
Following last week’s storm the weather was a little unsettled at times and inclined to be a bit windy. On the whole it wasn’t a bad week for anglers, particularly those who had hoped for a bit of rain. Unfortunately for anyone looking for another bit, you might have to wait a while yet…
The rain that fell last week did not make it to the Moy, but the cloud cover did enough to see just over 300 salmon caught on the river. Fisheries in Galway and Connemara did better following the rain that made it to their headwaters. In Donegal a small flood on the Owenea saw some fine salmon landed but the Drowes remained low and fishing was confined to the late evenings and early mornings. Lough Currane benefited from the rain, but windy conditions made it hard to make the most of the run of salmon. Rivers in Cork fared lass well and most measured their catches last week in single figures.

Conservation of sea trout Waterville area (No.7 or Kerry District)
Inland Fisheries Ireland is seeking submissions from interested parties in respect of a proposed bye-law which would prohibit the retention and possession of any sea trout taken in the Waterville area of Co. Kerry. This new bye-law is intended to decrease the pressure on sea trout stocks in the systems while still allowing anglers to fish. For more information see: Conservation of sea trout Waterville area (No.7 or Kerry District)
Lough Corrib had some super early morning fishing to Caenis. Traditionally called the Angler’s Curse the fly is now a welcome hatch to many anglers. Many travel from far afield to make the most of the sport on offer. Lough Sheelin had some of it’s biggest hatches of Mayfly ever last month. But the fish did not put on much of a show for the hopeful anglers who flocked to the lake. Now that the lake is nearly empty of boats, trout have started to feed on the few fly that have continued to hatch in the last week.
Coarse anglers saw some great catches at festivals fished in Fermanagh and Cavan. The fishing really picked up in Cavan and Colin Moss won the Breffni Challenge with 70.670kg, beating Bob Nudd by 17kg. Anglers in Longford are also getting good fishing with some lovely looking bags of bream and tench reported.
We have pike reports in from Lough Lene, Longford and Lough Ree. Big fish continue to be caught and as the weather is set to get warmer we ask all those targeting pike to ensure they take the necessary steps to minimise stress for these toothy predators and allow the fish plenty of time to recover when releasing them.
Congratulations go to the Irish Team who won the Home Nation Boat Championships fished from Cobh last week. It was not an easy competition by any means as the fish had been scattered by Storm Harvey. The Irish Team showed their quality with 3 boat wins on the first day and kept the momentum going to keep the lead and win over all.
Staying safe by the water
Irish Water Safety (IWS) has lots of sensible advice for parents ahead of the next spell of hot weather. It can be all too easy to get into difficulties in water, not just while we are out and about, but also around the home. The newly published Ultimate Water Safety Guide for Parents is well worth a read by anyone taking kids to the waterside – https://www.mykidstime.com/for-parents/the-ultimate-water-safety-guide-for-parents/
And now the weather…
High pressure is forecast to stay over Ireland for the next week. There will be sunshine each day and it will stay dry everywhere. Or in other words – this is the start of a heatwave. It will become very warm by day with afternoon temperatures in the mid to high twenties. Sea breezes will make it a bit less warm near coasts and perhaps some sea fog may affect coasts later in the week.
The nights will initially be cool with lowest temperatures on Saturday night of 6 to 10 degrees, but after that nights will become close with temperatures not falling much below 15 degrees from Monday night onward. Anyone who was thinking of doing an all nighter has just got a green light…
Safe fishing to all and tight lines, especially here in Ireland.
Myles Kelly
Catch, Photo, Release
If you have an angling story to share with the Irish Angling Update please send it to [email protected].
Headlines
Salmon angling news
- Grilse and the last springers run Kylemore after rains
- Lonely salmon caught on low Lee
- Good salmon on Ilen, other West Cork rivers quiet
- River Bandon very low, just 3 salmon last week
- Rain brings grilse to Delphi, sea trout expected soon
- Grilse and springers caught on the Erriff
- Salmon fishing improves on Currane after Hector has his say
- Better water and bigger salmon on the Owenea
- Early mornings and late evenings fish best for the Drowes
- No rain for the Moy but fishing improves
- Owenmore getting sea trout in the lakes
- French salmon anglers do well on the Suir
Trout angling reports
- Dooner lands a cracker from Lene
- Fabien Tronche wins National Lake Fly Fishing Championships on Lein
- Serious sport on Caenis for Corrib anglers, late Mays also produce
- Good trout fishing on Suir in upper reaches
- Ephemeral heartbreak on Sheelin as anglers ever hopeful
Coarse angling reports
- Cavan anglers take the top three positions at Rosslea Lakes Festival.
- Colin Moss wins Breffni Challenge on 70.670kg
- Good bream fishing and some tench for UK anglers in Longford
- Good tench, bream and hybrids reported from Templemore
Pike angling reports
- Ree still producing big pike as summer takes hold
- Meath River Rescue in action at pike comp on Lough Lene
- Belgian anglers enjoy predator fishing in Longford
Sea angling reports
- Great fishing reported from Courtmacsherry, loads of large ling
- Charter boat anglers enjoy great fishing from Portrush
- Tourist anglers enjoy bass and shad fishing
Other news
- Thinking (and taking action) about water safety…
- Conservation of sea trout Waterville area (No.7 or Kerry District)
- Inland Fisheries Ireland announces 73 angling initiatives to receive 2018 Sponsorship Programme funding
- Irish Ladies Fly Fishing team head to Wales for Home Nations
- Dundalk & District Brown Trout & Salmon Anglers Continues Its Long Association With the Development of Youth Angling
- IFI seized 647 items of illegal fishing equipment and 14,000m of illegal nets in 2017