◀ Learn

Flies

Artificial flies — wet flies, dry flies, nymphs, tube flies, and shrimp patterns — used in fly fishing for Atlantic salmon, sea trout and brown trout.

Artificial flies for game fishing come in a wide range of patterns, each designed to suggest a different food item or trigger an aggressive response from the fish.

Salmon and sea trout flies are typically larger and more colourful than trout flies. Classic Irish patterns include the Shrimp Fly (imitating the freshwater shrimp that salmon are known to respond to), the Cascade, the Ally’s Shrimp, and General Practitioner, along with simpler hairwing patterns. Tube flies are popular on the bigger Cork rivers because the hook can be replaced independently of the body. These are worked across and downstream in the current on a floating or intermediate line.

Brown trout wet flies — such as the March Brown, Greenwell’s Glory, and Wickham’s Fancy — are fished upstream or across on rivers, or worked in teams on a lake from a drifting boat. A cast of two or three wet flies fished on the drop and retrieve (the traditional Irish lough-style) is highly effective on stocked and wild trout lakes.

Dry flies sit on the surface and imitate adult insects — mayfly, sedge, olives, and midges. A rising trout dimpling on a flat pool can often be caught on a well-presented dry; the technique requires accurate casting and delicacy.

Nymphs sink below the surface to imitate larval insects, and are increasingly popular for trout in rivers and still waters.

Fly selection varies enormously with season, water temperature and river conditions. Local tackle shops near Cork’s game rivers are the best source of current advice on which patterns are working.