Rainfall amounts for the last seven days varied widely across the country, with parts of the east recording only 1% of average rainfall for the time of year, while parts of the south recorded nearly three times the average. A slight increase in temperatures has seen fishing really start to pick up around the country, though, and this week there were some super fish landed by anglers of all disciplines in all corners of the island.

Coarse anglers who targeted the roach run have had some excellent catches, like Paul Waghorne, who caught 44 fish weighing a pound or more. Paul also caught 93 tench (and counting…) during his Irish trip. Other fisheries, like Lough Muckno, struggled while the roach were away – as the Lurgan CAC found during their match.

Thankfully though, the absence of roach in matches on some waters was offset by good numbers of tench making up the weights, with the CM Lakelands two-day match, the Leinster Coarse Fishing Federation and the Monasterevin and Daingean Anglers all benefiting from greenbacks in their nets. While tench might not have been the number one target for those match anglers, they certainly were for Alin Dragan, who posted a great video to document a recent multi-day session after hard-fighting Irish tench – well worth a watch.

Also after a bigger brand of wild fish was Padraig English, who finally landed a 13.5 lb wild Irish common carp from a Monaghan lough – no boilie belly on this fine specimen. Back to the canals, where details of the King of the Canal / Frank Holding Memorial Match 2026 have been announced. The match remains the largest annual canal competition in the country and will take place on Saturday, 30th May 2026.

In pike fishing news, following on from his recent victory at the Lough Ree Pike World Cup, Senan Stanley set himself a new PB with a massive 31.2 lb, 125 cm pike – not a bad week or two for him! In Longford, Dutch anglers Edwin and son Martijn were in Melview Fishing Lodge for their first-ever Irish pike fishing trip; the pair landed 36 fish during a truly enjoyable stay. In Roscommon, regular visitors Michael and Rupert returned from Germany for a week of fishing with Bodo Funke of Angling Services Ireland – the highlight of the week was a superb Esox measuring 113 cm.

In trout fishing, mayfly hatches are well underway on some of the loughs, with anglers on Derg reporting some excellent fishing. In the midlands, Mick Flanagan reports some great hatches of buzzers and olives on Lough Lene, with good numbers of fish feeding at the surface. In Mayo, Lough Conn hosted the Dublin Bowl and Pratt Cups, with 38 anglers competing in each. In the south, Loughs Barfinnihy and Fada in County Kerry opened at the weekend, and both of these popular venues are fishing very well. Fishing on the River Bride is yet to get going, despite good conditions on the river.

Special mention goes to 13-year-old Benigna O’Brien, from Cahir in Tipperary, who became the first girl to win the Munster U18s River Fly Fishing Championships in Cork. Benigna caught 25 trout and topped both of the two-and-a-half-hour sessions to take first place – we hope to have more on this next week, but in the meantime, Benigna wins our Catch of the Week.

While salmon fishing has been picking up on the Laune, despite low water conditions, the Munster Blackwater has seen a quiet week, even though conditions have been good on the river. There were three fish reported from the Bandon, while only one fish was reported from the Lee, a fine 14.5 lb spring fish. A draw took place to allocate 50 brown tags for the taking of salmon on the Roughty River catchment, and the first fifty successful entrants will be issued a brown tag by post over the coming days. On the Moy, angling activity was low for the week, with a handful of fish reported caught.

To the tides now, where fishing has been steady from boat and shore this week. In the northwest, the Killybegs Mariners have reported improving conditions along the Donegal coast, with some nice fish now showing from local shore marks. Off the north coast, the Ulster Krakens battled out Leg 4 of the Master Angler qualifying series at Ballycastle. In the southwest, James Redmond of Irish Angling Adventures landed a very early Tralee Bay grand slam – sting ray, thornback, painted ray and undulate ray in one session. In the southeast, as well as releasing the latest episode of the Lure Fishing Podcast, Cormac Walsh has had good fishing for bass after dark – his recipe for success being shallow divers, slow retrieves and the first hour of the drop….

At underage level, dates have been announced for a series of Munster Team Qualifiers for both under-16 and under-23 age groups.

Charter boat skipper Luke Aston is back on the water in the Clare Dragoon at last, and his trips during the week featured tope, coalies, pollack and mackerel for anglers who were thrilled to wet a line with Luke once again. Also on the water off the Clare coast was skipper Sean Maguire, who had more anglers out this week enjoying the fine weather; mackerel were plentiful, and the crew enjoyed steady fishing.

And now the weather

Friday night will be mostly dry and clear, with lows of 3°C to 8°C. Saturday looks largely dry with sunny spells, though the southwest may see some light rain. It will be breezy and cool, with highs of 10°C to 15°C.

The rest of the weekend and early next week will stay fairly cool but mostly dry, with sunny spells mixed with increasing cloud and occasional light showers, especially in northern areas. Temperatures will generally range from 10°C to 15°C.

If you do go fishing this weekend, don’t forget to double-check the forecast before heading off, and if you’re going to sea, check the tides.

Safe fishing to all and tight lines this May Bank Holiday weekend, 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]. 

All the angling news

Salmon Fishing Reports

• Moy Catchment Angling Report W/E 03-05-2026
• A few salmon from the Laune despite low water
• A quiet week on the Munster Blackwater
• Three salmon off the Bandon last week
• 14.5lb salmon reported from the Lee
• Results of Brown Tag Draw for the Roughty River

Trout Fishing Reports

• Loughs Barfinnihy and Fada fishing well
• Trout fishing still to pick up on the Bride
• Olives and buzzers take the biscuit in the midlands
• Dublin Bowl & Pratt Cup fished on Conn

Coarse Angling Reports

• Big tench in forgotten lakes…
• Not so common 13.5lb carp in Monaghan
• A fish every 3 minutes on the water for Paul at Lanesborough
• Muckno hit and miss as fish away spawning
• Adrian Van Der Heever wins CM Lakelands two-dayer
• Close Contest at latest Leinster Coarse Fishing Federation Match
• Entry open for King Of The Canal / Frank Holding Memorial Match 2026.
• Canal Match Delivers Strong Weights and Big Tench Haul

Pike Fishing Reports

• Enjoyable first pike fishing trip for father and son from Holland
• 31.2 lbs pike for World Cup Champion Senan Stanley
• Regular visitors return for another memorable pike session in Boyle

Sea Angling Reports

• Sandeel lures proving effective for Killybegs Mariners
• Tralee Bay Grand Slam of Rays for Raymond
• Clare Dragoon back on the fish in west Clare
• Steady reef fishing and plenty of mackerel in Clare
• Cormac back on the bass in Wexford
• Dates announced for Munster Junior & Youth Shore Qualifiers
• Ulster Krakens Brave the Elements in Ballycastle Battle
• Good early season fishing in West Clare