We have enjoyed something approaching an Indian Summer over the past week, with plenty of bright sunshine and what seemed to me like warm weather, so it was somewhat of a surprise when I checked on Met Eireann to find that temperatures have actually been below normal…? It was a relatively dry week too, with only the southwest of the country seeing any significant rain. We also experienced a fantastic ‘blue moon’ on Tuesday night, and, with the clear skies, anyone who was out on Tuesday evening had a fine spectacle to behold. Full moons mean big spring tides, and we had some of the biggest tides of the year during the week. As anglers know, spring tides get the fish moving around the coastline, and it seems like it was a bumper week for many of our sea anglers…

We start our reports this week up in Donegal, where the Killybegs Mariners had a memorable league outing, as numerous quality fish were landed in one of those evenings where all the angling stars aligned for them. There seemed to be quality fish turning up all over the beach, with numerous painted ray, including a specimen-sized one for Shane Cunningham, which also broke the club record. There were a number of quality bass too, and with a fantastic evening like that, Shane and the Mariners win this week’s Catch of the Week accolade.

New Killybegs Mariners club record 83cm painted ray for Shane Cunningham

Angler Bill Ryan was also up in Donegal, and he was in touch to report that he too had some excellent fishing for painted ray from the Donegal beaches during a night time shore session. And, further out to sea, the bluefin tuna season is still going strong out in Donegal Bay, with some good fish landed, and others agonisingly straightening the hook a few metres shy of the boat…

In Galway Bay, skipper John Fleming starts to see squid show up at this time of year, and anglers enjoyed targeting them as well as the more usual species such as spurs, pollack and whiting. In Clare, the building tides and fine weather combined to give anglers aboard the Clare Dragoon fantastic fishing, including some nice john dory and chunky looking cod. Anglers fishing with Sean Maguire, also in Clare, enjoyed similar fishing under clear blue skies, more often experienced in the Mediterranean… Elsewhere, Dave Edwards of West Cork Charters had a couple of good sessions which produced some fine blues and a couple of specimen sized bull huss.

Chunky cod from the Clare coast

South Shore SAC held their yearly festival weekend over the 14th and 15th of September and it was a weekend of two halves, as difficult fishing on the Saturday was followed by some fast and furious fishing on the Sunday. Ciaran Fogarty won Saturday’s event with 12 fish, while Thomas Keogh won out on Sunday with 38 fish, 29 of which were school bass.

As we move from summer to autumn, pike anglers will begin to get more active as the drop in temperatures switches pike into feeding mode. Norbert Renaud of L’ile Verte Fishing Lodge has put together a short video on tactics he uses to target pike at this time of year, which should prove helpful for anyone planning to target them in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, anglers fishing with Kevin Lyons at Melview Lodge seemed to be coping with the change from summer to autumn without a hitch. He had two groups with him over the past week: some regular visitors who got off to a slow start but were into the swing of things by the end of their trip and a couple of happy-go-lucky Dutch guys, who enjoyed the super Irish scenery, as well as plenty of pike.

Fighting fit midlands pike

The competitive trout anglers were out in force over the past week or so, with a few competitions held at different venues around the country. Beginning on Lough Corrib, 120 anglers from all over Ireland and further afield participated in the East Corrib Alliance Catch & Release competition last Sunday. It was a super day out for all involved, and the top angler on the day was Mick Mellamphy, who managed two cracking trout for 7.53lbs. Competitors fared less well on Loughs Conn & Cullin, as 35 anglers fished the Kieran Lynn Perpetual Cup. They faced difficult conditions, and only seven trout were returned, with Padraig O’Sullivan taking the trophy home for the year. Meanwhile, on Lough Lene, the ITFFA held their second youth qualifier event, and 33 young anglers went head to head to win a place on the youth team. They managed to boat 35 fish, and Jacob Griffin had a great session, with five fish in total, which won him the prize on the day. Meanwhile, Evan McMickan, who caught seven fish over the two competitions, won Youth Angler of the Year. Congrats to both young anglers đź‘Ź đź‘Ź.

Corrib anglers on the way out, full of hope. Heading under the causeway into Ballynalty Bay

Coarse anglers are also in competition mode at this time of year, wrapping up their busiest match period. The final of the VDE Canal Masters was held at Daingean over the weekend, and it seems the unseasonable sunny weather put the larger fish off the feed, and as a result, bags were on the small side, with Alan Bell coming out on top with 6lb 12oz. Competitors fared better on Lough Muckno, where 19 anglers faced off for the Irish Open Feeder title. The 2-day event saw Darren Fairhurst put in a master class to finish way ahead of the field with 30kg. In the south east, Oaklands Lake hosted the final of the All Ireland Method Feeder Championships over the weekend, where 30 anglers lined the banks to compete for the title. But it was a familiar face who came to the fore, as Steven Whyte topped the standings for the third year in a row.

All lined up at Oaklands

As we are quickly approaching the end of the salmon season, anglers will be hoping that conditions stay in good order on our fisheries. There has been some decent water on the River Moy over the past week, and that seems to have kept the salmon interested, with plenty of anglers catching, and the Foxford area proving to be a hotspot. On Lough Currane and the River Inny, a bit of rain freshened things up on the system, and that brought salmon to the net on both river and lake, where a few sea trout put in an appearance too.

Finally, in this week’s podcast news, in the latest edition of Ireland on the Fly, Daire and Tom talk to well-known fly angler and fisheries scientist James Barry, about the 2024 fishing season and some of his angling highlights during the year.

And now the weather

It is set to be another dry day today, with temperatures hitting the low twenties in places. But things are going to change from Saturday as the sunny spells will be mixed in with showers, some of which may be thundery, with temperatures from 16°C to 20°C. Sunday will also see rain moving in from the east, with some heavy, thundery showers in places. The wet weather will have passed by Monday, which looks like being mostly dry, and it will remain that way into Tuesday, before rain arrives again later in the day.

Safe fishing to all and tight lines, especially here in Ireland.

IFI Staff
Catch, Photo, Release

If you have an angling story to share with the Irish Angling Update please send it to [email protected].

All the angling news

Sea Angling Reports

Pike Fishing Reports

Trout Fishing Reports

Coarse Angling Reports

    Salmon Fishing Reports