We’ve been blessed with sunny weather over the last week. Very sunny indeed, but also very cold in those easterly winds. The bright conditions are not great for fishing either and added to that those gusty easterlies can keep a boat tied up when they hit hard enough. Rivers and even some lakes are starting to run low as rain suddenly has become scarce. So, plenty of excuses for not catching fish, but there’s always the odd angler who bucks the trend and finds some fish that aren’t aware of the latest forecasts…
Colin Aherne made an early morning trip to the River Nore on St. Patrick’s Day. He felt a sharp tug on the end of the line that turned out to be a fine 17.5lb salmon and that’s no blarney. Currane’s anglers also got a rub of the green on St Patricks day when they were rewarded with a fish of 7lb caught on the troll. The day before Brian Hope got the fishing on Carrowmore off to a good start with the lake’s first salmon of the season.
Cold winds and freezing nights don’t add up for good trout fishing but on Sheelin there’s nearly always someone out there to prove the old wisdom wrong. It was tough a tough week, and there’s no doubting that, but still we had trout to 8lb reported on flies and lures. That said our Catch of the Week goes to Beata Kielak with her fabulous 60cm plus trout caught on International Women’s Day. This week’s Ireland on the Fly Podcast see Daire and Tom talking to Evo Smyth. Originally from Latvia, Evo has been living and fly fishing in the Irish midlands for the last twenty years and he has some really helpful and insightful advice for anyone looking to improve their own fly tying skills.
Big pike and some impressive trout having been caught on Lough Derg recently and well known angler and YouTuber Senan Stanley joins Paul Bourke for a predator session on Lough Derg where they boat some fine fish and share a few tips on setups and methods in a video that’s well worth the watch.
Match angler Mary Tigwell won the Crowenstown two-day festival for the second time in a row at the weekend. Her two day bag of 11.16kg beat her husband Pat into second place making victory all the sweeter. At Lough Doon, Morgan Lewis blitzed the field in the Munster Coarse Anglers 2 Day match to take his first competitive win with a combined total of 38lb 12oz. Portumna has been fishing well recently and at the weekend there were bags in excess of 20lb weighed in. Bruce Pennell had the best with 34lb 11oz. Transition Year students Nikita Greidans and Jack Keenahan held a competition at Southern County as part of their Transition Year enterprise project. 12 Anglers took part and the winner weighed in 17lb.
Rinnashark SAC recenty held their first juvenile competition of the year in Woodstown, on a beautiful Spring day. A good spread of fish showed up to keep the young anglers busy with flounder the most commonly caught fish on the day. The New Ross & District SAC held their second club competition of the year at a very muddy Barrow Bridge over the weekend and again flounders were the dominant species caught. The last leg of the Cobh SAC Light Lines Competition was held on Sunday in Cork Harbour. On the day the Longest Fish prizes went to Tom Johnson for a 45cm Whiting, Conor Purcell for a 72cm Ray, and Stephen Hurley and Graham Walsh both had a 30cm Dab. But the glory went to Stephen Hurley who was the overall winner of this popular league. Up in Donegal the charter boat Fiona Tee enjoyed a lovely spring outing last weekend. Good numbers of pollack, some codling, plenty of mackerel and mix of other species were caught. We finish our tour of the Irish coast at Waterfoot in Northern Ireland where the Ulster Krakens fished a night tide in hopes of some serious dog fishing, but they never turned up and it was once again flatfish that accounted for all the sport in this shore angling match.
Open days, Competitions, events
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.
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…
Mostly cloudy on Saturday with showers or longer spells of rain, turning heavy at times. Highest temperatures of 9 to 13°C in the east but turning colder through the afternoon as light variable winds turn light to moderate, occasionally fresh northwest. Colder further west with afternoon highs of just 6 to 8°C in moderate to fresh northwest winds, strong and gusty near Atlantic coasts. Patchy rain is expected to clear from eastern areas early on Sunday to leave a generally dry day across the country with a mix of cloud and sunny spells. Highest temperatures of 8 to 11°C in moderate to fresh northerly winds. Monday will be mainly dry and bright with sunny spells across the eastern half of the country. It will be cloudier further west with patchy drizzle possible near Atlantic coasts later in the day. Highest temperatures of 9 to 12°C in light northerly breezes. High pressure looks set to be the more dominant influence into midweek next week bringing generally quiet and benign conditions but with the chance of scattered light showers.
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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All the angling news
Salmon Fishing Reports
- Brian gets Carrowmore Lake off the mark
- Morning glory on the Nore for Colin Aherne
- IFI opens second draw for Kerry salmon anglers for 2025
- St. Patrick bestows some good fortune on lucky Currane angler
Trout Fishing Reports
- Sheelin anglers dig deep for their spotted gold
- Ireland on the Fly – Evo Smyth’s fly fishing & fly tying journey from Latvia to Ireland
- Southern County Fishing Resort Demo Day
Coarse Angling Reports
- Southern county Angling Resort Match report
- Bruce Pennell wins at Portumna with 34lb+
- Morgan Lewis wins Doon Lough 2-Dayer
- Tigwell One-Two at Crowenstown Festival
