But more lasting than any technical advice is the companionship which grows between anglers and boatman and which often provides the most enduring memories of a day's fishing on a wild lough. There is also a comradeship amongst boat anglers. On the big loughs such as Lough Corrib in County Galway, at mayfly time boats will pull up for lunch in the lee of islands and their anglers will share stories of the morning's sport while driftwood fires, set in stones blackened by anglers' fires over the decades, boil water for tea. A number six or seven floating or intermediate line should be matched to the rod. Bear in mind the chance of meeting a big wild fish, especially if you are fishing a limestone lough, when choosing leader strength.
Irish loughs are sometimes rocky, and can be very hazardous when swept by the strong westerly winds.
A boatman is the best guarantor of safety, but even so each angler in a boat should wear a lifejacket. Anglers who go afloat without the aid of a boatman should only do so with great care after taking local advice. Some loughs have firm shorelines which suit the bank fisherman. The adventurous angler who enjoys the challenge of walking over rough terrain can find sections of large loughs, or entire smaller loughs in the west of Ireland, where he or she may fish alone and enjoy the solitude of an ancient landscape on the rim of Europe. The mayfly still hatches in abundance in Ireland's rivers and loughs, and where it appears it can provide supreme fishing with the dry fly.