Weather-wise this past week started like a typical April week with a mixture of snow, sleet and some sunny intervals and even a touch of ground frost in places. However, during the week Spring was definitely in the air with all parts of the country enjoying fantastic sunshine and temperatures reaching the high teens.
The great news for anglers is that the Government has lifted the 5km travel restrictions and that travel within county bounds or up to 20km is now possible again. Details of what this means for anglers are available here.
It was incredibly quiet on the coarse and pike fishing fronts this past week but we received a number of exciting trout and salmon reports instead.
Starting in the far northwest of the country, Carrowmore Lake produced its first salmon of the season a fine 9 lbs. fish caught by local angler Mervin Corway. Read the full story here!
Staying in the northwest, salmon catches on the River Moy also increased with dropping water levels. Foxford Salmon Anglers reported the first salmon of the season on their waters, while East Mayo Anglers reported three salmon for the week.
On the Blackwater water levels and river conditions remained excellent for salmon fishing which resulted in a number of fish being caught. Chris Coady was among the lucky anglers and had a cracking fish on the fly off the Glenmore Beat which was estimated at 10lbs+ and safely released.
Some salmon were also reported form the Killarney Lakes and the River Laune where low water levels resulted in moderate fishing conditions on the rivers, while conditions on the Lakes remain excellent. Meanwhile, on Lough Currane, the low water levels didn’t help and sea trout are still scarce with only one fish caught during the week.
Trout anglers in the southwest will be pleased to hear that IFI’s stocked lakes are to reopen as Covid restrictions ease. IFI is implementing a phased reopening of its fisheries subject to safe operation being possible and appropriate resourcing. Details and reopening schedule are available here.
Over to the northwest again where anglers on Lough Conn enjoyed some good trout action during the week. Now that the duck fly hatches have almost finished, more and more sedges are starting to appear which should result in more surface activity in the coming days.
Moving from lake to river, we have a great report from Dan O’Neill who wasn’t disappointed having returned to the Nore after more than a month.
Staying with river trout fishing, we received a great report from Co. Longford. Brothers Daniel and Simon Daly caught six beautiful wild brown trout while fishing a local river which is our “Catch of the Week”. Their fish were beautiful bars of gold and ranged between 9lb 4oz and 3lb 2oz and were all carefully released.
There’s little enough to report from the sea anglers, but Cork Harbour bass guide Richie Ryan was out again doing a bit of saltwater fly fishing for mullet. After having success the previous week he crowned his efforts with a cracking “Irish Bonefish” which was estimated at 6 lbs.
Expert knowledge from sea anglers is required for a survey programme launched by Inland Fisheries Ireland. By partaking in the survey anglers will contribute towards understanding changes in angling species over time. For anyone interested in taking part in the survey please follow link here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Fishing_Then_and_Now. Results will be available in time on our website. Each unique respondent will be entered into a prize draw to win a €200 voucher for their local angling tackle shop and a further two €100 vouchers are also in the draw.
In other news…
Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) in collaboration with Leave No Trace Ireland has launched an outdoor recreational guide for angling based on the 7 Principles of Leave No Trace. The guide is available here: LNT IFI Angling Guide and on the Leave No Trace Ireland website here.
Go Fishing Week 2021 is approaching fast and we received another great video as part of our ‘Why I love to fish’ video competition. Check out Jess McBride’s excellent video here!
And now the weather…
Saturday will be dry in most areas with some hazy sunshine, best over the eastern half of the country. Cloudier and windier further west with some heavy rain in places along the west coast. In the evening, rain will extend over west Ulster, Connacht and west Munster. Highest temperatures of 10 to 13 degrees with moderate southerly winds, fresher along the west coast. On Sunday outbreaks of rain and drizzle will continue through the day. While the start of next week will be still wet in places current indications suggest that high pressure will dominate our weather for the rest of the week.
Safe fishing to all and tight lines, especially here in Ireland.
Markus Müller
If you have an angling story to share with the Irish Angling Update please send it to [email protected].
All the angling news
Salmon Fishing Reports
- River Moy Angling Report week ending 11/04/21
- Carrowmore produces 1st Salmon of the Season!
- Lough Currane very low, one sea trout reported
- A few salmon running the Blackwater, conditions are good
- Laune system running low, some salmon about on river and lake
- One salmon reported from the Bandon last week
Trout Fishing Reports
- Local anglers continue to do well on Lough Conn
- Return to the Nore doesn’t disappoint
- Big trout from short walk in Longford
- A day out on the River Dodder for Vincent and Reuben
- South West stocked lakes to reopen as covid restrictions ease
