Irish Angling Update 5 May 2023

Traditionally, the 1st of May signalled the start of summer, and while meteorological seasons may have changed, May still signals long days and warmer weather. As I write, the cuckoo is calling nearby, and the house martins have returned to their nest in the eaves; the arrival of these seasonal visitors always a welcome sign of summer. It has been a relatively dry and mild week, the easterly winds of recent weeks replaced by an Atlantic airflow bringing milder temperatures.

Trout

And with May comes the mayfly. Hatches of this aquatic insect will be getting into full swing over the next week or two on our big loughs, hopefully bringing the trout into surface feeding mode. Olives and mayfly have been hatching on Conn but trout were keeping their heads down for the most part. Lough Sheelin is ramed for the spent mayfly fishing, but that will come soon enough. In the meantime, Sheelin anglers have been fishing buzzers and landing some fantastic trout to 8lbs.

Fishing was quiet on Arrow as anglers awaited the arrival of the mayfly, with hatches reported from Lough Key down the road. While on Currane, better noted for silver sea trout, brown trout to 4lbs were reported this week.

Salmon

Salmon fishing appears to be picking up in several locations around the country. On the Blackwater, fishing has improved significantly from Fermoy upstream to Kanturk with reports of the first “few” fish having been taken along this section (in any significant numbers) since the season opened. High water levels on the Galway Fishery are finally dropping, with a few fish reported this week and more lost.

Action was also reported to be picking up on the Moy, with 21 fish reported for the week.

Salmon and sea trout, as well as browns to 4lbs, were reported from Lough Currane. Although sport was considered slow on the Boyne, several sparkling fresh fish of ~12lbs were landed around Navan. Over on Carrowmore Lough, German visitor Jens Buttler was delighted with his first Irish salmon, 

Pike

Many pike anglers take a break over the summer months, and Limerick Pike Anglers brought the first half of their competition season to a close with 12 anglers enjoying great sport once the fish started feeding.

Newbridge Pike Anglers also held a double session outing over the weekend, fishing two river venues and landing some fantastic fish. 181 pike to 21lbs were landed, including 14 doubles!

Coarse

Roach in many fisheries are off on their spawning run at the moment, but CM Lakelands enjoyed good sport with skimmers and hybrids when they got back in action at Annaherrin at the weekend. Good bags were reported from a club match at Portumna, with the top weight of 25lbs and another 20lbs bag showing how well this area is fishing.

The Connacht Match Group festival held at Donamon also produced some good bags, with Rory Dunne taking the win over 3 days with 17.700kgs.

In Co. Longford, a group of UK anglers were over to stay and fish at Melview Lodge, and they enjoyed tremendous fishing, with bream to 6lbs 6oz and tench to 6lbs among their catch.

Sea

May sees the sea warming up further, and sea anglers are starting to enjoy really good sport now. Some west coast shore anglers have been catching plenty of species from rock and beach marks around Corrane.

In Co. Clare, a quality bass of 70cm won Colin Harty the Lisdoonvarna Fanore club competition at Fanore. Colin’s fish wins Catch of the Week.

Cork SAC enjoyed great fishing at Piltown, with plenty of bass and flounder caught, including a specimen flounder of 46.5cm. John Quinlan is back guiding visitors, and on his first day back guided UK visitor Rob to a fine bass of 69cm. Neville Broad also enjoyed a great day, with 5 taken on the fly. Unfortunately the biggest fish (or so they though!) turned out to be a foul-hooked mullet. We’ve all been there!

Boat anglers are also enjoying better conditions at sea, and great mixed species fishing has been reported from several areas along the coast. Mackerel are showing in good numbers now, and pollack fishing was very good in Donegal. In Clare, basking sharks provided entertainment as anglers enjoyed great sport on the Lady Gwen. In Galway Bay, fishing on the reefs was very good for guests on the Brazen Hussy, while anglers on the Leaca Rua had similar good sport.

With sea temperatures warming significantly over the coming weeks, expect to see plenty more reports of good sea fishing.

Other News…

The Irish Spring Angling Fair was held at Ardaire Springs Fishery  over the weekend, and proved a huge hit with young anglers in particular.

The Ireland On The Fly podcast goes to the far side of the world this week – but with an Irish twist – as the lads chat to Irish fishing guide Ronan Creane, who has been guiding trout anglers in New Zealand for quite a few years now. I spent a day with Ronan on a river in NZ a few years ago, and it was a very enjoyable education in river trout fishing, so I’m looking forward to listening to this one. Many Irish trout anglers will also know Ronan’s father, Joe, a well-known angler and guide on Lough Inagh and Corrib, who has also featured on the podcast.

Another podcast we’ve become a fan of is Cormac Walsh’s Lure Fishing Podcast, and this week he chats about saltwater lure and fly fishing for bass, pollack and mullet with David Norman from Angling Adventures West Cork.

East Wicklow Rivers Trust are hosting a talk by Ken Whelan titled “Trout in Strange Places” on the 12th of May in Ashford Heritage Centre, all welcome. Check here for details

And now the weather…

With the Atlantic airmass in controlm the outlook for the coming days is unsettled with rain or showers most days. Mild or warm, especially in sunny spells. Saturday will bring a mix of cloud and sunny spells with widespread slow moving showers, heaviest into the afternoon and evening with possible thundery downpours. Highest temperatures will generally range 15 to 18 degrees, in light to moderate southerly winds.

Sunday will see sunny spells and showers during the morning and early afternoon, followed later by rain and drizzle gradually extending countrywide. Highest temperatures will range 14 to 19 degrees, warmest in the east, in moderate south to southwest winds.

The further outlook is for similar, with plenty of showers and breezy conditions, but continuing mild or warm. Sure what’s a bit of rain once you have your wet gear, right?

Safe fishing to all and tight lines, especially here in Ireland.

IFI Staff
Catch, Photo, Release

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