Finally! An end to the dreary, wet, wintry weather that seemed like it would never give up its hold on this early part of the year. It’s been beautifully bright and sunny, and even dry and settled. Rivers are back in order and the breezes, although making it feel cold at times, have not been much more than that. So the scene was set for a week where anglers could get back to something that felt like normal…

13lb spring salmon

First to salmon angling and the patient fishermen of Lough Currane who put in another tough week without reward despite improving conditions. The Munster Blackwater had been almost continuously high for the early part of the season but it has come into great order now and the fisheries are starting to voice a little hope. Hope became something more concrete at the Blackwater Trout and Salmon fishery when Connie Corcoran caught their first salmon of the season yesterday, a fine 13lb fish.

Sheelin trout
John Coyne with his first trout of 2025 on Lough Sheelin

Lough Sheelin holds a special place in the hearts and minds of so many trout anglers here in Ireland and further afield, so it is great to have a report on the opening week on the lake. It was typical early season fishing with the anglers doing their best to get their lures deep in the water. There were 68 trout to 6lbs reported in the opening week and we look forward to seeing how Sheelin fares through the season.

trout
Trout of the Little Brosna

Mark Driver fished the Little Brosna last week while waiting for his local rivers to open. With water temperatures low, despite sunny conditions out, nymphing and targeting the fish deep was the best overall method. Dan O’Neill is also counting down the minutes to the opening day on his local river, the Nore, and has lots of advice on early season tactics in his River Whispers this week. He was out fly fishing for trout on the Munster Blackwater last week but that seems to have made the wait for his home water to open all the more urgent.

carp
Charlie Upton

Coarse anglers are getting good fishing at Portumna, on the River Shannon, where bags to over 25lb were weighed in last week. Dean Murray won the last match of the Athy Anglers Winter League and in doing so took first place in the league as well. He did it in fine style with a very early tench of 6lb to add to his achievement. At Oaklands, junior angler Charlie Upton, showed all the seniors how it’s done with a incredible 80.800kg, over 20kg more than the next best weight. CM Lakelands Feeder Club fished competitions on Loughs Muckno and Garadice at the weekend. Both lakes produced wining nets of over 5kg. Lough Garadice was also the venue for IASCaire club’s first match of their Spring League which was won by Sarunas Zenkovas with a weight of 6.500kg.

111cm pike senan
111cm pike for Senan Stanley

As the spawning season for pike draws closer their behaviour starts to change as the focus more on reproduction than feeding. Chris Scally from Fish Tales witnessed over 20 pike follow and tap his bait without ever trying to take one. Luckily not all the lakes and rivers are on the same schedule and Senan Stanley and Paul Bourke were getting some very good pike to 111cm this week on Lough Derg. In video news, Fishing with Steve finished his winter pike season on the River Suck as the water levels dropped back and had another epic day of it.

Thick Lipped Mullet which weighed in at 5lb 1oz
Thick Lipped Mullet which weighed in at 5lb 1oz

Our Catch of the Week goes to young angler Gavin Fitzmaurice who caught a specimen Thick Lipped Mullet which weighed in at 5lb 1oz fishing with Angling Adventures West Cork. Rebel County SAC had a good competition at Youghal last week with thornbacks, dogfish, flounder, bass, whiting, rockling and painted ray landed. At Stradbally Beach in Kerry, Tralee Bay SAC also had some good fishing though the bites did not improve with darkness as was hoped. Still, there were bass to 49cm and flounder to 42cm landed. On the east coast Ballybrack SAC fished Arklow South Beach. The sunny conditions may have put the fish off but there were still plenty of whiting landed, though the number of double and treble shot of undersized fish did cause some frustration. Last week cold northerlies made for tough fishing at Newcastle where South Shore SAC were stripped by crabs and dodged low fly planes. Thankfully, there was a flurry of bites as darkness fell to save the day.

Open days, Competitions, events

On Lough Sheelin, the Kilroy Cup will be fished on Sunday, March 16th from Kilnahard pier with fishing from 11am to 5.00pm and, in aid of a good cause, the Ronnie Cox Cancer Trials Ireland competition will also be held on Lough Sheelin from Kilnahard pier on the 30th March 2025.  Fishing is from 11am to 6pm. Prizes for longest fish plus loads of other prizes. Photo of measured fish to be provided (C&R). Contact the LSTPA for more information.

The Dodder Anglers are hosting a parent and children fishing event on 30 March. All are welcome to the fun day; girls, boys, mammies and daddies, brothers and sisters. All ages catered for.

Peter Driver of Piscari Fly tells us he has been invited to the North West Angling Fair to give demonstrations on euro nymphing and modern nymphing techniques. It takes place on Saturday, 29th, and Sunday, 30th March 2025, at Melvin Sports Complex in Strabane.

IFSA has announced that the under-16 World Shore Fish Offs will be held on April 5th in the North Wexford/Wicklow area. The successful anglers will be part of the team to travel to Peñiscola, Spain for the World Championships in October. If your club has a young angler that you think has what it takes to represent Ireland at the highest level please bring them to this event.

Southern County Fishing Resort is delighted to announce that they have Pro fly caster Dan O’Neill and Pro fly tier George Burdess joining them for an Open Day on 12 April. As well as fly casting and fly tying demos and instruction there will also be activities for kids and young anglers.

The Upper Erne Predator Challenge Boat Fishing Competition will be fished on April 12th & 13th, 2025. With a massive £8,000 prize fund up for grabs and a thrilling challenge ahead, this is an event you don’t want to miss!

And now the weather…

A cold, frosty and sunny start on Saturday with any mist or fog patches clearing. It will turn somewhat cloudier during the afternoon and the odd light shower cannot be ruled out. Highest temperatures of 6 to 9°C in light northeast or variable winds. It will be another mostly dry day on Sunday with a mix of cloud and spells of sunshine. The best of the sunshine is likely in the east and northeast of the country. Highest temperatures of 7 to 10°C in light northeast to east winds. There’ll be a few light showers around on Monday but it will remain dry in most areas. More in the way of cloud with only occasional sunny spells. Highest temperatures of 7 to 10°C but feeling a little colder in a rather brisk easterly wind. A breezy day on Tuesday but with good spells of sunshine expected. Highest temperatures of 7 to 11°C in fresh east to southeast winds with the weather becoming a little unsettled later in the week.

Stay safe out there…

St Patrick’s day is just around the corner and there will be a lot of trout anglers heading out to the river for the first time this year and many more anglers making the most of the long weekend. As angling is a water based activity, anglers often have to deal with changing conditions and hidden dangers. We are reminding you to exercise great care for your own safety and that of your angling partners. Don’t forget to double check the forecast before heading off, wear your life jacket when afloat 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

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