Knowledgeable fans of fly fishing know that Ireland is one of the best places on earth to indulge their sport — the deep lakes, swift-moving streams, cool temperatures and friendly folk all combine to make a trip there memorable.

In fact, it sounds a lot like Whidbey Island. And that’s why Dubliners Maureen Lyons and Mary Brady flew here just to test their mettle against some local rainbow trout.

Early Thursday morning, the two ladies gathered at Lone Lake at the invitation of the Whidbey Island Fly Fishing Club.

“Last year we visited friends on Bainbridge Island and they told us Whidbey was even prettier,” Lyons said.

They went on the Internet and got in touch with the WIFFC’s Gil Nyerges, who invited them to visit.

“And here we are,” Brady said as she and Lyons examined flies specially tied for them by Steve Mooney.

“Our club in Dublin has over 2,000 members and we get visitors from all over Europe and the U.S,” she added.

Lyons’ late husband was the angling corespondent for Ireland’s Evening Press. “He taught me to love the sport 35 years ago,” she said. “And I brought Mary into it about 20 years ago.”

So, what’s the big deal about fly fishing?

“For me, it’s a chance to go back to nature, enjoying what God gave us without altering or damaging the environment,” Lyons said. “And the camaraderie is important as well; fishermen look out for each other, as you see.”

Lone Lake has been stocked with 300 trout, many a special breed called “triploid,” Nyerges explained. They look, swim, jump and taste like normal fish except for one important difference — they can’t reproduce.

Researchers have found that they can create triploid trout both by exposing trout eggs to pressure and by placing trout eggs in a warm water bath shortly after fertilization. Both processes inhibit a trout egg’s ability to kick out the specific third set of chromosomes needed for reproduction.

“Bigger fish is what fly fisherman want,” Nyerges said. “This is a ‘catch and release’ lake so the fish are always here. You just need the patience to wait.”

But due to the herbicides used to eradicate pesky Brazilian milfoil weeds, club members still advise anglers not to eat the fish.

“It’s all about fooling the fish at his own game. We don’t use worms or corn but ties that simulate bugs the fish normally feed on,” said Baert Simmons.

Later that day Nyerges reported everyone had a great time, the ladies from Eire included. Brady caught a fine specimen and Lyons — well, she’ll have a nice story to tell her friends back home about the one that got away.

On Friday, the Irish duo ventured onto the beach at Ala Spit County Park for a little salt water fishing adventure. Before leaving tomorrow for a wedding in San Diego, Calif. they plan to present club members with a Friendship Trophy, to be awarded each year to the most prolific fisherman.

“The trophy depicts the Children of Lir,” Lyons said.

“It’s an old Irish folk tale about a jealous stepmother who drowns her children in a lake because she thinks her husband loves them more than her. They return as swans to haunt her forever,” she said.

Jeff VanDerford can be reached at 221-5300 or www.southwhidbeyrecord.com.