No St Patrick’s Day salmon for Currane anglers

By

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March 19, 2026

Vincent Applbey, our Lough Currane correspondent, reports on the last few days of fishing…

11/3/ 2026. The Currane anglers were all quiet today and on that note, it’s straight to the Currane’s anglers weather chart, wind fresh veered SW followed by good cloud cover and ⁰the odd shower.

Yesterday’s weather amount of rainfall 7.2, maximum air temperature 11.9⁰C,amount of sunshine two minutes.

12/3/2026. A wild Currane left the My Noble Currane anglers heading for the high stool, their beer certainly wouldn’t be flat, but I can say without any fear of contradiction, the average wind speed of 60 km/h followed by gusts up to 93k./h average gusts speeds in the 70s km/h. Yesterday’s weather, the amount of rain fall 0.8mn, maximum air temperature 11.0⁰C, amount of sunshine 4 hours and 1 minutes.

13/3/2026. Just one Currane boat out on this freezing cold day, and by all accounts, just for the record, caught the odd kelt for his efforts. Wind, West fresh to strong West , followed by hailstones and sleety showers throughout the day . Yesterday’s weather, the amount of rainfall 18.4 mm, maximum air temperature 11.9⁰C, amount of sunshine none.

14/3/2026. Just two boats out, all lines were slack this day, so it’s straight to the Currane’s anglers weather chart, wind WNW gentle to moderate followed by good cloud cover. Yesterday’s weather amount of rainfall 2.5mm, maximum air temperature 8.1⁰C, amount of sunshine 4 hours 6 minutes.

15/3/2026. Just one Currane boat reported out on the waters of Lough Currane, and by all accounts, all lines were slack or in the words of one Currane angler, no good. Now, for the Currane weather chart, wind WNW fresh to strong followed by the odd shower. Yesterday’s weather amount of rainfall 1.3mm , maximum air temperature 10.⁰C, amount of sunshine 4 hours 9 minutes.

17/3/2026. The Currane anglers were all quiet today in all departments.

So on that note, we head for the Currane weather chart, wind fresh SSW, and overcast all day followed by misty rain at times. Yesterday’s weather amount of rainfall 3.4mm, maximum air 19.7⁰C, amount of sunshine 3 hours 3 minutes .

17/3/2026. On this St. Patrick’s Day, I can say Currane anglers were all quiet in all departments. You could say that St. Patrick wasn’t amused with the Currane anglers. God only knows what St. Peter would have said. So on that note, we will head for the Currane weather chart,wind strong South, veered moderate SW, followed by heavy showers this morning, come late in the afternoon, the sun breaking through. Yesterday’s weather, the amount of 3.1mm, maximum air temperature 12.4⁰C, amount of sunshine 1 minutes.

For more information on the daily conditions on Lough Currane, 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 in Waterville and beyond

Sea Trout – Catch and release only

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
the waters of Ballinskelligs Bay

Go fishing….

Guides and boat hire

Fishing with Dom

Address Spunkane Waterville Kerry Ireland Mobile Phone: +353 87 2051515 Email: [email protected] Website: https://fishingwithdom.com/

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Fly Fishing on Lough Currane

Address Termons Waterville Kerry Ireland Mobile Phone: +353(0) 87 922 8659 Phone: +353(0) 66 9474146 Email: [email protected] Website: flyfishingatloughcurrane.com

More information

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Lakelands Farm

Address Lake Road Waterville Kerry Ireland Mobile Phone: +353 87 4160200 Email: [email protected] Website: lakelandshouse.com

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Neil O’Shea

Address Caherbarna Waterville Kerry Ireland Mobile Phone: +353 87 9942792 Phone: +353 66 9474527 Email: [email protected] Website: oshealoughcurrane.com

More information

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Old Daly’s Supermarket & Filling Station

Address Murreigh Waterville V23 X459 Ireland Mobile Phone: +353669474842 Website: dalysfoodstore.ie

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Salmon & Sea Trout Fishing

Address Eureka Lodge Caherdaniel West Waterville Kerry V23 XD63 Ireland Mobile Phone: +353 87 2074882 Email: [email protected] Website: salmonandseatrout.com

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Waterville Boats

Address Spunkane Waterville Kerry Ireland Mobile Phone: +353 (0)87 2202355 Phone: +353 (0)66 9474800 Email: [email protected]

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Fine trout on homemade lure for Artem

By

Shane O'Reilly

-

March 19, 2026

Artem Novikov was in touch to tell us about a fine trout he landed on one of his custom-made lures. He was fishing on Lough Sheelin last Monday in what looked like were going to be challenging weather conditions, when he set his boat on its first drift around 9.30am.

He was fishing ultralight tackle, with a super-light spinning rod and fine braid, and suddenly his rod bent over as a fish engulfed the lure. Over the next five minutes, he could feel a number of violent head shakes, and the fish took plenty of line before he brought it to the boat. A quick measurement showed the fish was 61cm, and he returned it to the water.

Artem was using a small crayfish pattern he had fashioned himself. The lure was given some weight by using a 1g jig weight and hammering/filing it down to resemble a crayfish tail. It’s a pretty ingenious design, and the trout was obviously fooled by it. Artem has a YouTube channel where he goes into some of his lure-making endeavours.

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Gi Fishing…

Lough Sheelin, Co. Cavan

Sarah Lynch wins Cobh SAC 2025/2026 Light Lines

By

Myles Kelly

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March 19, 2026

sarah lynch — Sarah Lynch is presented first prize by Dan

Cobh SAC report on the final of the Light Lines…

That’s it for the 2025/2026 Light Lines. 5 rounds successfully completed, 45 anglers competed, the average attendance was 30, and a total of 836 hours were fished.

Sarah Lynch took the win in Round 1, with father Dan taking Round 2 leaving them on equal points. Dark horse Jim Mellis won Round 3 with Dan and Sarah still joint first in the Series. Sean Og “Ginger Ninja” McShane was back on form winning Round 4 with Dan taking the lead in the Lynch Clan clash.

It was all to play for going into the final day, with the top 8 fishing on the same boat. In beautiful sunshine, Dan Lynch, Sarah Lynch, Stephen Hurley, Paul O’Callaghan, Tomasz Kujawa, John Dennehy, Sean Og McShane and John Angles launched aboard Osprey to determine the Series winner.

As expected, the time of year, combined with the lack of visibility and freshwater in the harbour, resulted in tough fishing. Deora De stayed inside the forts while Camden Mist, Ospey and Lagosta steamed to the harbour mouth and beyond. Runaway winner of the final round was Jamie Murphy on Deora De with 75 fish, followed by Terry Boyle on Lagosta – 58 fish, Paul O’Callaghan on Ospery – 50 fish, Kevin Roche on Camden Mist – 33 fish.

Back on shore it was the usual scramble to find out the scores from the other boats. Scores on Osprey were so tight that the entire crew finished the round in the top 13 of the 31 who fished.

As with every Light Lines Series, all money collected from entries, less the expense of boat hire, is distributed in the prizes. The prize giving was held at the Commodore Hotel, a regular sponsor of the Series.

Top 3:

1st First time winner Sarah Lynch
2nd Two time winner Dan Lynch
3rd Former winner Paul O’Callaghan.

Under 21 & Under 16:

1st U21 Noah Tahran
1st U16 Tom Cunningham

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Other prizes:

Everyone in the top 23 won something. It’s not all about where you finish, loyalty prizes went to Lee Griffin, John Warner and Michael Crudge who fished all 5 rounds and finished outside the main prizes.

Longest Fish:

€100 Longest Ray – John Angles 74cm Thornback
€100 Longest Whiting – John Dennehy 50cm
€50 each, Longest Dab – Kevin Roche and Dave Jolly 32cm
€300 Longest Cod – none caught.

Thank you to:

All who joined us on the water, particularly those who travelled from afar, Josie Barrett, Dave Cherry, Padraig Munnelly, Terry Boyle, Colm & Conan Slater, Brian Whelan and Peter McKeon.

Our skippers, Alan Kennedy of Lagosta, Jim Lenihan of Deora De, Tony Lane of Camden Mist, Dylan Geary (on behalf of John Barry) on Cuan Bawn, and Alan Tracey who has skippered Osprey this season.

Our generous sponsors, the Commodore Hotel Cobh, and Dan Lynch of Halfway Angling Centre and www.TackleDirectIreland.ie

The organisers, Piotrek Nowakowski and John Warner. Without you there would be no event.

What now?

For the 3rd series in a row not a single cod, of any size, has been caught. Including the annual Fundraiser which is held each December, there has been 1 caught in approximately 3,000 hours of fishing and that was caught at a fundraiser, south of Roches Point. For the Light Lines 2026/2027 the longest cod prize won’t be rolled over, it will return to €100 and the existing balance will be put towards other prizes.

Go fishing…

Dates for the 2026/2027 series are 15th November, 13th December, 17th January, 14th February and 14th March (Saturday). The annual fundraiser is 28th December 2026.
The 7 Cobh SAC club competitions will be held monthly on Sundays commencing 26th April and ending 18th October

Cobh SAC is a very active club with a great series of competitions across the year.

The club is very welcoming to new members.

If you are interested in joining the club or fishing any of their competitions contact them via Facebook.

Fine pike from Fergus system for angling duo

By

Paul O'Reilly

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March 19, 2026

Liam Curran and Adrian Rahill had their first pike trip of 2026 on a lake in the River Fergus system in Clare last Saturday. With water temperatures in the Fergus system stuck around the 9°C mark, they had no real expectations of fish, but 20 minutes into the trip, they hooked into the big female in the picture.

The fish took a bright perch imitation paddle tail. An additional five jack pike were caught and all fish were safely released by the duo, making for a very enjoyable day on the water.

Pike fishing at Corofin Angling Centre

Brilliant day trip for Navan juniors in Laois

By

Paul O'Reilly

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March 19, 2026

Navan and District Anglers’ Association held a juniors’ day at Laois Angling Centre on Saturday, March 14th, to encourage young anglers to join the club, and the day turned out to be a huge success.

Armed with an array of blobs, boobies, squirmies, chenille worms, bungs and all kinds of mini lures in a variety of colours (kindly donated by Peter Driver of Piscari-Fly), the fourteen juniors who participated set forth to conquer the freshly stocked trout in the fisheries’ well-managed ponds, and conquer them they did!

While the focus was on fly fishing and helping the youngsters cast a fly rod, there was also the opportunity to fish bubble and fly or even a worm in the bait pond for those who wanted to. By the end of the day, everybody had managed to land a trout, with some fine fish among them.

Strike a pose

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The organisers, who had a watchful eye on the weather forecast in the build-up to the big day, need not have worried, as the weather stayed mostly dry, apart from the odd shower. Laois Angling Centre has a great range of facilities, and when the only real downpour of the day arrived at lunchtime, the group from Navan were being fed and watered, with a fine spread of soup, sandwiches and tea beside a hot stove in the clubhouse.

Happy anglers, young and not so young

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Well done to all involved in organising the event and well done to the youngsters who caught all the fish!

The club are always on the lookout to recruit junior anglers, and anybody who is interested should get in touch with them through their website @ navananglers.com.

Laois Angling Centre is located at Coolrain, less than 3 miles from the N7. The venue combines the peace and tranquillity of the Irish countryside with excellent game and coarse fishing. The four large spring-fed lakes are stocked regularly with brown and rainbow trout, carp and tench. Facilities include a large parking area, wheelchair access, tackle hire and light refreshments with picnic and barbecue areas ideal for family and corporate events.

Address: Laois Angling Centre, Clonoghil House, Coolrain, Portlaoise, Co. Laois.
Tel: 087 9962864
Email: [email protected] Web: www.laoisanglingcentre.ie

Last Man Standing on Loch Mahon Fisheries

By

Shane O'Reilly

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March 18, 2026

Johnny Baily of Loch Mahon Fisheries was in touch to tell us about a new competition he is running on the fishery over the coming months. It’s called the Last Man Standing. There are 16 anglers fishing, with the first round taking place in April, and it’s a 1-on-1 knockout.

Each winner advances to the next round until only two anglers remain. The two anglers drawn together can fish the first round any time in April, they just organise it between themselves.

There’s a lovely big cup for first and 2nd with €900 in cash, all money paid out.
All places are sold for this year, and the draw is done with some very interesting matches to keep an eye on.

Go Fishing…

Loch Mahon

Address LochMahon Lakes Kellystown Adamstown Enniscorthy Wexford Y21 R2C0 Ireland Mobile Phone: +353-(0)87-2765664 Email: [email protected] Website: lochmahon.com

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Opening day on the Nore & Kings Rivers with Dan O’Neill

By

Shane O'Reilly

-

March 18, 2026

Angling guide and instructor Dan O’Neill reports on the opening day 2026 on the Nore and Kings River.

So at last it arrived, the 2026 season. What a wonderful day it was. I have been tying flies on my Facebook, Instagram and TikTok pages over the past few weeks. It was mainly patterns that I use quite a lot in the early season. Nice buggy looking patterns making them look a worthwhile and substantial meal for any Brown Trout. The Nore itself was at about 1.3m, so I was limited to which pools I could visit. The Kings River, however, offered me several pools to fish. My chosen methods were dry dropper and streamer fishing. These are mostly what I fish early season, and I also enjoy it too. The tight quarters of the Kings makes the casting challenging, and you really have to think on the spot. Strolling to the entrance of the Kings brought me back to the same time last year as I had a face full of sleet and the noise it made hitting my waterproofs. This year, however, there was no sleet but a brisk wind, we can deal with that 🙂

Getting to the river, it was as beautiful as I remembered, looking up the river at its many glides and currents almost called you up there, although I stayed focused and took my time along the river. My first technique was dry dropper where I was using a klink tied by Marco Bonneto, which supported my 2.5mm nymph. It didn’t take too long to meet my first trout of the season. It wasn’t a big fish, but the twisting and turning, along with light gold flashes just under the surface, was a sight that was very welcome.

I did have a few more little trout as I made my way up the run. Fish were mostly at the tail end to mid sections of the runs.

I fished the Nore itself for an hour and again had some small trout on the same methods, mostly around George’s wall, very exciting watching the trout let their guard down and chase the streamer right to the edge, even more so when they grab it in front of you.

Getting out of the water and having a cup of coffee with half an Easter egg was my little reward, and I enjoyed it as I watched the river pass by with time. Some of my senses woke up and I got the feeling I was being watched, I did expect to perhaps look up and see another angler but as I looks around I noticed I was being watched by 3 deer, there’s something majestic and connecting about being out in nature and of course being watched by it to, sitting on the bank with a cup of coffee with a now half eaten Easter egg made me aware it wasn’t just the fishing and the trout that I missed. Sometimes, very simple things can be called “things” rather than privileges, which is exactly what they are.

I do hope you all enjoyed the opening day and have a very enjoyable 2026 season. I look forward to seeing you at the upcoming shows and events and of course on the riverbank too. Be sure to bring an Easter egg, and I will swap it for the secret pattern.

Enjoy and stay safe, Dan

Go Fishing…

South East Casting

Address Thomastown Kilkenny Ireland Mobile Phone: +353857652751 Email: [email protected]

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Irish Angling Update 13 March 2026

By

IFI Staff

-

March 13, 2026

Wet, wet, wet… the story of the week. A change in the jet stream steered a few depressions in over Ireland this week, with wet and windy weather dominating the week. Many rivers and lakes are very high, making for difficult fishing conditions, and we don’t have a huge amount of fishing to report on. This weekend traditionally sees angling activity start to pick up, with St. Patrick’s Day on Tuesday, and hopefully the weather starts to improve for everyone.

Trout

The big lakes are all open now, and early season sport was reasonably good on Corrib, where trolling produced most fish, but wet fly and streamers also caught trout. The duckfly hatch should get underway in the next week or so, and a lot more anglers will be out for that. Katie Molloy was out with angling guide dad Kevin, and her trout wins our Catch of the Week.

Katie Mpolloy enjoyed her day out with Dad Kevin on Corrib

Senan Stanley took himself off to Cavan for his first visit to Lough Sheelin, where he fished lures and landed some cracking trout. Check out the report and video here.

The Irish Ladies Flyfishing Association have issued a call for entries for their first national team qualifier at Emy Lough, Co. Monaghan on April 11th. More details here.

There are also details of a new byelaw governing angling methods and catch-and-release on the lower River Dodder.

Salmon

To salmon fishing now. Many rivers have simply been too high to fish, but David McEvoy reports from Delphi, where a few spring salmon have been caught in the last week, hopefully heralding a good run of fish.

Pike

Pike anglers are enjoying good sport recently, and Florent Zsitko from Pike Pro Ireland sent in a great report of a recent trip on Lough Derg, where the afternoon produced some fantastic sport.

The Dromore Anglers found it much tougher on Lough Erne, but conditions were against them, and a 5lbs fish for Simon McLarnon was enough to take the win.

Coarse

Coarse angling reports are thin on the ground this week, but Lough Muckno is fishing well at the moment. The latest round of the CM Lakelands Winter League saw 17 anglers competing, and a fine catch of 9.200kg took the win for Piotr Horbiński.

Sea

It’s been a rough week weather wise, but skipper Kit Dunne managed to take advantage of a weather window on Sunday to get out, and his guests had spurdog to 102cm, along with whiting and dogfish. No tope on this trip, but they will be starting to show soon.

Shore clubs are getting into full swing with competitions now, and Richard Dodd provided an entertaining report of a match on South Beach, Arklow for Borough SAC, where a quiet start was followed by a hectic finish and plenty of fish for everyone.

Rinnashark SAC were also out at Cheekpoint Strand, although the fishing was decidedly slow for the nice conditions they enjoyed, and Alan Mulcahy took the win.

More competition dates are being announced, with the Connacht Open Shore on March 29th, and the Irish Kayak Fishing Club have released their calendar of competition dates for the year. And James Raymond of Irish Angling Advenmtures is holding another community meet up at Carrigaholt on the 29th, all welcome.

Other news

Spring has (allegedly) sprung, and a lot of anglers will be going afloat in the coming weeks, on inland lakes and on the sea. Now is a good time to make sure your boat and engine are safe and serviced, that oars, ropes, chains, anchors etc are in good condition. And very importantly, make sure your lifejacket is serviced – it is illegal to go afloat in a small vessel without a lifejacket, and legalities aside, it could save your life!

And while you’re checking your gear, check out these tips for a personal biosecurity kit, that could help stop the risk of spreading invasive species.

And now the weather

Cold today with sunny spells and showers, some wintry, merging to give longer spells of rain or sleet for a time. Brightening up towards evening and showers will become confined to Atlantic coastal counties. Highest temperatures of 5 to 8C, with moderate to fresh westerly winds.

Saturday will start off mainly dry with bright or sunny spells, best in the east. Scattered showers will extend eastwards through the morning and afternoon, gradually dying out in the evening. Highest temps of 7 to 9C in light to moderate W/SW breezes. Sunday will be a cool, breezy day with sunny spells and scattered blustery showers, some turning wintry with a chance of hail or sleet, mainly in the north. Afternoon highs of 5 to 10 degrees in fresh to strong westerly winds.

Monday and Tuesday look unsettled, with rain, showers and breezy S/SW winds, but the signals are for drier, brighter weather for the latter half of the week.

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].

All the angling news

Trout Fishing Reports

Salmon Fishing Reports

A few more springers reported at Delphi

Coarse Angling Reports

Muckno in good form for match anglers

Pike Fishing Reports

Sea Angling Reports

Other News

Personal Biosecurity Kits – The new essential tackle box

New regulations for River Dodder this season

By

Myles Kelly

-

March 13, 2026

A new byelaw was recently signed which updates the regulations on the River Dodder. The new regulations apply to the part of the river from Clonskeagh Road bridge to the River Liffey at Ringsend.

Fly only fishing

River Dodder Bye-law No. 1021 of 2025 provides for fly fishing only, single barbless hook from Clonskeagh Road bridge to the River Liffey at Ringsend during the period 01 June to 30 September in any year. All legitimate methods are allowed at other times (subject to salmon regulations).

Catch and release

River Dodder Bye-law No. 1021 of 2025 provides for catch and release for all fish species downstream of the Clonskeagh Road bridge to the River Liffey at Ringsend during the period 01 June to 30 September in any year.

No salmon, or seatrout over 40cm

A person shall not have in his or her possession any wild salmon or sea trout (over 40cm).

Angling Limitation River Dodder Bye-law No. 1021 of 2025

View the bye law here: River Dodder bye law

Muckno in good form for match anglers

By

Paul O'Reilly

-

March 13, 2026

Lough Muckno was in good form on Sunday for the last round of the CM Lakelands Muckno Winter League, with 17 anglers competing.

Piotr Horbiński won this final round from Yellow Island with a fantastic weight of 9.200 kg of roach and hybrids caught at around 30 metres.

Piotr also won the league outright with an incredible 5 pts, winning 5 sections. This performance was on another level for Lough Muckno, considering the attendance of the matches and the calibre of the anglers fishing the league.

Irish international feeder boss Brenton Sweeney was 2nd overall, again on Yellow Island, weighing 7.660 kg; Brenton fished at 45 metres to catch a mixture of hybrids and roach.

3rd overall was Mariusz Kilian, who was on the next peg down from Brenton. Mariusz caught a lot of small hybrids, skimmers and roach to weigh 6.380kg.

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