{FLY OF THE MONTH}
This modern wet-fly tied for wild Irish loughs is also deadly on salmon rivers and English reservoirs, writes Stuart Foxall
KEVIN SHERIDAN IS A GAIA FLY-tying instructor, known throughout Ireland for his beautiful flies. Originally from County Galway, he now calls Cavan Town his home. He fishes throughout the year for salmon, pike, and trout.
Most of his trout fishing takes place on Lough Sheelin where the Claret Dabbler is his favourite fly. He was kind enough to share with me his tying of this well-known pattern as well as his successful tactics.
The Claret Dabbler is an exceptionally pretty fly that has accounted for innumerable trout, sea-trout, and salmon, not just on Irish loughs, but also on wild Scottish waters and English reservoirs. Whether fish take it for insects or pin fry or both, we can’t be sure. Don’t ignore it as a top dropper when fishing on salmon rivers, either; it is a great all-rounder.
Kevin likes to drift on loughs, which helps him search more water effectively and that’s absolutely necessary because many Irish loughs are vast.
He uses a 10ft six-weight rod, or an 11ft seven-weight in windier conditions. The rod’s extra length gives him better control of his flies during the retrieve, especially close to the boat. Kevin fishes with everything from a full floating line to, occasionally, a Di3, but he prefers a sink tip or slow intermediate to which he attaches a leader with two droppers.
How deep he chooses to fish is largely dictated by overhead light conditions. The trout will go deeper in clear, sunny weather, but Kevin knows they will still move to the surface for food and are usually “looking up”.
Using 6lb mono, or 7lb-8lb fluorocarbon when he want to get his flies deeper, he makes a 15ft leader with two droppers 5ft apart formed by three-turn water knots. He will use the Claret Dabbler in any position; it really is that flexible — a reliable fis-hfinding pattern.
Kevin uses this approach all season but will sometimes try a gold wire ribbed Claret Dabbler on sunny, summer days. He’ll look for feeding lanes and cast a fair distance, which allows him to strip line, creating a fairly fast retrieve. He therefore covers lots of water, giving him the best chance of finding feeding trout.
You might say this approach is simple and almost traditional, but in my experience, the most successful techniques are straightforward. Older tactics hang around because they work.
MATERIALS
Hook Size 10 wet-fly Thread Black Semperfli, waxed Tail Bronze mallard Rib Silver wire Body Medium claret fur of choice Body hackle Claret cock saddle Wing Pearl Krystal Flash Head hackle Claret cock saddle, two or three turns Beard Bronze mallard Wing 19mm-25mm bronze mallard (measured across feather stalk), folded Eyes Split jungle cock Head Black t
