After a fine spell of warm conditions in most parts, the weather finally broke in places last weekend as cooler, wetter weather set in and some rivers got their first proper flushes of fresh water since July. Even still, air temperatures were above normal across the country over the past seven days, with mean values between 15.7°C and 17.5°C. It will be cooler over the next week though, as temperatures may fall below normal, with mean temperatures of 13°C to 15°C expected.

The calm, clear weather made for some very comfortable fishing for sea anglers fishing offshore, with some excellent reports of a wide range of species caught. Small boat expert, Jim Clohessy, ventured out from Cork Harbour on a couple of occasions, with his main concern being that the weather would be too calm for decent fishing! He needn’t have worried though, as the blues were queueing up beside the boat. In West Cork, David Edwards of West Cork Charters reported similar excellent fishing for blues, but this was supplemented by specimen blue whiting, stone basse and the sight of huge numbers of dolphins feeding with many huge bluefin and hundreds of large Shearwaters diving into the maelstrom.

Before we leave Cork, special mention to young anglers Aaron and Adam who spent a day with Richie Ryan targeting pollack in Cork Harbour. Having never cast a heavy saltwater fly setup before, both lads took to it like ducks to water and proceeded to land some fine pollack – they win our Catch of the Week for their efforts.

Heading around the coast, anglers on the Clare Dragoon, skippered by Luke Aston, enjoyed some great reef and mixed fishing along the Clare coast, before the weather finally broke. In Galway, the Brazen Hussy II went out species hunting and skipper John Fleming reported plenty of pollack, ling, wrasse, sandeel, pouting, poor cod, scad and macks. In Donegal, Richard Farrow, from Omagh, caught his first ever tope while fishing from a boat in Lough Swilly. Further east, some accidental skate made for memorable fishing in Ballycastle for anglers fishing with Sean McKay.

From the competition scene, the All-Ireland Junior and Youths (under 16s and under 21s) Boat championships for 2025 were held in Rathmullan, Co. Donegal, over the weekend – congratulations to the young anglers there who qualified to represent their country in 2026. We also have a belated report from the 59th Newport Sea Angling Festival which was held on the August Bank Holiday Weekend, Thomas Moran taking the top honours in Clew Bay.

There were a number of shore based competitions too, starting in Wexford, where the Ringsend Irishtown Club were wary of weavers and the New Ross SAC fished a two day event on Hook Head. Also in Wexford, the Mick Kearney Open will be fished on Wexford beaches on September 14th and interested anglers should get in contact with the organisers. In Donegal, the ever-active Killybegs Mariners enjoyed some great fishing over the past week including some specimen painted rays and some fine bass.

In freshwater, there were a number of coarse fishing competitions and qualifiers held around the country and where better to start than at Gaulmoylestown, where young anglers hoping to qualify to represent Team Ireland in the Under 15, Under 20, and Under 25 categories in France next year took part in a four-hour match. On the Royal Canal, the 4th outing of the Leinster Qualifiers was held at Enfield, while in Leitrim, Ireland’s FeederKing held the seventh qualifier of their series, with three more anglers taking their golden tickets home for the grand final. The CM Lakelands Club were on the water once again, this time holding a club match on the Concra Wood section of Lough Muckno.

 

Pike fishing will improve with a drop in temperatures and there have already been some notable catches this week. Fishing with Tomi Guided Fishing, a father and son team battled the weather and landed 8 pike up to 106cm. Not content to just catch pike, Austrian guests of Angling Services Ireland scored a midlands hat-trick of pike, perch and trout on small lures – with some super fish amongst them.

We have very little to report this week from the salmonid department, with many salmon rivers experiencing very low water conditions and little incentive to fish them. We do know that the Galway Weir and Moy Fisheries have reopened today following a drop in water temperatures. On the loughs, there were a handful of salmon reported by trollers on Lough Currane, but that’s all for this week.

In trout fishing, Senan Stanley once again shows us how it’s done, with a nice instructional video on ultra light spinning for wild trout in small streams, well worth a watch. In Kilkenny, the PiscariFly team report that fishing was fantastic on the Nore, with plenty of quality trout on the move for dries and nymphs. Peter Driver also ventured high in the Comeragh Mountains to chuck a fly on the Sgilloge Loughs, where he found beautiful scenery and the absolutely stunning wild brown trout that live there.

On the stocked fisheries, the Dublin Trout Angling Association held a memorable day of fishing for budding young anglers at Laois Angling Centre. Fourteen youngsters turned out on the day with most either catching or hooking a fish, using fly fishing as well as bait fishing techniques – well done to all involved.

Finally, a reminder to sea trout anglers to take our online survey. By sharing your knowledge about sea trout, your observations will give us a better understanding of sea trout stocks around Ireland. The survey should take no more than 10 minutes.

Sea trout

And now the weather…

After some clear spells on Friday night, cloud will build from the southwest bringing rain by morning. Lows of 9°C to 13°C with moderate west to south winds.

Wet and windy Saturday morning, becoming widespread with localised flooding possible in strong southerly winds. Gales along Atlantic coasts with a clearance to sunny/showery spells through the afternoon, except in the northwest where longer spells of rain will prevail. Highs of 16°C to 21°C.

Breezy with spells of rain on Saturday night, heavy in the north with showery spells elsewhere. Lows of 9°C to 14°C with gusty southwesterly winds easing by morning.

Sunday and Monday will be breezy with a mix of cloud, sunny spells and scattered showers moving east – possibly bringing isolated thunderstorms in places. The best of the dry and sunny intervals will be in the east and southeast. Highs of 14°C to 19°C with fresh and gusty south or southwest winds.

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.

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