March 1st heralded the beginning of spring for those who prefer the meteorological calendar, as opposed to the Irish version, and there was definitely more of a spring feeling in the air in places. Trout anglers in many parts of the country finally dusted off the fly rods or trolling setups and took to the loughs that opened this week, while river anglers dunked their nymphs, swung wet flies or spun lures in the hope of landing a hungry early season trout…

One angler who loves to troll for an early season trout is Mick Flanagan of Midlands Angling, and Mick did see some lovely trout on the midland loughs while fishing with old pal Marty. In Cavan, perfect water levels on tributaries of the Annalee River gave anglers the chance to catch fish using sinking lines to reach the fish. The River Dodder doesn’t open for fishing until March 17th, so twenty eight club members took to the hills to fish their Nolan Cup competition at Bohernabreena Reservoir, which opened on March 1st.

Regular contributors Piscarifly and The River Whispers both have their early season newsletters available, where Piscarifly focused on a cool day on Owel and The River Whispers looks back on some recent trips and prepares for the season ahead. Featured in the trout reports this week is Dorrie Gibbons, who will represent Ireland on the Irish Trout Fly Fishing Association Senior Fly Fishing Team later this spring. Dorrie is only the 6th woman in the history of the ITFFA to have qualified to represent Ireland, so Maddy Kelly of the Irish Ladies Flyfishing Association tells us all about her.

In salmon angling, our only report comes from Lough Currane, where no more fish have been landed, despite the efforts of the lonesome boatman, among others…

Trout and salmon anglers who want to try fishing further afield from their local haunts can avail of a new opportunity to buy a day ticket on a different water, as onthewater.ie have added a few more clubs to their online permit shop. The website is now selling permits and membership for clubs on the River Slaney, Boyne and Kells Blackwater, Avonmore, Fane and Suir tributaries: the Anner and Clashawley.

Pike and perch have been fishing well this week, especially for Senan Stanley of Irish Fishing Tours. Senan landed one Derg pike to over 115cm on a recent visit, nearly 26lbs in old money, and on another trip landed four perch to over 40cm, as well as many more just under the magic 40cm mark. Senan wins our Catch of the Week this week for those cracking fish. On the Erne system, young angler Euan McKee followed up his first ever pike in November with a fine 4lb fish this week, caught on a sardine deadbait. Also north of the border in search of pike was Steve McDonagh of the Fishing with Steve YouTube channel; in this episode, Steve fishes a small lough near Downpatrick with great success.

In coarse angling, the usual prolific clubs were back in action. The CM Lakelands Club held concurrent matches in Leitrim and Monaghan, as Garadice and Muckno were the venues for their events. Members of the VDE Baggers had a small match at Ballenaleck Marina at the weekend, and they were delighted to find the fish active, compared to their recent trips to Lough Muckno. In Offaly, the Leinster Coarse Anglers held the seventh outing of their Leinster Open on the Grand Canal at Daingean last weekend, although it wasn’t one of their busiest days on the bank.

In saltwater, the Carrick Beach & Rockers SAC are back with a great shore angling report, this time from Waterfoot Beach, where they had a strong start, but a slow finish, to their event. In Kerry, Chris O’Sullivan, the Inshore Angler, is back on the sand once again; this time he is ray fishing, as early season is a great time to target rays from the beach.

Finally, Daire and Tom Doc from the Ireland on the Fly podcast speak with John Murphy from Salmon Watch Ireland. In this episode, John talks the guys through the finer points of section 19(a) of the Fisheries Act 1997, which allowed the continuation of salmon farming in Ireland without licence renewals that would require proper environmental examination. This section of the Act is in the process of being removed from legislation and it means that salmon farming organisations must reapply for licences for the first time in 18 years.

And now the weather…

Becoming mainly dry Friday night with clear spells developing by morning. Lows 7 to 9°C with a moderate southeast wind.

Sunny spells on Saturday morning will give way to patchy rain in the afternoon. Highs 12 to 15°C with moderate east to southeast winds. Mostly dry overnight as any rain clears northern coasts. Lows of 4 to 9°C in northeasterly breezes.

Dry across most areas on Sunday with sunshine and just light to moderate east to northeast winds. Highs of 12 to 16°C, highest away from eastern counties. Lows of 3 to 6°C overnight with light to moderate northerly winds.

Generally dry with sunny spells and some isolated showers on Monday and Tuesday.

Don’t forget to double check the forecast before heading off and if you’re going to sea, check the tides.

Safe fishing to all and tight lines, especially here in Ireland.

IFI Staff
Catch, Photo, Release

If you have an angling story to share with the Irish Angling Update, please send it to [email protected] and don’t forget that all of our fishing reports are available on our dedicated Angling Ireland Facebook page.

All the angling news

Salmon Fishing Reports

• Ireland on the Fly – Salmon Watch Ireland & their plans against salmon farming in Ireland in 2025
• More online permits available from Onthewater.ie
• Currane anglers giving it a go, but no salmon caught

Trout Fishing Reports

• Loughs trout season opens for Midland Angling
• First outing of the year for Dodder Anglers
• More online permits available from Onthewater.ie
• Piscari Fly report on early season trout sport
• Early season trout sport in Cavan
• The River Whispers 17
• Women in Irish Flyfishing – Dorrie Gibbons

Coarse Angling Reports

• Garadice and Muckno matches for CM Lakelands
• Daingean dashes hopes for Leinster coarse anglers
• Baggers back bagging up at Ballenaleck

Pike & Perch Fishing Reports

• Epic day of pike fishing on the Fishing with Steve channel!
• Young Euan back on the banks of Lough Erne
• 40cm plus perch for luck Derg anglers
• Pike to 115cm for Senan Stanley

Sea Angling Reports

• WATCH: Early season ray fishing in Kerry
• Good start but slow finish for Carrick Beach & Rockers at Waterfoot