S

torm Amy swept across Ireland over the past weekend, bringing strong winds and heavy rain, with gusts of nearly 150km/h recorded. Sadly, one life was lost as the storm caused extensive damage, particularly along the west and northwest coasts. Rapidly rising water levels made freshwater fishing extremely difficult, while rough seas and high tides severely disrupted coastal angling. As a result, angling reports were scarce this week, though a few — some dating back to the previous week — were still received.

The salmon season drew to a close last week under a spell of high water across the country. Yet, in a welcome turn, the River Moy saw some better catches in the final days of the season. Down in County Kerry, sea trout fishing carried on at Lough Currane, but the arrival of Storm Amy made conditions increasingly difficult. Despite the challenges, a few determined anglers still managed to report some sea trout before the weather took hold.

With the trout season now closed, dedicated game anglers can still enjoy good sport at many stocked fisheries that remain open. One such fishery is Ballinlough near Westport, offering excellent trout fishing right through to the end of October. Meanwhile, the Connacht Predator Anglers have announced the winner of their 2025 “Longest Trout” competition. This year’s honours go to Aidan Traynor, who landed a magnificent 81.5 cm trout on Lough Corrib back in May — a spectacular fish estimated at over 19 lbs.

Top Catch of 2025 in the Connacht Predator Anglers Longest Trout Competition

Staying with predator angling, a handful of pike and perch reports came in this week, including one from Melview Lodge in County Longford, where three visiting Italian anglers enjoyed great success landing several fine pike despite the atrocious weather. Elsewhere in the Midlands, Angling Services Ireland reported seven pike over the magic one-metre mark, along with plenty of lively perch for a duo from Austria.

Nice pike double for the two Austrian anglers

The seventh and final round of the Perch Master League also took place last week, with Mantas Jablonskis claiming victory in the final round. Overall honours for the 2025 league went to Ben Moore, with David Dennis securing a well-earned second place. In County Clare, The Irish Federation of Pike Angling Clubs held their fourth qualifier last weekend on a number of lakes, where conditions proved challenging after a sudden surge in water levels. Despite the tough fishing, Pavel Skuza landed a magnificent 23 lb pike; a catch that earned him a share of first place alongside Kevin Foley.

Meanwhile, the coarse angling scene remains lively, with a number of competitions keeping anglers busy across the country. The Royal Enfield Winter League got underway last Sunday on the Royal Canal, while further south, the five-day Celtic Masters Festival at Inniscarra, County Cork, delivered a dramatic finale. Storm Amy ensured the closing day of this prestigious event would be one to remember, as anglers faced gale-force winds, gusting up to 80km/h, and relentless rain that pushed their skill, stamina, and spirit to the limit. Amid the challenging conditions, Robertas Zilaitis produced a stunning final-day catch of 20.5kg, not only securing the day’s top spot but also propelling himself to overall victory with a winning total of 72.970kg. In doing so, Robertas successfully defended his title and was once again crowned 2025 Celtic Masters Champion, lifting the shield for the second consecutive year. This outstanding achievement wins our Catch of the Week.

Robertas Zilaitis
Robertas Zilaitis – this week’s winner of “Catch of the Week”

At Oaklands, Peter Poprawski took top honours in the Open Feeder Match on October 5th, landing an impressive overall weight of 45.730kg. And in more positive news for the sport, the National Coarse Fishing Federation of Ireland has announced its U15s and U20s teams for next year’s World Youth Championships in France, marking the first time in years that Team Ireland will be represented in every age category.

Finally, over to sea angling — and as one might imagine, Storm Amy made things extremely difficult. While the Atlantic-facing coasts bore the full force of the storm, conditions on the east coast remained reasonably fishable. As a result, the fourth round of the Leinster Shore League went ahead at Kilgorman Strand in County Wicklow, where anglers enjoyed good catches including fine smoothhounds, gurnards, flats and bass.

From the southeast, Cormac Walsh, host of the Lure Fishing Podcast, reported a slow start to the autumn season, with September almost a complete write-off due to the weather. However, during a brief break in the storms and on larger tides, he managed to make the most of a short weather window, landing some fine autumn bass.

Cormac Walsh with a fine Wexford autumn bass

Boat angling was largely at a standstill last week, though Mark Gannon of Courtmacsherry Angling Centre in West Cork sent in a late report from a two-day charter in late September. His group enjoyed superb mixed fishing on their first day, catching pollack, cod, bullhuss, dogfish, conger, and coalfish. The second day was equally impressive, producing ling to 20lbs, more conger, and — unusually for wreck fishing — two whopping skate, one of which qualified as an Irish specimen. They also landed stone bass, specimen whiting, and near-specimen sharks while drifting.

Elsewhere, Sharks le Chéile (“sharks together”) — an independent group linking scientists studying sharks, skates, and rays in Ireland with the public — is inviting interested anglers to get involved. Working in partnership with government agencies, the group’s mission is to bring marine science closer to the public and foster collaboration. Anglers who’d like to learn more or participate can visit their website at  https://sharkslecheile.org/ for details.

And finally, a big congratulations to Sarah Lynch, who recently won her boat on the final day of the Under-21 World Boat Championships in Montenegro. The Irish Under-21 team finished in sixth place, while the senior team finished eighth overall.

In other news

The deadline for submitting specimen claims is approaching fast. If you were lucky enough to catch a specimen fish this year and want to claim it, get your paperwork into the Irish Specimen Fish Committee as soon as possible so that the ISFC can assess it. All specimen claims to be submitted by 31st Oct. Further information on how to claim your specimen award are available here.

A public consultation on three byelaws is open until 2 November 2015

  1. Conservation and Prohibition on Sale of Coarse Fish Bye-Law No. 806, 2006
  2. Transfer of Live Roach Bye-Law No. 561, 1973
  3. Conservation of Pike Bye-Law No. 809, 2006

Click the link above to get more information and find out how to make a submission.

Inland Fisheries Ireland is running a public consultation on the agency’s Statement of Strategy for the next five years (2026-2030).

Anglers and angling associations are some of the organisation’s key stakeholders, and this document will guide IFI’s role in any future involvement with recreational angling and the angling sector.

To contribute to the public consultation, please take the time to review our Statement of Strategy Guidance Document and Make an Online Submission – which you can do here.

The public consultation will be open for submissions until Friday, October 17th, 2025.

Extract from the IFI Statement of Strategy

And now the weather…

It will remain dry tonight with variable cloud and a few clearer breaks. A few mist and fog patches will form in light southerly or variable breezes. Lowest temperatures of 4 to 9 degrees. The weekend will be generally dry with hazy sunny spells, though isolated spots of drizzle are possible. Highest temperatures of 12 to 15 degrees in light to moderate southeasterly winds. High pressure will remain nearby for the next week with settled conditions persisting. However, it will be largely cloudy with occasional patches of light rain or drizzle possible.

Don’t forget to double-check the forecast before heading off, and if you’re going to sea, check the tides.

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

All the angling news

Salmon Fishing Reports

Trout Fishing Reports

Coarse Angling Reports

Pike & Perch Fishing Reports

Sea Angling Reports

Other News