So, the last few days of April have seen us bathed in sunshine, as we have enjoyed a prolonged (for Ireland anyway) spell of settled weather. Temperatures have been well above average, and it looks like the highest ever temperature for April was recorded in Athenry yesterday, a truly tropical 25.9°C. No surprise that it has been much drier than usual as well, as the country has seen little rain over the past week.

The month of May sees the angling world really kick into gear, and anglers across all disciplines generally have a spring in their step around the May Bank Holiday weekend. Specimen anglers will be beating a path to St. Mullins, hoping to bag a specimen shad, while trout anglers will be scanning the airwaves to hear which lough is fishing best for the mayfly. Tench anglers will be searching for bubbles in the margins as we enter into the prime tench-targeting month, while the country’s charter boat fleet will be back in the water and starting to catch consistently. Salmon should start returning to our rivers in greater numbers over the coming month, and, finally, the pike will be feeding hard after their spawning exertions. So, it’s time to quit looking at screens and get out there, the fish are waiting for you!

Sea anglers haven’t really needed a rallying call as they have already been very active over the past week, as clubs across the length and breadth of the country have been holding competitions in stunning weather. We begin our round-up in the far north, where the Ulster Krakens headed to Ballycastle Beach for leg four of their Master Angler at the weekend. The fine weather was enjoyable for the competitors, well, at least until they had to contend with swimmers encroaching in their competition stretch… Pamela Stewart took a fine win with nine counters on the night. Meanwhile, Donegal stalwarts, the Killybegs Mariners, ventured outside their native county for a trip to Erris Head in Mayo last week. They didn’t let unfamiliar ground stop them from catching a rake of fish, with plenty of flatties and a few nice sea trout.

On the east coast, members of South Shore SAC took a rare journey north of the River Liffey for their latest club competition, inspired by rumours of some quality fishing from the north Dublin beach. And, they weren’t disappointed as the fishing threw up a number of quality smooth hounds, with Des Farrelly taking the win with 23 fish. Moving to Co. Cork now, there was a great turnout for the Munster Shore League competition held at the Slob Bank in Youghal at the weekend. Fifty-nine anglers lined up, expecting some quality fishing, but it didn’t work out like that, as fishing was slow enough, with Troy Francis taking the win with six flounder and one bass. Also in Co. Cork, Cobh SAC held the first leg of their Master Angler competition in Cork Harbour, and they were restricted to the confines of the harbour due to strong winds and strong tides. But Thomas Kujawa made the most of the opportunity to boat 81 fish and take the win.

It’s not only the clubs that have been active, as regular anglers have been getting amongst the fish too. On the east coast, 12-year-old Jamie Ryan has been learning a bit of LRF fishing, expertly tutored by his uncle Dave. He was getting pretty proficient at the light rod stuff, so Dave decided he was ready for his first full-blown beach trip. They rocked up to a shingle beach in Arklow, and young Jamie showed he wasn’t out of his comfort zone by beaching a fine 4.5lb bass. We have a joint 12-year-old Catch of the Week this week, and Jamie’s bass helps him to a share of the prize.

On the south coast, Cormac Walsh took a punt on a mark he hadn’t fished in a while that only fishes at a particular stage of the tide. He got his calculations right, hitting the spot at the optimum time, and bagged a fine bass on a shallow diving lure in 3ft of water. Chris O’Sullivan, aka the Inshore Angler, had a couple of trips in very different conditions recently, both throwing up some cracking fish. First up was a session in beautiful sunshine where Chris landed a super 6lb bass. The next session couldn’t have been more different as Chris fished through torrential rain to land a smashing smoothy of 17lb 6oz (111cm), well over the specimen size of 103cm.

And we wrap up this long sea-angling section with the charter boats, beginning in Courtmacsherry, where the Lady Louise hosted new skipper Ronan on his maiden voyage. He had just completed his P5 licence training, and he got straight to work, spending a while drifting the reefs for some good pollack and coalies before, anchoring up and boating a fine skate. Meanwhile, skipper Luke Aston sent in his first report of the year from the Clare coast, where mackerel, pollack and coalies were plentiful, as were some good-sized huss, but the 6-gill shark didn’t put in an appearance. No doubt he’ll be back after them again soon enough. Galway Bay-based charter boats have also been busy at it over the past week, with John Fleming hitting the reefs and finding good pollack, and Julian Dosso also getting some good pollack and a few nice huss. Finally, as we know that sea anglers will be active over the coming weeks, we are asking them to keep a watchful eye out for any fish that might be tagged as part of one of our various tagging programmes.

To the trout anglers now, and the Dublin Trout Anglers headed to the foothills of the Dublin Mountains to fish at Bohernabreena Reservoirs for a club competition. Club Secretary Cathal McDonnell’s four trout were enough to secure him the Anna Livia Trophy for 2025. In Co. Meath, there were some quality river trout landed by members of the Deel & Boyne Anglers fishing their Jim Glynn Memorial Cup Competition. The top three anglers all had fish over 2lb, and Virgil Malinauskas’ impressive trout of 2lb 12oz was the biggest on the day. The Lough O’Flynn & District Anglers held their McCarthy Cup Competition on the lake over the weekend. Fishing was pretty consistent, and Anthony Doyle took the win with a bag of 3lb 3.8oz. Unfortunately, the weather wreaked havoc for anglers hoping for a ‘buzzer bonanza’ on Sheelin last week (before the sunny spell), and they were left with more of a ‘buzzer breakdown’. The hoped-for warmer temperatures failed to materialise, and anglers were faced with plenty of wind and rain, neither of which helped them connect with fish. Lastly, the guys from the Ireland on the Fly podcast speak to well known angler, fly tier and author Stan Headley in this week’s show. Stan tells tales of growing up on Orkney, and his love of the competition fishing scene, both in Scotland and in Ireland.

To the coarse scene now, and it seems like bites were hard to come by for a number of clubs holding matches around the country. Fishing was tough for the members of IASCaire Feeder Fishing Club, fishing their Spring League on Gulladoo. But a few decent-sized fish showed up later in the day to boost the weights, and Roman Hiszpan made the most of that to take the win with 4.62kg. Fishing was also tough on Inniscarra, where the Munster Team of Four league was taking place. High water and high winds gave the competitors plenty to contend with, but the Oaklands New Ross team coped best with the adversity, winning the match on the day and also lifting the league trophy. Anglers fishing the Gowna area for the first Feederking qualifier were faced with early spawning fish that had little or no interest in anglers’ baits. Nigel Houldsworth made the most of his draw on Rockfield to net 10kg of bream and skimmers to win the match. Finally, the NCFFI are seeking entrants for the All-Ireland Feeder Club Championships. The event will take place on Lough Muckno on the weekend of May 10^th & 11^th, and will also serve as a qualifier for the World Championships in Croatia.

To pike angling now, and clients fishing with Bodo Funke were flying this week, literally, as he guided clients from Switzerland and the UK to their PB pike on the fly, and there were plenty of other decent fish boated in what was a bumper week for the fly anglers. In County Longford, angling guide Kevin Lyons welcomed some first-time guests from Switzerland, and they had some fine fishing, landing pike to 97cm on both lure and deadbait. In Co. Clare, 12-year-old angler Gus O’Reilly had a great fishing adventure recently, as he spent a day fishing Inchiquin Lake with local guide Damien Culliney. Gus was wowed by the speed of the boat and the fish-finding technology, and put it to good use as he boated his PB pike, caught on a roach deadbait (which he had caught himself earlier in the day). Gus’ fine pike wins him a share of this week’s Catch of the Week. Finally, dates have been announced for this year’s King of the Lake pike competition on Lough Ree. The designated days are the weekend of September 27th and 28th, so all pike competition anglers should block off that weekend in their diaries.

We wrap up this week’s angling reports on the salmon scene, and Moy anglers will be happy to see our first report of the year from the river, where things look to be picking up, as a few salmon have been landed over the past week. Lough Currane also saw a few fish landed during the week, and young angler Dan Dwyer from Portugal got the best of them, landing and returning two fine salmon on the fly while fishing with local ghillie Dominic McGillicuddy.

We wrap up this week’s Angling Update with a reminder that the Irish Spring Angling fair will be taking place over the May Bank Holiday weekend. It’s going to be a highlight on the Irish angling calendar, and there will be something of interest for anglers of all disciplines.

And now the weather

Friday will remain dry and will be warmest in the south west, where temperatures should reach 18°C. It will stay dry overnight and into Saturday morning, but some cloud and patchy drizzle will spread southwards over the country during the day. Sunday morning will be dry with sunny spells. Some well-scattered showers will develop in the afternoon, most likely over Leinster and parts of Munster. Bank Holiday Monday will be largely dry with sunny spells, with highest temperatures of 11 to 14°C and light northeasterly or variable breezes. High pressure will continue to dominate next week, bringing largely dry and settled conditions with mostly light winds.

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

IFI Staff
Catch, Photo, Release

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.

All the angling news

Sea Angling Reports

• Big bass and smooth hound – The Inshore Angler video
• Donegal crew enjoy great fishing in west Mayo
• Galway Bay charter boats seeing good action
• Beautiful bass for Jamie’s first trip to the beach
• Clare Dragoon back on the fish in West Clare
• Thomas Kujawa wins first Cobh Master Angler Competition of the season
• Big tides, big bass
• Pamela Stewart wins Ulster Krakens qualifier at Ballycastle
• Hounds abound for South Shore SAC at Donabate
• 59 anglers fish round two of Munster Shore League
• Dutch anglers enjoy good reef and skate fishing on Lady Louise
• Calling all sea anglers to keep an eye out for tagged fish

Trout Fishing Reports

• Cathal McDonnell wins DTAA competition at Bohernabreena
• Honouring a Legend: The Deel & Boyne Anglers Jim Glynn Memorial Cup
• Anthony Doyle wins Lough O’Flynn’s McCarthy Cup
• Buzzer breakdowns on Lough Sheelin

Coarse Angling Reports

• IASCaire Spring League – tough going on Gulladoo
• Oaklands New Ross wins Munster Team of Four league
• Ireland’s FeederKing – Qualifier 1 results
• World Feeder Club Championships & All Ireland Qualifiers 2025

Pike Fishing Reports

• PB pike for young angler fishing with Anglers Paradise
• Clients flying at Angling Services Ireland
• Lough Ree King of the Lake Pike Comp dates announced
• Pike anglers from Switzerland do well at Melview Fishing Lodge

Salmon Fishing Reports

• Still quiet on the Moy, but fishing is starting to pickup
• A few salmon from Currane and the real reason anglers used to wear tweeds