Saltwater Fly Fishing

For hundred of years the fly fisherman has concentrated on these beautiful rivers and lakes searching for salmon and sea trout and often with great rewards. The lakes and rivers of South West Kerry are world famous for their fishing, and justly so. Lough Currane is the jewel in the crown and is undoubtedly the best sea trout lake in Western Europe.

Many of the rivers still have good runs of salmon and, if the drift nets leave us, they may soon be as good as they were 50 years ago.

But all this is well known. Many an angler has stood in Waterville and watched the waves rolling in as he waited for the guide to go afloat on Lough Currane for a day. Few if any ever considered trying their fly rod in the sea. Why should they? Nobody had done it before them.

South West Kerry has arguably the best bass fishing in Europe. Thanks to the Irish conservation laws the bass is protected. Even the rod and line angler cannot sell his catch, and many anglers release almost all of these special fish that they catch. Because these and other fish are plentiful the fly rod does have its place in saltwater angling.

So if that is you standing on that deserted beach looking out to sea at dawn with your fly rod in you hand, don’t turn around and head for the hills and mountains. Go for the challenge of the sea and you may be rewarded more than you imagine.

Tackle:  Rods rated 7/8 or above.

Reels:  preferably disc drag.

Lines:  floating and sinking. I use WF types as opposed to shooting heads. They may not cast as far but you end up with a lot less tangles and consequently catch more fish.

Leader:  I normally use 15lbs and even in bright conditions I wouldn’t go below 12lb. A leader length of about 8 to 9ft works fine. If it’s windy I go down to 5ft.

Flies:  mostly sand eel and prawn imitators which I tie myself and which are for sale to guests.

Where to fish:  We are lucky to have a wide mixture of shore line all within a few minutes drive of our fishing lodge. If you look at the map of Ballinskelligs Bay you will see that there always places to fly fish wherever the wind is coming from.

When:  Bass are present on the Kerry coast all year and some very good catches can be had even in January and February. They do tend to move offshore when there is a long cold spell in the winter. But these conditions rarely last long, with the influence of the Gulf Stream. While fly fishing is possible during the winter months it’s not very pleasant. The most enjoyable fishing would be from May to the end of October.

Mullet:  For me 2002 was the year when I discovered the enormous potential of fly fishing for mullet. Before this year I had caught occasional mullet on fly often while fishing for bass but with no real consistency. In 2002 I discovered several excellent methods of catching mullet on fly. Most of these involve ground-baiting (chumming), although sometimes you can represent what the fish are naturally feeding on (sand hoppers, sea weed maggots). You can see from the catch returns the increase in the number and size of fish caught. It doesn't tell you about the dozens that were hooked and lost often after tremendous battles. They are without doubt the hardest fighting fish in our waters. They are also the most challenging being very cautious and shy.

One good mullet on fly is a prize to be savoured. This year I intend to develop flies and techniques even more and am looking forward to introducing many new people to this exciting side of saltwater fly fishing.

Pollock:  Often underrated in saltwater fly fishing, larger pollock (4 pounds plus) can be really exciting. If you can find the right spots the action can be non stop. The first run of a big pollock is literally un-stoppable even on the heaviest fly fishing gear. One of our guests had his rod smashed when the line got caught around the reel and the fish kept diving - he still managed to land the fish though, with half a rod in his pocket. Pollock are mainly fished for with sinking lines and large flies, though they will come to the surface at dusk.

Mackerel:  In the hierarchy of sea fish most anglers would put mackerel near the bottom. Granted they can be plentiful and easy to catch at times but if you hook a big mackerel in shallow water on a trout rod they can be wonderful sport. In September and October last year we had big shoals of them feeding on the beaches even beaching themselves in their attempts to catch the herring fry they were after. They were not difficult to find - just follow the gulls or look for surface activity. When hooked on light fly rods the runs they gave were spectacular. One large fish took all my fly line and over 100 yards of backing in one run. Well worth a try any time you find them.

Several other species are encountered from time to time incl. wrasse, garfish, scad and flounder. In August 2003 we lucky enough to land 14 trigger fish on fly. We are hoping for some new species again this year.

Sea-trout:  Sea trout can be targeted specifically in the sea though results tend to be a bit erratic.