Every sea angler knows that a fishing session can be hit or miss – sometimes things don’t go to plan. Weather, weed, tide can all conspire against us, and sometimes the fish just aren’t in a feeding mood. If they’re there in the first place! But even those tough sessions are made bearable by being out in nature amidst the beautiful Irish scenery. And if we’re not catching, we are still learning.
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James Raymond from Irish Angling Adventures is back making fishing videos, and is committed to showing his fishing sessions – warts and all!
Check out his latest video here about a long day fishing in Kerry that didn’t quite pan out as expected. But sticking out often brings rewards, and James certainly stuck it out. Find out how he got on…
Go Fishing
James has also set up a shore guiding service and is available for custom tailored guiding sessions for a variety of species. Check out his social media below to get in touch. A recent outing saw him introducing someone new to fishing, and as soon as he picked up the rod to demonstrate a cast – fish on! We’re sure his new venture will be a success, and he will put many clients over some great fish.
Transition Year students Nikita Greidans and Jack Keenahan are working together at Blackwood Bait and Tackle. As part of this school programme they are supplying reports to the Irish Angling Update…
Introduction:
Deadbaiting in my opinion is one of the most effective methods of fishing for pike. There are many different ways of deadbaiting but my favourite is possibly the simplest. When I go deadbaiting 9 times out of 10 I use a standard dead bait float. I find it’s the most effective way to catch pike on dead bait at the venues I fish most which are the canal and some lakes. I decided to write this blog to help people who are new to deadbaiting and to share my experiences with it.
The setup I use and how to set it up:
When I go deadbaiting I always use a heavy pike or carp rod, mine has a 2.5lb test curve. I like to use a 20g bullet or cigar float. To start thread your line through the eyes of your rod and leave yourself a little under a rod length of extra line to work with. Then put your first float stop on the line, next put on your float of choice followed by your second float stop, finally put on your snap tackle and the setup is ready, all that’s left to do is put on your chosen bait. When putting on your bait I put one barb of each of the two hooks into the back of the bait fish, I make sure to present the bait with the head down as when pike attack a bait fish its either head on or from the side, then I wrap the hooked fish with bait elastic, this ensures the bait won’t fall off while casting.
Bait selection:
Choosing a bait can be tricky, personally I look for a smaller bait about 4 inches long. As for species, each one has pros and cons, I use a wide variety of species of bait fish, such as: roach, perch, mackerel, herring. At the minute my favourite bait to use is herring fillets as they’re a good bait that lasts a while and has caught some decent fish including a 14lb pike. When I go deadbaiting, I usually like to have more than one option for bait, so usually I bring herring fillets and some perch or smelt.
My personal experience:
I’ve had some really good days fishing while using dead bait, I caught an 8lb 12oz pike while deadbaiting on the Shannon. I was fishing with my friend at a spot we hadn’t tried before when I caught it, and we were just starting to pack up when I noticed my rod tip bend around and I had to shout at him to come back with the net because I had hooked into a good fish.
Another one of my favourite fishing experiences while deadbaiting was at my local competition. There was 15 minutes left in the match and I was starting to pack up and the man I was fishing with advised me to cast my rod back in for 5 more minutes. Not long after I casted in I had hooked a small pike at 1lb 9oz which led to me winning the junior category prize.
My advice:
Some advice I would give to people just starting out and experienced fishermen is not to be afraid to change tactics and bait. I always say don’t be afraid to try a bait people don’t often use because the fish in the area might be used to common bait fish and be wary of this, but if you try an uncommon bait, they might be more likely to take a bite. My other piece of advice is to always pack up the rod last, make sure you leave your rod in the water for as long as possible so pack up all the rest of the gear, then wind in the rod.
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Peter Driver of Piscari Fly is back with his weekly roundup of the fishing scene
How’s The Fishing?
River Nore
Fishing the Nore at the hurling field for the first time this season was Ricky Croke. The level has dropped right down to 0.5, but is still very cold and holding some of the power caused by the spring floods. The trout are still sitting deeper, but seem to be on the margin of the holes as they come into their summer lies in the faster runs. I was swinging wets, using a sinking tip floating line to bring the flies to the fish, paired with a blue bottle and a beaded kill devil. I had 14 measured to the net within the last hour and a half before dark.
With this warm patch the rivers should really start to pick up.
Rver Nore trout
Pike Fishing on the Shannon – Watershed Report
It was a very busy time off the water this week at Watershed Fly Fishing with final preparations for officially launching the guiding business falling into place.
On Thursday evening I must have had a haggard look about me, or was just poor company in general, as I was ordered to go fishing by my better half. So I did for the last hour of light. The Litttle Brosna called again, and this time I concentrated specifically on dry dropper fishing, varying up bead sizes and distance between the dry and nymph quickly in the beginning until I found a working combination. The fish were in slightly slower water. The combination of visual stimulus and casting an actual fly line makes this method extremely enjoyable.
On Sunday I practiced my tour guide skills on a friend with the historical sites and natural history of the middle Shannon. She and her partner had never fished in their lives, despite this and after a little practice (and me convincing them they actually wanted to try fishing), they were getting out perfectly reasonable casts. 2 pike brought a nice conclusion to a short but enjoyable day on the water.
Monday it was back to hardcore fishing, with two friends joining me in the boat on the Shannon. We hit spots quickly with fly and lures and covered water. I was mildly frustrated with finishing the day with 12 pike landed. Upon reflection it was a bit petulant. We turned a lot of fish and dropped a couple of the nicer ones, if those had come as far as the net it would have been a different story. The guys of course took it in their stride and gave me good natured abuse about the impending 1 star reviews. Time spent with friends on the water is always time well spent.
Over the weekend Mark & Roger Fowler travelled to Lough Corrib in Galway for the competition out of Oughterard that’s held every year at the end of March. Mostly focusing on duck fly fishing. Its a 2-man 2 day competition. One person boats whilst other is an angler. The guys planned to go up Friday to practice but were informed of bad weather for Friday. So they travelled up just for the competition days. Mark got a good draw with another angler, where they spent Saturday pulling rather than buzzer fishing due to the very strong gusty winds and big waves. Mark met 5 fish but only fully connecting with 1 fish to bring it to the boat. This was on a Claret Bumble Muddler Hopper. Whilst turning the other fish on fry dabbler patterns and orange style bibio hoppers to represent the duckfly. Roger was drawn with a boatman but had very little luck for the day only finding a small area with fish showing themselves but had no joy connecting with fish. Same report for the day for a lot of anglers with fish hitting hard, but not following and not connecting.
Though a rough day on the lake, still fish were caught with close to 30 fish between 44 anglers caught. Mostly on buzzers for those that found safe fishing grounds away from the wind.
Sunday was final day, Mark drew another good local angler and set out in hunt of big fish to have a chance of doing well in the competition. Heading to a local spot known for minimum 3.5lb trout and bigger. But after many hours in an area with no fish caught, with small hatches of duckfly and odd fish showing themselves, they moved to another bay known for good fish. Mark and his partner fished here for the remaining 2.5hrs and met 4 fish, landing one each in the 2.5lb to 3.5lb class, finding them in the margins on beaded buzzers on the point to combat the winds that picked up later on Sunday. Roger drew the same boatman again and this time headed down the lake towards Annaghdown where they got on Buzzer holes and landed one fish with few other takes to no success.
Great weekend, learning more of the lake according to Mark, seeing old friends and making new ones. A really well-run event and plenty of fun amongst anglers. Great to get an early season competition under the belt and they will definitely be attending again next year. Congratulations to all the prize winners and to Darren Maguire & Gene Haran on their fantastic 1st place win. Well deserved for the time and practice they put in.
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River Suir
Luklasz Ryz got out with his Piscari-Fly Venator last week on the fabulous river Suir. Got a couple of lovely trout.
The river is beginning to fish with this lovely weather we are having. So time to get out the rods and get out on the water and enjoy the fishing while we have it.
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What’s Coming?
Experience the Magic of Angling at the Irish Spring Angling Fair!
Looking for the perfect way to spend your May Bank Holiday weekend? Whether you’re a seasoned angler or just starting out, the Irish Spring Angling Fair at Ardaire Springs Angling Centre , May 3-4, 2025, is an event you won’t want to miss!
Family-Friendly & Fun for All Ages! Bring the kids along for an unforgettable introduction to the world of angling! With plenty of activities designed to inspire young anglers, this is the perfect chance to get them hooked on a new outdoor adventure.
Expert Demos & Talks Learn from some of the best in the business! Get hands-on with live demonstrations, expert talks, and insider tips on everything from fly tying to casting techniques.
Visit the Piscari-fly Stand! Based in Kilkenny, Peter Driver & Mark Driver bring their vast experience from the world of competitive fly-fishing to share with you. From top-quality competition nymphs, Irish lake flies, streamers, and lures, to expert casting instruction and fly-tying knowledge, their stand is a must-visit!
Whether you’re looking to refine your skills, pick up new gear, or introduce the next generation to the joys of fishing, this two-day angling extravaganza has something for everyone! https://irishspringanglingfair.com/
Back Live this Saturday night at 8.30pm. Tying some more top patterns and sharing top tips so make sure you check it out on Piscari-fly club.
With the seaon opening up we will be back with videos from rivers and lakes and so on during the season. Stay tuned.
Also if you are in the market for some new fishing gear for this coming season we have great discounts for our club members on all fly tying and fly fishing gear.
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.
I was recently invited along on another sampling trip to get some data on pollack for IFI scientists, who are working on establishing some baseline data on the Irish pollack stock to aid fisheries assessments. As most sea anglers know, pollack numbers have declined to the point where commercial fishing for them is now halted, and angling catches have suffered too.
We set out with skipper Kevin MacGabhann aboard his boat, the Maighdean Mara, a 43-ft Aquastar with loads of space for anglers. Kevin is a highly experienced skipper with a vast knowledge of the best fishing marks in Galway Bay, so we knew we were in good hands. The weather was perfect, with light winds, although there was a ground swell that made sea conditions a bit lumpy, although this eased as the tide changed, with almost flat calm seas by evening when the rain arrived just as we arrived back into Ros a Mhil.
Starting on some deeper reefs than the last time out, we were soon into some nice pollack, with several going over 60cm. With spawning season imminent, many were in superb condition, and despite their preoccupation with finding a mate, were feeding hard and quick to take a bit. Feathers, baited hokkais, and jighead lures were all taken readily, with the lures picking out some of the better fish. Along with the pollack were plenty of coalfish, also in great condition and fighting hard all the way to the surface.
Pollack
Some nice ballan and cuckoo wrasse also came aboard, with some of the male cuckoos displaying stunning colours.
Cuckoo wrasseBallan wrasse
All in all it was a great day, the research team recorded plenty of data and everyone enjoyed a great day fishing. Great to see such good sport so early in the season, and with settled weather in the forecast, why not get a day afloat yourself over the coming weeks?
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Ballan wrasse
Male cuckoo wrasse
Pollack
Go Fishing
Galway Bay Fishing
A regular Galway Bay Safari is from 9am to 6pm. The Maighdean Mara will pick up your party from the pier at Spiddal, County Galway. The boat is yours for the day, though of course skipper Kevin will advise you where the best fishing is to be found. Tackle hire is free.
Address: Galway Bay Safaris, An Boluisce, Spiddal, Co. Galway.
Sheelin Angling Report March 24th – March 30th 2025
“Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get”
Dale Camegie
Abracadabra – Beata Kielak’s magical trout of 78cm
It was another cold week on Sheelin with the occasional warm spot thrown in mid-day and early afternoon. We are still getting those nightly temperature drops and unwelcome frosts which are keeping the water temperature from climbing to the double figures. Temperatures struggled, once again, between 8.3 and 8.6 degrees which isn’t what is needed if we want better trout activity. Winds persistently blew from the north and east and although there was a reprieve mid week with the favoured south westerlies, the air temperatures remained cold at a chilly 10 degrees.
Fish successes on Sheelin and what the weather is doing always goes hand in hand, a marriage not necessarily made in heaven. This lake is governed primarily by wind direction and coupled with its renowned unpredictability Sheelin can make for a gruelling fishing opponent.
On Saturday, the weather for your average angler wasn’t promising – pouring rain with a choppy fresh south westerly wind pushing big waves down the lake at a frightening speed. There is no shelter on Sheelin, this is a large unforgiving stretch of open water. The rain brought in the chill factor to top up the misery factor but amazingly Saturday was the pick of the fishing days and for the twelve or so boats out there, everyone caught fish. The catches were good, averaging 4 -5lbs, in good condition and plump.
Eamonn Ross hosted the Ronnie Cox Memorial Competition the next day, March 30th and although well supported with balmy conditions of up to 16 degrees, northwest winds prevailed and just five fish were measured in. It’s not all about the catching and this was a great day with over €2000 raised for a very worthy cause so many thanks to Eamonn and all the anglers who participated. This competition, which was catch and release, was won by Tommy Doherty with a fine 63cm trout.
March line up
The heaviest trout recorded for the week was an eight pounder caught by Edgars Zulske on a lure at Finea on Saturday, March 29th.
Much as I would like to write about teams of wets, it was the lures and large flies that are still the bait methods that are catching the trout here. I’m told that anything that involves fur and feathers is classified as a fly so the flies/streamers/lures for this week were the Humungous, Minkies, Damsel, Snakes, Woolly Buggers and Titanic Bug Black. The Titanic is a new one for me but I’m reliably informed that it is the stalking fly fisherman’s ‘bread and butter’. It has a weighted bead at the front and then lead wire wrapped as the body, creating one heavy fly. The marabou tail with flash switches the trout on and usually triggers a take.
The Dabblers have been consistently great on Sheelin, fished on an intermediate or slow sink line when the fish are reluctant to surface. A windy day which loosens up the shrimp, snails and hog louse from their hiding place, attracting the trout to mop them up. In this scenario, Dabblers work really well, a combination of a gorgeous George in a dark green colour on the top and two Dabblers behind or a Dabbler in the middle and a minkie on the point. The best colours for the Dabblers early season are Golden, Pearly, Claret, Peter Ross and Fiery Brown Olive both light and sooty.
Spring splendour
The best fishing areas for this week have been along the rocky shores and exposed points – the shallows were the water is warmer and the food – shrimp and hog louse is plentiful and easy to access.
The best areas are Chamber’s bay, Kilnahard shore, Holywell down to Crover, Merry point, Curry point, at the back of Church Island and the south shore of Derrysheridan. Some trout still hold the depths of water though, so blind casting if you can cast your line where you think the fish might be and retrieve might trigger a take. Daily choices of fishing spots are governed, as always, by wind direction.
In the net
Now, at the end of the month, March has felt more akin to winter than spring but nonetheless Sheelin has consistently attracted a certain type of angler, that fisherman for whom the allure of fishing this lake early season over rides all discomfort. There is something special about early season – new beginnings, a rested lake, trout that as yet are unspooked by boats and snagging hooks, the possibility of catching one of Sheelin’s reputed heavy weights but there is also, along with these feel good factors an uneasy feeling there too which has to do with making decisions – hopefully the right ones.
On the menuNikita’s gold
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.
Bibio, Darren DuffyPaul Kavanagh, Wexford with his Silver Humungous fishSheelin’s Needle FlyA Church Island catch
We are now heading into the final days of March, and it has been a reasonably benign month weatherwise, with none of the violent storms of earlier months. The past week has seen normal amounts of sunshine for the time of year, with temperatures slightly higher than average and rain somewhat below average, so it seems March is departing us with its lamb’s fleece fully grown. An old Irish tradition during the last few days of March was to collect nettles and boil them, and then add them to the evening meal or drink the resulting broth. If this was done, it would fortify you from coughs, colds and chills throughout the year. So, anyone who is in need of a tonic could do worse than throwing a few nettles in the teapot this weekend…
Moving to Irish angling tradition now, and the end of March is usually associated with the first great hatch of fly on the lakes: The Duckfly. The news is out that the duckfly hatch is well underway on Lough Corrib, and some of the lads from Piscari Fly ventured west to enjoy a few days on the lough. Fishing teams of buzzer in sizes 12 and 10, they managed to get some quality fishing despite engine trouble limiting their ability to travel far. Anglers on Lough Sheelin don’t tend to get quite as excited about the duckfly as their colleagues further west. Sheelin trout prefer to stay focused on fry, nymphs or shrimp at this time of year, and anglers who mimicked these food items by fishing lures and attractor patterns did well on the lake last week. On the River Nore and King’s River, angling guide Dan O’Neill entertained a number of guests from the USA over the past week, and enjoyed watching them catch fish and listening to their life stories as they whiled away the hours on the riverbank. Dan also posted a fantastic photo of young Emmet O’Shea, who caught the super brown trout pictured below from the River Nore. Great to see a stamp of fish like that in the river and a young angler able to catch them! Emmet wins this week’s Catch of the Week.
Young Emmet O’Shea with a super wild brown trout from the River Nore
To pike angling news now, and Kevin Lyons of Melview Lodge welcomed some return visitors last week as a group of regulars were joined by first-time visitor Pascal. The guys had five days of great fishing, including a PB for Pascal, probably ensuring he too will be a return visitor next time round…
Today will be cool and breezy, with some sunshine in places but with widespread showers and the chance of a thunderstorm. It will dry out overnight, but light rain and drizzle will spread from the west on Saturday before turning dry again later in the day. It will remain dry on Saturday night and into Sunday, which will see a mix of cloud and sunny spells with temperatures of 12° to 16°C. The weather looks like it will remain mostly dry with some sun and relatively mild up till the end of next week.
The members of South Shore SAC were deeply saddened to hear of the loss of club member Frank Baxter last weekend. Frank was the president of the club and was heavily involved in their match activities, and, with the family’s blessing, they decided to run their scheduled first round of the Leinster League last Sunday. In a fitting twist of fate, the competition happened to be the much-coveted Eddie Bermingham Memorial Competition, Eddie having been a great friend of Frank’s through the years.
Seventy-three anglers of all ages lined up at Morriscastle/Ballinoulart in what was a great turnout for the competition. However, when lines were launched seaward at 1.00pm, bites were slow to materialise as the hoped-for shoals of flounder hadn’t returned inshore following their spawning season. So the fishing was going to be down to whiting, doggies and the odd trophy fish, such as ray. In such conditions, the top anglers came to the fore, and so it was that James Ryan from New Ross continued a great run of form to take the trophy home on the day. Full results below, and as usual, a much more detailed report available on the South Shore SAC Facebook Page.
The Leinster Pike Anglers headed to a river venue for the latest round of their club competition. Fishing was a bit patchy, but there were some decent bags, with the top three anglers all scoring in the thirties:
1st place Dougie Robinson 7 fish for 35.5 pounds,
2nd place James Brady 8 fish for 33.14 pounds,
3rd place Rodney Gaynor 7 fish for 30.7 pounds,
The heaviest fish on the day was a good double of 16.8lb for Anthony Byrne.
The Limerick County Pike Anglers held their fifth competition of the season at the weekend, and it was a bumper day’s fishing for all the participants, with almost all of them getting in on the action. Familiar face Tommy Williams put in a stormer to land a bag of 28lb 2oz, giving him first prize on the day. Mike O’Donoghue had a bag of 17lb+ to finish in second place. And young angler Jack Duggan showed a few older members how it’s done with a 9lb+ bag to take the junior prize.
The Newbridge & District Pike Anglers will be hosting a junior competition for the Irish Federation of Pike Angling Clubs this Saturday, meeting in Kildangan, Co. Kildare. We will be fishing a good section of the canal, and we will also have some sections of the Barrow opened to the older kids if they want. All children must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
Check in time is 9.30 am at the Top Oil service station in Kildangan, fishing from 10.30 to 3pm.
All kids under 18 are welcome, and its free to enter and IFPAC will have some lovely prizes up for grabs.
We also have 1 extra special prize kindly sponsored to us by Alan Finch guiding and boat rentals on Lough Derg. Alan has kindly donated a prize of a day’s fishing on Lough Derg. What a fantastic prize to win and whoever lands the biggest pike of the day will win this prize. So best of luck to all who will be taking part on Saturday. After the competition, the presentation will take place back at the Cross Keys pub in Kildangan, it will be the opposite side of the road to our meeting point.
