St. Patrick’s weekend saw the second running of the Crowenstown two-day festival following a successful event last year. And, proving last year’s result was no fluke, Mary Tigwell made it a two-peat as she bagged the trophy for the second year in a row. This year, she just pipped husband Pat into second place, making it a Tigwell one-two at the top of the table.
Colin Aherne with a St Patrick's Day salmon on the Nore
They say it takes an early bird to catch the worm, and sometimes the fishing gods smile on you if you make an effort to get to the riverbank early. Such was the case for Colin Aherne, who made an early morning trip to the River Nore on St. Patrick’s Day, and at 6.50am, when the birds were in full morning chorus, he felt a sharp tug on the end of the line that turned out to be a fine 17.5lb salmon. He briefly lifted it out of the water to get a quick snap of the fish and then returned it safely to swim away. I’m sure it will be a St. Patrick’s Day that will live long in the memory for him. 👏
Brown tag conservation regulations in force on Roughty River.
Tuesday, March 18th, 2025: Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) has today opened the second draw for anglers wishing to catch and keep salmon from Kerry’s River Roughty.
‘Brown tag’ regulations apply to the river catchment from March 15th until September 30th, 2025, when the salmon fishing season ends.
Anglers interested in entering the April 16th lottery draw for a brown tag can apply here between March 18th, and midnight on Sunday, April 13th, 2025.
Commenting, Sean Long South-Western River Basin District Director at IFI stated: “The numbers of wild Atlantic salmon returning to our rivers is declining. The risk of over-fishing puts stocks in further jeopardy.
“Brown tag measures for salmon and sea trout are required on the Roughty River to conserve stocks and avoid accidental over-harvesting.
“Where there is a modest harvestable surplus with a risk of over exploitation, this brown gill tag system is introduced to closely monitor the angling quotas.”
A total of 74 brown tags will be available in 2025. They will be distributed to anglers with a valid rod licence via four draws during the season.
The first draw was held on Wednesday, February 26th, after which 19 brown tags were distributed.
Anglers may only receive one Brown Tag per season for use on the River Roughty catchment.
Those who receive the tags through the lottery system should place them on the fish – along with a blue tag – as proof it was lawfully caught and may be retained for private use.
Anglers not allocated a brown tag are only permitted to fish for salmon on the Roughty River on a catch-and-release basis, where the salmon is returned safely to the same waterbody.
Anglers must use catch-and-release methods only, involving single or double barbless hooks. Use of worms as bait is not permitted.
For more information, contact IFI’s Macroom office on (026) 41221, or at [email protected]
Vincent Appleby reports on the week’s fishing on Lough Currane:
On March 12, 2025. It was reported that seven boats were out on Currane, but there were no notable catches. The weather conditions included moderate variable winds from NNE veering to NE, followed by periods of good cloud cover. On the previous day, there was no rainfall recorded, with a maximum air temperature of 11.0°C and 9 hours and 2 minutes of sunshine. March 13, 2025. It has been a quiet day for all the anglers at Currane, with no significant activities reported. On this solemn occasion, we remember the esteemed Gillie, Mr. Brod O’ Sullivan, of Stella Maris Waterville, who passed away two years ago today. Reflecting on Mr. O’ Sullivan’s legacy, one might wonder what his thoughts would be on the current state of the Currane Gillies and the decline in salmon catches, as well as the nature of reporting. Weather conditions included a moderate NNE wind, which varied at times, along with good cloud cover and occasional light showers. Yesterday saw 0.9mm of rainfall, a maximum air temperature of 9.3°C, and four hours of sunshine. March 14th, 2025. There were two boats on Currane, but the fishing results remained unchanged. Today’s weather featured moderate winds from the NNE, which later shifted to NE, ENE, and E. Yesterday’s weather observed 0.1mm of rainfall, a maximum air temperature of 9.6°C, and 3 hours and 4 minutes of sunshine. For the record, one boat went out yesterday. March 15 2025. We commenced this St. Patrick’s Bank holiday weekend with a fleet consisting of 8 boats, 1 dinghy, and 2 canoes. Regarding salmon fishing, no salmon were caught, summarising today’s activities. As for today’s weather, conditions were gentle to calm with variable wind directions including ENE, E, N, N, NNE, and NE, accompanied by bright sunshine throughout the day. Yesterday’s weather recorded rainfall of 1.7mm, with a maximum air temperature of 10.3°C, and a total of 4 hours and 4 minutes of sunshine. March 16 2025. There were no reports of activity from the Currane anglers. The weather today featured a variable and gentle wind, shifting between East, ESE, SE, SSE, S, SSW, SW, WSW, and W directions, with reasonable cloud cover at times. Yesterday’s weather recorded no rainfall, with a maximum air temperature of 11.8°C and a total of 10 hours and 2 minutes of sunshine. March 17. 2025, Anglers from Wexford demonstrated their fishing skills at Currane by catching a wild salmon on St. Patrick’s Day. Michael MacCormack from Wexford praised his companion for catching a 7 lbs. salmon while trolling, with the assistance of gillie Neil O’Shea from www.oshealoughcurrane.com The wind was variable ESE, fresh, veering to SE, SSE, and SE, accompanied by good cloud cover. The previous day’s weather included no rainfall, a maximum air temperature of 11.2°C, and 3 hours and 6 minutes of sunshine. March 18, 2025. The Currane anglers were inactive in all respects today, largely due to the inclement weather conditions. Regarding today’s weather, the wind was fresh from the ESE, later veering SE with gusts reaching up to 56 km/h. The average wind speed ranged between 33 km/h and 39 km/h. Yesterday’s weather recorded a trace amount of rainfall, a maximum air temperature of 9.8°C, and 0.4 minutes of sunshine.
I have spent many days in Southern County recently. Fly fishing, coarse fishing and fishing the beginner pond for roach, rudd, perch and carp with Anthony and Daniel, even convincing my good wife Marta to have a cast or two. The variation of fishing here is fantastic; you can be float fishing for coarse fish in the top pond, then walk 100m and fly fishing for some of the hard-fighting Southern County rainbows. Ample space around the fishery allows for a lovely cup of coffee and a quick break with your angling friends or just taking a breakout on your own.
It is the above that has made me quite fond of this fishery. I approached Southern County about holding a demo day here, and thankfully, they agreed. The day is aimed at helping you on your fishing journey. Casting, fly tying, tackle talk, kids fishing on the beginner lake with both bait fishing and fly fishing available, coarse fishing talk and much more. Check out the information brochure and send any enquiries to [email protected] or by phone at 0857652751.
All are welcome to this event and casting will be hosted by Dan O’Neill with Fly tying by George Burdess. Both Dan and George have extensive knowledge in their fields and are happy to share that with you on the day. All information on the event can be seen on the brochure and if there are any further inquiries contact me on the below details,
Lough Sheelin angling report March 10th – March 16th 2025
‘Perseverance is failing 19 times and succeeding the 20th’
Julie Andrews
Craig Murphy, Southside anglers
It has been a cold week on Sheelin with a persistently ‘thin’ north wind relentlessly whipping the surface on most days, varying in strength from moderate to fresh. As the week progressed, night time temperatures dipped to a disappointing minus 4 and water temperatures struggled to get past 7 degrees with little variation on this from top to bottom. Water temperature is probably the biggest factor that affects fly fishing for trout in early season and certainly for this week, March felt like it was in the wrong season, winter and not spring. Cold water is bad news for your average fly angler, as the lower the temperature, the less active the trout will be. The less active the trout are, the less they need to feed reducing the chances of a fly being taken. When trout are not feeding they are normally flush to the bed of the lake and with no naturals, a chilly surface and an unforgiving north wind it is very unlikely for them to rise to a dry or sprint after a swinging team of wets. In the most optimistic scenario the angler would need to get the fly down deep and practically hit the fish on the nose to get a take. 7 degrees is a figure bandied around by anglers, a magical number when the trout apparently become active but this lake’s temperature is just sitting on the 7 and until we can climb into the double figures when trout will become more active the fly purist will just have to wait it out.
The month of March generally isn’t the time for the angler who wants to line up the old Sheelin traditionals of Black Pennels, Connemara Blacks, Sooty Olives or Claret & Mallard. It is sacrilege to some anglers not to fish flies regardless of what time of the season it is so for these the advice is to pick the small windows of feeding, mid day on a good sunny day might result in a hatch of midges, also pick your days, forget the bitterly cold ones with a fresh wind ripping across the water and go for a slight breeze with a little cloud cover.
Celebrating International Women’s day on Sheelin, Beata Kielak with her fabulous 60cm plus trout which wins Catch of the Week
Regardless of challenging fishing conditions, Sheelin attracted anglers on all days with the predictable increase at the weekend and more so with the bank holiday. Angling catches slowed down as the weather refused to behave but in the earlier part of the week there were some great trout recorded with the heaviest trout weighing in at 8lbs caught on a lure by Krzysztof Pawlowski. This is the time for larger patterns – Humungous, Snakes, Minkies and Woolly Buggers – the attractor patterns, large and streaming that quite often trigger a take. Woolly Buggers despite having an unfortunate name (although there are worse out there) did well this week, resulting in a few hefty 5lb plus catches. This fly is one feeding trigger after another – a wavy tail, a segmented body and caterpillar-bristle of legs.
The Dabblers in fiery brown, silver, pearly, peter ross and claret held their own with a respectable smattering of catches around Chambers and Kilnahard, trout averaging 3lbs plus fished using an Intermediate, Di3 and Di7.
One for the shrimp feeders. Jim Sheehan
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.
Striking gold – DH angler
The local angling club – the LSTPA hosted the Kilroy Cup on Lough Sheelin on Sunday March 16th. The weather again was challenging with a light easterly wind, air temperatures hovering around 8 and extensive cloud cover. This was a fly fishing, catch & release competition with the longest fish winning the prizes.
Thirty two anglers took part with John Byrne winning the event with a 52.3cm trout, second was Eamonn Ross at 50.2cm and third was a 49.9cm trout by Trevor Goulden, Sligo.
John Coyne with his early season troutOne for the fry feeders – Kieran SherlockNikita Krutjko’s 6 lb troutKaroly Gyorfi with his 52cm trout
Most anglers during the long painful months of winter fantasize about the day when they can once again launch their boat and fish Lough Sheelin but all the excitement, enthusiasm and preparation can all too often fizzle out in a ball of disappointment as early season trout (particularly the Sheelin ones) are notoriously reluctant to cooperate. There is an old saying which goes – “it’s not worth casting a fly until there are leaves on the trees” and certainly there are no leaves here.
PreparationCatch and Release
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.
Hot hydration
Flies and Lures
1 of 23
A little Bumble for the shallows in a few weeks time Darren Duffy
Billy Boland's early trout flies
'Stuck on Dabblers' Darren Duffy
Epoxy Buzzers (Irish Flies)
Epoxy Buzzers (Irish Flies)
Epoxy Buzzers (Irish Flies)
Epoxy Buzzers (Irish Flies)
Epoxy Buzzers (Irish Flies)
Kieran Sherlock
Mark Johnstone's March Brown
Epoxy Buzzers (Irish Flies)
Cloaked hares ear dabbler inspired by Lawrence Finney, Kieran Sherlock
Evo Smyth, something to pull above humungous
Fiery Brown Dabbler for shrimp feeders
Hot Head Pearl Hares Ear Dabbler
Jim Sheehan Bibio
Mark Regan, wine flavoured buzzer
Mark Regan Silver Dabblers, lightly dressed so the silver body shows, good for March
Mark Regan, glass buzzer pupae useful in a duckfly hatch
Scott Jackson some fry patterns
Mark Regan claret and silver dabbler great fly on dark wild days
Pearly Dabbler
DUO HOOK anglers at Sailors Garden
No. of Catches recorded: 39
Heaviest Catch of the week: 8lbs by Krzysztof Pawlowki
Selection of Catches:
Krzysztof Pawlowski – 1 trout at 8lbs, caught using lures.
Kamil Majda: – 1 trout at 7lbs using lures.
Marcin Wrzesinski – 1 trout at over 6lbs using lures, fishing along the western shore.
Beata Kielak – 1 trout at over 60cm, fishing lures.
Paul Kavanagh, Wexford – 1 trout at 4lbs on a Humungous, March 12th.
Nikita Krutjko: 1 trout at 65cm, weighing in at 6lbs, caught on lures.
Niall Burns, Cavan: 1 trout at 48.9cm on Dabblers.
Larry Gibb: 1 trout at 47.5cm
Diarmuid O’Brien: 1 trout at 45.2cm
Zydrumas Petrukonis, Dublin: 1 trout at 5lbs using a Woolly Bugger.
Finally! An end to the dreary, wet, wintry weather that seemed like it would never give up its hold on this early part of the year. It’s been beautifully bright and sunny, and even dry and settled. Rivers are back in order and the breezes, although making it feel cold at times, have not been much more than that. So the scene was set for a week where anglers could get back to something that felt like normal…
Mark Driver fished the Little Brosna last week while waiting for his local rivers to open. With water temperatures low, despite sunny conditions out, nymphing and targeting the fish deep was the best overall method. Dan O’Neill is also counting down the minutes to the opening day on his local river, the Nore, and has lots of advice on early season tactics in his River Whispers this week. He was out fly fishing for trout on the Munster Blackwater last week but that seems to have made the wait for his home water to open all the more urgent.
On Lough Sheelin, the Kilroy Cup will be fished on Sunday, March 16th from Kilnahard pier with fishing from 11am to 5.00pm and, in aid of a good cause, 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…
A cold, frosty and sunny start on Saturday with any mist or fog patches clearing. It will turn somewhat cloudier during the afternoon and the odd light shower cannot be ruled out. Highest temperatures of 6 to 9°C in light northeast or variable winds. It will be another mostly dry day on Sunday with a mix of cloud and spells of sunshine. The best of the sunshine is likely in the east and northeast of the country. Highest temperatures of 7 to 10°C in light northeast to east winds. There’ll be a few light showers around on Monday but it will remain dry in most areas. More in the way of cloud with only occasional sunny spells. Highest temperatures of 7 to 10°C but feeling a little colder in a rather brisk easterly wind. A breezy day on Tuesday but with good spells of sunshine expected. Highest temperatures of 7 to 11°C in fresh east to southeast winds with the weather becoming a little unsettled later in the week.
Stay safe out there…
St Patrick’s day is just around the corner and there will be a lot of trout anglers heading out to the river for the first time this year and many more anglers making the most of the long weekend. As angling is a water based activity, anglers often have to deal with changing conditions and hidden dangers. We are reminding you to exercise great care for your own safety and that of your angling partners. 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.
Ballybrack SAC fished the second leg of their master angler last Sunday on Arklow South Beach. Twenty Anglers were eager to get going at a venue that was packed, with Stella Maris SAC also hosting their competition from 11-4. We just managed to fit everyone onto the full stretch of sand and shingle which worked out great for both clubs.
As predicted by most, the order of the day would be whiting and maybe a chance of a few flats showing up over slack water. With conditions turning out to be better than anticipated, it made for a very comfortable day’s fishing. Even with the stiff northerly breeze present, plenty of fish were caught up and down the beach. The main concern in the end for most was how bright it was, due to the unexpected sunshine.
Bright sunshine
1 of 3
From the first return of rigs, it was evident that although the fish were present, they were on the smaller side of 18cm and it was going to be a tough day to try and filter through them for sizeable scoring fish. Many anglers surpassed the frustrations of hauling doubles and trebles of non-scoring undersize fish and managed to winkle out a few counting fish onto the scorecards. Some anglers were very unlucky catching 20 odd fish and only putting pen to paper for 7 or 8.
No monsters here
1 of 4
In flying form, and consistent as ever Eric Gasparro took 1st place in Zone A and won the beach with 12 counting fish. John Hughes was back to his usual form today, finding some good scoring fish and taking 2nd and Lar Mooney taking 3rd place and also biggest round fish for the day with a fine whiting of 24cm.
In Zone B Stephen Glynn took 1st place for his tally of whiting, followed by Paul Tyndall in 2nd and 3rd place was claimed by John Keane. A surprising catch for the day by Dean Forbes with a dragonet that made his scorecard at 18cm.
For the Juniors, Paul Crimmons took 1st place and also claimed biggest flat fish for the day for his fine dab of 22cm, bravo Paul! Followed closely by Sean Keane in 2nd place and Kalim Byrne, beating his dad Robert again and taking 3rd place. Well done lads great fishing on another tough day.
A fantastic day again for Ballybrack SAC. A presentation was held afterwards for the Senior and Junior master angler of 2024, which went Stephen Glynn for another savage year of top results and Sean Keane winning the Juniors.
Prizewinners
1 of 3
A special thanks to Henry’s Tackle Shop for sponsoring some prizes for our juniors, it’s much appreciated. Until the next one, tight lines.
This report form the IASCaire Feeder Club on the first match of their Spring League:
What a way to kick off the IASCaire 2025 Spring League! Yesterday, we gathered in Leitrim at the stunning Lough Garadice, Haughton’s Shore, where the weather was absolutely perfect – sunshine, high spirits, and plenty of action on the water.
With a great mix of fresh faces and old friends – thirteen competitors in total – it was the ideal start to the season. The fishing was solid, making the day even more rewarding. A big thanks to everyone who turned up and helped make it a day to remember!
Glorious Garadice
1 of 17
OUR TOP 3 OF THE DAY:
1st Place: Sarunas Zenkovas with a weight of 6.500kg
So on Sunday evening we held our 3rd Master angler competition. The day was Glorious but we all agreed it would be a tough day at the office with such bright conditions.
Lines in at 4pm and it wasn’t long until the first fish was landed by Finn, a little turbot. Hopes began to get a bit higher with young Caiden landing a nice bass and a fine seatrout soon after. Things became quiet for the next hour then there was some scampering up and down the beach on the higher pegs with Shane Mc and Terry getting tangled up with each other and a double shot of bass and flounder on for Shane.
Anglers following the tideline at Straddbally
Shane decided to make a meal of landing and he dropped the bass and had to gather him with his hands in the surf and running back to his bucket of water bass in one hand rod in the other with a flounder still attached only for the flounder to fall off mid jog all ok in the end the fish were counted and returned safely even after the juggling show.
Meanwhile David was tipping away nicely with some nice bass on his card and new member Terry landed a monster flounder of 42 cm which would eventually go on to win the flat fish pool.
Terry Caffery, 42cm flounder
Chris on one of the end pegs was off to a disaster leaving all 8 of his lovely rigs at home on the kitchen counter, so a few phone calls home were made and his lovely wife done her good deed for the day and shipped them down to the beach to him crisis averted
While all this was going on David Griffin landed a lovely picture perfect painted ray. Darren, Jason, Stephen and Richard were also all off the mark with flounders and turbots all making an appearance.
A pair of bass in the dark
As darkness fell we all thought the fishing would pick up sadly it didn’t. It finished up at 8pm.
Results
SENIOR
1st David O Sullivan 6 fish 253 points
2nd Shane McMahon 4 fish 141 points
3rd Chris O Sullivan 4 fish 125 points
JUNIOR
1st Caiden Moriarty 2 fish 93 points
Best round: Shane McMahon & David O Sullivan 49cm Bass Best flat: Terry Caffery 42cm flounder
Tralee Bay SAC is a thriving community of enthusiastic anglers – young and old, experienced and newcomers – with new members joining all of the time. We have a busy schedule of shore and boat competitions and lots of social events planned throughout the year. Tralee Bay is a family friendly, welcoming club with a reputation for promoting angling and encouraging newcomers to the sport.
Joining could not be easier – simply get in touch with us via our Contact us page leave your address and we will send you out an application form. Please also let us have your email address – especially if you have any queries for us. We are especially eager to hear from junior anglers who want to take advantage of club membership. For more information on joining see here – Joining Tralee Bay Sea Angling Club.
