Skipper David Edwards was in touch to to report the first blue shark we have heard about this year. Dave was making the most of the glorious conditions on Friday and the fish was hooked shortly before 5 o’clock in the evening. After a couple of photos it was safely released.
It’s been a very special week on Silver Dawn, with valuable research carried out and dreams made a reality for some wonderful people.
Yesterday was a day off and with the superb weather set to continue, I thought a very early attempt to catch and tag a Blue Shark was on the cards.
A whole two weeks earlier than any Blue, previously recorded in Irish waters.
Chances were slim to zero but the weather and fabulous offshore wildlife, would make the attempt worthwhile.
A Super Pod of ocean going Dolphins, estimated at 200+ were visible for long spells, not great for shark fishing but good to see.
A Minke Whale came alongside as well as a large Bull Seal and as the day passed by, the fairly slim hope of encountering a Blue Shark, passed with it.
At 5pm, the silence was broken, line tore off and a decent size female Blue was heading for the horizon.
After a surprisingly good fight in only a 13c sea, she was brought onboard for measuring and tagging.
195cm length overall and quickly released.
She was the perfect end to a perfect week.
It’s very early to be getting blue shark in Irish waters and this unusual report wins our Catch of the Week.
David is no stranger to catching sharks early in the season. Last year he caught and released the first porbeagle of the 2024 on January 10th and the first blue shark of 2024 on May 24th.
41′ Rodman 1250. Twin 430 HP Engines Skipper: David Edwards Licence: P5 Licence Base: Courtmacsherry Operational Area:60 miles to sea from ports from Kinsale to Portmagee
Authorised blue fin tuna boat 2025
Notes:The range of fishing found within close range of Courtmacsherry is superb, with trips producing anything between 6 and 15 different species as a norm and in excess of 20 is possible if anglers are prepared to change methods and use different baits and lures throughout their trip. As a rule mackerel, pollock, cod and ling are usually encountered but several species of wrasse along with whiting, pouting, coalfish, bull huss, conger and many more are often added to the catch.
If you do choose to head offshore to sample the superb shark fishing available within 10 miles of Courtmacsherry, there is a very strong chance of encountering blue sharks and an increasing chance of bringing a porbeagle shark to the boat.
Lough Sheelin angling report May 5th – May 11th 2025
“If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water”
Loren Eiseley
The real deal – Glenn Calvert
Now, settling into the month of May, there is a kind of invisible pressure resting over Lough Sheelin. We are entering into a phase of the fishing season here that is fraught with expectations often intertwined with disappointment and frustration – the mayfly season. “Mayfly madness” a fitting term to describe the excitement and frenzy of fishing during a mayfly hatch, when trout are actively feeding and the opportunity for anglers to capitalize on this and catch the trout of a lifetime is, allegedly a done deal.
The good weather, I think, has maybe made anglers think that the Mayfly is going to be earlier than in previous years here but that simply has not happened. There have been some good hatches but the trout with a few exceptions are not surfacing except for the odd one here and there, early morning or late evening. Daytime temperatures peaked at 21 degrees, water levels have dropped, and the water column stratified with a surface of 16 degrees and 12 degrees in the deep. The winds throughout the week favoured East which added another hurdle to good fishing. These past seven days with searing heat, bright sunshine and winds that simply would not behave made for pretty brutal fishing conditions here.
Lunch timeThe Magnificent Seven – James Casey with his 7.25lb trout
This week was all about nymph fishing. There are some very experienced fly fishers here who refuse to nymph. “Dry or Die” is a term bandied around by a few of the dry fly purists which is fine but those with that unyielding attitude simply did not catch fish on Sheelin this week. There wasn’t much room for the ‘chuck & duck’ teams of wets or spinning lures either, it was all about the nymph with a small amount of buzzer fishing using epoxies thrown into the mix. While many anglers prefer the delicacy, finesse and surface water action of dry fly fishing, using nymphs is almost always more productive. Nymphing on Sheelin works, plain and simple. Trout reputedly spend 90% of their time feeding underwater, whether this number is accurate, the point remains the same: trout do a lot of eating under the surface. A trout will rise to eat a fly on the surface from time to time without a hatch, but normally the dry fly action occurs coincident with some part of an insect hatch. There was very little surface rise, perhaps an odd trout to the spent in the evening but not worth getting excited about. Anglers reported sporadic surface plucks in the very early morning but little interest from the fish in accepting the imitations of feather & fur.
The lake was busy in certain areas throughout the week. Trout catches recorded were sparse compared to angling numbers fishing and there were more blank days and good sun tans reported than actual trout. Regardless of our scorching mid-day heats and contrary wind directions some really good trout were caught albeit all on the nymphs. The heaviest was a slab of a trout at over 8lbs by Sligo angler Paul Colreavy.
Back to the technique of nymphing on Lough Sheelin. For those wanting to catch fish and trying to convert to this fishing technique there is no doubt about it that, nymphing can be a slow, a methodical process requiring patience and attention to detail. Sometimes, the anticipation and waiting for a bite can feel like a test of endurance. For Sheelin, some effective nymphing techniques included indicator nymphing, high-stick nymphing and sight nymphing with other factors like water depth and not having your line too tight (to accommodate a take which reportedly can happen at ten mph…) coming into play. This too will pass so if this type of structured and slow-paced fishing isn’t your cup of tea then wait it out until the mayfly really kicks in and in the meantime just enjoy being out there in the wealth of wildlife – two sea eagles, an osprey, terns, coots, swallows and of course the cuckoos in the bog areas serenading anyone who cares to listen.
TeamworkOut of the net
Now, past the first week in May the majority of anglers were fishing the nymphs with a few using teams of buzzers, mainly epoxy. The most productive was the nymph fishing which necessitated a very slow retrieve, not popular with many in this ‘frenetic and fast-paced’ world. The most successful patterns used were the Pheasant Tail, Hare’s Ear, Prince Nymph and Copper John. Variations of these were used with reasonable successes.
Dry fly fishing was there in the mix for this week with Bob’s Bits or Shipman’s in a variety of colours proving to be successful. The best colours are claret, fiery brown, black, ginger, orange, hare’s ear, olive and grey. These colours will cover both the early buzzer rises, our scattering of spring olives and for later, the smaller sedges. Grey Dusters are very effective when the trout are rising to buzzer hatches and the scraggier the better. The Spent Gnat is getting a look in with a nice 5 pounder caught by Martin Ryan on a Spent Gnat pattern at Ross.
Black Pennell, Connemara Black, Peter Ross, Black and Blae, Sooty & Sweep and Sooty Olive on a slow retrieve are worth trying.
Best fishing areas, depending on wind direction were the silted areas of Goreport, Corru, Sailors Garden, Gaffneys, Merry Point, Plunketts Point, Bog Bay, Stony Islands, Finea and around Church Island. All locations are wind dependant.
Niall McMenamin with his May troutA Wulff in sheep’s clothing for SheelinJames Barry’s 6 pounder, tagged and ready to go
IFI’s tagging project is active on Lough Sheelin so all anglers are reminded to keep an eye out for a blue tag with the requirement to note the number, size of fish and to ensure trout is released.
Mick McShane Mayfly nymphsIn the netIt’s not all about fishing – a tern chickPeadar McAvinney with his Sheelin troutRed Arsed Green Peter, Scott Jackson
I was deeply saddened to hear of the death of Derek Evans on May 6th, long time angling correspondent for the Irish Times. Derek had been writing for the paper since his retirement as a printer and was well know for his “Angling Notes” column. I had the privalage of knowing him, our paths crossing on several angling occasions, out on Lough Sheelin and at various competitions. Everyone has their own memories of this “true gentleman” with his wealth of knowledge on angling but mine are of a man, highly proficient in angling reports and yet willing to step aside for someone who wasn’t as experienced, he would always ask me ‘do you want this one or will I’ if we were both covering an event, that courtesy and respect, which are rare commodities was always there and I appreciated him more for that. We had just one slight clash but because of it he will be remembered by me forever, I had submitted an angling report to him where I had talked about the Red Arsed Green Peter fly, the Irish Times published the article but Derek had changed my wording to Red Tailed Green Peter and chasitised me later in jest (I hope) about being uncouth. I confess I have never used his “Red Tailed” wording again retaining the familiar and historical name but every time I write Red Arsed Green Peter I always smile thinking about Derek and his failed attempt to make a lady out of me. I have included Scott Jackson’s Red Arsed Green Peter in this report as a thumbs up to this amazing man and I’m sure wherever he is he’ll forgive me for it.
The Flies
1 of 19
Buzzers, M.McShane
Buzzers, Mick McShane
A few for Sheelin, Dereck O'Brien
Alan - Fritz & Flash fishing flies
Buzzer pattersn, Mick McShane
CDC Mayflies, Mick McShane
CDC Mayflies, Sean Deeney
CDC parachute mayfly, size 12, Steffen Rosenkilde
Detached foam body CDC May's, Sean Deeney
Emerger, Joachim John Wallin
Emerger, Jorgen Danielson
French partridge, Jonas Erbs
Grey Wulff variation, Kenneth Rawley
Hackled point may, Kenneth Rawley
Mayflies Desmond Paul
Mayfly Nymph emerger, Jonas Erbs
Back of the netReeling inMurrough and Welshman’s Button
We here at Lough Sheelin Guiding Services provide what we think is a world class ghillie and guiding service on the famous Lough Sheelin. We will do our upmost to try and make sure visiting anglers catch there fair share of these famous wild trout and make
your visit a memorable one.
Our Ghillies offer fully guided trips and be assured we know every corner and drift on Sheelin and will work hard for you to make sure you get the best opportunity to catch Sheelins famous wild brown trout.
Well its the start of a New Era for me. This season I will be running a Guiding Service on the midlands lakes. I will be primarily based on Lough Sheelin, Lough Owel and Lough Lene, where I have fished all my life. I have many caps for the Senior Irish Team, Captain twice, I have also won the Brown Bowl and have coached the youth team on and off for over 15 years. I am also the Irish Ambassador for Wychwood Game.
The midland lakes produce some of the biggest wild Brown Trout in Ireland and some of the biggest Stocked triploids too. The season starts with fry imitations but quickly turns to the buzzer, followed by Olives, Mayfly and sedge fishing as the year progresses.
If you want to book a day with me please please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Gerry Merrick reports from the Ballisodare Salmon Fishery…
Ballisodare Salmon Fishery Report – 7Th May 2025
Ballisodare Fishery like the rest of the country has been experiencing continuous sunshine since the rains over Easter. The system has been lightly fished in the meantime. However, five nice spring fish have been caught and released. Many others have been lost at the net as the barbless hooks are perhaps doing their job.
We are encouraged by the numbers going through the fish pass and seen in the system generally. Showers forecast for this weekend will be most welcome.
Catch and Release
For two seasons now, Ballisodare Fishing Club has implemented a catch and release policy until end of May, to protect stocks of Spring Salmon. Consequently, only fly fishing is allowed during this period.
Go fishing…
The Ballisodare River is the name given to the two and a half miles of river formed by the meeting of two fairly large rivers, the Owenmore and Arrow or Unshin River, about half a mile below the town of Collooney. The river empties out into the estuary of Ballisodare Bay at the Falls in Ballisodare.
The river has something for every serious salmon angler, from the quieter upper reaches with wide pools and tree lined banks to the series of ledges and mini falls in Ballisodare Town.
Sunshine and Vitamin D were in plentiful supply this week, as the good spell of weather continued into the first week of May. It’s been a glorious week here in the West, although easterly winds have kept it cool at times, but there was a lot of calm weather too. The whole country has seen the sun, even if temperatures weren’t as high everywhere.
May sees a lot of angling disciplines explode into life, and the recent good weather has seen sea angling really take off. Starting in west Clare, where Sean Naguire reported great mixed species fishing on the Isle of Aran charter boat. Staying local, skipper Luke Aston of the Clare Dragoon reported the first sixgill shark of 2025, as well as some early tope in the Shannon.
Slightly further north, John Fleming reported superb reef fishing in Galway Bay for his guests on the Brazen Hussy, with pollack and coalies galore. In Cork, Jim Clohessy found the bass a bit tougher to tempt, while in west Cork, David Norman completed a mullet slam of the three species of mullet, on 4 different methods no less!
A wrasse for Jim, to make up for lack of bass
We have news of a new event to replace the postponed 2025 Daiwa Pairs festival in Dingle, while we have a lovely report from Connemara, where 9 year old Mae Kirby float fished hardback crab to catch her first ballan wrasse – not the biggest fish to feature on these pages, but it makes our Catch of the Week.
Catch of the Week – Mae with her first Connemara ballan wrasse
May is synonymous with trout fishing and the famed mayfly hatch, but it was buzzer fishing that proved most productive on Corrib, with superb fishing reported over the past couple of weeks. Buzzer nymph and trolling has produced some beautiful trout, and mayfly hatches are said to be much better than in recent years, although conditions have been tough for surface fishing.
A Corrib trout on dry olive for Vaughn Ruckley (92 years young this month)
Good mayfly hatches were also reported from Lough Conn, where local angler Joe Ferguson made hay to take the win over the Dubs in the annual Pratt Cup competition. Over on Sheelin, Brenda Montgomery reports that the east wind and big temperature swings between warm days and cold nights put the brakes on mayfly hatches, with just a few small hatches and the main hatch still to come. Buzzers and mayfly nymphs were working, however.
Piscari-fly reported on good fishing on the River Nore, as well as on a trip to Corrib, where Mark Driver had a cracking 7lbs trout on Campto buzzer.
A Corrib beauty for Mark
Damien Culliney also reports some nice trout (as well as pike) from Lough Derg.
Moving on to pike fishing, Kevin Lyons reports on a successful first trip to Ireland for French father and son Christophe and Louis, who had some nice pike over 90cm despite hot and calm conditions.
Christophe all smiles with one of his pike
As well as Damien’s report above rom Derg, Paul Bourke also reports on a great trip for his guests on Monday, with over 20 pike to the boat in a hectic afternoon!
To coarse angling now, and Inniscarra Reservoir produced some cracking fishing over the weekend festival, with Cathal Hughes coming out on top with an incredible catch of 34kgs on Day 2 to win the pairs event with his partner Shane Dunne, who also won his section on Day 2.
Cathal Hughes
The second leg of the VDE Irish Canal Masters was fished at Enfield, where Wesley Slevin had some nice tench and bream in his 14lbs 8oz catch, a great result on a tough day fishing.
Tench
We also feature a great video from UK angler and Youtuber Paul Vicary, who found a great tench spot that showcases the potential of Irish coarse angling, and also gives some great tips on tackle and tactics – well worth a watch!
Salmon angling so far this year has been less than spectacular, to put it mildly, but we have reports of the first couple of fish from Galway, where local man Simon Lenihan landed a lovely 12.8lbs fish to open the account for 2025. I have reports of another fish taken this morning, and a couple more lost this week. The unseasonally warm weather resulted in low angling pressure on the Moy, which was reflected in catches, with a dozen or so fish reported. Anglers’ reels remained quiet on Lough Currane, which is very low again due to the dry spell, but there were a few salmon reported from the Laune. We will need the weather to break before we see a big improvement in salmon runs, and we’re not going to wish for that – not publicly anyway! Finally, anglwers wishing to book fishing on the River Erriff can now buy permits through the IFI permit shop.
RIP Derek
Finally, we bid a sad farewell to Irish Times angling correspondent Derek Evans, who was laid to rest today. Derek was a gentleman who was known, respected and loved by many anglers in Ireland, and whose weekly column was a great read. More here
Derek Evans
And now the weather
The good weatyher will continue through Saturday, with long spells of sunshine, temps of 16-21C and just isolated showers in the west. Sunday will start mostly dry and sunny at first before showers or showery outbreaks of rain develop through the day with some heavy possible later. Highest temperatures of 15 to 20 degrees with a light to moderate northerly wind developing.
Showers or showery outbreaks of rain are likely to continue through much of Monday. Some heavy or thundery falls are possible. Generally driest, sunniest and warmest in the north. Highest temperatures of 16 to 21 degrees in a mostly moderate easterly wind. Warm subshine and showers, some heavy, on Tuesday too. Current indications suggest the rest of the week will be largely dry and settled with just a few showers. Temperatures generally reaching the high teens to low twenties.
If you have an angling story to share with the Irish Angling Update, please send it to [email protected], and don’t forget that all of our fishing reports are available on our dedicated Angling Ireland Facebook page.
We here at Angling Ireland were deeply saddened to hear of the loss of Derek Evans, who for many years wrote a weekly angling column in the Irish Times. Derek passed away on Tuesday, a day after his 80th birthday, although truth be told, he looked and sounded far younger.
Derek Evans
Derek grew up off Oxmantown Road in Arbour Hill, Dublin 7. He emigrated to London as a young man and developed his love of angling from fishing in the rivers, lakes and canals around the city. He returned to Ireland and got a job as a printer with The Irish Times. Evans worked at the newspaper for more than 20 years before becoming angling correspondent. The family settled in Swords, where they became a big part of the local community and Church of Ireland parish.
Derek was familiar to anglers all over Ireland, as he fished in many competitions himself, and attended many more events to report on the angling. He had many friends around the country, and his phone calls for reports were always welcome, never short, and full of craic. I met Derek many times, particularly at the World Cup trout competition on Lough Mask, which he loved to attend and fish in every year, and he was regularly on the phone looking for information for his column in the Irish Times. I will certainly miss his phone calls and easy wit. Derek was one of life’s gentlemen.
He is survived by his wife Marjorie, sons Mark, Peter, Simon and David, daughter Racheal and 13 grandchildren. We express our sincere condolences to them on his loss as he is laid to rest today.
At the beginning of this year, I set myself a little challenge of catching a Mullet by four methods before the end of April namely… Feeder Fishing, Bread Floater, Surface (Bread) Fly, Natural Fly Pattern (Shrimp etc).
I got the first and easiest (Feeder) in January along with a good few more, one of which was a specimen of 5lb 1oz caught by Gavin Fitzmaurice as reported here previously, followed by Bread Fly, of which there were many, but here’s where it started to get even more interesting… I’d planned on these Mullet all being Thick Lips but one of the Bread Fly captures very unusually turned out to be of the Thin Lipped variety so I was then in good shape for a Mullet “Slam” of all three inshore species if I could also get a Golden Grey.
I continued with Bread Floater using Bombarda Floats which was a lot of fun and time ran out for personal fishing as the Irish Spring Angling Fair approached and I was yet to put a natural fly imitation in the water. When I did get back out after them it made perfect sense to target Golden Greys on fly which I successfully did to my delight in early May.
So, all in all a great way to start the year and season Mullet wise, just don’t ask me to repeat the feat any time soon as the last Thin Lip I caught locally by any method was in 2017 !!
Go fishing…
Contact me now to arrange your 2025 Guided Trip or Workshop –- Mullet, Pollock, Bass, Wrasse, Fly or Lure, Kayak or Shore, plus Junior Coarse Fishing.– [email protected]
David has been lure then fly fishing since the mid noughties with some of the best guides and anglers in Ireland and abroad.
Kayak fishing by lure & fly now takes him and his guiding guests beyond the shore to target Pollock, Bass or Wrasse with the chance of other species such as Codling, Coalfish, Mackerel or Garfish.
Shore fishing at night is also a very special experience.
Kevin Lyons reports from the River Shannon in Co. Longford, where father Christophe and son Louis were over in Ireland for their first ever pike fishing trip and stay with host Kevin of Melview Fishing Lodge, they managed to catch some nice pike into the 90s cm casting both hard and soft lures. Host Kevin said, “It’s always nice when people come for their first time and catch a few nice pike during their stay. The fishing was at times difficult due to the hot and calm conditions but they just fished on and it paid off for them in the end, well done guys and we hope to see you back in Ireland again soon!”
Louis with his first Irish pikeChristophe all smiles with one of his pike
Kevin has over 30 years experience of fishing in Ireland and is happy to offer a guided tour on your arrival, and to advise where the on-form waters in the area are. We can arrange your bait order so it’s here when you arrive. Melview offers free use of 17ft lake boats with engines to our guests (pay fuel only) and Kevin is happy to assist with any pre-baiting requests. Maps and other information regarding fishing are also available.
Nine year old Mae Kirby celebrated her birthday this weekend shore fishing in Connemara with her dad Myles. The sunshine and settled weather meant crystal clear water with the bottom visible even in the deeper gullies.
Mae float fished close to the rocks using hard back shore crabs as bait. The fish were nervous in the clear conditions but Mae still managed a few bites and landed one beautifully coloured and speckled ballan wrasse which dad photographed and carefully returned to the Atlantic.
Well done Mae! We hope to see you feature in many more reports with Dad in the future!
Water levels at Ballylahan continued to drop steadily from 0.85 m on Sunday 28th down to 0.4 m by noon on Sunday 4th May. Weather wise the past week has been very dry with little, or no rainfall recorded. Looking ahead with high pressure dominating for a time, little if any rainfall is expected before Sunday. Angling pressure remains quite low in the catchment as is reflected in this week’s reported catch returns.
Ballina Salmon Anglers
1 salmon was reported caught this week, taken on Tuesday 1st May on the worm weighing 8 lbs.
The Foxford Fishery
Granville reported 1 salmon caught weighing 7 lbs, taken on the worm.
Foxford Salmon Anglers
5 salmon were reported caught this week and all good springers according to reports.
Foxford town
1 salmon was reported caught below the bridge weighing 9 lbs on Friday 2nd May.
East Mayo Anglers Association
Kathleen reports that 4 salmon were caught with 1 taken on the spinner weighing 6.5 lbs and 3 released with the best being 9 lbs.
The organisers of the Daiwa Irish Pairs, a major sea angling festival held in Dingle every year, have decided to take a break from the regular festival for 2025, with a number of regular competitors unavailabe due to clashes with other events. Instead, they have announced a new one-off event, with 3 pegged matches held over 5 days on the same week in September, and will launch a renewed Daiwa Pairs event in 2026.
Check out the format and details below, and if interested in entering, get onto the organisers through the Facebook page here.
Dingle Peninsula Open 2025
Confirmation below of dates, format and prize structure for the one-off event we are running in 2025. We will engage with all competitors attending this year’s event to get their input and ideas with a view to relaunching a refreshed Daiwa Irish Pairs event in 2026.
Dates: Sat 20th Sept to Fri 26th Sept 2025
Headquarters: Dingle Bay Hotel
Entry fees – 150 euros per person (includes all zone/specimen pools)
Itinerary:
Registration – Sat 20th Sept 7pm to 9pm
Matches – Sun 21st Sept, Tue 23rd Sept and Thu 25th Sep (match venues/days/times to be confirmed and subject to weather conditions etc).
Specimen hunt – runs from start of match on 21st Sept to 4pm on Fri 26th Sept.
Prize presentation: Fri 26th Sept at 9pm.
Match format:
Individual and Pairs event included.
Anglers are welcome to fish as an individual if they are unable to secure a partner but we will try and match up any such anglers at the registration.
We will also try and accommodate any angler who is travelling over and might want to fish as an individual on one day only and we will confirm entry fees for this at registration.
All anglers to fish on the same venue each day.
Expected venues (but all subject to weather conditions and/or numbers attending) will be Inch, Ventry and Cappaclogh.
Matches to be run against previous Daiwa Pairs rules and length to weight conversion system. Copies will be available at registration if required.
Each angler to undertake a separate independent draw for each day (so for the Pairs event you could be in the same zone or even next to your partner).
Specimen Hunt:
Run using previous Daiwa Pairs rules format and specimen sizes.
Full details of specimens included to be published at registration
Intended prize structure (subject to numbers attending):
100% cash only prize payout
Top 3 each zone per day (4 zones per day)
Top 3 pairs per day
Top 5 individuals overall
Top 5 pairs overall
Best flatfish/roundfish and specimen overall
Best of each individual named species
4-man team:
We may include a 4-man team event on one match day subject to overall numbers attending and interest etc. Details and entry fees for this to be collected separately at registration if so.
Silver Dawn
The Ballisodare River is the name given to the two and a half miles of river formed by the meeting of two fairly large rivers, the Owenmore and Arrow or Unshin River, about half a mile below the town of Collooney. The river empties out into the estuary of Ballisodare Bay at the Falls in Ballisodare. 
