Home Weekly update Irish Angling Update 🎣 25th June 2026

Irish Angling Update 🎣 25th June 2026

June 25, 2026

It’s been sun, sun, sun, and then more sun for the past week, or at least that’s how it seemed to me, so I was surprised to learn that rainfall totals were above normal for the bulk of the country over the past seven days, and that Mullingar had 248% of the weekly norm for this time of the year. I didn’t see much rain on the east coast, so it shows you how localised weather can be. But the sunshine has brought high temperatures, well above normal for the time of year, with the possibility that today, Thursday, will break records for the highest temperature ever recorded.

During these periods of high temperature, fish are particularly vulnerable, as water temperatures rise and oxygen levels fall. So it’s no surprise to hear that some of our salmon fisheries have closed temporarily until water levels cool back down again. At present, the Galway, Moy, Cloongee and Erriff fisheries and Beats 1 & 2 on the Laune are closed until further notice. It’s not just salmon that struggle in periods like this, and anglers should be careful when fishing for any species, minimising handling and keeping the fish in the water as much as possible. Coarse anglers should ensure that keepnets are well pegged out, in deeper water and that there is ample room for fish to move around.

This week is Invasive Species Week, an annual campaign that raises awareness of invasive species and the actions we can all take to protect native wildlife and habitats. As anglers, we have a duty of care to help prevent the spread of invasive species by following Check, Clean, Dry protocols, and to mark the week we have an information piece from the National Biodiversity Data Centre on the threat to our native crayfish from the crayfish plague.

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We begin our angling reports with salmon fishing, and while a number of our fisheries are closed, it seems that fishing was just beginning to pick up before the current hot spell. The Kerry rivers/lakes saw a spurt of action, and the rivers in the Kenmare area have started to produce, with some decent water in mid-June encouraging a good run of fish. Water levels have dropped steadily since then, but all the rivers in the area are reporting a fish here and there, as anglers wait on the main run of grilse to arrive. The Flesk has also thrown up the odd fish despite low water levels, the best being a fish of 9lb, while some salmon and an odd sea trout were reported from Lough Currane over the past week or two, but bright sunshine has made things tricky in recent days. Across the county border, the River Bandon has also started to fish quite well, with around 20 fish reported for the past couple of weeks, the best of which was a fine 16lb fish.

In Co. Galway, after a slow start to the season, things are finally starting to get going at Costello & Fermoyle, with a few fish being landed, and more fish starting to run the system, helped along by the recent high tides. The Delphi fishery is ‘between two stools’ at the moment, as the early season fishing is trailing off, but the grilse run has not properly kicked off yet. They are still getting a few fish, though, and the fishing should improve considerably over the coming weeks. And while the Galway Fishery is closed again due to the current hot weather, it did open for the few weeks since the last heatwave in late May, and the grilse run has started in the River Corrib, with a number of anglers meeting fish on both shrimp and fly. Lastly, the Ballisodare fishery has seen a great start to the grilse run, with a few hundred fish per day passing through the fish counter and plenty of anglers meeting fish.

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To coarse angling now, and any coarse angler at a loose end over the weekend could make a beeline to Cavan, where the 30th FIPSed European Coarse Angling Championship is taking place. The prestigious event brings together Europe’s leading national teams in the float fishing discipline, creating one of the strongest international fields ever assembled in the region.

We begin our coarse angling reports in Northern Ireland, where it was a bit of a mixed bag for club competition anglers… The Lurgan Coarse Anglers were greeted by a heavy brown flood with plenty of floating debris for their match on the Ulster Blackwater over the weekend. Luckily, there were a few skimmers knocking about, and Pavel Dykan bagged a few of them to take the top weight of 3.625kg. On the same venue, but fishing a day later, the VDE Baggers had an altogether different experience, as the river dropped a foot overnight, allowing for much better fishing conditions. Davey Wellwood made the most of the opportunity to bag 7.82kg for the win, while Jack Tisdall took the league title in what was a tight finish.

On the canal scene, the Grand Canal at Daingean was the venue for the inaugural Sundew Festival Match held during the Sundew Festival over the weekend of 13/14 June. Anglers experienced some quality fishing, with decent bream and tench helping to boost the weights, and local angler Davy Cullen claimed first place with an impressive weight of 27lb 6oz. A bit to the north east, the Leinster Coarse Anglers returned to the Royal Canal at Enfield over the weekend, and their umbrellas were put to good use in protecting them from the scorching summer sun. Most fish landed were on the small side, but David Clarke bagged a fine bream that tipped the balance in his favour, giving him the win on the day.

On the Shannon system, anglers in Portumna have been logging some impressive weights during the month of June, with bags in the high twenties and even thirties giving anglers plenty of action. Meanwhile, on Lough Muckno, 14 members of the CM Lakelands club had some excellent fishing despite the bright sunshine, and decent numbers of bream and skimmers meant that anglers had a chance of posting good weights. Rimantas Kondrackas, fishing peg 205, netted 37lb+ to take the win. We wrap up the coarse angling reports with news that Lough Bracken CAC have announced their intention to hold fortnightly matches on the lake beginning this Sunday, 28^th June. The match will be open to both members and day ticket holders.

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To sea angling now and we begin with a couple of reports from the Banner County, where anglers fishing with Luke Aston enjoyed some great mixed fishing off the Clare coast, as the reef fishing was ‘exceptional, and when they tried the estuary for tope, they enjoyed non-stop action there as well! Anglers fishing with Sean Maguire close by had a similar experience, as they too enjoyed some excellent sport from the reefs off Clare, with pollack and spurdog particularly active, along with a range of other species.

On the south coast, the blue shark were slow to show up for anglers fishing out of Courtmacsherry with Dave Edwards. But his anglers passed the time catching a range of bottom species, including a rare enough hake. When the blues did arrive, they had a couple of missed opportunities before they got one on board for tagging. Blues were also the quarry for anglers fishing with Alex Gurnee of Old Head Charters, a little further east in Kinsale. They got off the mark for the season with a couple of blues, and had some fine pollack fishing with fish close to the 10lb mark on many days.

Fishing is picking up off the Wicklow coast of late, and Kit Dunne of Wicklow Boat Charters has reported his first specimen-sized smoothhound of the year, a 13lb fish that was boated by well known specimen hunter Thomas Lynch. It’s always great to hear the hounds are back off the east coast, and Tom wins this week’s Catch of the Week. And we wrap up the sea angling reports with news that West Cork & District SAC is holding an open competition for all IFSA members on Friday, July 10th at Ballinwilling Beach.

First specimen smoothhound of the year for Wicklow Boat Charters, a 13lb fish for Thomas Lynch

In trout angling news, the Kilbride Anglers held their inaugural Paddy Conneff Cup on Lough Owel over the weekend. Despite conditions looking promising, the fishing turned out to be slow enough, and at lunchtime, there were no fish to report. But fortunes changed after lunch, and Martin Kearney boated three trout to 4.5lbs to secure the honour of becoming the inaugural Paddy Conneff Cup champion. On Lough Corrib, the mayfly hatch has slowed down, but fish have still been taken on dry mayflies throughout the first couple of weeks of June. Sedges and caenis are now on the trout’s menu, and while conditions have not always been perfect for the caenis, there has been some great fishing on the odd calm morning we have had. And for some reading material, in the latest Piscari fly newsletter, Peter and the team report on the Leinster Rivers Championships, the International Rivers in Scotland, and a memorable fishing trip to Iceland.

All action at the TAFI Leinster River Championships

In other news, river anglers may be interested in learning about IFI’s Riverwood project, which aims to study the impact that woody debris has on reshaping riverbanks and river channels to more natural forms. Woody debris can play a vital role in helping to create pools and riffles, deflect the water’s direction, provide cover and refuge for fish from predators and help to recruit spawning gravels for salmonid species.

And now the weather

As I write this on Thursday afternoon, the country is still sweltering under the summer sun, but from Friday onwards, conditions will gradually shift from very hot and humid weather to a cooler, more changeable Atlantic pattern.

Friday will stay warm and humid, with sunny spells and showers. Some showers may become heavy and thundery, especially across the midlands, west and north, bringing a risk of localised flooding and frequent lightning. Showers may merge into longer spells of rain at times. Cloud, mist and coastal fog will develop near the south coast from late morning. Temperatures will reach 23 to 29 °C, warmest in the midlands, east and northeast, but cooler in the northwest and near the south coast. Winds will become mostly moderate southerly.

Friday night will see most showers fade, with clear spells for many at first. However, cloudier conditions with patchy rain and drizzle near the south coast will gradually spread northwards. It will remain mild and muggy, with lows of 15 to 17 °C.

Saturday will bring cloud and outbreaks of rain spreading from the west, with some heavy bursts possible. The east and northeast may see the best of any drier, brighter spells during the morning. Sunday will be fresher, with sunny spells and scattered showers. Monday looks mixed but somewhat quieter.

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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