Flyfishing for Trout and Grayling - introduction

Brown trout from the River Boyne

Every year new books are published about flyfishing, new fly rods (far better than anything that has ever gone before!) are marketed, new fly lines are invented, and new 'killer' flies are designed and sold in their thousands. The impression is that this is such a difficult, complicated and challenging pastime that constant innovation, and therefore constant expenditure, is required to enable us to do it better. Although there is no disputing that modern fly rods are much lighter, stronger and easier to use than the cane rods of yesterday, and that modern fly lines make is much easier for beginners to cast, flyfishing for trout and grayling can be as complicated and expensive or as simple and inexpensive as you choose to make it. You can have as much fun fishing on small mountain streams as you can on an expensive trip to catch monster fish in far flung destinations. You can easily catch fish with a selection of seven flies rather than the seven thousand that fishing shops would have you believe are vital to success; and, chosen carefully, one fly rod is usually all you need to fish in most places on rivers or lakes.

The Key to Success

The things that make the most difference to success in flyfishing are not the tackle, not the expensive clothing and accessories but your own knowledge and skill: the knowledge of how and where to fish in various conditions and at different times of the year, and the skill to enable you to be able to cast delicately and accurately in the kinds of places where the best fish live and feed.

How this Website can Help

Like the flyfishing courses that we ran for many years, this website is designed to make life as simple as possible for both beginners to learn how to flyfish and for more experienced anglers to upgrade their skills and knowledge in order to become more successful at fishing and to gain more enjoyment from their hobby. There are straighforward pages on how to choose tackle, how to cast, and which fishing techniques to apply to different venues and condtions.

Safety First

More lives are lost through angling accidents than in participation of any other sport or activity and so there is also a comprehensive section on safety when fishing on lakes and rivers. We ask that you should read this carefully before embarking on any fishing expeditions no matter how benign the conditions may seem to be. A good motto to bear in mind when going fishing is 'Nothing stays the same' - not the weather, not the terrain, and certainly not the river from one year to the next. Safety really is the highest priority when going fishing.