We’re turning our attention to fly tying for this week’s episode and our guest is a bit of a legend in Irish fly tying circles it has to be said and yet his flies might never have graced our waters and caught so many fish if it wasn’t for a sliding doors moment in the life of Frankie McPhillips when he was looking for work…..
Frankie describes a different time in the 1970s and 1980s when good, quality flies were hard to come by and how after 45 years he’s still as much in demand. Don’t forget to visit
www.frankiemcphillips.com to see the flies for yourself.
Looking back on his fly fishing life, Frankie talks about friendship and fishing with Ted Malone who was still casting and catching on Lough Corrib up until the age of 96.
Frankie has also written a poem called, ‘Under Tattenweir Bridge’ which he reads out for us on the podcast.
‘I cast my fly under Tattenweir Bridge
And as it floats back to me,
overhead, I hear a forty tonner roar
carting packed pallets of “best before”
to vast warehouses of plenty
I cast my fly under Tattenweir Bridge
and as it floats back to me
I hear the sighs of famine men
lift stone after cut stone
clacked into place
to form the perfect arch…
I wonder, to stave the hunger
did they ever take a rising trout in May
or grape the November salmon on his lie
I cast my fly under Tattenweir Bridge
And as it floats back to me
I see you, crouched in the long bank grass
flint spear by your side
no catch and release then
for salmon, trout or thirsty deer…
river food, brought back to rath or home
beside the standing stones
of Ballyreagh or Topped
As darkness falls under Tattenweir Bridge
The little trout swim side by side
hunger squawks in the redwood nest,
the heron begins his river glide.’
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Mayfly Masterclass with Jackie Mahon
The mayfly is up and the excitement is palpable.
Wherever you are in Ireland, the lakes and rivers are sure to be hatching with mayfly, if not now, then soon.
And to help you improve your catch rate this season, we’ve produced a Mayfly Tactics Masterclass with international angler, guide and renowned tyer, Jackie Mahon.