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 plenty of talking points.
Most anglers opted to scratch for flats at the store of the competition, fishing the numerous gullies along the beach. But Eamonn Bermingham threw the cat amongst the pigeons by casting to the horizon and reeling in a triple shot of smooth-hounds, including a super specimen sized fish of 106cm.
That set anglers all along the beach scrambling to prepare crab baits to target the hounds, and prove that Eamonn’s catch wasn’t a once-off, and soon enough, hounds were being reeled in from all quarters, with the odd bass thrown in for good measure. As the tide reached the high water mark, the hounds were supplemented by whiting and dogs to give anglers plenty to think about.
Des Farrelly fished steadily throughout the match, and his haul of 23 fish saw him take the win from Zone A. Over on Zone B, Eamonn couldn’t maintain his early pace, and Alby Allan took the zone win, helped by a 92cm hound on his second last cast.
The Slob Bank in Youghal was the chosen venue for round two of the Munster Shore League, which was hosted by West Cork & District SAC. A superb attendance of 59 anglers lined up full of expectation for a day of quality sport, but unfortunately, the fishing turned out to be challenging. Alan Mulcahy took Zone A with six bass, including a nice fish of 51cm. On Zone B, Alan O’Dowling’s seven fish saw him take the win on a venue where he had previously claimed the All-Ireland title. Zone C saw the top performance of the day as Troy Francis took the win with six flounder and one bass, giving him the overall win on the day.
The next round will be hosted by Tralee Bay SAC at Inch Strand on Sat 13th September.
The temperature was good, no rain, plenty of fly life and despite a sometimes gusty southwesterly wind, plenty of fish were caught.
DTAA Secretary Cathal McDonnell won the day, with his fourth trout in the last 10 mins, and while casting under a tree ! Nymphs , lures and wets proved to be the best methods.
13 anglers turned out with eight weighing in fish and most of those heading to the upper lake having bagged two fish on the lower lake.
Top spot to Cathal
Results table below
With two of the 7 competitions for the 2025 season now completed the leaderboard for DTAA Angler of the year is taking shape:
Thanks to Tom Hipwell for organising with support from Declan and Alan. Next competition is the LM Byrne Cup on Lough Leane on 14th June.
The Deel & Boyne Anglers Association recently celebrated another successful running of its Annual Jim Glynn Memorial Cup Trout Competition, an event that continues to grow in significance each year. Renamed two years ago in honour of the late Jim Glynn—a beloved lifelong angler and familiar face along the River Deel—the competition welcomed a strong turnout, including many seasoned club members and a healthy number of enthusiastic juvenile anglers.
Jim’s passion for the sport and his deep connection to the river remain fondly remembered, and his spirit was certainly present on the day. Blessed with excellent weather and ideal water conditions, anglers were treated to a fantastic day’s sport. While the focus was firmly on trout, the river, as always, had a few surprises up its sleeve, with a handful of lively pike also making unexpected appearances—each one safely returned to the water to fight another day.
Top honours went to Mr Virgil Malinauskas, who landed a superb wild brown trout tipping the scales at 2lbs 12oz, securing his place atop the leaderboard. Ms Bernadine Gavin, last year’s champion and a regular feature among the top ranks, followed closely with a fine trout weighing 2lbs 7oz. The contest for third was just as competitive, with Mr Nicky Weir claiming the spot thanks to a beautifully marked fish of 2lbs 6oz.
The presentation of the Jim Glynn Memorial Cup was a particularly heartfelt moment, with Jim’s wife, Liz, and daughter, Lorraine, making the presentation. Adding to the family spirit of the day, Lorraine herself took part in the competition, impressively landing a fabulous pike during her outing.
Throughout the event, anglers showcased outstanding examples of wild brown trout, highlighting the river’s enduring quality and the skills of those who fish it. Most importantly, it was a day marked by camaraderie, respect for the water, and a shared love of angling—a fitting tribute to Jim Glynn’s enduring legacy.
Mark Gannon reports on the charter boat fishing out of Courtmacsherry…
A group led by Jan Hein from Holland chartered the Lady Louise last week for a day’s fishing. The weather was a bit damp and misty but sea conditions were ok.
We started out drifting on the reefs where great sport was had on pollack and coalfish. Later in the day Ronan anchored on a skate mark and after loosing 3 fish, a fine Common Skate was landed, approximately 120 lbs, and released unharmed.
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This was Ronan’s first day skippering after he completed the P5 course in Castletownbere. His fanatical interest in fishing and his boating skills will make him a superb skipper to hire for a days charter fishing.
Courtmacsherry Sea Angling Centre offers charter boat fishing and inshore small boat hire.
Lady Patricia
Aquastar 38′. 370 HP Skipper: Mark Gannon Licence: 819 Base: Courtmacsherry Operational Area: 30 miles out from Courtmacsherry
Notes: Mark has two Aquastar 38’s, Lady Patricia and Lady Louise. Specialising in wreck fishing, Mark’s boats have consistently provided specimen fish over the years. Shark, reef and general inshore angling also on offer.
Lady Louise
Aquastar 38′. 370 HP Caterpillar Skipper: Sean Maxwell Licence: 818 Base: Courtmacsherry Operational Area: 30 miles out from Courtmacsherry
Authorised blue fin tuna boat 2026
Notes: Mark has two Aquastar 38’s, Lady Patricia and
Lady Louise. Specialising in wreck fishing, Mark’s boats have consistently provided specimen fish over the years. Shark, reef and general inshore angling also on offer.
Inshore small boat hire
With our Self Drive boats several different activities can be enjoyed. Our self drive 16′ Boats are equipped with 8 HP Yamaha 4 stroke engines. Equipment includes:
• Set of oars
• Life-Jackets
• Anchors
• Charts of local area
The latest episode of the prolific Ireland on the Fly podcast is available now, episode description courtesy of the Ireland on the Fly team below:
Stan Headley on a life fly fishing Scottish Lochs & Irish Loughs
Stan Headley is a fly angler and fly tyer who would be known to so many people in Ireland and the UK. A regular contributor to Trout & Salmon magazine down through the years, the Orkney angler also penned three books – The Loch Fishers Bible, Trout & Salmon Flies of Scotland and Reflections on the Loch which became the go to source for Scottish lochs’ fishing – but he was also a fan of fishing in Ireland too and was a regular visitor to these shores.
However, due to illness, Stan says that his fishing days are now behind him and so this week’s interview with him is one tinged with sadness but also fond memories as he joins Tom & Daire to look back on an incredible life in fly fishing, what it meant to him and the similarities and differences fly fishing Irish loughs and Scottish lochs.
One man and his dog… Stan Headley in former times
Some of us here on the Angling Ireland team have spent many happy days (and evenings) with Stan on his fishing trips to Ireland, and we’re very much looking forward to sitting down and listening to this one over a cup of tea (or brandy, as Stan would no doubt approve!).
Listen & follow Ireland on the Fly on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts:
Rate, review and follow the show to keep up to date with all the latest Ireland on the Fly episodes on Apple or Spotify, plus you can sign up for our newsletter on www.IrelandontheFly.com and get regular updates on Instagram.com/IrelandontheFly.
Stan Headley on a life fly fishing Scottish Lochs & Irish Loughs by Ireland on the Fly
Lough Sheelin angling report, April 21st – April 27th 2025
“He conquers who endures.”
Persius
Whether the weather
The fishing gods played havoc on Sheelin for the bulk of the week gone by. Lough Sheelin was predictably busy on the bank holiday Monday but rough southwesterly winds left anglers searching for shelter and quitting the lake early. The aquatic gods threw a bucket of cold water over everything after the holiday weekend by producing heavy downpours with southwesterly winds racing down the lake at uncomfortable speeds on Tuesday. The meteorological cat and mouse game continued as, after the despair and disappointment of early week, Wednesday was a better day with sporadic hatches of buzzer appearing with sympathetic light northerly breezes and daytime temperatures climbing to 17 degrees, giving us all the illusion that finally the weather was on the turn by being conducive to buzzer fishing. Hopes were soon dashed as cold easterlies hit in on Thursday destroying any surface hatches and pulling the water temperatures back down to 11 degrees and then on Friday the rain returned with a vengeance. The weekend of April 26th and 27th saw a marked improvement with the much desired moderate south westerlies returning along with a daytime warmth reaching 18 degrees.
It has been a very frustrating fishing week with nothing steady happening, buzzer hatches were sparse, localised and brief. The hiccuping start to the buzzer fishing here is all down to our unpredictable Irish weather which jumped from winter-like conditions to a sudden burst of summer.
Joy for Jed
Lake levels have risen and the water is discoloured in sections particularly where the wind was blowing into the shoreline which again added another stumbling block to piscatorial successes. The lake was busy both on Saturday and Sunday with the majority of anglers focussing on the silted areas of Goreport, Bog Bay, Corru, Rusheen and Sailors Garden – all on the hunt for buzzer taking trout.
The fly anglers have now surpassed the spinners with the sound of that welcome whip cast through the air as lines with teams of wets were aimed at the trout looking up to feed on some stage of the buzzers or chironomid dipterans lifecycle. Most of the action is happening below the surface so teams of wets using droppers of the Blank Buster Buzzer, Flashback and Epoxy were favoured. Tungsten Depth Charge Buzzers as point flies with a team in size 8 and on droppers in smaller sizes. Beadhead Buzzers use brass beads to take the buzzers down, slower sinking than tungsten beads, these take the set up down at a slower rate than normal patterns. The Emergers that were responsible for some catches were the Shipman’s, CDC Emergers, Shuttlecock Black CDC and Assassin.
Sheelin Buzzer
The term buzzer refers to anglers flies which imitate the pupa of the midge and not the air borne adult. Boring as this kind of fishing might be to some anglers, buzzers account for 50% of a trout’s diet and are one of the few insects that are present in all their forms (larvae, pupa and adult) on virtually every day of the year but of course it is the heat that really brings on a hatch. Over the years as fly tyers develop new patterns, the term buzzer has evolved to encompass all manner of different flies and there is now a vast and mesmerising choice of colours and dressings that represent different stages of the lifecycle.
Buzzers have to be fished slow and this is the crux for most, patience is tested and for many it is the ‘chuck and duck’ of the team of wets and the visual surface action of the dry flies that is much more appealing than a slow and painful retrieve. The truth of the matter is that this is the main buzzer season here, admittedly sluggish to get started this year but it is this section of fishing that brings up the Sheelin visions of big well conditioned trout. After feeding down at the bottom of the lake the trout will now be looking towards the surface to see what other food is around. Buzzers can be fished on a floating line under a bung or if on a drift using an intermediate or slow sink. Buzzers ascends from the lake bed slower than other nymphs so it is this slowness that has to be imitated. A combination worth a try would be a buzzer on the point with a Kate Mclaren and Green Peter on the droppers, fished very slowly. Suspended buzzer patterns are also good.
Kilnahard capture
Spotted wonder
Perch fry
The flies that worked best were the Bits-type patterns in claret, fiery, black, ginger, orange, hare’s ear, olive and grey, the Klinkhammer, Grey Duster, Nymphs – Pheasant Tail, Diawl Bach, Hare’s Ear and Olive in sizes 12 and 14, Mini Muddler as a top dropper, Epoxy Buzzer, Shipmans Buzzer, Flashback Buzzers, CDC Emergers, Greenwell’s Glory, Bibios, Black Pennells, Connemara Black and Stimulators.
Some catches this week were down to the larger flies of Black & Gold Humungous, Silver Humungous, Black Minkies with a flash of silver, Snakes, Woolly Buggers and Cats Whiskers using heavy lines. The Dabblers are still there in Claret, Pearly, Silver, Green, Peter Ross and Silver.
The best fishing areas for this week have been in the silted areas of Bog Bay, Sailors, Goreport, Finea, Corru and Rusheen. Other areas were at the back of Church Island, Merry point and Goreport. All fishing location choices were governed by wind direction.
Lough Sheelin is on the cusp of her fishing season, as the weather warms the insect life will blossom here and with that the interest of the trout. Sheelin is a wild brown fishery so although a difficult, whimsical stretch of fishing water will always offer the angler that chance of a trout weight of a lifetime.
A ground beetle – Carabus granulatus
Small release
Early season on Lough Sheelin
Olive, Darren Duffy
Speckled yellow sedge
Martin Ryan’s 4 pounder
Light weight buzzer, Darren Duffy
The Lures and Flies
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Black-Claret octopodes, Desmond Paul
Bottom dwelling little bugger, Joachim John Wallin
Bronze mallard chartreuse Dabbler, Dinger Murphy
Campto chronimid size 12, Derek Burns
Connemara Black (variant), Paul Black
mayfly nymph, Darren Duffy cork
Dry Buzzer, size 14, Evo Smyth
Epoxy Buzzer
CDC olive, Kieran Sherlock
Paraloop Emerger. Chris K
Classic Stimulator. Chris K
Damsel fly shuck, Bog bay
A slice of spotted perfection
Sheelin’s April
Sooty & Sweep and Silver Invicta, size 14
Drinker moth caterpillar
Please remember anglers to abide by BYE-LAW 949 which strictly prohibits from
June 14th, 2017 onwards:
The taking of any brown trout of less than 36 centimeters.
For a person to fish with more than 2 rods at any one time.
To fish with more than 4 rods at any one time when there is more than one person on board the boat concerned.
For a person to take more than 2 trout per day.
All trolling on the lake from March 1st to June 16th (inclusive).
To fish or to attempt to take or to fish for, fish of any kind other than during the period from March 1st to October 12th in any year.
Number of catches recorded: 32
Heaviest catch: a 6lb plus trout caught by Fergal Kellett on Epoxy Buzzers
Selection of catches:
Niall McMennamin: 1 trout at over 3lbs on buzzers on April 23rd.
Gary McKiernan, Lough Sheelin Guidling – 1 trout at 3.5lbs on Dabblers
Peadar McAvinney, Monaghan – 2 trout best at 5lbs on teams of buzzers.
Brian McAvinney, Clones – 1 trout at 3lbs on buzzers.
Mark Farrelly fishing with Denis Goulding – 4 trout heaviest at over 5lbs.
James Cahill, Lucan, Co. Dublin – 1 trout at 3.5lbs on buzzers
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.
We are now entering the busiest part of the year for anglers, and there will be plenty of sea anglers hitting the rocks, beaches and estuaries, or heading out on the water in small boats, kayaks etc. over the summer months. We are asking all those anglers to keep a watchful eye out for fish that have been tagged as part of the Marine Sportfish Tagging Programme, which monitors the movement of certain fish species around the Irish coast and beyond. The programme relies on the help of anglers and charter skippers to tag sharks, skates and rays, but also relies on anglers to record and report any tagged fish they might catch. So we are asking all sea anglers to keep an eye out for those tagged fish and to report them to us.
If you do catch a tagged fish, the print on the tag can be small, and sometimes it’s easier to take a photo of the tag number with your phone to make sure you can read it correctly.
We have included some samples of tagged fish below so you know what to look for. What we need you to record is:
We promise to keep all anglers informed of the details of the tagged fish, and we send out an MSTP baseball cap to everyone who takes the time to report a recaptured fish. We look forward to hearing from you and tight lines 🎣 🎣 🎣
Having enjoyed a dry and balmy start to April, the weather gods have balanced the books over the past week by giving the country a good soaking. Rainfall amounts have been 3 to 5 times the average in most areas, with the south getting the worst of it. No surprise, then, that it has been duller than normal, with the sun often hiding behind thick banks of cloud, and the south again faring worst. Temperatures have remained around average, though, and the wet and mild weather has brought on a spurt of growth, as our hedgerows are now bursting with whitethorn flowers, nature’s promise that summer (and better fishing?) is only around the corner…
It seems that the coarse anglers have been the most active over the past week, as a number of club competitions and festivals took place around the country. Beginning in the north, the Erne Easter Festival was held in the Enniskillen area over the weekend, and the fishing was pretty good, with some of the daily bags reaching double figures. Gary Johnson fished the 3-dayer very consistently, averaging over 10kg a day to give him a final weight of 31.325kg and taking him to the festival win ahead of Aaron Hutchman, who had managed the biggest single bag of the week, an exceptional 23.425kg caught on day one of the festival. A little further south, the IASCaire Feeder Fishing Club hit a local lake in Co. Cavan for the third round of their spring league. Unfortunately, the fishing didn’t quite compare to the quality north of the border, and the guys had to grind it out, with Dykun Pavlo taking the win with 5.650kg.
Aaron Hutchman had the biggest bag of the week on Day 1 of the Erne Festival
To salmon angling now, and news that the rainfall over the Easter weekend brought some fish into the Ballisodare system, and the first couple of salmon for the season were landed by Noel Barber. They both weighed around the 7/8lb mark and were caught using a Snaelda tube fly. Those same rains failed to do much to raise water levels, or spirits, down on Lough Currane, where Vincent Appleby reports another slow week on the lake, although we did hear of at least one salmon caught on the lake by a visiting angler. Daire Whelan of the Ireland on the Fly podcast did his first ‘on the river’ broadcast from the Slaney during the week. And, chances are, he’ll be eager to do one again pretty soon, as things turned out a bit better than he had expected. We wrap up the salmon section with news of some recent brown tag lotteries, as results were posted for both the Easkey and Roughty draws, which were held during the week.
Today has seen widespread rain across most of the country, with some heavy showers in places. The rain should clear eastwards as the day progresses, and tonight will be relatively dry with temperatures of 3 to 8°C. Saturday will see spells of sunshine in most areas with the odd light shower, and temperatures of 13 to 17°C. There will be some rain overnight on Saturday, but this should clear on Sunday morning, giving a mostly dry day with some well-scattered showers. Monday will be much the same, but it looks like Tuesday will see a break in the weather and we can look forward to a more settled spell of warmer, drier weather.
Lady Patricia
Lady Louise
