuesday

A stormy day with a strong south-easterly gales and rain. I set off with Bob Priestly and Neil. I sat in the middle. Bob gunned the engine and ploughed through the waves, the spray thumping us on our backs with force. Once on the opposite side of the lough, we drifted and shortlined. It was very hard work in the wind and I caught Neil four times. I felt bad until Bob whacked me a couple of times and crossed my line once.

Two hundred metres from the boat harbour, Bob had a fresh run sea-trout, but lost it at the net.

Soon after he had another of 1.5lbs which he boated successfully.

We stopped for lunch and I took off my jacket as I felt damp. My shirt was soaked, so made the decision to stop fishing and got a lift back to the hotel. Soon after the others joined me; Martin and Donald had set off after lunch, but conditions had deteriorated badly, so they came straight back in.

The evening saw us all joining Mikey O'Sullivan and his wife in the Point Bar opposite Valencia Island. Mikey runs many of the angling operations around Waterville.

The Point Bar is well known for serving a few good seafood dishes. I had a starter of 13 crab claws in garlic butter followed by monkfish and potato casserole. All the girls from the hotel were there too, on a night out with Malcolm, a regular fishing guest at the hotel. Back at the hotel, they joined us and sang some songs, some beautiful traditional ballads, some more contemporary, like "Did you ever get the ride, did you ever get the ride, did you ever get the ride…. on a tractor?"

Wednesday

The weather was awful again. Three of our party wanted to go out, but this time the ghillies refused.

We sat in the hotel conservatory looking out at the weather and the bay like a bunch of geriatrics in an old folks home and just as depressed. By lunchtime, Mike, Hughie, Neil and I had had enough of this and drove eight miles up the River Inny.

The river was in spate and I guess we were fly fishing in the face of logic, never mind the wind. Actually, Neil was smarter and turned his hand to worm fishing. He did have a small brownie in a bit of slack water. I spotted a rock in mid stream and after three casts, got the fly to curl behind it. I had a hefty take, but the line then went slack.

After a couple of hours we gave up. The river was running faster now and we went upstream to the next bridge to view the salmon ladder in the torrent.

Again, I found the jacket had let in water. I have since sent it back to the supplier (John Norris of Penrith) who agreed to replace it with no fuss.

Our last night was spent in the Huntsman again with Mike and Neil. The Black Bay sole is huge and tasty and the kidney turbigo a class above anything you have had before bearing that name.

There is a brief mention of our party's foray to Currane in Salmon and Trout magazine. Apparently we took 15 sea trout between us. I remarked to Hughie, that I didn't remember it being that good. He told me to behave myself.