How to fly fish for Wild Brown Trout in UK/Irish rivers using wet flies

Thanks for watching! The catching starts around 4:00 mins

[@simonharkness4522]

Thanks for watching! The catching starts around 5:10 mins

[@SpiralMoss]

Heading to the River Fergus in Clare later, it's only a few hundred yards from my house. Well done, I love wet fly fishing it's traditional and feels less cumbersome than nymph's and dries. Got my fly rod back from America needed to get the top half rebuilt, it snapped lifetime guarantee. The lake is full now, so Lough Inchiquinn in Corofin empties into the Fergus and it's crystal clear water and a dept of 4 ft nice flow perfect for the wets

[@garypringle9707]

Great video, I've only started fly fishing rivers this year, couldn't catch anything until I watched, since watching this I've caught trout almost every time I'm out now 👌 thanks

[@fradrake11]

Well done a great video and real nice to see traditional wet flies being fished and catching too. I learned to fly fish using traditional wet flies and I'd still mostly fish wets .

[@marypowell2134]

Nice film. Good to see wetfly in use. It is currently out of fashion but I still use it because it still catches fish!

[@Kevskiok]

Looks a great river....wish we had bigger rivers nearby.....your very lucky to be gifted with such a good river. Great Video. Tight Lines. Thanks

[@bubnellflyfishers]

An excellent video - thanks for sharing - I have taken the liberty of sharing this to my fishing club facebook page - I hope you don't mind - I am the only angler that ever fishes wet flies on our beat and I hope to inspire some others to try something different - everyone is getting into Czech / Euro nymphing and forget that these traditional methods still catch plenty of fish - Cheers - Steve.

[@simonharkness4522]

Great to hear Steve. It's my favourite method all year round. Tight lines mate

[@bubnellflyfishers]

Cheers Simon -

[@minimal_enthusiasm5971]

Great video mate! I'm just starting out in fly fishing.. you make it look easy 😂

[@natureandfishing24]

Great Video, Best Regards from Balkan (Macedonia)

[@theangrybeardfishing712]

Sweet defo gonna give this a shot

[@chrisobrien9932]

Hi Simon, Great video. I'm a novice to river fly fishing so I'm on a steep learning curve. I always thought you had to fish upstream otherwise the fly will not act naturally? Or with wet flies do you feel comfortable keeping them hanging in the downstream current? Most of my fishing will be on rivers that look identical, if not narrower. Thanks, Chris

[@simonharkness4522]

Hi Chris,I like using both methods, but I stick to wet fly fishing as it's more traditional in my view swinging a fly. I used to upstream nymph fish but it was too boring to me!

[@davidgregg6703]

@@simonharkness4522 100% with u there

[@conor0044]

Great video and quite informative- not too many Irish river wet fly videos on YT. Just curious- do you allow a belly to form in your line during the swing? Judging by your mending I would assume not, and that you keep the fly line straight. Just curious as I'd like to know more about wet fly- on my local river I'm plagued by different speeds of current which make my line+ flies go all over the place during the swing despite mending. Happy fishing!

[@simonharkness4522]

Hi Conor. The purpose for mending for me is to slow the flies down . I dont like fishing too fast! The line will appear straight but I follow it with my rod tip so it actually does 'swing' at the same time. It allows me to cover the same ground but slower. I also fish for salmon this way

[@simonharkness4522]

In a slower section of water I will tweak the flies back at a steady speed, a tweak of 2 or 3cm every second

[@conor0044]

Thanks very much , best of luck for this season if you manage to get out! Conor

[@Robert-yr4mx]

Few pulls of the line before you lift will enduce more takes. Good video

[@conorlynch2682]

What’s the lead fly called and how long is the dropper ? Nice fishing man👍😎🇮🇪🇺🇦

[@FishingIreland]

Nice informative video buddy!👌👌

[@stefang6213]

Can you explain your retrieve(if there is one)? Are you inching it back through the current, or just letting it swing round, hauling it back and going again? Many thanks.. I want to give the wet fly a go this season

[@hotpoker4212]

Great video, when you say mend the line, what do you mean,I'm just learning the trade,

[@simonharkness4522]

Flicking your rod upstream to turn the line over in a loop in the water to slow your drift down and to allow the flies to sink

[@jadonx]

Swinging downstream must be imitating fish fry. I usually fish dead drift with nymphs casting upstream.

[@phillewis631]

What wading stick do you use, and do you wear a life jacket?

[@simonharkness4522]

It's a snowbee one and no life jacket just due to this river being extremely safe

[@pj-1888]

I'm in Belfast mate looking for some good trout water what river is this .b4 I head to donegal

[@simonharkness4522]

This is the camowen. You should try the upper lagan or the Antrim six mile for trout

[@conalcassidy5026]

I'm from donegal myself and like to fish for alot of brown trout. Where you heading to and I might be able to give some advice

[@jhmcmbam]

@@simonharkness4522 You'll get a great run of Dollighan up the Sixmile stretch come the tail end of the season... highly recommended. Great video Simon thank you

[@darraghdeane5736]

Do u let any line off as the fly swings downstream or is the line at a constant length

[@neilmason158]

what rod are you using

[@simonharkness4522]

shakespeare oddysey.

[@pc3046]

What's the name of at river

[@edwardcharles9764]

Couple there seemed to have their lips ripped off!

[@simonharkness4522]

not uncommon, heavily fished area

[@edwardcharles9764]

Simon Harkness try barbless hooks!

[@justFishing95]

It's more spinners that rippe the mouths there is a way to removed a bared fly from a fish's mouth don't just yank it out

[@patrickhannon4188]

What flies were you on.

[@simonharkness4522]

march brown and bloody butcher

[@martinrea8548]

Great video, thanks! Was it early in the season, or can you use those flies all year round? Would it be fair to say that it's usually smaller trout you get in the faster waters, or can you get big ones casting downstream into a ripple like that too? Thanks and happy fishing to you.

[@simonharkness4522]

yea they will work year round. In April/May i use olives instead . You can find big trout in streams or slow pools

[@kiancorrigan5636]

Where is this

[@simonharkness4522]

Northern Ireland

[@patrick0thompson460]

Was it the 6 mile

[@simonharkness4522]

not far

[@patrick0thompson460]

Ok