So we have now entered December, usually one of the quieter months on the angling calendar, as many of our fish species have travelled upriver or offshore on their spawning journeys. Those fish making their way upstream are greatly aided by the increased rainfall at this time of year, which keeps the rivers topped up with water, helping them overcome the various obstacles we have put in their way… But, like all things in the natural world, it’s a tight balance, as too much rain will bring floods, which can wreak havoc on the gravels that are essential to fish spawning. Luckily, the balance was restored this week, as the copious rain that came with storm Bert has been followed by a relatively dry spell, with most parts of the country having below-average rainfall for the week accompanied by temperatures that have been a few degrees above average. But, with storm Darragh looming, the seasonal cadence of water levels looks set to continue.

One cohort of anglers who continue to be busy during December are the shore anglers, as many sea anglers around the country are competing in club competitions, winter leagues, or open competitions during the month. Such was the case down in County Cork, where the Slob Bank in Youghal saw West Cork & District SAC host the All Ireland Open Shore Competition. Fifty-one anglers from all four provinces competed on a day when senior, junior, and ladies’ titles were up for grabs. And it was great to see the juniors put in a particularly strong showing, including a zone win for Chris Sanbak and a third in zone for Bradley Kirwan. Chris’s catch of 22 fish bested plenty of seasoned senior anglers, won him the Maurice Dalton Cup, and made him the under-sixteen All-Ireland Champion. Needless to say, he also wins our Catch of the Week accolade 👏 👏 👏

JP Molloy presents Chris Sanbak with the Maurice Dalton Cup

South Shore SAC had a late change of venue for the final round of their master angler series. An access issue at their designated venue caused a change to the beach at Arklow, where space was tight, but the fishing was off the charts. It proved to be an exciting day, and the numerous fish being reeled in made it difficult to keep tabs on the leaderboard. But once the totting up was completed, it turned out to be a Fogarty double act, as Gavin Fogarty emerged as the Master Angler for the year, just pipping brother Ciaran to the title by a single point. South Shore SAC will also be hosting the 6th leg of the Leinster League at a Wicklow venue this coming Sunday.

Up in Sligo, the Killybegs Mariners were on Streedagh Beach for round seven on their competition schedule. It was a balmy, blustery day bringing plenty of fizz and spray to the water, and this time, it was a Cunningham double act at the top of the table, as John Cunningham’s three species haul of sea trout, flounder, and turbot saw him take first place ahead of Shane Cunningham. We move back to Cork for our final sea angling report of the week, as David Norman of Angling Adventures West Cork went on his final outing of the year, giving kayak fishing newbie Dylan Walsh a workshop on all aspects of kayak fishing while also picking up a few decent pollack.

kayak pollack
Pollack for Dylan with Angling Adventures West Cork

Coarse anglers are another cohort who remain active in December as they continue their competition calendars. And it was a fish that’s rarely encountered in December that tipped the balance for CM Lakelands angler Robertas Zilatis, as a tench of 4lb helped him to a win with a 6.33kg bag in their open competition on Lough Garadice. Up on the Erne system, forty club members lined the banks for the fifth round of the Erne Anglers winter league. With the river flowing high and fast, it looked in excellent condition, and the competitors quickly found that small fish were showing in all sections. Fishing was so good that it took a 5kg+ bag to claim a section win on all but one section, and it took a 7.875kg bag for Johnny McKinley to claim the top spot on the day. In stark contrast, members of the Munster Coarse Anglers endured a very tough day for the fourth match of their winter series at O’Briensbridge. In their own words, it was a real ‘grueller’, as the only species biting were perch, and many anglers did not weigh, but Ian Kelsey put in a fine performance to bag 4lb 14oz for the win. As you might expect, there were markedly different weights at Oaklands Lake as the commercial specialists fished the third round of the Oaklands Winter League. The end pegs were the ones to be drawn on, with Paddy O’Regan taking first from one end with 53+kg and Tommy Ryan taking second from the other end with 36+kg.

Unseasonable but much welcome December tench

Unusually, it has been a slow week for pike angling reports, and the pike fishing was probably not helped by the high water levels after Storm Bert. Luckily, Cormac Walsh of the Lure Fishing Podcast has switched codes this week, moving away from his native salt water to talk all things lure with renowned pike angler Pierre Montjarret.

And in trout fishing news, the lads from Piscari Fly competed in the European Grayling Championships event in Wales last week, where they finished 8th; not bad for lads from a country where grayling are not present, and Mark Driver won the longest fish prize with a fine fish of 47.2cm.

The Piscari Fly team

For the salmon anglers amongst us, Delphi fishery manager David McEvoy has produced his annual newsletter, having a look back at the 2024 season, where a slow spring was followed by an excellent grilse run in the summer. And for those already looking forward to the 2025 season, salmon licences for next year are now available to purchase from this website.

In other news, IFI will be attending a number of events in 2025 aimed at promoting Irish angling tourism. These events will take place in our main tourism markets of the UK, USA, Germany, France, BeNeLux & Italy. We will be looking to partner up with trade in the Irish angling tourism industry at these events, giving them an opportunity to market their products directly to clients. There are a couple of events in the USA and France in the early new year, and anyone interested in learning more should view this webpage.

Salmon Logbooks

We would like to take this opportunity to remind all salmon and sea trout anglers to return their angling logbooks (setting out their fishing and catch record) and any unused gill tags.

Stocking Fillers

Finally, on the run into Christmas, a number of guides, tackle shops, etc, will be offering vouchers and gift cards that may prove to make a useful stocking filler for the angler in your life. The Irish Specimen Fish Committee Fish Atlas proved a popular present last year, and there are still copies available to purchase for this year’s Christmas stockings. For the next couple of weeks, we’ll be collating all interesting offers we find and publishing them on this webpage. 

And now the weather

⚠️ Storm Darragh is on its way and will likely be dominating the news and weather reports over the next day or two. As it stands, we have status red wind warnings for Clare, Galway, Mayo, Leitrim, Sligo, Donegal and Wicklow and it’s status orange for the rest of us.

So it’s going to be wet and windy throughout the weekend all over the country with localised flooding and wind damage a possibility. It will become more settled later on Sunday as high pressure builds, and we will have a colder snap next Monday and Tuesday with frost, ice and fog across much of the country.

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] and don’t forget that all of our fishing reports are available on our dedicated Angling Ireland Facebook page.

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