It’s been a very “April” kind of week. There was a bit of sunshine and warmth at times, followed by wind and rain — and that really shows in the fishing. You might also say that the weather’s been awful. For some it was truly awful. Parts of Kerry have had 4 times more rain than normal for the time of year and the coast has been repeatedly battered by high winds. As ever though, some anglers hit it right and did well; others had to work hard for bites.

French anglers Philippe and Bruno returned to Melview Fishing Lodge in Longford for their annual pike fishing trip. Fishing lures in both deep and shallow water, they landed several good pike despite changeable conditions. In competition news, the Upper Erne Predator Challenge saw record participation in its 13th year, with 60 boats competing and prize payouts extended to 20th place due to demand. Darren Connolly won with a 114.5cm pike, ahead of Cormac Hanna (105cm) and Dean Connolly, in improved conditions that produced over 25 fish above 87cm, including a notable 98cm catch for junior angler Brandon Gleeson.

fly

Lough Corrib saw its first good hatch of Duckfly after a warm spell in March. There was widespread surface activity reported from Oughterard to the lower lake and good buzzer and dry-fly fishing. Since then the mix of conditions has made for patchy angling, but guides and anglers have been reporting good sport during the better windows. Buzzers, Dabblers, Hare’s Ear and Duckfly patterns have all been producing. Lough O’Flynn’s Maloney/Keady Cup was fished in blustery conditions at the weekend. It was a tightly contested event but Marcus Kennedy emerged victorious in the end. Nowhere has escaped the often blustery and nearly always wet conditions of the last few weeks, so Mick Flanagan was especially pleased to fish a lovely, dry day on Lough Lene and have a bit of fun with good-quality rainbow trout on the lures. Dan O’Neill finished our trout reports with some great advice for early season fly fishing on the rivers. He details the patterns he has been observing and the tactics he adopts as conditions change.

tench

In coarse angling news, Dutch angler Henk Roskam won Inniscarra Reservoir’s O’Callaghan’s Festival. Over 3 tough days he weighed in at 39.440kg, 4kg clear of second-placed Rimantas Kondrackas. In recreational angling, a UK fisherman started his annual holiday here with an incredible 30 tench for over 100lb from a small unnamed lake. A catch like that is surely something to be celebrated and wins our Catch of the Week.

Salmon fishing was very quiet this week, which will come as no great surprise. Entries for the first 2026 brown tag lottery on the Roughty River are open until April 30, with the draw taking place on May 5. Conditions were wild at times on Lough Currane over the last 10 days, with anglers taking to the high seat when the wind really howled. There was some success though, a 10lb salmon landed on 12/4 by visiting angler Axel Zurbrugg with guide Neil O’Shea. The Delphi Fishery reports 11 salmon landed in March and 2 so far this month. Colin Lynam had a 10.5lb fish from the Rock Pool on 2 April and Mauricio Gordillo took a 5.5lb fish from Finlough Stream on 5 April.

The conditions have made fishing tough for sea anglers, many charter boats could not get out to fish at all last week. John Paul Baska of Northwest Charters (Burtonport, Donegal) ran a short evening trip yesterday, 16 April, landing several colourful fish, including cuckoo wrasse in a lively early-season session. The 3rd of Galway Bay SAC’s Master Angler league was fished at Fanore recently. Weed made it difficult at the start but the conditions improved and a tight match developed with multiple schoolie bass and a flounder landed. A late “last cast” fish decided it, and Kevin O’Hara took the honours. Killala Boat and Shore Club hosted this year’s Connaught Open Shore Gold Medal match. The fishing was tough on Lacken Strand and there was no room for dropped bites. In the end Fionn O’Higgins (Galway Bay S.A.C) took the gold medal. The Irish Angling Adventure Community, set up by James Raymond, is organising informal angling meetups across the south and west coasts, with the next session scheduled for 23 April at Inch Beach, Co. Kerry. We finish our coastal round-up in the east, where a Southshore competition at Arklow South Beach saw good fishing despite bright, breezy conditions. Anglers enjoyed consistent catches of whiting, dogfish and flatfish across both zones. Ciaran Fogarty won overall with 21 fish, ahead of Alby Allan on 18.

Irish Spring Angling Fair

The Irish Spring Angling Fair will be back bigger and better at Ardaire Springs Angling Centre on the 2nd and 3rd of May 2026. Children under 14 years of age, with an adult, can attend for free, making this an ideal family day out. The Irish Spring Angling Fair has become a big hit with angling novices and enthusiasts who value the opportunity of meeting with and learning from a host of world-renowned celebrities. Don’t miss it this May Bank Holiday weekend.

And now the weather

Bright and breezy today with sunny spells and frequent showers, some heavy, and highs of 11–14°C in gusty southwest winds. Showers continue tonight, mainly in the west and north, with clearer conditions in the east; colder with lows of 2–7°C. Saturday will be bright with scattered showers, easing in the west later, and temperatures of 10–14°C.
It turns colder Saturday night with clear spells and lows near freezing in places. From Sunday into early next week, high pressure brings mostly dry, settled weather with sunny spells. Temperatures stay around 10–14°C initially, possibly rising to the mid to high teens by late week. Hopefully the rise in temperatures will spur on the fishing!

There are weather warnings in place this weekend, so 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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