This week was another delight for sun worshippers, but most anglers found the conditions testing. Bright sunshine, mostly calm conditions and high temperatures are not the easiest for freshwater anglers to contend with, but some good results were had, particularly when there was a bit of a breeze or some cloud to even the odds. The same conditions were welcomed by boat anglers at sea who had an opportunity to make for a greater variety of marks and fish in comfort…

There were 39 salmon caught last week at Ballisodare.  Following a small fresh at the start of the week there were a few fish on Monday and Tuesday but low water saw the catches drop until the weekend and most fish were caught at the falls. Water levels dropped even further on the Moy during the week and with the dry and sunny weather most fisheries saw catch rates drop, though the Ridge Pool bucked the trend and had its best week of the season so far.  Good humour and “socialising” kept the anglers going at Delphi where glorious weather and falling water meant that just 7 salmon were landed over the week. There was one gate open on the Galway Fishery last week and in spite of the bright conditions 39 fish were landed for the week, with fly fishing proving very successful in the lower water. The Feale is gone very low and only a couple of fish were landed last week. The Laune has managed to maintain a good enough level. There are quite a few sea trout being caught and though salmon are still scarce enough hopes are high that the weekend’s tides will bring a run of fish. Lough Currane is a fishery that likes a bit of wind and the bright, still conditions were not what anglers wanted. In all about 10 salmon and 7 sea trout were landed last week, with 4 blank days reported. In West Cork the Mealagh was quiet and just 3 salmon to 8lb were landed on the Ilen. Conditions are far from ideal on the Bandon but some good salmon to 13lb have been caught, and there are a few grilse in the system now too. It is still slow going on the Lee where less than half a dozen salmon were reported by anglers last week. There seems to be a good head of fish in the Munster Blackwater with more expected on each good tide. Fortwilliam Fishery reckons they had their best May in years and last week there were a good few double figure salmon and some grilse landed. On the Slaney fishing in May continued in the same pattern as March and April with small numbers of fish making a dash for the upper reaches.

It has been a fantastic fortnight on Loughs Conn and Cullin as the Mayfly continues to bring fish up. Following an impressive performance in early May the trout angling action continued to improve with some fine fish reported and anglers praising the numbers of quality fish to be seen.  Some good trout to 5lb were reported from Lough Arrow where some anglers considered the fishing to be excellent. The Mediterranean weather around Mask this week has made being in the right place at the right time key and nymphs and dries have produced the majority of the fish as winds have been light. Fishing on Corrib was difficult also. Mayfly hatches have been disappointing this year and last week the best fishing was to buzzer, with Caenis hatches also providing good early morning sport since the weekend.

Ree always produces good trout to Spent Gnat, but as ever the fishing can be patchy. Good falls of Gnat since last week should see more fish looking up and the prospects of a real trophy fish improve. There were huge falls of Gnat on Lough Sheelin. Fish are still being taken on a variety of methods. The biggest reported to our offices last week was a 9lb trout which fell for a nymph but many anglers are seeing lots of juvenile trout too which bodes well for Sheelin’s angling future. Lough Ennell is also seeing good hatches of Mayfly and also Welshman’s Buttons. Anglers lucky to be on the water when there was a bit of cloud cover did well and reported the fish fed hard.

Lough Lene produced a few good rainbows last week, even in the blistering sunshine. River trout fishing can be quiet during weather as bright and hot as we have had, but early morning and late evening trips are worth considering. A bit of persistence can even pay off in the middle of day and we had reports of some enjoyable fishing on the Suir, Annalee and Bunnoe.

The Killybegs Mariners make Donegal look like a shore angling Mecca with consistent fishing and scenery that inspired the Wild Atlantic Way. The last week has seen more great reports of fishing from beach and rock marks with spinning and beach casters all being put to good use. Moving south there was good Charter Boat fishing on Clew Bay where a mix of species was had on Whitewater II. Charter skipper John Brittain in Clifden says recent fishing has been excellent, with up to 10 species a day, and great numbers of good size pollack, ling and other species. The calm weather was perfect for kayak anglers and some enjoyable fishing was reported from both Galway Bay and the east coast. The fishing off the Clare coast has also been productive where anglers onboard Clare Dragoon and Lady Gwen enjoyed catching fish and watching whales. It’s no surprise that skipper Siegy Graber’s anglers were keen to make the most of the calm conditions  off Valentia and around the Skelligs and the fishing did not disappoint. Anglers fishing on Tigger were treated to the spectacle of dolphins and basking sharks while they fished off Clonakilty and as many as 40 baskers were seen at a single time. Cod to over 10lb helped to make the day even better. Fishing out of Kinsale on the Silver Dawn Albie O’Sullivan and Gary Farrell both had ling of 30lb or more. Other anglers onboard also did well as the ling were mostly large 10lb to 22lb sized fish with several fish touching the 25lb mark. Charterboat and small boat anglers are enjoying great sport out of Cork Harbour. The Ling Rocks are fishing particularly well with plenty of pollack between 8lb and 10lb and lots of ling to 15lb keeping anglers busy. Angling guide Sid Jones reports plenty of bass around the south east at present with night fishing being more productive. The 2^nd Leg of the Leinster Shore League was fished on Sunday at  Kilcoole and Newcastle. Despite the bright and sunny conditions a total of 147 dogfish were caught, followed by 66 dabs and 47 gurnard.

French anglers fishing in Co. Cavan report entertaining piking with plenty of medium sized fish to be had and a pike over 100cm for one of their party. A pair of anglers fishing one of the Midlands lakes had 20 pike last Saturday. Reports from Lough Derg are that the lake is continuing to fish well. Predator anglers are also getting some good perch at Midlands venues with fish to 43cm measured and returned. During the bright weather perch are worth considering and there are good numbers in Lough Owel and the shallows of Lough Ree at present.

Ballybay Angling Association fished their most recent knock-up match in glorious weather on Bairds Shore where the conditions and fish spawning made catching difficult. The Arva/Carrigallen/Killeshandra area is fishing well and local knowledge has seen some anglers consistently catch good bags of bream, with some fish up to 5.5lb. Unfortunately the bright weather made for fairly modest catches at the Ballinamore Festival which finished at the weekend. Well done to James Place who won the 5 day event with 36.550kg. Congratulations also go to Kilinarden Angling Initiative who, along with Oaklands Fishery, ran a hugely successful angling event at the New Ross venue which raised €4,000 for Pieta House.

The June Bank Holiday is here and many will take the opportunity to wet a line. We expect that many fisheries will be busy as anglers make the most of their time off. Please be aware of the risks when you’re out on the water. If you are afloat, wading or fishing from the rocks please wear a life jacket. Many anglers think that if they are not at sea, they are not at risk. It is worth remembering that 62% of all drownings are inland, and on average 11 people drown in Irish waters every month. Don’t take risks, check the tides, weather and wear a life jacket.

Met Eireann forecasts warm and mainly dry weather for Saturday. The best of the sunshine will be in Munster and Connacht. It will be somewhat cloudier in Leinster and Ulster with a few showers developing during the afternoon and evening. Highest temperatures of 20 to 24 degrees with little or no wind. Sunday will start off dry in Munster and Connacht. Outbreaks of rain in Leinster and Ulster will gradually move westwards and will turn to heavier showers in many areas in the afternoon. The southwest will stay dry and it will brighten up in the northeast too. Continuing very warm with highest temperatures of 20 to 24 degrees and light east to southeast breezes.  Bank holiday Monday will start off dry with sunny spells. However showers will develop in places during the morning and will become heavy and more widespread during the afternoon and evening. Highest temperatures of 20 to 23 degrees with light southeast breezes. On Monday night, showers or longer spells of rain will affect much of north Leinster and Ulster. Most rivers could do with a drop of rain and a bit of cloud cover may be just what the angler ordered. Hopefully there’ll be enough to improve fishing without the Bank Holiday being a washout!

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

Myles Kelly

Catch, Photo, Release

If you have an angling story to share with the Irish Angling Update please send it to contact@fisheriesireland.ie.

Headlines

Salmon fishing reports

• Only a couple of salmon from the Feale last week as levels low
• Cracking 20lb + salmon rounds off a great week for the River Suir
• Low water on Moy but Ridge Pool has best week of season
• West Cork salmon rivers: Mealagh quiet, 8 on Ilen
• Conditions on Bandon not ideal but salmon to 13lb possible
• Good tides for weekend increase chance of a salmon on Laune
• Still slow going on the Lee, fly doing best
• Salmon fishing improves further in Galway with grilse moving in
• Verry sunny on Currane, 10 salmon and 7 sea trout for the week
• 20lb salmon on the river Suir
• 39 salmon at Ballisodare last week, falls best in low water
• Patchy salmon fishing on the Slaney, hopes for a summer run
• Munster Blackwater – May fishing best in years
• Seven salmon for Delphi in difficult conditions
• Low water levels on the Feale but some good fish caught during the week

Trout fishing reports

• Lough Ree – plenty of Spent, trout should be feeding well now
• Blistering sunshine and calm conditions but Lene still produced a few lovely fish
• Young King on Sheelin
• Good trout from Lough Ennell up to 4.5lbs
• Trout to 5lb on Arrow – most on Spent Gnat
• Fantastic trout fishing on Conn despite bright conditions
• Good sport on Mask despite Mediterranean conditions
• Buzzer and Caenis fishing compensate for disappointing end to mayfly on Corrib
• A number of nice small trout on the Annalee
• Sheelin is swathed in mayflies, like snowflakes in the wind

Sea angling reports

• Epic fishing for the Killybegs Mariners SAC
• Relaxing and enjoying the waves on the East Coast
• A sunny Cork enjoys the sea fishing with nice catches for the Bellavista
• Basking sharks and whales wow charterboat anglers off Clonakilty
• Fine ling for Basque angler as sea fishing picks up west of Galway
• Great variety of fish at Clew bay brings the smiles to the faces
• Greystones Ridge Angling Club Host 2nd Leg Leinster Shore League
• Ling to over 30lb on Kinsale wreck
• Good mix of species but not many mackerel off Clare coast
• Cheerio book, hello fish…
• Beautiful weather icing on cake for great charter fishing in Kerry
• Shy bass worth waiting for !

Pike fishing reports

• Cracking pike from the Midlands
• A Fantastic 43cm Perch from the North East
• Metre long pike for the Cavan area

Coarse angling reports

• No great quantities but some nice Perch, Roach and Bream at Ballinamore Festival
• Fantastic fun and €4,000 raised for Pieta House
• A fine big 5 ½ lbs bream for seasoned angler in Cavan
• Blazing sun at Bairds Shore for Ballybay knock-up

News clippings

• Vive la différence, The Mayo News
• Clean water is good news for both fish and fishermen, Irish Independent
• Angler and space shuttle engineer claim world first for graphene fishing rod – BBC News
• Casting for Recovery – breast cancer retreat at Mount Falcon Estate, Irish Times
• Ballynahinch Castle: Is this Ireland’s most poetic hotel? The Telegraph
• Our columnist Mark Hix accepts a challenge from an old friend to catch a wild salmon in the weirs of Ireland, City AM
• Keeping it reel, Mayo News
• Sea Fisheries Sector Holds Information Seminar, North County Leader

Other news

• Jim Clohessy mulls over mullet
• Lanesborough is Hot Right Now!
• Open day at Carrigavantry with something for everyone
• Job advertisement: Logistics Manager
• Eastern and Neagh Bann International River Basin Districts – Revision / Update of Certain Regulations
• Mayo Man Jailed for Serious Assault and Fisheries Offences