Fly Fisherman Magazine - Destinations 2023

Salmon and trout on Ireland’s
top private beats
BARRY & CATHY BECK
TEXT & PHOTOGRAPHY

Ireland
S TRIP HOSTS FOR FRONTIERS
TRAVEL, WE ARE CONSTANT-
LY LOOKING FOR INTERNA-
TIONAL DESTINATIONS THAT
NOT ONLY OFFER GREAT
FISHING BUT ALSO TOURING
AND SIGHTSEEING OPPORTUNITIES FOR NON-
FISHING PARTNERS. You wouldn’t want to take a nonangler
to our favorite lake in Argentina, Lake Strobel, aka Jurassic Lake.
Yes, it has huge rainbow trout, but a grueling truck ride into the
lodge is required, and when you get there you must deal with the
wind, waves, and boulders the size of small cars. It’s barren, remote,
and if you don’t fish, there isn’t a lot of anything else to do.
I remember a client who brought his new bride on a peacock bass
trip to the Amazon. He talked up the beautiful swimming pool,
the tropical location, and the exotic birds. Two days later, she was
bored to death in the hot sweltering jungle. She had 100 insect bites
from swimming in the pool, and she wanted out. If your traveling
companion doesn’t fish, it’s best to choose a destination that offers
exciting experiences for both of you. Ireland is that place.
As with England and Scotland, Ireland has a rich history when
it comes to trout and salmon fishing. Fly fishing in England started
sometime in the 13th century and its popularity soon spread
throughout Ireland and Scotland. We have found that it’s Ireland—
with green rolling hills and winding hedge-lined roads—that today
is home to some of the best fly fishing in all of Europe.
SALMON FISHING
When it comes to fly fishing, Ireland offers everything from cold
water lakes and freestone rivers to limestone spring creek environments—all
with robust trout fisheries. There’s also some very good
salmon fishing.
Actually it’s on the storied salmon beats at Ballynahinch Castle
where we first got our feet wet in Ireland. The castle estate is a
world-renowned salmon and sea trout fishery located in the picturesque
setting at Connemara, County Galway.
The Ballynahinch River runs through the estate and continues
three miles down river to where it enters the Atlantic Ocean at
Bertragboy Bay. Every Atlantic salmon and sea trout must travel
through the castle water on their upstream migration to spawn.
Although the season officially opens February 1, the prime salmon
run generally starts in late June and can go into the later part
of September.
Tradition prevails here, and fly fishers cast from jetties or platforms
strategically located to give anglers the best position to cover
all of the holding water. Spey rods with 7- or 8-weight floating lines
are generally used with smaller single or double flies working best.
Popular fly patterns include Silver Rats, Badgers, and Connemara
Blacks. You will use sinking lines only during high water levels.
The fishing guides on the estate are quite a bunch. Depending on
May the holes in your net be
no larger than the fish in it.
- Irish Proverb
the age of the guides, their fishing attire ranges from contemporary
Simms waders, hip packs, and ball caps, to more traditional deer
stalker hats and tweeds.
For some, their heavy brogue accent is hard to follow. In other
words, you’ll know you’re in Ireland.
On our first two visits to Ballynahinch Castle, our guide Michael
Van Muren was a flamboyant chap. Michael is the real deal and
came complete with a heavy wool sweater that had many seasons
on it, sparkling blue eyes, and a sense of humor that immediately
put us at ease and had us laughing.
We climbed in his little car and when we got to the water,
he decided to teach Cathy how to cast a fly rod. He walked her
through the steps of making a snap T cast, he then made a beautiful
cast, and then suggested that she try it. Cathy took the rod and
copied Michaels cast perfectly. Without saying a word, Michael
turned and walked up to me and said in his heavy Irish baroque,
“That woman can f*****g cast!”
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Listen to the sound of the river
and you will get a trout. –Irish Proverb
LTHOUGH THE SALMON FISHING IS
STEEPED IN FASCINATING HISTORY,
IT IS TROUT FISHING THAT BRINGS
US TO IRELAND TIME AND TIME
AGAIN. Frontiers put us in touch with Andrew
Ryan years ago. Ryan owns Clonanav Fly Fishing,
a specialty fly shop and guide operation near the village of Ballymacarby,
in County Waterford. Andrew Ryan is a household word
when it comes to fly fishing throughout Ireland and Europe, and is
recognized as the premier authority for trout and salmon fishing, fly
fishing schools, guiding, and general information. Virtually every
brand of fly-fishing gear is represented in his shop—Hardy, Simms,
Patagonia, Sage, RIO, and lots more.
Clonanav Fly Fishing is conveniently located and has access to
beats on the Suir, Nire, and the Tar rivers. The three rivers have
very different personalities with the Suir being the largest. The Suir
is Ireland’s third longest river and without a doubt is our favorite.
It’s birthplace is in North Tipperay and begins in a southward flow
eventually turning north then east in the direction of Waterford
Harbour, where it empties into the Celtic Sea. We spend most of our
time on the limestone-rich flows that run through Clonmel. Here
there are both trout and salmon. In fact, the largest Atlantic linecaught
salmon was caught in the Suir. Along with that, the Suir is
recognized as one of the best dry-fly rivers in Europe.
When we first saw the Suir it reminded us of the historic Test in
England, but after learning its pools, flats, and runs, we came to understand
that like most rivers, the Suir has its own distinct personality.
Luckily we’ve spent most of our time on the river with Andrew Ryan
at our side. Ryan controls a number of beats on the river, and taking
advantage of his knowledge of the water is like fishing with the late Ernest
Schwiebert. Andrew knows the insect hatches and the right flies,
he’s fun to be with, and his history of the river is impressive. This level
of professionalism persists in all of his guides as well, which contributes
to his success and popularity.
The Nire is our second favorite and a tributary to the Sur. For the
most part, it is a smaller river, maybe 35 feet wide, a perfectly clear
freestoner that drops from the Comeragh Mountains and through
the Nire Valley until it joins the Suir. Andrew also holds leases on
some of the best beats here and it is often his “ace in the hole.”
It’s no secret that Ireland gets a lot of rain, and rivers like the Suir
can blow out in a hurry, but the Nire is a spate river—it comes up
fast and drops fast. In 2022, we had a torrent of rain and the Suir was
about to spill out of its banks. We left the Suir and drove to the Nire,
which was also high and off color. Ryan said, “No worries lads, it’s
streamer time now, and we’ll be fishing drys by noon.” We thought,
no way, but Andrew was right. The streamer fishing was hot, a black
Super Bugger and a slow retrieve produced some beautiful browns.
By noon the stream had dropped and was clearing. By 2 o’clock we
had clear water, Blue-winged Olives were hatching, and the trout
were sipping. This kind of river can save the day, as it did ours.
The third river is the Tar, and it certainly reminds us of an English
chalkstream. Although we may have first misjudged the Suir, there
is no mistaking the Tar, it is exactly what you would expect of a European
limestone river. At nearly 200 miles long, the Tar enters the
Suir between the towns of Ardfinnan and Newcastle. The sections
we’ve fished are wader friendly, basically because it’s a wide, shallow
river punctuated with flowering ranunculus weed. The Tar is a
dry-fly angler’s dream with prolific insect hatches and rising fish.
In addition to the Blue-winged Olives and other mayflies, there are
abundant caddis populations.
Most of our trout fishing in Ireland has been with 9-foot 5-weight
fly rods and floating lines. If we had only one outfit to travel with
it would be this one, but on calm windless days especially on the
smaller water like the Nire, a 3 or 4-weight is a lot of fun. If faced
with a spate and muddy water, a sinking-tip line and a fast 6-weight
rod can be a game changer.
Our favorite fly patterns are what most spring creek fly fishermen
would already have in their boxes—Blue-winged Olive duns
and spinners in sizes 18 and 20, along with an assortment of caddis
adults in size 16 and 18 in tan, black, and dun gray. Terrestrial patterns
like black ants and smaller black beetles are good choices for
surface patterns. For searching flies, a black Super Beetle in size 12
has found us some really big fish.
Underneath, don’t even think of going to Ireland without a selection
of Pheasant-tail Nymphs. Carry sizes 16 through 20, all with
bead heads, and take some of your favorite Euro nymphs, also in 16
through 20. There are so many Euro patterns today it’s hard to keep
up, but Europe is where this style of fishing first became popular
and patterns like Perigons, Croston’s Full Metal Jacket, and Olsen’s
Blowtorch all work here. British author G.E.M. Skues first began the
idea of tight-line nymphing in the later part of the 19th century and
the technique has continued to be refined to where it is today. The
Spanish, Polish, U.K., and French teams have all had a big impacts
on the modern version of this type of fishing, hence the collective
name “Euro” for both flies and techniques involving this style. It’s
also very popular and effective in Ireland.
Over the years, we’ve had may opportunities to spend time with
Ryan’s guides. From the get-go you know they take their job very
seriously. Looking through their fly boxes one will see a good variety
of Pheasant-tail Nymphs, mostly in smaller sizes. I wonder if
Frank Sawyer, the English river keeper and originator of the Pheasant-tail
Nymph, could have imagined how important his contribution
would be to the world of fly fishing. Along with the Pheasant
Tails, there will be Hare’s-ear Nymphs in mixed sizes, a lot of Perdigons,
a smaller number of olive or black beadhead Woolly Buggers
in size 6 or 8, and just a smattering of other streamer patterns, which
indicates that they don’t do a lot of streamer fishing. Pheasant-tail
Nymphs and all the variations on that theme reign here.
A lot of water has traveled downstream since our inaugural day
of fishing with Andrew Ryan. We remember the first time we compared
fly boxes. Ryan’s boxes were well stocked with all of the above
flies, as were ours, but then he pointed to our squirmy worms and
said, “You fish with those?”
Next he touched a mop fly and gave us a less-than-approving look.
And then, after fishing this storied water with the Squirmy well,
let’s just say that the next year, you guessed it—there were Squirmy
Wormies in all the guide’s fly cases. Think whatever you want, the
darn things work and at times they save the day.

Ireland
TRIP TIMING
Most brown trout fisheries in Ireland open between February 15
and March 15, and close on September 30. The best of the mayfly
hatches occur during May and June, which is why we always plan
our trips in June. We’ve found good weather in June, the foliage is
bright green with flowers in full bloom, and there are hatches.
June is also a great month for touring, and when visiting the Emerald
Isle it would be a shame not to spend a day or more in Dublin.
There’s much to see and it’s one of the cleanest, friendliest cities in
the world. One early morning we found a woman with her vacuum
cleaning the sidewalk in front of a popular pub. We remarked that
we had never seen someone vacuuming the sidewalk and she told
us that the Irish like to keep it tidy.
Dublin is the capital of Ireland and sits on the east coast at the
mouth of the river Liffey. The city is packed with history, with notto-be-missed
sites such as the Dublin Castle and the St. Patrick’s
Cathedral. And for those who like to combine fishing and golf,
there are some world famous golf opportunities. For us, it’s the sipping
rises on the river Suir that keep us coming back.
Cathy and Barry Beck live in Benton, Pennsylvania, where they
offer fly fishing schools and guided fishing on Fishing Creek.
For more than 40 years they have traveled the world with fly
rods and cameras, documenting everything from African safaris
to South American golden dorados and New Zealand rainbow
trout. For more information visit barryandcathybeck.com.
Recommended Gear
All that Irish green doesn’t happen without rain, so don’t
forget a good raincoat. Daily showers are common, which
may explain the popularity of the Barbour waxed cotton
jackets among the locals. Waders are highly recommended
with studded lightweight rubber soles. If you prefer to travel
light, Clonanay Fly Fishing offers rental gear.
Sage / R8 Core 590-4, 5-Weight / $ 1,050
RIO Products / RIO Gold 5-weight floating fly line / $ 100
Patagonia / Swiftcurrent Ultralight Waders / $ 500
Simms / Flyweight Wading boots with Vibram soles / $ 230
Fishpond / Thunderhead Submersible Sling Pack / $ 250
BajÍo / Nato Rose Mirror Sunglasses / $ 209
Patagonia / Black Hole Wheeled Duffel / 40L $ 359, 70L $ 399
Book your Destination
To get to Dublin, you can fly nonstop from most
major East Coast cities like Philadelphia, New York
City, or Boston. For information on Cathy and
Barry Beck’s annual hosted trips, contact Frontiers
Travel (frontierstravel.com). For general information
on Andrew Ryan’s Clonanav Fly Fishing visit
flyfishingireland.com.
frontierstravel.com
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