Ireland on the Fly

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...

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 day...

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 bee...

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,...

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 - th...

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 techni...

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...

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...

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 ghil...

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 tha...

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 I...

For this week’s Ireland on the Fly podcast, renowned fisheries scientist Ken Whelan explains the River Life in Ireland courtesy of a webinar from Limerick’s European Green Leaf Award and over the next thirty minutes or so, Ken places Ireland’s unique aquatic heritage in context. He introduces us to the underwater animals and plants you can find as well as the threats they are facing. “Look at the...

For this week’s episode of Ireland on the Fly, I catch up with one of Ireland’s adopted sons, Peter Mantle of Delphi Lodge fame. After success with setting up and running fishing lodges in Connemara and then the Bahamas, Peter has returned home to England to dry fly fishing on the River Test where he runs a much smaller enterprise called Chapel House. I speak to Peter about the trials and tribulat...

Apologies for the radio silence in June and July which was due to an illness. However, Ireland on the Fly is back up and running covering the people and places about fly fishing in Ireland.  This week’s guest is someone I’ve wanted to speak to for a while. Robert Gillespie is an incredibly experienced salmon angler and instructor and having read his articles on his website RobertGillespie. Net , t...

With summer upon us and the next phase of Covid restrictions being lifted, I thought what better time to get some tips and advice on fishing for bass. With some justification Ireland has become known as the bass Mecca of Europe and has regularly seen visitors from the UK, France and further afield visit these shores to fish for Irish bass. But, are we in danger of exploiting these fish too much an...

This week’s episode is a short one as I speak to fisheries scientist Ken Whelan about a forthcoming webinar from himself and Jason O’Riordan on dry fly and night tactics for sea trout that is being run this Friday June 5th. Ken and Jason’s courses have proven to be very popular the last few years and with the current Covid restrictions they’ve had to move online for the time being. The courses are...

In this radio documentary, originally produced for Radio Kerry ten years ago I speak to some of Kerry's leading guides and find out if their way of life is in danger of being lost to modern habits and times.  As long as we have fish in the waters then people will seek to catch them and there will always be ghillies on hand to guide them.  As the poet Paddy Bushe says, the imaginative is only refle...

With restrictions starting to ease, many of us are making plans to get out onto local rivers or waters where possible and if you’re still not able to, well at least there’s fly tying, videos and podcasts like this one to keep you entertained… On this week’s episode I speak to Ronan Creane, a Roundstone, county Galway native who became so obsessed with the brown trout fishing in New Zealand that he...

For this week’s episode of Ireland on the Fly, I speak to another fly fishing guide and instructor, Peter Driver. Peter is a hugely experienced river angler based on the River Nore and has fished for Ireland on numerous occasions, starting back in 2001 when he was just 19. He gives a fascinating insight into the level of competition and expertise required at the World and European levels and why w...

Tom Doc Sullivan is a well known angler and guide on Lough Corrib, based out of Cornamona at the far northern end of the lake. I had the opportunity to fish with Tom a few years back and we made plans to wet a line again around duck fly time this year. Of course, it wasn't to be and so, instead, I wanted to catch up with Tom to find out how the Covid crisis was affecting guides like him. But I als...

While we can’t get outside much, enjoying nature is still an antidote to what we’re all going through right now. That, and the thoughts of summer fishing and making plans for the trips to come. For this week’s episode I speak to the English writer and angler, Tom Fort who has been in love with the River Suir since he was first introduced to it by Niall Fallon in the 1990s. Tom returned to the Suir...

These are extraordinary times we’re living in and while we don’t know what the future holds, I do know it’s our passions and hobbies - such as fly fishing - that can help keep us sane. Now more than ever we need nature, the outdoors and a return to what we hold most dear. On this week’s episode, it’s all about streamer fishing and how and why you should be trying it and not just when the river is...

There’s still been no let up with the rain and storms and while some fishing is being done, it is very frustrating for the majority of us who have limited time to get out on the water. But for this week I spoke to Glenda Powell to get the latest news from the Blackwater and fingers crossed, the river is coming into a fishable order. I also spoke to Glenda to find out about the IFI’s new Women Try...

So finally the Drowes has opened its account for the season with its first fish caught on Valentines Day, followed three days by later by one caught on the fly.   Despite the high water and horrendous conditions the odd angler is still persisting and occasionally being rewarded.   Spring salmon fishing is hard enough at this time of year without successive storms blowing in so well done to the 20...

It’s still been a slow start to the salmon season for anglers - despite the first fish caught on Currane at the end of January by local angler, Kevin O’Shea - and with the country still recovering from Storm Dennis and many rivers unfishable, I thought this week would be a good time to step back a bit and hear about the story of Peter Mantle who, despite so many battles, obstacles and difficulties...