Long after the spring flush of famous hatches on Lough Corrib, the big trout rise again. Rob Hardy and friends set a course to meet them
LIVING ONLY FIVE MILES from the banks of Rutland Water, which at 3,100 acres is England’s largest man-made reservoir, I thought I had experienced fishing large expanses of water — until I visited Ireland’s mighty Lough Corrib. Covering 41,600 acres, you could easily lose the whole of Rutland in just one of its many secluded bays, while it also has enough islands to be able to visit a different one on every day of the year… if you can find them all.
Corrib is wild in every respect, littered with rocky shoals and outcrops, its mood ever-changing, so you need the security of local knowledge. It doesn’t come better than boatman Larry McCarthy and his team of guides who operate from Corrib View Lodge, a fiv-eminute drive from the lough’s north-east shore.
Larry’s team, many of whom have fished for Ireland, guide anglers throughout Corrib’s seasonal highlights, starting with the duck fly (buzzer) in March, lake olives in April, campo buzzer in late April and on to the mayfly. If crack-of-dawn starts and late nights are your thing, then the combination of caenis in late May-early June and sedge a few weeks later will test your powers of endurance and patience to the limit. But there are lesser-known times that can provide exceptional sport when there’s less traffic on the water. Andrew and I had come to fish the smaller, secondary hatch of olives, which given the right conditions occurs during late August and early September, along with the back-up of evening sedge or daphnia feeders in inclement weather. These late-season hatches provide the fish with a pre-winter banquet and the angler the chance of quality trout.
Our first morning began with what would become a daily routine. An early start in the Corrib View dining room, longingly gazing at the pictures that cover the walls, while Larry’s wife Michelle cooked a delicious breakfast. Deep-shouldered lumps of buttery yellow trout stare out from every frame, each sporting a unique camouflage of black, leopard-like spots. All wild brown trout are beautiful, but the fish from Lough Corrib must rank among the most stunning I’ve seen. It’s a who’s who? gallery and only fish over 4lb need apply.
After breakfast, we gathered outside in the tackle and drying room to don our waders and sort our kit for the day. Then it was off with Larry and his boat trail
