Justyna and Slawek Preis win the Lough Ree International Pike Festival and World Cup

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May 7, 2025

There was some great fishing on the first day of the Lough Ree International Pike Festival and World Cup. There were 9 fish over 100cm caught and released and you needed at least a 99.5cm to break into the Top 10.

Day two was a record breaking day for the Festival as 26 pike were landed which were 100cm or higher, the previous record was 21 100cm+ Pike in a single day !!!
The world Cup standings were extremely tight with two boats separated by the smallest of margins at the top of the leader board so it all came down to the last day.

It was a record year with over sixty 100cm+ pike landed over the three days. But in the end it was husband and wife team Justyna and Slawek Preis who emerged as the winners with a score of 312cm for their best fish of each day.

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Congratulations to all the winners and to everyone who took part as it is you who make this Festival what it is.

Thanks to Westmeath County Council for their support and to Arnold and the lads from Inland Fisheries Ireland for all their help over the three days.

Thanks also to Tom and Paschal and their team at The Bounty Bar for their hospitality on the Wednesday and Friday evenings and to Keane and Eamon at the Olive Bar who looked after us so well on Thursday evening.

Go fishing…

For those of you already planning for next year the dates are 29th April 2026, 30th April 2026 and 1st May 2026, we look forward to seeing you all again and in the meantime Tight Lines !!

Kings of the Lake 2025

Get ready for the biggest and most exciting angling event of the year! The Lough Ree King of the Lake International Pike Festival returns on Saturday 27th & Sunday 28th September 2025. Two glorious days of fishing await you on the vast, beautiful waters of Lough Ree – the largest area fishing competition in all of Ireland!

€11,500 in cash prizes up for grabs, plus thousands of euros in sponsorship prizes and over 40 prizes to be won!

🔥 Entry Fee: €150 per boat
👥 Team Size: Minimum 2, maximum 3 anglers per boat
🌍 Open to all – Irish and international anglers welcome!

This is the most fun competition you’ll enter this year! Enjoy the thrill of the chase, the camaraderie, and two evenings of free BBQs for all competitors. Whether you’re in it for the prizes or the pure love of fishing, you won’t want to miss it!

How to enter:
Click the link, fill out the quick Google form, and secure your place – it only takes a few minutes! Get your name down fast, lads – places fill up quickly!
We can’t wait to see you all on the water. Tight lines and see you in September! here’s the link to enter https://forms.gle/vVxRTxUadHf1HDar8
#KingOfTheLake #LoughRee #PikeFishing #IrelandFishing #AnglingFestival
Let’s make 2025 the best year yet!

Wesley Slevin wins second VDE Irish Canal Masters qualifier

By

Myles Kelly

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May 7, 2025

Jim Delaney reports from Enfield where the second qualifier of four in the VDE Irish Canal Masters was fished and over €200 stands to be won…

For many this match was a real grueller, especially in the middle section where 7oz was enough to qualify. With many blanks recorded throughout the length, but even though it was tough the objective was to qualify for the September final.

With a great weight of 14lb-8oz, Wesley Slevin took the honours off end peg two. Three tench and two bream, accompanied by some smaller skimmers and rudd was enough to see him take the honours. Second place went from the other end of the match length with a near 3lb tench and some bits seeing Ken Dingley taking the runner up spot with 3lb-9oz. Third place went to Con Heavy, pegged next to the winner on peg three, who also included a tench in his weight of 3lb-5oz.

Overall result;

1st…Wesley Slevin, Matrix Monasterevin, 14lb-8oz.
2nd…Ken Dingley, Matrix Monasterevin, 3lb-9oz.
3rd…Con Heavy, Matrix Monasterevin, 3lb-5oz.
4th…Colin Oliver, Sensas, 2lb-4oz.
5th…Karl Unwin, Madcaps, 2lb.

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Qualifiers;

Wesley Slevin
Con Heavy
Dean Murray
Alan Dwyer
Ken Dingley
Radu Romeo
Karl Unwin

Thanks to all those who helped throughout the day, the Enfield club and the anglers who support this event

Go fishing…

We hope to accommodate 36 anglers per qualifier. Each qualifier will be split into 3 zones, with the top 2 in each zone going through to the final along with the best weight not to qualify, meaning 7 qualifiers per match with a total of 28 anglers competing in the final.

Tickets still available for next qualifier in Tickneven on Saturday 25 May. To secure your place email irishcanalmasters@gmail.com or visit the VDE Irish Canal Masters Facebook page.

Q1 Sunday 30th March, Monasterevin
Q2 Saturday 3rd May, Enfield
Q3 Sunday 25th May, Tickneven
Q4 Sunday 13th July, Daingean
Final Sunday 14th September, TBC

Prizes

Qualifiers

There will be 20 euro pools on the day of each qualifier with envisaged pay out of 60 euro every 6 pegs,

1st €160
2nd €120
3rd €80

Final

100 euro every 4 pegs,

1st place €2000
2nd place €1000
3rd place €800
4th place €500
5th place €300
6th place €200

Also pleased to announce that along with our main sponsor Van Den Eynde, once again Barracuda tackle will sponsor a 50 euro voucher for biggest fish caught at the final. We would like to thank them and VDE for your continued support.

For more information and to book in email irishcanalmasters@gmail.com or visit the VDE Irish Canal Masters Facebook page.

Dublin Trout Anglers report good mayfly hatches on Conn

By

Myles Kelly

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May 7, 2025

The Dublin Trout Anglers Association had an action packed weekend on Lough Conn fishing back to back competitions on Saturday and Sunday…

Sitting here sun kissed and wind burned after two days hard fishing on Lough Conn, I can only say fair play to those who had fish. A harsh northerly, north-easterly wind and bright sun plagued us both days, with the first hour on Saturday 3rd offering the best conditions and results over the two days.

Esteemed Irish international and Mayo local Joe Ferguson knocked it out of the park, taking top spot both days and winning the Pratt Cup on Sunday and getting Mayo through to victory and the bragging rights of the coveted Dublin Bowl on Saturday. In addition, Joe took home the Ronnie Miley Trophy for best angler across both days, fishing with upcoming junior angler Cian Ferguson on Sunday.

Plenty of fly life and it was truly heartening to see the Mayfly up in good numbers. Overall the east of the lake and particularly Cloghans and Brackwanshagh performed well on Saturday and Sunday, with the Fir Tree shore, Gallagher’s and the Middle of Mayo offering up keepers on Sunday. Fish were also caught in Tolan’s but it was Cloghans that worked for Joe… on both days. The most successful flies were French Partridge yellow and green mayflies, and also the boobie mayfly.

On Saturday, the Dubs recorded 27 fish for 19 anglers while the wily Mayo men brought in 30 fish over 28cm, with all fish returned to fight another day. 24 of those 57 fish were over 13 inches, which was better than how things went on the Sunday with just 10 fish returned from 9 anglers. Mayo anglers represented 7 of those 9 with Gerry Heaslip (who has fish on both days) and Tony McGrattan sparing the Dubs total annihilation.

Saturday results

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Donal Rafftery was the top DTAA rod on Saturday while Tony McGrattan was top DTAA angler for Sunday. Nice to see some new faces there too from DTAA: Niall O Hearcain, Pat Foley and Stephen Mulholland.

Sunday results

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What a weekend. This friendly fishing event is going now for more than 55 years with host Padraig Traynor and DTAA’s Gary Coakley being there from the start as their fathers founded it. Glad to see that it is thriving, thanks to the huge contribution of Orla Walsh, Padraig and Gary and others who lend a hand. To the Mayo anglers who give up their weekend to boat the Dubs around the lake, putting up with their tall stories, a massive thank you. We say it’s about the fishing, but really it’s about sharing the experience of fishing, talking about it, making up stories and of course deepening our knowledge and expertise. If there is one word to capture the Crossmolina weekend it’s Friendship. Thanks to the Conn and Cullin anglers for being our friends.

Join the club…

The Dublin Trout Anglers’ Association is a Dublin-based trout fly-angling club with more than 200 members. AFFILIATED TO I.T.F.F.A. AND N.A.R.A. The club has fishing at Clane, Straffan and Celbridge, Kings River and the Upper Liffey. Membership and day tickets are available through their website: https://dtaa.ie/

Go fishing…

Trout fly fishing on Loughs Conn and Cullin

Paul Vicary finds the ultimate tench spot

By

Myles Kelly

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May 7, 2025

Paul Vicary was in Ireland for some coarse fishing and produced this video for his YouTube channel…

I Found the Ultimate Tench Spot in Ireland! 🇮🇪

Join me as I uncover one of the best-kept secrets in Irish coarse fishing — an unbelievable tench hotspot tucked away in the heart of nature. From early morning setups to adrenaline-pumping catches, I’ll take you through my full fishing session, including bait tips, rig setups, and exactly how I landed some of the best tench I’ve ever seen!

Whether you’re a seasoned angler or just starting your fishing journey, this video is packed with insights and scenic views that any fishing lover will appreciate.

Piscari-Fly Blog: Corrib, Nore fishing well

By

IFI Staff

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May 7, 2025

Peter Driver of Piscari Fly is back with his weekly roundup of the fishing scene

How’s The Fishing?

Lough Corrib

Mark was out on the Corrib last week where he got a couple of nice fish on Buzzers. Campto Buzzer was in full swing on Lough Corrib. He had a cracking first outing for this season on the Campto buzzer. A full day of action with some of the Corrib’s best caught; they added a great number of fish to the boat for the day, with many also dropped & lost unfortunately. The fish were feeding high mostly and at times deep, as the day changed weather wise. He was in good company as always and he caught a great trout to remember at 7.1lb on the buzzer putting up a long hard fight; followed by some great fish ranging from 3lb to 5lb.

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Yesterday, Mark got out again on the Corrib. It was a very hot and sunny day but managed to catch a few on buzzers. The best one was about 3lbs. The fishing was slower as high sunshine made it more difficult. He could have done with slightly more wind for cover from the flat conditions and a high beaming sun at times. But some nice strikes and fish on the Campto Buzzers all the same with more fish covered as the day passed.

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River Nore

The River Nore is fishing well at the moment with lots of reports of fish being caught and lots of activity. A bit of sunshine and the water levels have dropped back down. With John’s Bridge reading 0.54 this evening. Nore is fishing quite well if you are around. You can get day tickets here in the shop and we will point you in the right direction.

Leinster Rivers

TAFI Leinster Senior & Master River Qualifiers are kindly being hosted again this year by Kells Anglers Association in Kells, Co. Meath. On the 17th of May. The deadline for entries is 9th of May with practice closing on the same day at midnight on the 9th of May. All entries being accepted online through https://www.onthewater.ie/club/tafileinster

Any issues placing your entry on the website please contact Mark Driver on 086-0349273. You must be a member of a Leinster TAFI affliated club to take part. We hope to see a great turn out this year.

Best of luck to all involved and we will keep you informed how the tournament goes for the lads.

We are back home and unpacked from the Irish Spring Angling Fair. What an amazing weekend it was. Thanks so much to everyone who came out and supported the show and Piscari-Fly over the weekend. A huge thanks to Ned, Geraldine and their team for another cracking event. Definitely the best one we have attended.

Everyone seemed to enjoy the weekend and the atmosphere was fantastic. It was great to see so many young people out fishing for the first time and having a good time. It’s good to be back and have the shop in some way back together. Just catching up on orders here now. Fantastic weekend and thanks again to everyone who came by.

One of the highlights of the Irish Spring Angling Fair this weekend was not just meeting everyone and thanking everyone for their custom throughout the year, but meeting Hans Van Klinken. It’s not too often in your life will you get to meet a man whose actual invention has made such a dramatic impact on just dry fly-fishing but fly-fishing in general over the years.

It was an honour to meet Hans and he really enjoyed the show. I got him to sign a copy of his book for me. It was definitely a huge highlight for me.

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Piscari-fly Club

About Piscari Plus Club

Fly-fishing is a journey of discovery that is not all about the end result but the experience of getting there.

Join us and we will go on the journey together.
Membership in this club will open up the Fly-fishing World to you through Community, Knowledge, and Improved Ability.
Through the Piscari-Fly club you will improve your angling ability to the highest level.

Piscari-Fly Club is all about creating a community of like-minded anglers who have a passion to evolve, educate, and progress in the world of flyfishing and flytying. The Piscari-Fly Club will be hosted by its owner and passionate fly angler Peter Driver.

Check it out at https://club.piscari-fly.com/

About us

Based on the River Nore just outside Thomastown, Co Kilkenny, Ireland. Piscari-Fly is a growing Fly Tying and Fly-Fishing business with a vast amount of experience and knowledge. If there is ever anything I can do to make my service better for you please feel free to suggest it to me and I’ll gladly try my best to accommodate your requests. Thanks again. Peter Driver.

As a small business we depend on the satisfaction of our customers and their word of mouth reference, google reviews are important to our online presence and we sure would appreciate your review. Just head over to this link and give us a quick review.

Thanks for the support, its greatly appreciated.

Peter Driver.

Piscari-Fly, Woolengrange, Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny, R95 Y860, Ireland, 0879787040

A few salmon caught on the Laune

By

Eileen Carroll

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May 7, 2025

One of Tomasz's favourite rivers is the Laune

Water levels are low on the Laune but there are a few salmon in the system that are willing to take. For the week ending 04 May there were 2 salmon landed on Beat 3 of the River Laune weighing 7lbs and 14lbs. Both were caught spinning. There was also 1 salmon caught from Johnsons Fishery, River Laune, weighing 8lbs, again on a spinner.

Go fishing…

Rivers Laune and Killarney Lakes system

Great pike and trout fishing with Anglers Paradise Ireland

By

Myles Kelly

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May 7, 2025

IMG-20250506-WA0000 — A super pike for Chris

Anglers fishing with Damien Culliney of Anglers Paradise Ireland have been getting some great fishing with a mix of friends and guests in the last 10 days. Not even the bright days or cold easterlies could put a damper on things (though these things don’t include the Mayfly fishing, as Damien put it – septic! hence the focus on lure fishing).

Some serious pike and trout have been landed and Damien has sent on a selection of the best catches.

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Go fishing…

Anglers Paradise Ireland

Address Crusheen Clare Ireland Mobile Phone: +353 86 060 2718 Email: cullineydamo@gmail.com Website: anglersparadise.ie

More information

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Superb sport on Corrib to buzzer and mayfly; ferox anglers also catching great fish

By

IFI Staff

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May 7, 2025

The last few weeks has seen a huge improvement in fishing on Corrib. April was an overall sunny month, with heavy rainfall in mid-month sandwiched between two periods of high pressure. Water levels were high after the wet weather but are droppng away now with the continued dry spell.

Olive hatches were reasonably good, but the weather only suited dry olive fishing on a few days, when there was sport to be had.

From mid-April onwards the Campto buzzer hatch benefited from high pressure and good conditions. Olives are still hatching off too, and mayfly are up in good numbers.

Larry McCarthy from Corrib View Lodge says the olive fishing was patchy, and weather conditions only suited olive fishing on a few days, but the fishing was reasonably good on those days. Once the Campto buzzer started hatching the fishing really took off, and it has been excellent for the last 10 days of the month. Some areas have seen heavy fishing pressure, but even those areas are producing plenty of trout in the 3lbs range. Anglers who seek out quieter spots have meet some really good fish, with quite over 5lbs and some over 6.

Larry with Vaughn Ruckley (92 years young this month) and a fine trout on a dry olive.

Mark Driver from www.piscari-fly.com enjoyed a great weekend towards the end of the month with superb fishing on buzzer. They had sport all day long, with the fish feeding high in the water at times, and trout from 3-5lbs coming to the boat. The weekend was crowned with a fantastic 7.1lbs bar of Corrib gold.

Back again this week for some fishing and still getting fish on buzzer in hot, bright conditions.

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Mayfly have started hatching off in good numbers in the last 10 days, and already fish are up and feeding on fly. The weather is dry and bright, so fly are off the water quickly, but wetfly fishing is producing fish at the surface. A change in conditions to keep fly on the water longer would benefit dry fly fishing immensely.

Guide Paul Heaney of Corrib Anglers Guiding was enthusiastic about the fishing when I spoke to him, reckoning it was some of the best buzzer fishing he had seen in years, and the start of the mayfly was the most consistent fishing too. Buzzer fishing was producing bigger fish, but wetfly anglers fishing the mayfly were getting lots of trout in the 12-14 inch range. Paul says the condition of the trout this year is fantastic, well-fed fish with fat bellies and fighting hard all the way to the boat. Even 12-inch trout are fighting well above their weight class.

Two other local anglers I spoke to were very happy with the improvement in fishing, saying it was the best sport they had enjoyed on Corrib in several seasons.

After a slow start this year, it’s great to the lough fishing so well, and hopefully we get a good mayfly season to reward anglers’ patience.

Ferox

Tomi Kurman (Tomi Guided Fishing) is back on Corrib after a break this spring, and already putting his clients over some amazing fish. Despite difficult conditions at times, varying from cold and wet to hot and windless, hhhe hasn’t had a blank day yet since getting back on the water, with some fine fish to the boat. Check out the photos below for a sample…

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Go fishing…

Lough Corrib

Grant Woodgate hits the Irish coast in search of pollack

By

Myles Kelly

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May 7, 2025

Grant Woodgate is a name that will be more than familiar to bass anglers. He normally fishes far flung places but he was in Ireland for the first time on a family holiday and managed to squeeze in some fishing…

Join me as I hit the rugged ledges of Ireland, casting lures into deep Atlantic waters in search of hard-fighting Pollock. Armed with the Samson Long Cast Expanse Travel Rod, Samson Todos, and the ever-reliable Shad Compact Mini, I managed to connect with some solid fish. The conditions were rough but perfect for testing gear that’s built to handle distance casting and aggressive takes. If you love shore fishing with lures, this session shows just how effective the right setup can be on wild Irish coastlines.

Go fishing…

Shore Angling in Ireland

Sun cream, Ice cream and silent screams for Currane Anglers as sunny weather continues

By

Myles Kelly

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May 7, 2025

Vincent Appleby is joined by The Currane Angler in this week’s reports from Lough Currane…

May 1, 2025. The Currane Salmon and Sea Trout anglers experienced a quiet day due to the exceptionally hot weather with minimal cloud cover and a gentle Northeast wind, which affected their fishing conditions. The weather for the previous day reported no rainfall and a maximum air temperature of 24.7°C, with a total of 13 hours and 4 minutes of sunshine. The rainfall for April amounted to 97.4mm.

May 2, 2025. The weather conditions today were very hot for the six Currane boats fishing on Lough Currane. It was evident that the primary outcome of the day was their need for suntan lotion. Regarding today’s weather, the wind was moderate from the northeast and variable, accompanied by clear blue skies throughout the day. Yesterday’s weather recorded no rainfall, with a maximum air temperature of 19.0°C and a total of 13 hours and 6 minutes of sunshine.

May 3, 2025. The anglers at Currane experienced another challenging day in their pursuit of salmon and sea trout. This can be attributed to the bright and sunny weather conditions, accompanied by a gentle to moderate variable northeast wind. The only alleviating factor was an increase in cloud cover and slightly cooler temperatures. The previous day’s weather recorded no rainfall, a maximum air temperature of 16.2°C, and 13 hours and 5 minutes of sunshine.

May 4, 2025. The Currane anglers experienced another sunny day with no reported catch and releases, likely due to the weather conditions. The wind was variable, ranging from gentle to moderate Northeast, accompanied by clear blue skies. Regarding yesterday’s weather, there was no recorded rainfall, the maximum air temperature was 16.2°C, and there were 13 hours and 8 minutes of sunshine.

May 5, 2025. There were no reports from the catch and release Salmon and Sea Trout Currane anglers on this bright and sunny day, despite intermittent periods of reasonable cloud cover. Regarding wind directions, there was a variable gentle breeze originating from the ESE, which shifted to SE, SSE, WSW, and W. The previous day’s weather included no recorded rainfall, with a maximum air temperature of 15.3°C, and total sunshine duration of 14 hours and 14 minutes.

May 6, 2025. According to a Currane angler,

“The lake was lower before the flood, and there is no argument to that. However, as observed in the video, it remains low, which is not surprising given the prevailing East winds.”

As indicated in my report, there were no activity reports from Currane anglers. Today’s weather at Currane features variable light to gentle winds from the Southeast, shifting to South, Southwest, and West-Southwest, accompanied by mainly clear skies. Yesterday’s weather recorded no rainfall, a maximum air temperature of 14.7°C, and 14 hours and 2 minutes of sunshine.

Vincent Appleby
Eureka Lodge, Caherdaniel West, Co. Kerry.
Telephone: +353 (0) 87 207 4882
E-mail:salmonandseatrout@gmail.com
Web: www.salmonandseatrout.com

Sea Trout – Catch and release only

Inland Fisheries Ireland wishes to remind anglers that the Conservation of Sea Trout (No.7 or Kerry District) Waterville Area Bye-Law No. 971 of 2019 remains in effect. This Bye-law prohibits the retention and possession of any sea trout (Salmo trutta L.) taken by any fishing engine or by rod and line in the Waterville area i.e. that part of the sea eastward of a line drawn from the most westerly point of Bolus Head to the most westerly point of Lamb’s Head and to all the waters discharging in to it.

The Bye-Law mainly affects seatrout fishing on :-

the river Inny (Knockmoyle) and its tributaries
the waters of the Waterville system, including the Waterville River, Lough Currane, the Cummeragh River and all their tributary rivers and lakes
the waters of Ballinskelligs Bay

For more information on the daily conditions, all the craic and news be sure to check out Vincent Appleby’s Salmon and Sea Trout blog for regular reports with back dates, petitions, public consultation notices, readers letters and videos and more of what’s happening on Currane.