Kevin Lyons was in touch with an update on fishing for some of his guests on the River Shannon in Co. Longford…
Regular anglers Bill, John and Sean were back once again for another visit to Melview Fishing Lodge and this time brought along friend Pascal. The guys had five days in total and had themselves some great pike fishing, and Pascal on his first visit managed his personal best pike.
Pascal new to the group with a cracking pike
Kevin said, “The rest of the guys are regulars to the lodge and know the waters they fish well so it was no surprise of how well they did during their stay. Well done guys and hope to see you all again soon.”
Sean with a nice PikeJohn with one of his pikeBill with a fine pike on a dead roach
Kevin has over 30 years experience of fishing in Ireland and is happy to offer a guided tour on your arrival, and to advise where the on-form waters in the area are. We can arrange your bait order so it’s here when you arrive. Melview offers free use of 17ft lake boats with engines to our guests (pay fuel only) and Kevin is happy to assist with
Vincent Appleby is back again this week reporting from Lough Currane…
March 19, 2025.
There was no activity reported by the Currane anglers across all areas. The weather was not calm, with moderate to fresh winds varying from ESE to SE and reasonable cloud cover. The previous day’s weather included 0.1mm of rainfall, a maximum air temperature of 10.5°C, and 2 hours of sunshine
March 20, 2025.
Unfortunately, there was no activity reported in any department at Currane today. The weather conditions likely contributed to this quietness, with a fresh southeast wind accompanied by strong gusts ranging from 54 km/h to 67 km/h. For reference, yesterday’s weather recorded no rainfall, a maximum air temperature of 16.8°C, and 8 hours and 2 minutes of sunshine.
March 21, 2025.
Today was another quiet day for wild Currane Atlantic Salmon anglers across all areas. However, 10.6mm of rainfall, is forecasted for Lough Currane. www.met.ie/weather-forecast/lough-currane-kerry#forecasts The wind was moderate to gentle and variable, shifting from SSE to ESE, E, NNE, N, and NE, with good cloud cover throughout the day. Yesterday’s weather recorded no rainfall, a maximum air temperature of 18.5°C, and 8 hours of sunshine.
March 22, 2025.
The Currane anglers faced challenging conditions while fishing for the Atlantic salmon. The fresh Northerly wind had an average speed of 46 km/h with gusts reaching up to 65 km/h, resulting in an overall average speed of 56 km/h, accompanied by reasonable cloud cover. The previous day’s weather included 13.1 mm of rainfall, a maximum air temperature of 15.2°C, and 3 hours and 6 minutes of sunshine.
March 23, 2025.
There are no reports from Lough Currane today as we mourn the passing of Mrs. Irene Wharton, wife of Gillie Mr. Terence Wharton Snr, Waterville. Our sincere condolences to Terence Snr, daughters Louise and Suzanne, and son Terence Jnr and all the family.
On a personal note, I recently had a wonderful conversation with Mrs. Wharton and her daughter Louise at Fogarty’s. Although we hoped to continue it, I will always cherish that memory. Rest in peace, Irene.
March 24, 2025.
The Currane anglers reported no activity on the phone lines, trolling lines, or fly lines today. The wind varied light to gentle, shifting from NNE to NNW, WNW, W, WSW, W, WSW, W, and WSW, with changes occurring on an hourly basis. Yesterday’s weather included 0.2mm of rainfall, a maximum air temperature of 11.1°C, and 10 hours and 1 minute of sunshine.
March 25, 2025.
Currane anglers experienced a bright and sunny day, but unfortunately had little success as their lines remained slack and their reels silent. As the day concluded, one angler acknowledged the conditions with a gesture towards the lake, summarising the day’s efforts. The weather for the day included variable light to gentle winds from NNE, shifting to N, NNW, and then N, with significant cloud cover in the morning. Yesterday’s weather recorded 0.1mm of rainfall, a maximum air temperature of 12.2°C, and 6 hours and 7 minutes of sunshine.
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
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.
Notes: Located at Lakelands House Bed and Breakfast and Self Catering Accommodation, on Ireland’s best sea trout lake, Lough Currane. Frank is a professional angling guide and boatman.
Sea angling can be arranged with local operators.
Boat Hire
Boats for hire. All boats and engines are moored on the farm, 300 metres from the house, with easy access from the road with car park and boat shed.
Notes: Having ghillied on Lough Currane for over 30 years Vincent is a great choice for those looking for a guided service or flyfishing instruction on the Lake. All ages are catered for and even experienced anglers will benefit from the watercraft and fly-lore unique to Lough Currane. All tackle is provided and accommodation can be organised if required.
Dan O’Neill is back with his latest installment of the River Whispers…
The River whispers 19
This edition we look at my past couple of weeks and how the fishing has been. I will discuss what set ups i used on the day with my clients. Our event in Southern County fishing resort is fast approaching and George went to the lake for some quick practice and to see what worked best for his tying demos. The Irish Spring angling fair is just around the corner, and it is really shaping up to be the best one yet. The northwest angling fair is this weekend and some of the APGAI team are there to demo and do some fantastic talks. Thinking of taking up fly fishing or perhaps improving, my free zoom classes are available fortnightly to attend, email me at [email protected].
Thankfully my guiding season is now well underway. I have taken out quite a few guests since the 17th of march and had a cast with Anthony on the Kings River. The water was running high but was clear and very fishable. Wonderful to see activity on the bank of the Nore and Kings again. For the first day Anthony and I fished the Nore and after lunch moved to the kings. Both rivers produced fish for us with a couple of decent sized ones for the time of year. When fishing the Nore we used a size 16 pheasant tail nymph under a traper indicator. Not fishing far into the river but more concentrating our efforts no further that a rod length from the bank. Just coming up on midday there was a hatch and trout began to surface, there was a bit of a wind that picked up, so we tried swinging wet flies. This produced some exciting takes, and we fished until just after 1pm before heading for a well-earned lunch
After lunch we headed for the Kings River in search of gold again. Fish were behaving the same here, surfacing mid-way along the runs and glides. Sticking on a wet fly we started swing wets and had a few fish on each glide we visited. Once about 3.30pm hit the breeze became colder and the fish moved down, we fished nymph under an indicator and had a few more trout before calling it a day at 4.15.
My clients since the 17th of March came mostly from the USA. Hearing their stories was fantastic and I missed them over what is always a long off season. I did have people from Ireland, Hungary and England also, who had some fantastic stories of their adventures. Some caught their first trout while others mastered the cast. Great to be back on the water with people and i look forward to the times ahead.
We mostly fished nymphs and wet flies; the wet fly has so far been the better more successful method on the river. I fished streamers along the white bridge beat and had some trout but nothing consistent. The wet flies I used were Greenwell’s patterns and march brown. Nymphs were mostly all pheasant tail with orange or green undertail hotspots. Sculpins were mostly what I used when streamer fishing again no real consistency but had a great time trying.
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Southern County Open Day
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So, the event is getting close now. George Burdess who will be giving a fly-tying demo and a seminar on fly tying / fly types was in southern county on Sunday with Liz McEnaney. George and Liz tried some various patterns to home in on what to base Georges tying and talks on. They had many fish on the day which was a difficult day weather wise. Its days like this when you are struggling a little with variants that the open day will help with. We will speak about different techniques and ways that will get you that fish on a difficult day. After the event you can fish either lake to put your newfound knowledge to the test. George and myself will also be around after the demo for any questions you may have. If you would like to know more about the demo day, then contact me on [email protected]
Super Catch for Emmet
Catch of the Week winner Emmet O’Shea
Some of you will have seen this picture of young Emmet O Shea, a fantastic angler who caught this wonderful R. Nore brown trout over the weekend. Not only is it great to see fish of this stamp in the Nore is great to see kids such as Emmet fishing and being very succesful. Well done Emmet, best of luck in the southside fish of the month competition.
Upcoming Events
Northwest Angling Show 29th and 30th March
The Northwest angling show takes place this weekend and APGAI Ireland members will be in attendance, be sure to stop by and say hello to our members and take a look at them in action over their demos and talks
Southern County Fishing Resort Open Day 12th April
The open day will take place on the 12th of April. The event is hosted by Dan O Neill and George Burdess. On the day we will speak about set ups for river and lake fishing, Rods, reels and lines suitable for different techniques, tying flies, match the hatch, kids fishing and much more. For details on the day email Dan at [email protected]
Irish Spring Angling Show 3rd and 4th may
The eagerly awaited Irish Spring Angling Fair is on the 3rd and 4th of May. A show i look forward to every year. The show is fantastic as it caters for beginners right up to advanced anglers. I am delighted to be included in the lineup this year and looking forward to working with some of the young anglers on the casting pond. New this year to the fair is the designated demo area where some of the industry’s best anglers will be demonstrating and explaining in detail different techniques and equipment. This fair is a great opportunity to ask the questions that will take your angling to the next level. There is also kids casting and kids fly tying and I will be there with some of my APGAI Ireland team members, be sure to stop by the stand.
Zoom Classes
My zoom classes have become quite popular, and feedback is good. I recently received a picture of someone who attended one of my free zoom classes of them with their first trout on a streamer. All streams are in HD so it’s more interactive with the people who attend. I have 6 zoom classes available so email me for more information. [email protected]
Guiding and Tuition
I have some space available in April for guided trips on the Nore and tuition days. For more information on the guided trips and tuition days contact me via email or phone. [email protected]
0857652751
Growing up in the countryside of Gowran, Co.Kilkenny, I started my fishing journey on the River Barrow with my dad, which is where I caught my first fish, a lovely brown trout. The Gowran River was also a short walk from my homeplace, and on the days my dad couldn’t fish, I would walk through the fields and fish the Gowran River. My love for fishing grew and took me to Mount Juliet Estate, where I began guiding at 13. I went on to become fisheries manager at Mount Juliet Estate and, to this day, enjoy taking out hundreds of clients every year fishing on the River Nore. I enjoy all types of fishing and guide all over Ireland. I am an Apgai Ireland-qualified casting instructor and have Ambassador roles with Cadence and Yeti. I joined Fulling Mill as an endorsed pro guide and am part of the Patagonia pro team. My angling journey has been an exciting one and hopefully will continue to be.
I take out all levels of anglers, from beginner to experienced. I enjoy what I do and count myself very lucky to be able to meet and guide new people to what might be their first Irish fish.
The Deel & Boyne Anglers Association proudly kicked off the 2025 season with its much-anticipated Annual Jack Shaw Perpetual Cup Pike Competition. The event drew a strong turnout, welcoming both long-standing club members and enthusiastic day-ticket holders.
Anglers were treated to near-perfect conditions on the day, with both weather and water levels setting the stage for a great day’s sport. A total of nine pike were successfully landed, with the winning fish weighing in at 5lbs 11oz—modest by river standards, but a testament to the healthy stock of pike in the system. All fish caught were noted for their pristine condition.
Congratulations to Raymond Mullen, who took home top honours. A dedicated lifelong member of the club and a highly skilled angler, Raymond’s victory was well-earned. Second and third places were claimed by Virgil Malinauskas, the club’s renowned pike expert, who landed an impressive five pike, with his best fish tipping the scales at 5lbs 4oz.
The club now looks ahead to its Annual Trout Competition, which will be held this April—an event eagerly anticipated by members and visitors alike.
Go Fishing
To contact the club about membership or permits, contact:
Patrick Clarke
Hon. Secretary
Deel & Boyne Anglers Association
John Browne reports on the last round of the OaklandsWinter League fished at the weekend…
Yesterday at Oaklands lake we had the final round of the winter league.
With a strong Northerly wind blowing up the lake made conditions very difficult on the day. Congratulations to Leo Lynch winning the league for the 2nd year in a row running in second place we’ll done Tommy Ryan and a close 3rd was Kirean Reeves.
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On the top bag was Ronan Minogue netting 54.280kg from end peg 12, well done to him. In 2nd place was Sion Pritchard with 45.920kg and 3rd was Paddy O’Regan with 43.150kg. Big Thank you to the Hennesy family for there continued support.
Results
1st Ronan Minogue 54.280 kg
2nd Sion Pichard 45.790 kg
3rd Paddy O’Regan 43.150 kg
Sections
A Andrei Pirchio 22.690 kg
B Kirean Reeves 16.100 kg
C Adrian Browne 14.020 kg
D Tommy Ryan 17.180 kg
Winter league
1st Leo Lynch 15 points
2nd Tommy Ryan 18 points
3rd Kirean Reeves 20 points
Junior league
1st Conor Fitzharris 9 points
2nd Charlie Upton 10 points
3rd Finn Mccarthy 15 points
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Thanks to all the lads who fished the league and especially the juniors who stuck it out through the winter. We’ll done to Conor Fitzharris winning the junior winter league and also Charlie Upton a close 1 point behind in 2nd and improving Finn Mccarthy in 3rd. Well done everyone!
A very popular carp fishery. Popular with competition anglers and novices alike. Alway a great chance of a bumper bag here. Friendly staff more than happy to advise beginner anglers. Caters to all sorts of clubs and groups.
Peter Driver of Piscari Fly is back with his weekly roundup of the fishing scene
How’s The Fishing?
Duckfly on Lough Corrib
Mark ventured to the West last week for some Duckfly Buzzer action, as the weather conditions seemed to be ideal, with higher temperatures & moderate winds. Arriving early, but due to some engine issues delaying our start I finally got going. I had a good afternoon of mixed action. 5 fish hooked and 3 landed to the boat, all on buzzers, before the winds affected the hatches. Few marks planned to fish but unable due to engine. So stayed in the bay where we launched and enjoyed our fishing. Fish hit hard in their takes. With some aerobatics from some of them leading to two getting off. All to do again next week as we travel back across.
I was on a 4 fly setup on a Piscari fly 6wt floating line. Frog hair fluorocarbon 6.6lb which is a top favourite of many buzzer anglers on Corrib. Fishing in 10 to 16foot of water. So choose a 4 fly set up. With 7 foot to first fly then 4 foot apart down to the point fly. Keeper dropper around 6 inchs long. Started off with size 12 duckfly buzzers on the droppers and a size 10 on the point to help anchor the cast in the drift. To set the flys best. As wind picked up during fishing. I added a 2nd size 10 to the 2 fly down. Meaning I had a size 12 on top dropper then 10, 12 and 10 on point. This helped greatly and straight away meeting fish again after things slowed up. Buzzers hatching on the water looked big when hatching more like size 10 buzzers. But shucks appeared size 12 when not hatching. The fish met on the day all took the size 10s. Which was similar in size to the hatching fly. Something noticed on the day.
Make sure your set up for duckfly & upcoming Campto buzzer fishing with us at www.piscari-fly.com
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A report from the midlands by Johannes Bulfin
Johannes is going to be giving us regular reports on fishing the midlands. Make sure and check outhttps://watershedflyfishing.ie/ for his fly fishing guiding service operating in the Midlands of Ireland on the River Shannon system.
Having returned safely home from an unforgettable week of fishing in Ethiopia, I was keen to get the trout season underway.
I headed to a lower section of the Little Brosna and reminded myself how I had sworn I would enjoy cold water and numb fingers after the almost 50°c baking the previous week. There was plenty of water for the fish to swim in but fishing a familiar area, it didn’t take long to pin them down. Heavy 3.5mm tungsten beads delivered the flies to the correct depth and the trout came easily after that. The best being 13inches and about a 1lb in weight.
On Friday I had booked off an entire day for myself to explore some new water on the Shannon. Here the spawn had started already at the end of February and a quick previous foray had shown no signs of fish in the spawning areas. Therefore I was happy to go back at the pike with a clear conscious. The feeding was sporadic and sometimes hectic, lots of fly changes and varying of retrieves produced 20 fish for the day with the largest just shy of 10lbs. Towards the end of the day a massive fish chased down a hooked pike on my line, crashing into the air right beside the boat. These are the moments we remember.
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On Sunday I had a brief window of opportunity and headed to the Little Brosna again, the river was in perfect condition. Some very pretty little brown trout preceded spotting an absolute monster of a rainbow, obviously a fish farm escapee but heart stopping nonetheless. I was able to sight fish to the rainbow, on the second cast he ate the nymph and chaos ensued!! We estimated the fish at around 7lbs as it thrashed on the surface before burying itself in underwater roots, I leapt in to untangle it but only returned with a broken off leader. We laughed it off as “mad craic” but it would have been nice to land the fish!
Watershed Fly Fishing is a full time professional guiding service specialising in pike fly fishing operating from Banagher, Co. Offaly. In season we also guide for trout on the Shannon tributaries. Get in touch to make your own memories at 085 7386944 or www.watershedflyfishing.ie
Salt water, Bass & Seatrout
First saltwater flyfishing trip of the year. Peter and Mark headed off early Sunday morning down to south wexford estusaries. Searching for whatever was around, having a look as it is early season and not knowing what to expect. Peter met a couple of seatrout and lost one to the net. Mark had a couple of pulls before they moved further up the estuaries on a beautiful morning. Mark picked up this lovely bass feeding in and around some kelp and weed. Just using 10ft 7weights with fast intermediates and pulling a couple of flatwing patterns, Blue and white and yellow and white were the best 2 combination of colours for attracting the fish. Beautiful morning to be out, the next couple of weeks we will be trying to get out as much as we can on the estuaries, It can be a good really time of the year at the start of a really good weather spell to get out and get some interesting fishing. You never know what’s going to pop up.
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East Clare Trout
Jamie Conway was on the Scariff River in County Clare recently and caught a couple of really nice trout. Fishing a beautiful river running through East Clare. It’s a river I often meant to get out on myself because my wife is from O’Callaghans Mills not too far from Scariff and I’ve seen the river. It looks like a great river and I am sure it has plenty of good fishing on it. Definitely must get over to explore it one of the days I am over in County Clare visiting the mother in law. Well done Jamie, nice one to knock of the list.
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What’s Coming?
North West Angling Fair 2025
Peter is up in Strabane this weekend at the North West Angling Fair to do demonstrations on euro nymphing and modern nymphing techniques. If you are in the area make sure you pop in and say hello.
“Whether you’re an experienced angler or just getting started, this exciting event has something for everyone. Explore a wide range of exhibitors showcasing the latest gear, techniques, and innovations in angling. With expert advice, live demonstrations, interactive workshops for all ages, the North West Angling Fair is the perfect place to connect with fellow enthusiasts and enhance your fishing skills.”
It takes place on Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th March 2025 at Melvin Sports Complex in Strabane. Hope to see you there.
For all information on the Fair check out the link below.
TAFI Irish Youth Team is heading to the USA for the World Championships this summer. They are currently holding a fundraiser and all help is greatly appreciated to aid these 6 youths to a dream trip representing their Country in Idaho. We are delighted to be sponsoring one of the prizes for this great raffle. If you can give the lads a hand and want to purchase a ticket contact Frank Dempsey on 0872351830. Some cracking prizes in this Fundraiser.
Why you should attend:
Learn from the Best—Gain tips and insights from some of the top names in Irish angling
Great for Families & Kids—Fun activities to get young anglers hooked on fishing
Try & Buy—Get hands-on experience with top-quality gear, flies, and accessories
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.
A lot of videos coming now from the rivers and seas so 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.
This report in from Xander van Wyk after a great day’s fishing on Knockaderry Lake:
Herbert Hoover was quoted as saying that “Fishing is much more than fish. It is the great occasion when we may return to the fine art of idleness.” President Hoover would have been sorely disappointed by our lack of idleness on a recent outing to Knockaderry.
Having been kindly invited by my friend Diarmuid Linehan for some early season fly fishing, I naturally jumped at the suggestion. Now Rainbow trout fishing for stocked fish isn’t necessarily the hardest challenge in fly fishing, but it’s still a great way to shake off the winter rust and to get body and equipment back into harmony for the coming season, pulling feathers (and hopes) through water.
This was my first outing to Knockaderry Lake, and it certainly didn’t disappoint. Having cut my teeth fly fishing for stocked Rainbows in South Africa, the setup and feel wasn’t at all dissimilar to what I was used to back in the Rainbow nation (excuse the pun).
The conditions were mixed, with some sunny spells breaking up an otherwise overcast day. There were some brief hatches of buzzers, but nothing to really switch the fish into feeding overdrive – not that it mattered as the fish seemed eager enough to partake in most everything we offered them. Between Diarmuid and myself, we landed over 30 hard-fighting rainbows, a mix of stocked fish and strong overwintered trout.
We weren’t the only ones having success. Several other boats were on the water, and many reported equally—if not even more—impressive catches. It was one of those rare days when everything seemed to align, making for a fantastic start to the season. A person fishing here for the first time may be excused in thinking that things would always come this easy. But as my boat partner reiterated on numerous occasions during the day, that it was an exceptional day.
The facilities and boats at Knockaderry are top notch, and bears the hallmarks of a very well managed fishery.
Knockaderry has certainly set the bar high, and if this trip was anything to go by, it raises the hopes for the season that lies ahead. But as every angler knows, if fishes were wishes, we’d all catch the big one on every throw, but sadly reality often prefers to play hide and seek.
Tight lines to those heading out in the coming weeks!
Waterford City & County Trout Anglers manages two lakes in Waterford which are available for fly fishing by permit for rainbow trout all year round (brown trout season 17th March to 30th September)
Knockaderry is about 80 acres in size. Fishing on this lake is from boat only. The deepest part of the lake is 24 feet at the dam tower but the average depth is about 6ft and this results in good aquatic life providing food for the trout. Trout feed on caddis pupae, snails and fry and the lake gets hatches of olives, buzzers, sedges and damsels. There is a good population of wild browns which must be released if caught.
Day tickets are sold at the Centra shop in Kilmeaden Village which opens at 7am and closes at 9pm weekdays and 7pm Sundays.
Lough Sheelin Angling Report March 17th – March 23rd 2025
‘I have died everyday waiting for you’
A thousand years (Christina Perri)
Many anglers use St Patrick’s day as their invisible marker for that first sojourn out on this lake. The questionable reasoning being that the weather apparently picks up mid March and becomes a little warmer but Irish weather is notoriously unpredictable so I’m not sure if this is just a plausible excuse to self for not facing the cold and metallic grey of Lough Sheelin pre March 17th.
The first few days of the week gone by were cold with biting winds stealing any warmth from the sun but then on Wednesday, the wind dropped and there was a welcome heat which continued until the weekend when rain dampened everything down again and the familiar chill factor returned. An east wind dominated each day with that old fishing saying ‘wind from the east, fish bite the least’ lurking in the background of our minds.
The dream catcher
The middle of March is not the time to expect too many rises, deep and slow is the rule of the day and certainly it was the depths that produced the heavier results with the weight of the week tipping the scales at 15lbs, an impressive 78cm caught by Beata Kielak using lures.
Love at first sight
The water temperature crawled over 8 degrees and sat at 8.2 from top to bottom with little stratification regardless of a brisk wind churning the water last Saturday. With the onset of milder conditions, small hatches of duck fly appeared in the sheltered coves and inlets heralding the beginning of all things ‘fly fishing’ and the resurrection once again of teams of Black Pennells, Bibios, Connemara Blacks, Mallard & Clarets, Alexanders, Muddlers and Sooty Olives – Sheelin’s traditional wets used to attract buzzer feeding trout. But this little chink of warmth has only just appeared so it will take consistent day time heat to rise the water temperatures, preferably into the magical double figures to get our sluggish cold stupored fish to start looking upward in search of a different kind of diet. March is undoubtedly a slow month for the fly angler- one step forward and two back.
The shallows are still the major attractions to the shrimp and hog louse feeders but going on stomach pumped contents of a recently caught (and released) fish, the trout are also feeding on caddies of damsel and murrough so imitations of these might be a good option.
Trout aren’t in the habit of taking insect larvae this early in the season so flies imitating little fish prove more catchy than nymphs. A number of anglers have reported trout ‘bashing fry’ in the shallower areas of the lake. Nymph fishing for Sheelin comes into its own next month and May, this choice of fishing isn’t for everyone and certainly not for the faint hearted impatient angler which reminds me of one particular local who told me in all sincerity that he would prefer to ‘lick the entire M7’ than fish with nymphs.
Craig Murphy’s troutThe menu – caseless caddis larvae, murrough larvae, Gammarus shrimp and a few damselfly larvaeEvo Smyth’s early season fly
Most of the trout caught this week were on lures, silver and gold being the favourite colours. The Humungous, Minkies, Snakes, Blue Flash Damsels and Woolly Buggers worked well – streamer and attractor patterns that create a pulsating movement that really get the trout going. A Hare’s Ear is good when the trout are feeding on shrimp in the warmer shallows. This is a shrimp shaped pattern and can work very well when the trout are locked on to this food. Although I’d like to talk about teams of wets, the successes for the past seven days were mainly down to the fry patterns, large lures and the Dabblers. 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.
The best fishing areas for this month and into early April is mainly 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.
Sheelin’s gold
Each year, March ushers in celebrations of St Patrick’s day, the start of spring and of course the chance to fish Lough Sheelin once again but March also comes with the ominous warning – “Beware the Ides of March” a familiar quote form Shakespeare’s ” Julius Caesar” in which a soothsayer delivered this infamous warning to the Roman emperor before his assassination. Now there are no assassinations on Sheelin but the ides are there in the form of plenty of challenges and bad days during this month, it is something to be mindful of that Sheelin is a difficult lake to fish and sometimes the attractiveness of early season with the promise of big hungry trout can pale into frustration when it just doesn’t happen but to quote Sheelin’s Michael Kelly ‘it is called fishing not catching’.
Eamonn Ross presenting the Kilroy Cup to John ByrneSpotted releaseEarly season luresCatch & ReleaseDUO HOOK anglers at the Sailors Garden, Lough SheelinA Buzzer
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.
The Ronnie Cox Cancer Trials Ireland competition is being held on Lough Sheelin from Kilnahard pier on the 30th March. Fishing from 11am to 6am. This is a Catch & Release competition. Prizes for longest fish plus loads of other prizes. Photo of measured fish to be provided. The competition proceeds will be donated to cancer trials Ireland. They carry out research and trials on new treatment methods for all types of cancers. Any donated prizes greatly appreciated. Contact Eamonn Ross @ 086 6619834.
The Kilroy Cup – John Byrne’s winning fish of 52.3cm
Flies and Lures
1 of 17
Trout food offerings are Rob Denson's Kate Cripplers
Hot spot UV Buzzer
Humungous
Daddy Hog Muddler, Robbie Birrell
Fritz & Flash lures
Joe Butler flies
The Gold Ribbed Hare's Ear Peter Dunne
Pearly Peter Ross Dabbler, Robbie Birrell
Fritz & Flash Fishing Flies
Double Cloaked Dunkeld Dabbler Paul Black
A couple of clarets for the coming season, Matty Toms
Dabbler off the vice, Mark Johnstone
Fritz Buzzers
Green Eyed Blood Buzzer
KsG flies Peter Ross Dabbler is a must on every cast after fry chasing trout
Red cheek Buzzer
Pearl Claret Dabbler, Paul Black
Catch & Release
Heaviest catch of the week: 15lb trout, 78cm caught by Beata Kielak using lures
Number of catches recorded for the week: 48
Selection of catches:
Mareks Zaborovecs, Wexford: March 22nd, 1 trout at 3lbs on lures.
Egars Kowalski, Dublin : 1 trout at 5lbs on lures, fishing at the back of Church Island.
Karol Fiedorowiez, Poland: 6 trout over 6 days, heaviest at 6lbs, all caught on lures.
Blazej Prasinowski, Uk: 5 trout over 6 days, heaviest at 4lbs on lures fishing from Chambers to Crover.
Nikita Ksutjko: 15 trout since March 1st, heaviest weighing in at over 6lbs, all released.
Radoslaw Adamczyk, Meath: 2 trout fishing lures at the back of Church Island, heaviest at 3lbs.
Janislaw Kaminski, Wexford: 1 trout at 4lbs, March 22nd using lures at Holywell.
Arkadiusz Wisniewki, Westmeath: 2 trout on March 20th, 3 – 3.5lbs caught on Dabblers.
Sobieslaw Filipowski, Dublin: 1 trout at 4lbs using a Humungous, fishing at Crover, March 22nd.
Czeslaw Gajus, Dublin: 4 trout for the week, heaviest at 5lbs caught on Minkies and Woolly Buggers.
We’ve been blessed with sunny weather over the last week. Very sunny indeed, but also very cold in those easterly winds. The bright conditions are not great for fishing either and added to that those gusty easterlies can keep a boat tied up when they hit hard enough. Rivers and even some lakes are starting to run low as rain suddenly has become scarce. So, plenty of excuses for not catching fish, but there’s always the odd angler who bucks the trend and finds some fish that aren’t aware of the latest forecasts…
Colin Aherne with a St Patrick’s Day salmon on the Nore
Colin Aherne made an early morning trip to the River Nore on St. Patrick’s Day. He felt a sharp tug on the end of the line that turned out to be a fine 17.5lb salmon and that’s no blarney. Currane’s anglers also got a rub of the green on St Patricks day when they were rewarded with a fish of 7lb caught on the troll. The day before Brian Hope got the fishing on Carrowmore off to a good start with the lake’s first salmon of the season.
Celebrating International Women’s day on Sheelin, Beata Kielak with her fabulous 60cm plus trout
Cold winds and freezing nights don’t add up for good trout fishing but on Sheelin there’s nearly always someone out there to prove the old wisdom wrong. It was tough a tough week, and there’s no doubting that, but still we had trout to 8lb reported on flies and lures. That said our Catch of the Week goes to Beata Kielak with her fabulous 60cm plus trout caught on International Women’s Day. This week’s Ireland on the Fly Podcast see Daire and Tom talking to Evo Smyth. Originally from Latvia, Evo has been living and fly fishing in the Irish midlands for the last twenty years and he has some really helpful and insightful advice for anyone looking to improve their own fly tying skills.
Big trout and big pike on Derg
Big pike and some impressive trout having been caught on Lough Derg recently and well known angler and YouTuber Senan Stanley joins Paul Bourke for a predator session on Lough Derg where they boat some fine fish and share a few tips on setups and methods in a video that’s well worth the watch.
Rinnashark SAC recenty held their first juvenile competition of the year in Woodstown, on a beautiful Spring day. A good spread of fish showed up to keep the young anglers busy with flounder the most commonly caught fish on the day. The New Ross & District SAC held their second club competition of the year at a very muddy Barrow Bridge over the weekend and again flounders were the dominant species caught. The last leg of the Cobh SAC Light Lines Competition was held on Sunday in Cork Harbour. On the day the Longest Fish prizes went to Tom Johnson for a 45cm Whiting, Conor Purcell for a 72cm Ray, and Stephen Hurley and Graham Walsh both had a 30cm Dab. But the glory went to Stephen Hurley who was the overall winner of this popular league. Up in Donegal the charter boat Fiona Tee enjoyed a lovely spring outing last weekend. Good numbers of pollack, some codling, plenty of mackerel and mix of other species were caught. We finish our tour of the Irish coast at Waterfoot in Northern Ireland where the Ulster Krakens fished a night tide in hopes of some serious dog fishing, but they never turned up and it was once again flatfish that accounted for all the sport in this shore angling match.
Open days, Competitions, events
The Ronnie Cox Cancer Trials Ireland competition will also be held on Lough Sheelin from Kilnahard pier on the 30th March 2025. Fishing is from 11am to 6pm. Prizes for longest fish plus loads of other prizes. Photo of measured fish to be provided (C&R). Contact the LSTPA for more information.
Peter Driver of Piscari Fly tells us he has been invited to the North West Angling Fair to give demonstrations on euro nymphing and modern nymphing techniques. It takes place on Saturday, 29th, and Sunday, 30th March 2025, at Melvin Sports Complex in Strabane.
IFSA has announced that the under-16 World Shore Fish Offs will be held on April 5th in the North Wexford/Wicklow area. The successful anglers will be part of the team to travel to Peñiscola, Spain for the World Championships in October. If your club has a young angler that you think has what it takes to represent Ireland at the highest level please bring them to this event.
Southern County Fishing Resort is delighted to announce that they have Pro fly caster Dan O’Neill and Pro fly tier George Burdess joining them for an Open Day on 12 April. As well as fly casting and fly tying demos and instruction there will also be activities for kids and young anglers.
The Upper Erne Predator Challenge Boat Fishing Competition will be fished on April 12th & 13th, 2025. With a massive £8,000 prize fund up for grabs and a thrilling challenge ahead, this is an event you don’t want to miss!
And now the weather…
Mostly cloudy on Saturday with showers or longer spells of rain, turning heavy at times. Highest temperatures of 9 to 13°C in the east but turning colder through the afternoon as light variable winds turn light to moderate, occasionally fresh northwest. Colder further west with afternoon highs of just 6 to 8°C in moderate to fresh northwest winds, strong and gusty near Atlantic coasts. Patchy rain is expected to clear from eastern areas early on Sunday to leave a generally dry day across the country with a mix of cloud and sunny spells. Highest temperatures of 8 to 11°C in moderate to fresh northerly winds. Monday will be mainly dry and bright with sunny spells across the eastern half of the country. It will be cloudier further west with patchy drizzle possible near Atlantic coasts later in the day. Highest temperatures of 9 to 12°C in light northerly breezes. High pressure looks set to be the more dominant influence into midweek next week bringing generally quiet and benign conditions but with the chance of scattered light showers.
Don’t forget to double check the forecast before heading off, wear your life jacket when afloat and if you’re going to sea, check the tides.
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.
Transition Year students Nikita Greidans and Jack Keenahan are working together at Blackwood Bait and Tackle. As part of their Transition Year they are supplying reports to the Irish Angling Update…
We held a coarse match at Southside Angling Resort in Carlow, with the help of Dan
O’Neill, with 12 participants taking part.
Start of the match
We all in at 10 o’clock and the match began very slowly with very few anglers catching
apart from a few rudd, roach and perch. Soon after, people began catching rainbow trout
which didn’t count for weight as they were a predatory species.
Middle of the Match
At 2 o’clock, each trout counted for 1lb towards the total weight. People’s weight cards
slowly got higher. It was around this time I took a break from the match and went to fly fish with Dan O’Neill who taught me to roll cast and spey cast. With this help, I caught a small rainbow trout on his Caidence fly rod.
End of the Match
At 4 o’clock, we called all out and we weighed everyone’s bag, with the winner having a bag with 17lbs, winning a €200 guided trip with Dan O’Neill himself.
My Match Experience
This was my first ever match and I enjoyed it a lot. I started the day on a method feeder
micro pellet, an 8mm marzipan pop up on a hair rig, and a size 10 hook. I caught three
rainbow trout doing this. Unfortunately, this was before 2 o’clock so they didn’t count
towards anything, but I still enjoyed the experience. The lake itself was very nice. I might
return to this lake to flyfish for trout. In the coming weeks, we will be holding a demo for
coarse fishing, touching on the method/hybrid feeder and pole fishing techniques
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Salmon and Sea-Trout fishing Guide
