Irish Angling Update 🎣 24 Oct 2025

We are fast approaching the end of October, and despite the past few days feeling chilly at times, winter hasn’t quite taken hold yet. Temperatures have been mild for the time of year, and the frost has generally been held at bay. There’s been a bit of rain about, but it’s been spread unevenly, with the east of the country seeing its fair share, while the west escaped the worst of it. Things look set to change over the next few days, though, as temperatures are due to dip by a degree or two towards the end of next week.

We begin our angling news with the pike anglers, and there are a few interesting stories to report this week. First up, angling guide Jacek Gorny and his client Jeroen took on a unique self-imposed challenge recently — to land a 100cm+ pike from six different lakes in six days. It meant 800km of travel, very little sleep, and plenty of persistence, but they pulled it off with room to spare.

Competition pike anglers flocked to Lough Derg recently for the European Pike Challenge, which saw 110 anglers on 55 boats fish the lake over two days. Fishing was lively, with 222 pike over 70cm landed — including 30 topping the 100cm mark. Patrick McManus and Joe Crampton narrowly claimed victory with a three-fish total of 309.5cm.

Young James O’Malley struck gold on Lough Corrib last week. The eleven-year-old was casting a custom-designed spoon crafted by his grandfather when his rod suddenly doubled over. After 15 tense minutes, James landed a magnificent 110cm pike — quickly photographed and released. His super catch earns him this week’s Catch of the Week, and we suspect his grandad might be busy in the shed making a few more of those magic lures over the winter!

Wrapping up the pike angling news, Paul Gustafson was a well-known name in pike angling circles not so long ago. He was in contact recently to let us know that his film on Pike Fishing in Ireland is now available to view and download on Fishing T.V.

To coarse angling next, and beginning with the All-Ireland Youth Feeder Championships, which were held last Saturday at Oaklands Lake, New Ross. Conditions were tough, but spirits were high as young anglers from across the country enjoyed a day of friendly competition and community spirit.

Also at Oaklands, the Oaklands Lake Winter League kicked off over the weekend — there were some solid bags for the time of year, with Adrian Browne taking top spot in the seniors (93.53kg) and Michael Urbanski winning the juniors (37.08kg).

Elsewhere, 12 members of the Munster Coarse Anglers turned out on Silvergrove for the first round of their winter league. Unfortunately, fishing was incredibly slow, and the top spot was shared between Leon and Morgan, each weighing in at 2lb 13oz.

Good news for coarse anglers — access to Black Island on Lough Muckno has now been fully restored following recent repair works. The improved access will make life much easier for visiting anglers, and the first event since completion will be the Halloween Festival on 25th–26th October 2025.

We wrap up the coarse angling section with news that the NCFFI are looking for anglers to compete on their international teams to fish for Ireland in 2026. They are looking for both feeder anglers and float anglers, and are seeking expressions of interest from any angler who would like to give it a go — a great opportunity for anyone ready to step up.

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To sea angling now, and Rinnashark SAC held their annual Martin Halley Memorial Open on Woodstown Beach over the weekend. It’s always a well-supported event, drawing anglers from neighbouring clubs, and this year, 53 anglers lined the beach. Luckily, there were plenty of fish to go around, and they managed a very decent total of 524.

Meanwhile, on the East Coast, South Shore SAC hosted the latest match in their competition calendar on Sunday, neatly avoiding Friday and Saturday’s rough weather. Conditions were decent, and anglers were pleasantly surprised to find a few east coast coalies — once common, now a rare catch — showing close to shore.

The tuna fishing season in Donegal continues to produce some great sport for anglers, despite inclement weather. Killybegs Fishing Trips reported more tuna caught earlier this week, and it seems Donegal Bay is full of life at the moment, with baitfish, birds, dolphins, whales and tuna all providing a great spectacle.

Wrapping up the sea angling news, the Ulster Krakens have confirmed details for their 3rd Open Shore Competition, taking place on Saturday, 29th November at Waterfoot Beach. The event is open to all IFSA members.

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With trout season now closed, we won’t have too many reports coming in over the coming months. But to help us through that period, angling guide and instructor Dan O’Neill makes a welcome return with his regular blog, The River Whispers. In this edition, Dan shares advice on storing your gear for winter and offers plenty of insights on all things fly-fishing.

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And now the weather…

 

Friday will bring a mix of showers and scattered sunny spells. Rain should clear overnight, giving way to a dry start on Saturday, though showers will become more frequent as the day progresses. Saturday night will turn chilly, with temperatures dipping to between 1 and 4°C, leading to a cold start on Sunday morning. Rain will spread more widely by the afternoon as northwesterly breezes freshen.

Monday should begin brighter, with sunny spells and just the odd shower, but cloud will build later in the day ahead of another band of rain moving in from the west. Overall, it looks like the unsettled weather pattern is set to continue through the rest of next week.

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.

 

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