Fishing the estuaries for Irish Sea Trout

by John Bailey

It’s true that in many parts of Ireland sea trout fishing is not what it once used to be – and we’ve really got the fish cages to thank for that. However, there are many, many areas where sea trout fishing can be still very worthwhile indeed. We’ve already looked at the possibilities down on Lough Currane, for example. Sea trout, however, are well catchable in the estuaries and it’s an exciting form of fly fishing that’s often overlooked. Jim Dillon, one of the top Irish guides around the Erne and Melvin area has some great advice that could pay real dividends for those of us who fancy sea trout in the estuaries of England and Scotland, too. Remember brackish and saltwater can offer really great sport.

“We are talking about a wildly unpredictable type of fishing here,” Jim says. “I think all of us around here are learning new things all the time. Mt own feeling is that fishing is better from the shore than from a boat, if you can get to where the fish are lying. My reasoning for this is that sea trout seem to be spooky of boats but that’s not always the case. Actually, the estuary sea trout fishing kicks off early and Easter can be a good period with some of the biggest sea trout coming in during April. As the summer kicks in, the average size goes down to around a pound to a pound and a quarter, with good fish of a pound and a half to two pound or so. Mind you, there’s always the chance of big ones, but they tend to come to either bait anglers or spinners. For me, I personally always fish the fly.

“The sea trout are in the estuaries to feed, and feed hard. Their main target is the sand eel and, failing that, small fish of all types, so these are the food forms that you’re imitating. It pays to experiment with various fly patterns, colours and line densities. The Parson Tom works well and so do the Falkus Sunk Lure and the Gadget. I tend to fish these in traditional wet fly techniques, but I’m always experimenting on rates of retrieve, depths, colours and patterns.

“I’ve already said this is all about experimentation, and that’s what makes it so exciting. For example,
I’m nearly always fishing for the sea trout during the day, despite the old tradition that it was a waste of time going out until darkness had fallen. The state of the tide is another quandary, but I tend to like the hour before and the hour after the lowest tide. Certainly it’s around this time that you’ll see fish jumping everywhere, and that alone gives you a lot of confidence. The more you fish a particular estuary – and there are sea trout up many of them – the more you learn which of the tides is likely to produce results. You get to know the bends, the bays, the different regimes of current flows, and just where fish like to feed and hang. You begin to realize how the wind affects everything and which directions and strengths are good or bad. Light values come into it, too. It can fish well in bright conditions and sometimes it’s better when it’s overcast. Dawn and dusk are interesting times.”