Over the closed season I will be posting an update on patterns for fishing on Irish Loughs. This will include flies for Brown Trout, Seatrout and Salmon. This time around it's the Midas Dabbler, the Sheelin Perch Fry Minkie and some news about Fulling Mill.

It's been a few months since I got around to posting a blog, and now that the 2023 Guiding season finished for me a few weeks back I can get back to some updates. Over the last year and half I have been blessed to have a great working relationship with the Fulling Mill Team; from being a signature fly designer to now, when only the other day I was asked to be a Fulling Mill Ambassador to help promote their products. It was only last year when Steve Carew sent me over samples of products that were going to be launched for their Flytyer catalogue for 2023, and to be honest I was amazed at the options and I'm looking forward to see what's coming for the 2024 season. Promoting their products is an honour to say the least, so thank you again to the Fulling Mill team.

Back in September Tom "Doc" Sullivan and myself had Patrick Tillard from Fulling Mill to film Tom and myself fishing on the wonderful Lough Arrow in Sligo. We also completed some fly tying videos, so please keep an eye out for these in the coming weeks and months.

October sees the end of the season and the start of my fly tying. This week I started at the vice again making sure those guiding boxes are full and topped up for 2024 season, but I'm also developing new flies for next season. I've been using some of my own materials along with the Fulling Mill materials and boy have the flies turned out great. I hope to post a blog regularly showing some of my new flies that I have been making along with some of the dressings that I have been using, starting with the flies below.

You can check out some of my Fulling Mill patterns and materials (dubbings, zonkers) at your nearest Fulling Mill stockist.

The Midas Dabbler was originally tyed and fished as a dry fly pattern for Rainbow trout in the U.K. reservoirs. Back in my competition days I would have used variations of the Midas pattern quite a bit and with great success, and not only does it work in U.K. waters it works in Ireland too. Last January Fulling mill launched their "Seal X" range and they have some fantastic colours in their range covering everything the flytyer should need, and a little bird told me the range will be getting bigger. With this new range in mind I thinking "Dry Midas" and the Irish tyer came out in me again, so my new Midas Dabbler was born. I've used this pattern quite a bit this season while guiding on Lough Erne, from early season fishing around the rocky shores, to fishing in deeper water, this dabbler covers everything from Shrimp patterns to Sedge patterns and it's definitely worth having in the fly box.

I have been tying the Sheelin Perch Fry Minkie pattern for a long time and the biggest problem I had with it over the years was getting the right hook to suit the style of the pattern and also the right colour Zonker strip. So when Steve Carew from Fulling Mill sent me the sample packs it definitely made my day. The quality of the Zonker strips, the range in colours plus the sizes that the strips are cut makes it ideal for the flytyer, not to mention the Zonker cross cut for tying head hackles for Minkie patterns. It is definitely a game changer for me and for Irish lough fishing. The hooks I have been using lately for tying this pattern are from Fulling Mill, code 6040 Streamer Stripper, and these hooks were shown to me by a very good friend that I guide regularly who is also a brilliant flytyer. These hooks definitely suit the style of this pattern plus they are super strong for those large Sheelin trout. Over the years I had some fantastic fishing on this fly, not only on Sheelin but Erne as well, and only just recently had some great fishing on this pattern on Lough Owel. Recently Tom "Doc" Sullivan and myself made a video on how to tye this pattern which will be released soon from Fulling Mill so keep a eye out for it.