Grateful to John O’Neill for this excellent tying of the classic sedge pattern: The Welshman’s Button

The Welshman’s Button is a sedge that hatches from morning till dusk, mid May right through the summer with small hatches in early August and even as late as September on lough Mask. Lough Ennell, Sheelin, Ree and Conn all get good hatches right through the summer and is normally at full strength to the end of July. A great fly to use on lough Ennell when the Mayfly overlaps with the Welshman’s Button.

Note, on the first image, the underside is clipped for better presentation. Hook kamasan B170 12 or 14. Thread sheer brown 14/0. Body- Orvis spectrablend nymph dubbing olive brown. Body sides – lureflash lime or similar. Wing – deer hair dyed chocolate brown. Hackle – chocolate brown.

DTAA member and expert fly tier, Donal Raftery presents his two picks. These are Donal’s go-to flies when fishing the magnificent Lough Conn at Mayfly time and he’d have these on his cast on any lough when the hatch is on. Big thanks to Donal. Please feel free to like and share….

On the left Deer Hair Golden Olive Bumble:

Tail: golden pheasant crest.

Tag: red floss.

Body: yellow seals fur

Rib: gold wire

Body Hackle: golden olive cock hackle

Legs: orange pheasant tail knotted

Head Hackle: blue cock cape

Head: golden olive deerhair

The second fly is the Cathal Rush Wet Mayfly

Tail: yellow pheasant tail.

Body: white floss.

Rib: red floss.

Body hackle: white cock hackle

Head Hackle: hot orange cock hackle under yellow French partridge

If he had to pick one fly, DTAA Secretary Cathal McDonnell would choose the Red Arsed Olive Green Stimulator.

Best fished in a wave on Lough Conn. David Dinsmore gave Cathal one of these flies on his first trip to Lough Conn and it has got fish at most of his Lough Conn & Cullin trips since. Tying is as per his magazine article a number of years ago.

Cathal fishes this on top dropper first, but then moves it to the middle fly if it does not have good start. Like most wet flies, it’s going to be best in the wave but he` would still have it on in calmer water fishing bit deeper. For time of year I would say anytime Olives or Mayfly around on Lough Conn. it’s worked for Cathal late season on Lough Owel (size 14), maybe for a caddis. He prefers it tied sparsely with the Deer Hair compared to other stimulators.

Thanks to Cathal for sharing this. Feel free to like and share. Tight lines.

Olives. DTAA member Mark McAllister says that Olives are showing on the Tourmakeady shore this time of year and he’s had success with his friend and clubmate, Nessan Kelly’s Olives.

When asked, Nessan emphasised that these were not “his” olives, they were tied after Dennis Moss’s pattern, the Dark Olive Midge page 57 of Trout from a Boat. Size 12 wet,. Nessan mixes some yellow partridge into the red game hackle fibres for tail, rest as per pattern, with Veniards olive seal fur sub main body and thorax dark olive sparkle dubbing,. Big thanks to Nessan for sharing this pattern and these pictures. Tight lines (for whenever we can get back on the water!).

DTAA Committee member and ecologist John Harrington has noticed good hatches of hawthorn flies around at the moment, great fishing when they’re blown onto the water.

John’s tying for hawthorn (first picture):

Hook b160 size 12,

Thread black uni 8,

Body tied black 3 pheasant fibres tied half way round bend, fine silver wire reverse tied over.

Thorax black ostrich,

Legs 4 black pheasant tail fibres,

Wing white Antron or wing tips, black hackle on front. Fished dry, now just wait and watch

DTAA membership secretary and top fly tier Justin Clarke also shared this pattern (second picture):

Justin calls this his Bibio Hawthorn (he uses that term loosely!) He’s tied a few short runner legs under the wing and finds that on the top dropper it can be effective at this time of year stirring up the surface when no fish are visible.

12 hook,

Body black peacock dubbing, fine silver rib.

4 Sili legs, black with a red fleck, red dubbed thorax, starling wing and black hackle.

Thanks for sharing John and Justin. Tight lines.