This past week has seen more unsettled weather in the west, with heavy rain in some parts and coldness in a wind that never really eased. In contrast, parts of the south and southwest saw long periods of sunshine and it felt almost a bit like summer when temperatures reached the low twenties for a while.
Salmon don’t mind a bit of rain, and as a result salmon fishing has been picking up further, particularly on a number of fisheries in the west and southwest. There were good catches reported on the Ilen and the Bandon, while the week for salmon and sea trout anglers on Lough Currane has been a rather quiet one. The Moy is still fishing fairly well with another 178 fish reported caught up to June 13th and anglers on the Erriff enjoyed relatively good early season sport as well. Very good salmon fishing has also been reported from the lower stretches of the Munster Blackwater.
With the mayfly over, trout reports from the loughs are getting more scarce. On Lough Conn, however, anglers still enjoyed reasonable trout fishing despite persistent cool winds hampering fly life.
River trout fishing is improving and with water temperatures on the increase and rivers dropping we should receive more river reports in the weeks to come. Anglers at Mount Julie on the River Nore already benefited from these improved conditions and had good fishing on nymphs, wets and dries.
Sea angling is in full swing around the coast with boat and shore anglers all getting their share.
The first blue shark of the season and some super ling were reported from West Cork which makes our Catch of the Week.
Charter boats in Kerry & Clare had some excellent fishing for mixed species and some hard-fighting spurdog, while Galway Bay also produced great spurs up to specimen weight!
Great variety fishing was reported from Killala Bay, while further up the coast in Sligo & Donegal charter boats experienced nice cod and pollack fishing.
South Shore Sea Angling Club were back on the Wicklow beaches for the first competition of the year, while sea angling clubs along the west coast were also back in action!
Up north, Killybegs Mariners had another week of excellent shore and rock fishing catching a multitude of different species ranging from bass and sea trout to fine wrasse and even some mini species.
It has been an exceptionally quiet week on the pike angling front and coarse angling reports weren’t plentiful either. However, it is very nice to see that more and more coarse angling clubs mainly in the Midlands are getting back holding competitions and training sessions.
In other news…
A new study reveals the migration route of Atlantic salmon at sea and raises concerns about effects of climate change. The study, led by the Arctic University of Norway, involved a cooperative research study by ten Universities and Institutions across Europe, including Inland Fisheries Ireland. The full study, ‘Redefining the oceanic distribution of Atlantic salmon,’ can be found at Nature.com at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-91137-y
And now the weather…
Tomorrow, Saturday, will be a largely dry day with sunny spells, though it will turn cloudier from the west as the day goes on. Sunday will see rain spreading across the country from the west and it will turn cooler with highest temperatures between 12 and 14 degrees. It will remaining unsettled for the remainder of the week with showers or longer spells of rain at times and temperature near average or slightly below.
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 reports@fisheriesireland.ie.
All the angling news
Salmon Fishing Reports
Trout Fishing Reports
- Mayfly hatches slowing down on Conn but some Caenis hatches noticeable
- Great fishing on the Nore in huge hatches of fly
Coarse Angling Reports
- Edenderry Coarse Anglers hold their final training session on the canal
- Enfield Coarse Angling Club have first competition of the year
- Jason wins Belmont Anglers competition with some good tench
Sea Angling Reports
- Another exciting week for Killybegs Mariners Sac
- Some more nice cod and pollack for Donegal based charter skippers
- Good fishing in Sligo with plenty of species and some nice cod & pollack
- Great variety fishing in Killala Bay
- South Shore SAC back on the beaches
- West coast sea angling clubs back in action
- Super Sport In West Clare
- Galway Bay Produces Specimen Spurs
- First Blue Shark of the season & some super Ling for anglers on the Silver Dawn
- Caherciveen charter boat Fuego reports good size cod in catches
