As I write this on Friday morning, the news is full of reports of road closures across the country due to more heavy rain overnight. Over the past week, rainfall was as high as 380% of average in some areas, with the eastern part of the country again faring the worst. It’s starting to feel somewhat biblical at this stage, as I’m sure we have surpassed the 40 days and 40 nights of floods that Noah had to deal with. So, it’s no surprise to see that angling reports are still pretty scarce on the ground, as many of us hunker down, hoping that this never-ending gloom finally lifts…

Sunday 15th February is a day many anglers across the country will have been gearing up towards over the past few weeks, and even months, as it will mark the opening day of the trout season on some of our most iconic fisheries. Loughs Corrib, Mask, Conn, Cullin and Melvin, amongst others, will all welcome trout anglers back to their waters after the winter closed season. It’s normally a day of celebration on these loughs, as anglers work the rust out of their systems by having a few drifts and making a few casts before retiring to one of the islands for a bite to eat and a catch-up with other anglers. It’s also a time of year when anglers start to move boats from their winter berths to the water, or from one lake to another, and these movements bring increased risks of transferring invasive species from one water to another. Over the coming months, we’ll be featuring some content from the National Biodiversity Data Centre, aimed at informing anglers of the risks posed by invasive species, and to kick off the series, they have prepared a short video, centred on their mantra: Check, Clean, Dry.

Sea anglers seem to have been the most active over the past week, and we begin our roundup with the Ringsend Irishtown Angling Club, who headed to Duncannon for the first round of their Master Angler 2026 series. After an enforced change of venue due to weather, the 16 anglers finally set up on Duncannon Beach, where they endured a tough enough session, with only 20-odd fish between them. Jamie Forsyth took the win with 80 points, bagging the longest flat as well.

Up in Ulster, the Carrick Beach Rockers fished the second round of their Master Angler 2026 series at Benone Beach. Things were looking good when some decent turbot started to show, but the fishing slowed right down, before picking up again as they approached darkness.

The recent publication of the Irish Specimen Fish Committee Annual Report saw numerous anglers achieve the much-coveted ‘specimen’ across a range of species. An even greater and much rarer feat is to claim a record fish, and there were three new record fish landed in 2025. One fish in particular, Sean Bannon’s Thick-Lipped Mullet, absolutely smashed the old record, and Sean recounts his glory day in his own words here. Although it was caught earlier in the year, we didn’t report it at the time, as the record had to be verified by the ISFC, so Sean’s fish gets a well-deserved, if somewhat late, Catch of the Week.

Sean’s super mullet smashed the Irish record

Competition shore anglers will be delighted to hear the popular Daiwa Pairs competition is returning to a full schedule in 2026, and the dates have been set for September 19th to 25th. The festival consists of a number of pegged matches on beaches around the Dingle Peninsula, as well as a specimen hunt that rewards anglers for the best fish of each species caught during the week.

In episodes 44 and 45 of the Lure Fishing Podcast, host Cormac Walsh speaks to the legend of sea angling in Ireland, Dave Tilly. Dave provides valuable insight into how angling has evolved in Dublin and across Ireland over the decades, from the 60s to the present. And we wrap up the sea angling section with news that West Cork and District Sea Angling Club will be hosting an open competition on Ardnahinch Beach on Saturday, 21st February. The competition is open to all IFSA members, and you must register before midnight on Friday, 20th, if you intend to fish.

To coarse angling now, and the VDE Baggers fished the Newry Canal at the weekend in a match that saw them tightly pegged together on the bank. And at rods in, it was tightly contested at the top as well, with the top three anglers separated by just 350g, and Maurice’s 14.8kg sufficient to take the win on the day.

Meanwhile, down at Oaklands fishery, anglers fished the 8th round of the Ger Hennessy Winter League in some welcome fine weather. Top rod on the day was Matija Ivkov with 40+kg, and Finn McCarthy took the junior honours with 31+kg.

Round one of the Ultimate Feeder League 2026 takes place this Saturday, February 14th, at Lough Garadice. The high water has restricted venue options for the organisers, so let’s hope it doesn’t affect the fishing for the 12 teams taking part.

Big bags at the Newry Canal

To pike angling news now, and one of Europe’s most high-profile pike angling competitions, ‘Fly vs Jerk’ has been running for 17 years and has a huge following on YouTube. This year, there is a massive Irish interest, as the competition features an Irish team, Team Wildhunter, fishing here in Ireland. Luckily, the filming was done last year, so the competitors didn’t have to contend with the floods we have been experiencing of late… The first episode dropped last Friday, and you can find out more about it right here.

Tune in to see how Team Wildhunter do in Fly vs Jerk

With all the freshwater flooding our river and lake systems, pike angling has been tough going in recent weeks. Steve McDonagh of the Fishing with Steve YouTube channel has certainly struggled since the start of the year, failing to register a fish so far in 2026. He set out on his latest adventure, determined to break the blank, but did the fishing gods smile on him? Check out his latest video to find out.

In salmon angling news, there were a few anglers out on Lough Currane last week, but the slow start to the season down there continued, as nobody managed to boat a fish. We are hearing reports this morning that the Delphi Fishery is off the mark for 2026 with a salmon of 9lbs landed by Toby Gibbons. Let’s hope it’s the first of many for the year. We don’t have a photo of the fish, but we do have this spectacular shot of the fishery which was taken during the week:

Little to report in trout news this week, but we expect that to change over the coming weeks as the loughs open up for fishing. But the Onthewater.ie team were in touch to let us know that they have added Ballymore Eustace Salmon and Trout Anglers Association to their permit listings from 2026.

Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Tagging Scheme Regulations 2026

Minister of State with responsibility for Fisheries and the Marine, Timmy Dooley, has announced the launch of a second public consultation on the draft Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Tagging Scheme Regulations 2026. This consultation provides stakeholders and members of the public with a further opportunity to comment on the draft Regulations before they are finalised. The consultation will be open for 30 days, closing at 5:30pm on Thursday, 5th March 2026

Job Opportunities

Inland Fisheries Ireland has launched a national recruitment campaign to fill several seasonal roles, including Fisheries Officers and Research Assistants, with positions available across the country. The outdoor roles will begin in April and offer opportunities to work in rivers, lakes, and coastal environments. These seasonal opportunities would be well-suited to those with an interest in protecting, managing and conserving Ireland’s inland fisheries and sea angling resources.

And now the weather

Cold, wet and unsettled conditions will persist through Friday and into the weekend. Rain and low cloud linger this morning, especially in the south and east, bringing spot flooding and some sleet. Conditions will gradually improve as the rain clears south-eastwards later, with scattered showers developing mainly in the north and west. Temperatures today will remain low at 3–7°C, with brisk northerly winds easing later.

Tonight will be very cold, with widespread frost and icy patches. It will be mostly dry, apart from isolated wintry showers in the northwest. Lows will fall to between 0 and -4°C.

Saturday will start cold, dry and bright. Cloud will thicken from the west as rain spreads across the country during the afternoon and evening. The rain may become heavy at times and briefly fall as sleet or wet snow in western and northern areas before reverting to rain. Afternoon highs will be just 2–5°C, becoming milder from the southwest overnight. Winds will strengthen later, turning gusty.

Saturday night will remain unsettled, with spells of heavy rain and some wintry precipitation in the north and east. Clearer spells and scattered showers will follow from the west. Sunday will see sunny spells and frequent showers, some heavy with hail, and a slight risk of thunder near the coasts; highs of 7–11°C with strengthening westerly winds. It looks like it will remain unsettled for most of the coming week.

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

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