When I opened the fly box it was kind of obvious. Darkish skies, tainted waters called for something not too light in shade but with lots of sparkle, and of course lots of life in the water. I wasn’t sure of the size of the local pike. Today, Mikael Cleary, who’s taking care of us in Corofin, advised us to try a little and remote lake that is practically never fished, the Ballyteige. So I didn’t want to start with the biggest guns, and there was a lot of wind this morning.

So I  chose this guy. And I fished ihm to death. Literally. After six pikes, this is what he looked like. He fought bravely, and died an honorable death.

Huge thanks to Jerôme Servonnat, Mr. Pike on the fly, who tied and gave me this magnificent soldier and many others. You’re the boss.