Good morning from a wet Foxford. It has been a mixed week weather wise. Starting off with snow and followed by Storm Bert, which was more of a rain event than wind. It rained very heavily on Friday night, this melted the snow and within 36 hours the river had risen 3m at Ballylahan bridge, that is a lot of water. It is not the biggest flood we have witnessed but it was quite impressive. I can’t say I have ever seen lough Cullin backing into Lough Conn as hard and fast as it was. Everywhere is brim full now and its very difficult to access anywhere decent to fish. This is one of the biggest problems we encounter with winter fishing in the west of Ireland, it just rains so much. As one guy said, it would be a great place if we could roof it!
Im not sure what effect all this water in the rivers will have on fish spawning. I’m glad that at least it didn’t happen after they have spawned, I can only imaging that such a sudden rise of this volume would do damage. I mentioned a few weeks ago that there was a lot of Salmon around Foxford. I got talking to a reliable source from Ballina who told me that while on his daily walks of the canal section just upstream of Ballina he noticed that after the storm in October it was full of salmon also. It must have been a late run that arrived. He also told me that the seals are still enjoying more than their fair share in the estuary. A nettle that some politician is going to have to grasp at some point, perhaps something a brave Ballina politician could address.
Its trade show time of the year for us and we have been busy sifting through all the new products coming out for next season. To be honest its all much the same as in the past, old ideas re packaged and prices increased. As a small business we cant afford to stock rubbish. We are well experienced though and we go through it all thoroughly. You can trust that what we eventually stock is the best both in quality and value for money. By March we will have it on the shelves and you can come and judge for yourself.
The Drachovitch system
Devised by the Fench Painter and Angler Albert Drachovitch the system allows a dead bait or realistic soft bait to be presented and maneuvered with deadly success. This is a system I had heard of many times over the years, but it was only after a brief visit to France where we met Mr Drachovitch that I started using the system. This was a visit that to tell the story of is too much for this short blog but could eventually make the book. Along with being an interesting and educational trip, there were some funny and exciting moments. Video evidence exists of the carriageway change via the central reservation on the motorway and if I dig deep enough ill find paper work relating to the associated fines, anyway. Along with some good angling friends from France we did meet Mr Drachovitch at his home and he was kind enough to explain his system and how and why it works, he even gave us a few of the rigs he had made.
The Drachovitch system is centered around movement, touch and feel. The rig itself is quite simple. An eye to attach to the line, a lead weight at the front, a wire that is feed into the mouth of a dead fish or soft bait and a couple of treble hooks which are attached to the bait, some copper wire to secure the bait and a piece of red wool which acts as an attractor or strike point.By changing the weight, hook size and overall length of the rig it can be modified to suit a wide variety of situations and the system will work for most predatory species both in fresh and salt water. As I said, I had heard of it many times over the years and on occasions while guiding I had watched visiting anglers using it. It was only when the use of the system was explained to me by the man who perfected it, an incredible artist who could not only paint on canvas but could do so with words and expressions, that I got a feeling for how and why it would work. This in turn gave me some confidence to try it and low and behold it works.
In brief “The Drachovitch system” is about presentation. The rig and the actions of the angler creates a natural movement in the bait. Both must work together and its useless if this does not happen. It takes time to perfect but it is well worth the effort. Once the bait has been mounted in a realistic looking manner it is cast to an area where the angler suspects a fish is lying in wait. Constant contact is necessary as the bait is let sink, head fist following the lead wight at the front of the rig. Using the rod, the speed of decent can be controlled as can the action of the bait. Once on or near the bottom the rod is raised in a sink and draw manner as the bait is retrieved, again the speed of retrieval is varied. Staying in touch with the bait the angler needs to visualise the movement. A wounded or crippled, venerable bait fish moving through the water. The take can be aggressive or very slight, sometimes just a gentle “knock.” This is another reason why the angler must be in contact and have a feeling for what is happening, takes can easily be missed. I am attaching a picture of the rig which is very simple to make, its well worth a try but you do need to persevere and if you get into it, it’s a very stimulating method to use.
