This report from the Deel & Boyne Anglers’ Association:
The Deel & Boyne Anglers Association got their 2026 season off to a flying start with the ever-popular Jack Shaw Perpetual Cup Pike Competition, held on Sunday, 22nd March. A strong turnout of members took to the banks, with a welcome boost in participation from junior anglers adding to the great atmosphere on the day.
Under near-perfect conditions, with calm waters and favourable weather, anglers were treated to excellent sport throughout. Lines were tight from early on, and a fine selection of pike were brought to the net. The standout catch of the day tipped the scales at an impressive 10 lbs 5 oz, with many anglers remarking on the superb condition of the fish.
Claiming top honours was seasoned angler and long-time club member Martin Gajdos, whose experience once again proved decisive. In a proud family double, second place went to his son Marcos, who landed a cracking pike weighing 7 lbs 9 oz. Third place was secured by the club’s resident pike expert, Virgil Malinauskas, with a fine fish of 5 lbs 8 oz.
All in all, it was a fantastic day’s angling, full of good catches, great camaraderie, and plenty of stories shared along the riverbank. With the season now well underway, members are already looking forward to the next highlight on the calendar—the annual Trout Competition taking place in April.
Spring is slowly taking hold across the country as, over the course of the week, the sun has moved from a pale disk shrouded in clouds to a full-on yellow, surrounded by blue skies. Yesterday, saw some of the first genuine warmth of the year, with temperatures reaching the high teens in some places. It has remained chilly at night across the country, and rainfall has been mixed, with some parts of the country seeing plenty, while the eastern half has been mainly dry.
Ireland celebrated St. Patrick’s Day on Tuesday, and while many will have attended the numerous parades held in our cities, towns, and villages, plenty of anglers will have snuck out the back door to have a cast or two on what is the traditional opening day on many of our wild brown trout rivers. While Patrick was better known for driving snakes off the island, he spent much of his time by the water, baptising the pagan population and leaving his mark on the numerous wells bearing his name dotted around the country. He is even rumoured to have used his powers to curse fishermen on the River Duff for being stingywith their salmon, while the more generous Drowes fishermen were blessed with good luck, which may well be the reason they often catch the first Irish salmon of the season…
We begin this week’s report with trout fishing, where the sudden improvement in the weather has triggered the first big fly hatch of the season on Lough Corrib, as the word has spread around the lake that ‘the duckfly are up’. Good hatches are being reported from Oughterard all the way down to the lower lake, with fish moving everywhere and plenty being caught using dry flies as well as the usual epoxies.
Staying with lough angling, but moving to the midlands, Artem Novikov was in touch with us to let us know about the fine trout he caught on Lough Sheelin. The trout measured 61cm and was caught on ultralight tackle using a crayfish pattern he had devised and fashioned himself.
Fine Sheelin trout caught on a homemade micro lure
In Co. Laois, the 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. The fourteen juniors who participated set forth to conquer the freshly stocked trout in the fisheries’ well-managed ponds, and conquer them they did! And by the end of the day, everybody had managed to land a trout, with some fine fish among them.
A budding Navan Angler, with a fine rainbow from Laois Angling Centre
Moving to the salt, a number of sea angling clubs were active recently, competing in various competitions. Ballybrack SAC were out on Roney Point for the latest round of their Master Angler competition, and with strong winds creating a lumpy sea, the venue was in prime shape. In a strong field of anglers, it was new member Ramunas Butkus who put in a sterling performance to land 26 fish, taking the win on the night.
It was slow going for the 21 senior and 4 junior anglers who turned up for the latest round of the Ringsend Irishtown SAC Master Angler competition. Fishing was generally poor, but with one notable highlight: a super sea trout caught by John Keane, estimated at 85 to 90cm, which was quickly released back to the sea. John Kinsella took the overall win on the day, but John Keane takes our Catch of the Week prize for his superb sea trout.
Super Catch of the Week sea trout for John Keane, which was released to swim away
In County Waterford, Ardmore SAC were at Ballyquin for a club competition. Despite near-perfect conditions, the fishing was slow to begin with. But as darkness fell, catches started to improve, with a couple of late ray making an impact on the scoring, as Michael Curran’s 71cm ray, landed with 30 seconds on the clock, saw him take the win on the night.
Meanwhile, over in Cork, Sarah Lynch showed her dad how to do it as she was crowned champion of the 2025/26 Cobh SAC Light Lines competition. It was all to play for heading into the final round, with dad Dan just ahead of Sarah at the top of the table, but Sarah managed to edge ahead in the final round, beating two-time former champ and Ireland international Dan into second place. 👏👏👏
To pike angling now, and avid angler and expert YouTuber Steve McDonagh is no stranger to our reports, and he is pretty prolific when it comes to crafting quality videos of his fishing exploits. This week, he embarks on his final winter pike session and also provides a roundup of some of the venues he has fished and pike he has caught over the season.
Over in Co. Clare, Liam Curran and Adrian Rahill had their first pike trip of 2026 on a lake in the River Fergus system last Saturday, and with plenty of cold water and weather about, they weren’t expecting much action. But not long after they began, they hooked a nice female on a perch imitation paddle tail, and they also had a few jacks to keep them busy for the rest of the day.
Nice double from the Fergus system in Co Clare
In coarse angling news, the VDE Baggers had to endure terrible weather conditions when competing in their latest competition on the River Erne, with strong winds, heavy rain, and cold temperatures testing the mettle of the anglers. The weather impacted the fishing, and most anglers resorted to feeder tactics, with Paul Eyres taking the win from Peg 1 at Bellenaleck with 9.9kg of roach.
Meanwhile, on the commercial scene, Johnny Bailye 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. He’ll keep us posted as to how the competition is progressing over the next few months.
Decent bag in tough conditions at VDE Baggers match
Today will be a pleasant day across the country, with plenty of sunshine and temperatures reaching the high teens in places.
Tonight will be dry with long clear spells, though cloud will increase in the northwest. Temperatures will fall to 0–6°C in calm conditions, with mist, fog, and some local frost developing.
Saturday will start with mist and fog clearing quickly, though some coastal fog may linger. It will stay mostly dry with sunny spells, though hazy at times, and slightly cloudier in the northwest with a small chance of drizzle. Temperatures will reach 11–17°C in light winds.
Overall, the weekend will be mostly dry, though Sunday will bring some cloud, light rain, and drizzle before brighter conditions return later. Early next week starts fairly dry, but from Monday night the weather turns more unsettled with rain, showers, and stronger winds. Temperatures will drop, with colder conditions midweek bringing wintry showers, frost, and windy spells, especially in coastal areas.
Don’t forget to double-check the forecast before heading off, and if you’re going to sea, check the tides.
The first salmon of the new angling season has been reported from the River Moy system. The 9 lb fish was caught in the Pontoon area by local angler Fearghal Reape.
With St Patrick’s day behind us now everywhere in the country is officially open for wild brown trout in all rivers and lakes in the country. Seeing lots of great pictures there from lads who got out on Paddy’s Day and yesterday. River levels are dropping back a bit and I saw a few caught from the Nore, the Kings and Dundalk as well as other places. I’m really looking forward to getting out over the next few days myself. It’s hard to get out on Paddy’s Day as it’s a bit more of a family day. I spend so much time later on in the year on the river that I spend Paddy’s Day with the kids and the wife in at the parade which is a lot of fun. But I am really looking forward to getting out now, and of course I will let you know how I get on.
The Corrib
Mark got over to the Corrib to open his season. He went over Wednesday morning and he was looking for some early Duck Fly action; he wasn’t disappointed. He caught a couple of nice trout and met a few more, he dropped one or two, he mostly met them on duck fly buzzer patterns he has. But yeah it was good action he said, and conditions weren’t too bad either. Here are some videos of some of the fish he got. Well done. If you need any buzzers or anything like that, get in touch as we have a few good tried and tested patterns by Mark and Peter for early lough style fishing.
New Fishing Website
Peter has been checking out this www.fishing.ie website. Lots of great information on it covering venue profiles, reports, guides, and local knowledge. Definitely one to keep an eye on going forward. It’s in its infancy but I have been speaking to the builder and he has great plans. It’s great to have these type of resources in Ireland where we can find out what, when and where all types of fishing are happening. Saltwater, coarse and so on. So, I’m looking forward to seeing how John gets on with this website.
Fishing Fairs coming up
The lads are gearing up for The North West Angling Fair on Saturday 28th & Sunday 29th March 2026!
Peter will be doing demonstrations on Euro Nymphing and Euro Dinking and Dry Dropper on both the Saturday and Sunday. Mark will also be there if you want to talk early season lough style stuff if you want to talk buzzers, he will also be showing our Piscari-Fly Venator Rods as well as lots of other products. If you are interested in any of this make sure you check it out and call by and say hello. https://www.derrystrabane.com/subsites/angling-fair
Really looking forward to the weekend and catching up with friends and customers up there.
Irish Spring Angling Fair
There has been great interest in Peter as he progresses along with the flytying station that will be up for grabs in the raffle at the Irish Spring Angling Fair. The piece is coming along really well, Peter is very happy with it. Still plenty to do though. If you want to keep an eye on the progress of this project and how Peter is bringing it all together join us on facebook and tiktok for updates. There will be lots of other great prizes too.
You can purchase tickets online or simply purchase on the day. Peter and the Piscari-Fly team will be there with the full shop setup, joined by a wide range of exhibitors and demonstrators — it’s shaping up to be a great weekend.
If you’re free over the May Bank Holiday weekend, make sure to head along to Ardaire Springs. Bring the family, have a go at fly fishing or fly tying, browse the stands, and enjoy everything the fair has to offer. There really is something for everyone.
Of course if this piece of craftmanship has peaked your interest and you are interested in something for yourself get in touch we have made plenty of pieces over the winter for different people both locally, nationally and internationally with varying budgets, sizes and specifications. So, if you would like to add something unique to your flytying station, desk or room give Peter a buzz, [email protected] or 0879787040.
About us
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.
For all your fly tying and fly fishing needs. Stocking rods, reels, clothing water etc
Guiding
Want to improve or learn any aspects of your fly fishing? Then why not give us a shout and we will look after you. Fishing available locally on the River Nore at Thomastown and other club water by arrangement. We have also teamed up with Blackwater Trout and Salmon fishery to offer you an amazing fishing experience with over 8km of amazing river to be discovered.
Full & Half Guided days
One to one coaching
Master classes
Groups and Clubs welcome
Nymphing. Dry Fly. Wet Fly. Streamer. Dry Dropper
Instruction
Peter Driver is a qualified casting instructor with APAGI, and advanced qualified fly dresser with APAGI. He specialises in competition nymphs and fishing, Irish lake flies, streamers and lures.
As a qualified casting instructor with APAGI I Peter offers casting clinic’s and lessons, to suit your desires. Being able to cast correctly and have a good understanding of the mechanics of casting is a solid foundation in fly fishing that will pay off in your fishing, be it rivers or lakes.
The sudden improvement in weather has seen the first big hatch of the season on Corrib as the duckfly hatch gets underway. Calmer weather with sunshine and milder temperatures is really helping. Good hatches are being reported from Oughterard all the way down to the lower lake, with fish moving everywhere.
Eagerly awaited by fly anglers on Lough Corrib – the Duckfly
Larry McCarthy from Corrib View Lodge reports great hatches today, with plenty of fly congregating over the islands in the calmer conditions, earlier than normal according to Larry. He reports good fishing both to buzzer and dry fly, with the weather particularly suiting fishing dries.
Fishing guide Kevin Molloy of Baurisheen Bay Boat Hire also reports great hatches of fly the last couple of days, and says there is a great show of fish, plenty feeding at the surface and decent fishing, although today’s bright sunshine has made it a tad less easy.
Tom Doc Sullivan reports a nice hatch last Saturday in the Doorus area, but the weather changed then, only turning milder again today. Yesterday and today saw good early hatches petering out in the afternoon, but the main hatch is yet to appear at the top end of the lake.
The weather for the next few days through the weekend looks good for more of the same, and we expect to see a lot more boats out. There are a number of club competitions taking place this weekend, as activity on the lake picks up, and it looks like the competitors should enjoy good fishing.
Moycullen Angling Club host the Springtime Open on Sunday out of Birchall, with anglers competing for the Guinness Cup and a €500 first prize. Cong Angling Club are also hosting their Duckfly Competition on Sunday from Lisloughrey.
Steve McDonagh is back with another great video, captured on his last winter pike session for this season. Steve’s video production skills are amazing, one of the most professional YouTube anglers we have seen, and the video captures an atmospheric late-season pike trip to round off a great season.
We won’t spoil the suspense, you’ll have to watch the video to see what he caught (yes, we know there’s a spoiler in our heading, but it’s worth watching!).
Steve also features a roundup of some of the great fish he caught over his season, and some of the beautiful venues he fished. Steve’s videos really capture the essence of pike fishing, and we look forward to more.
The first leg of the Leinster Boat League 2026 will take place on Sunday, 29th March in Kilmore Quay. Full details of the competition are in the graphic below:
The St. Patrick’s Open took place on the River Erne under extremely challenging, near-biblical weather conditions, with strong winds, heavy rain, and cold temperatures testing all involved. Despite this, 19 dedicated anglers took to the river and were rewarded with surprisingly good fishing, leaving many to wonder how productive it might have been under calmer conditions.
The difficult weather played a major role in how the match unfolded, with the typically favoured Schools section not producing as expected. Instead, feeder tactics proved most effective, dominating the top results on the day.
Paul Eyres delivered a standout performance from peg 1 at Bellenaleck, weighing in an impressive 9.950kg of roach, hybrids, and skimmers to take first place. He was closely followed by Caolan King with 9.040kg, while Ewan Weed and Aaron Nabc Hutchman secured third and fourth with 6.930kg and 6.750kg respectively. In the Schools section, Maciej Paul Bober took top honours with 3.340kg. Credit went to all anglers who competed and endured the tough conditions.
The latest round of the Irish Shore Series Open Competition takes place this Saturday, 21st March, on Woodstown Beach, Waterford. Full details of the competition are in the image below:
The second round of the Ringsend Irishtown SAC Master Angler competition took place on 8th March at Morriscastle, with 21 senior and 4 junior anglers competing from 12–5pm over a full dropping tide. Conditions proved challenging, and anglers adopted a range of tactics, fishing close in, mid-range, and at distance. Despite a promising start with a few early fish, the day turned out to be particularly slow, with only sporadic catches across the field.
Standout moments included Seán Kinsella’s strong performance in the junior section, where he landed a 34cm bass to secure both the junior win and the pool prize. Alby Allen recorded the biggest flatfish of the day with a 33cm flounder, while John Keane provided the highlight of the match after landing and safely releasing a large sea trout estimated at 85–90cm. Although not a scoring species, it was an impressive catch that added excitement to an otherwise quiet day.
Super sea trout, which was released to swim away
Consistent fishing proved key, with John Kinsella steadily building his tally and adding three late fish to secure first place overall, continuing his excellent recent form. Stephen Byrne finished a close second, while Alby Allen took third. In the juniors, Seán Kinsella claimed victory ahead of Luke Kinsella and Scott Andrews. Despite the difficult conditions, the competition was enjoyed by all, highlighting the social side of the sport as much as the results.
