Entymology

The river barrow rises in the Slieve Bloom mountains in County Laoise and flows north and then east through the Bog of Allen to Portarlington. At Monasterevin it turns south and makes its way through the rich pastureland of Counties Kildare , Carlow and Kilkenny. From the town of Borris, County Carlow the adjoining landscape changes to a scenic wooded valley as the river makes its way to the tide at Waterford Harbour, where it shares a common estuary with the river Nore and the river Suir. The three rivers are commonly referred to as ‘The Three Sisters’.

In all, the Barrow is one hundred and twenty miles long and drains a catchment of one thousand one hundred and eighty five miles.

The section of the Barrow that Mountmellick Angling Association has the fishing

to extends from Portarlington to just before Monasterevin. Being a lime stone river it gets all the usual fly hatches associated with that type of water. Our section is very varied which makes it ideal for all fly-fishing methods. There is ample fast flowing water which is ideal for early season wet fly fishing, deep flowing water for nymph fishing and beautiful smooth flowing glides and slow deep pools and runs which make it perfect for fishing dry flies and emergers.

The following section will hopefully give you an insight as to what hatches occur on our water for the season.

Sometimes our water can be fairly full in the month of March. Our season traditionally opens on the first of March but in recent years has been postponed to Saint Patrick’s day (seventeenth March) as a conservation measure. So early in the season can see some slim fly hatches but the following suggestions will be useful.

Large Dark Olive – (baetis rhodani)

Nymph: Gold Ribbed Hares Ear.

Emerger: Parachuted Hares Ear.

Dry: Rough Olive.

Wet fly fishing can be productive in March and any silver bodied fly such as The Priest, Bloody Butcher and the Black and Silver can give good results. Fishing is best confined to the hours between ten A.M. and one P.M.

As April come in we tend to see more prolific fly hatches. As well as the large dark olive mentioned above you can expect to see the following:

Iron Blue – (baetis pumilus)

Nymph: Iron Blue Nymph

Dry: Iron Blue Dry, CDC Iron Blue.

Early Stonefly – (protonemura meyeri)

Nymph: Small Brown Stonefly Nymph.

Shrimp – (gammarus pulex)

Any weighted shrimp pattern

Water Louse – (asellus)

The March Brown (unwinged)

The above three flies when imitated should be fished slowly and deeply in or around weedbeds.

The month of May is really the start of our fly fishing season. We get all the olive hatches associated with lime stone waters. As with the large Dark Olives, we get the following:

Pale Watery – (centropitulum luteolum)

The dry fly usually works best with the pale watery: Sky Blue Dun, Blue Quill.

Pale Evening Dun – (procloeon rufulum)

As above, best in hot weather.

Yellow Evening Dun – (ephemeralla notata)

Wet fly good in fast water.

Blue Winged Olive (B.W.O.) – (ephemeralla ignita)

The B.W.O. hatches on our section of the Barrow are very good and sometimes spectacular. It is, with the medium olive, the strongest olive that we encounter. Fly patterns for the B.W.O. are extremely numerous so do try your own patter. The following is a pattern that I find works extremely well:

Dave’s B.W.O.

Hook: Daiichi 1130 size 16.

Thread: Uni thread 8/0

Tail: 3 to 4 Partridge feather fibres and 2 to 3 strands of Twinkle fibres.

Body: A mixture of dark olive and Sunil Antron mix (ratio 5:1)

Wing: 3 to 4 C.D.C. plumes.

Thorax cover: The above C.D.C. feather.

Thorax: Dark Dun mixture.

May also sees the start of the Caddis (Sedge) hatch.

Great Red Sedge – (phrygania grandis and phrygania striata)

Grey flag – (hydropsyche instabilis)

Black Caperer – (seriscostoma personatum)

As well as the olive and caddis flies you can also expect the following:

Hawthorn – (bibio marci)

Black Gnat – (bibio johannis)

Yellow Sally – (isoperia)

Reed Smut – (simulium)

The Olive hatches will be much the same picture as May, with the addition of the

Small Dark Olive (baetis scambus), which are best-fished dry in the late day/evening. The B.W.O. is of increasing importance.

Caddis hatches are also much the same as May with the absence of the Grey Flag. Do not forget to fish the Pupa patterns, which will generally out fish the dry patterns.

Reed Smuts, which are often confused with the true Black Gnat can have an impact greatly belying its tiny size. They hatch mostly in fast water in the daytime and dry imitations in the 20-28 sizes work best.

Blue Winged Olives, Pale Wateries and the Pale Evening Dun are the most important olives. The Medium Olive can really fish well in this month. The following is a tying that really works well on our water.

Dave’s Medium Olive.

Hook: Partridge Oliver Edwards Emerger Hook, K14ST , Size 16.

Thread: Benecchi’s 12/0 Black

Tail: Small tuft of Canadian Snowshoe Rabbit feet.

Body: Medium Olive Antron dubbing.

Wing: Divided post of Canadian Snowshoe Rabbit feet.

Thorax: Hares Ear mix with Twinkle material.

Much the same as July. Look for land bred insects falling onto the water including the Crane Fly (daddylonglegs). Small brown and black Caddis will fish well. Try fishing small Klinkhammer’s dressed with black feather fibres as a body in the slower sections.

Daytime fishing will slowly resume with the Blue Winged Olives, smaller sedges and Pale Wateries being the main fly hatches.

As with all river systems each river will fish differently. When coming to fish our section of the Barrow do bring flies in which you yourself will have confidence in, and be prepared to adapt to the conditions. The general rule of thumb on the Barrow is that flies should be small and slim.

You may have noticed that I did not mention the Mayfly (ephemera dancia ). The hatch of the Mayfly on the Barrow can be localised but good. We usually see them around the last week of May into the first week of June. Patterns that work well are the Shadow Mayfly and the Lively Mayfly.

Finally, a word on tackle. A rod of eight to eight and a half feet with a line rating of three to five will suffice for dry fly and Emerger fishing.

For wet flies a cane rod if possible, of nine and a half to ten feet, rated for a number five line would be ideal.

If you do come and fish our waters you will find a varied and challenging fishery with excellent fly hatches and some very clever and large trout. Tight lines!

Dave Twohy , 12 Twoomey Park, Mountmellick, County Laoise.

Phone (0502) 44073 , (086) 8709204