A Bonus Day at Holy Lough

There are few things in fishing I enjoy more than a bonus trip. When the regular season on the wild fisheries is winding down and an unexpected opportunity comes up to get out on the water with a good friend, you don’t ask too many questions — you just go.

That’s exactly how it came about recently when myself and my regular fishing companion, who I’ve shared a boat with on the wild fisheries throughout the season, decided to take a run up to Holy Lough in County Cavan. This wasn’t part of the plan for the year — it was a pure bonus trip, and armed with a couple of deadly secret patterns gifted to us by another friend (Thank you Bryan ) it turned out, one to remember.

The Fishery

Holy Lough is a stocked fishery situated near Ballyjamesduff in Cavan. It’s about a two-hour drive from Foxford, which makes it a full day out rather than a quick spin. We set off at 06.30 and on the way there we were treated to an exceptionally beautiful morning sky. We couldn’t resist pulling in for a photo opportunity on the River Shannon. Followed by a coffee, it set the tone for the day nicely.

The lough itself is managed primarily for rainbow trout, with regular stockings keeping good numbers of fish in the lake throughout the season. The setting is quiet and sheltered, with a mixed shoreline of trees and rushes, the kind of water that rewards a bit of thought rather than just motoring from one end to the other. Facilities are good with a nice hut and convenient boat jetty which makes an easy, accessible day out — which is exactly what you want from a bonus trip.

Stocked Water versus the Wild

Now, I’ll be honest — my heart belongs to the wild fisheries. Lough Conn and Lough Mask are where I do most of my trout fishing through the season, and there’s nothing quite like them. Those loughs demand everything from you, you’re reading the conditions, weather and wind, searching for elusive wild brownies and often working hard for a single rise. A fish from Conn or Mask feels earned in a way that’s hard to describe.

Stocked fisheries are a different proposition altogether. The fish are there in numbers, they’re generally more willing, and the day is more about presentation and method than about covering miles of water in search of a feeding wild fish. Some anglers turn their noses up at stocked water, and that’s their prerogative — but I think there’s a real place for it. It’s a superb way to sharpen your methods, to try things you might be hesitant to try on the wild loughs, and frankly, to remind yourself what a take feels like in the off season. On this particular day, Holy Lough had a surprise in store.

Six Trout and Billy’s Five-Pounder

We finished the day with six trout to the boat, the largest a fine fish of five pounds — and it took a dry fly. What made that particularly satisfying was the pattern itself, it’s one of the favoured patterns for Lough Conn, which was a genuine surprise on a Cavan stocked lake. It just goes to show that the fish don’t read the same books we do.

The five-pounder fell to Billy, and it was a take worth watching. After setting the hook, the fish ran him well into the backing, and had he not been ready for it, it would have easily snapped his line. That’s the thing about these fish — they fought far harder than we expected all day long, diving and boring deep and refusing to give up. A good few won the battle and left us scratching our heads. 

The dry fly fishing itself was fascinating. These trout are possibly leader shy, and they certainly don’t rush into taking the dry. On a few occasions we watched fish circle the fly and tentatively nudge it without committing — the kind of behaviour that keeps you on your toes and tests your patience. A delicate presentation and a bit of restraint on the strike both paid off.

The earlier part of the day proved best, and as the temperature dropped in the afternoon the fish seemed to switch off. The day stayed dry throughout, which made it a pleasure to be afloat, and all in all it was a day that delivered far more than we’d bargained for.

Methods, Hints and Tips

We fished a mix of methods on the day, and a few things are worth passing on.

Sinking lines. With the fish holding a bit down — as they often do in these lakes — a sinking line was the order of the day for much of our fishing. My advice is to resist the urge to go too heavy too quickly. Start with an intermediate or a slow sink and let the line work through the layers, if you’re not moving fish, step up. Count your line down consistently so you can repeat a successful depth once you find it. And keep the retrieve varied — short pulls, long steady draws, the odd pause. The take on a sinking line often comes on the drop, so stay alert the moment you stop retrieving.

The washing line method. We also gave the washing line a try. For anyone unfamiliar, it involves fishing a sinking or intermediate line with a buoyant or neutral fly like a booby, a foam fly, or a blob on the point using a long leader, with a couple of other patterns, Dial Bachs or Crunchers on droppers fished above it, so you’re covering two layers of water at once. A few fish showed interest in it, but what we noticed was that once fish were showing on the surface, the dry fly was clearly the best method  and that’s where our attention went. It’s still a method worth having in the armoury, but on this day it played second fiddle.

Dry fly. Given how cagey the fish were, the dry demanded a light touch. Long, fine leaders, a soft landing, and no rushing the strike , let the fish take it properly before you lift. When they’re circling and nudging, the temptation is to strike at the first sign of movement, but patience is what converts those nudges into hooked fish.

Conditions and Change

The day itself was mild but slightly windy, and the wind made its presence felt on the fishing. A bit of wind is generally not a bad thing on a lough. It puts a ripple on the water, breaks up the surface and gives trout cover, and it pushes food along the windward shores, which is where you want to be spending your time. With Rainbows, its my experience that it puts them down and this is where the sinking lines worked. The “key” was to be ready to change as conditions varied and this was a day of quick changes. The fish wanted something different from hour to hour, a dry rod and a sinking-line rod rigged and ready, flies within easy reach, and no hesitation about changing when the signs told you to.

All in all, a bonus trip that delivered far more than we’d bargained for , six hard-fighting trout, a five-pound fish on the dry taken on a Conn pattern after a run into the backing that could easily have ended differently, and a day that rewarded quick changes and being prepared. Add in good company on a lovely piece of water, a spectacular morning sky and a photo stop on the Shannon, and you couldn’t ask for more. Holy Lough won’t replace Conn or Mask in my affections, but it earned its place on the list, we will return.