David Black (aged 9) was rewarded this weekend after three hard days of dapping on Lough Corrib. David, who was out fishing with his father Declan, never gave up trying, and his patience and persistence finally paid off when a beautiful brown trout fell for his dapped fly.
The delight on his face is a joy to behold and we are certain that David will never forget his special moment – well done!
Ne’er cast a clout, til May be out.
There’s always wisdom in the old sayings, and while there have been some lovely warm days this week, we’ve also had thundery downpours, blustery winds and cold nights on other days. The T-shirt weather may be coming, but don’t leave the jumper at home just yet! The changeable weather made for tricky fishing conditions at times this week, but we have some great reports from around the country, and some great photos to go with them. So without further ado, let’s get stuck into it!
The mayfly is up on our big loughs, and despite challenging conditions at times, with blustery winds and thundery downpours in places, fishing is really picking up. When the weather came right, hatches and catches improved hugely on Sheelin. Buzzer fishing is still producing plenty of fish, but the big mayfly hatches are expected next week, when the lake will be alive with boats and anglers eagerly awaiting the fall of spent gnat. Don’t believe us? Read Brenda Montgomery’s (excellent as ever) report here.
Lough Arrow is also producing good mayfly fishing, with anglers landing trout up to 8lbs this week! Evening buzzer hatches will also produce fish if conditions are right. Fishing was still difficult, but picked up with better hatches on Loughs Conn and Cullin over the week.
River fishing is really getting going, with Dan O’Neill reporting much better hatches on the Nore this week with warmer water temperatures. All methods, from wet fly to dry and dry dropper in between were working, with Griffith’s Gnat the top fly.
The Munster Blackwater is also producing good trout fishing, with competitors in the Munster Senior River Championships landing over 730 trout to 48 rods on Saturday!
Finally, the Ireland on the Fly podcast this week is joined by Corrib expert angler Mike Keady, to talk all things mayfly and Corrib. Definitely one that’s worth a listen.
Fishing improved further on the River Moy last week, with the catch more than doubling to 47 for the week, with fish reported from most fisheries along the river.
More spring fish were reported from Carrowmore, with breezy overcast weather making for perfect conditions. Among the anglers to feature was Phil Donohue, who released this lovely fish after a good fight.
Fishing on the Blackwater was slow last week, but fish have started to be caught over the last few days, with hopefully more to come this weekend. The Slaney has also been slow so far, but David O’Hagan got Ballycarney Fisheries off the mark with a lovely sea-liced bar of silver, estimated at 15lbs, and our Catch of the Week.
Lough Currane produced some good fishing days this week, with salmon to 11.5lbs and good numbers of brown trout, and a few sea trout reported. Judd Ruane reports some exciting fishing on the river Moy estuary with May fishing as well as ever. Despite challenging weather conditions there is a good head of fresh-run sea trout holding in the lower basin and not one angler has reported a blank day yet.
Boyle-based fishing guide Bodo Funke of Angling Services Ireland has been putting his clients over some great fish in Co. Roscommon, with anglers landing some great fish to fly and lure tactics.
French visitor Jean Feinte, with over four score years and a longtime visitor to Ireland, fished some Monaghan lakes with Peadar O’Brien of Irish Fishing guides and they had great sport, with plenty of jacks and some better fish too.
60 anglers turned out for the IFPAC 1st Qualifier of the 2023/2024 season on a midlands river last weekend. Fishing was tremendous, with over 200 fish landed, including 5 doubles.
In Co. Longford, some French visitors to Melview Fishing Lodge enjoyed excellent sport, with 186 fish landed between 4 rods. Unfortunately, some of the better fish that would have beaten the 1m mark came off, but the lads really enjoyed their visit, particularly the two first timers, who we expect will be back!
Roach were scarce at the All Ireland Canal Championships over the weekend, but luckily the anglers found plenty of tench to provide sport and make for a competitive outing.
Belmont and district fishing club are holding an Open competition on Grand canal Shannonharbour match stretch this Sunday the 14th May, details here. Please contact Belmont Anglers via their Facebook page to take part.
Finally, fly angler Gintaras Vosylius from Longford got more than he bargained for last week as he fished his euro nymph in fast water on the River Inny in search of trout. Read about his surprise catch of a 50cm bream on a small trout nymph here!
Not too many sea angling reports this week, but news of great pollack and mixed species fishing from several charter boats in Galway Bay. Pollack, coalfish, cod, ling and other species were all feeding hard, but the pick was this megrim, a deep water flatfish that is a relatively rare catch by anglers.
In Co. Clare, Colin Harty took 2nd place in the Galway Bay SAC competition on Doughmore beach, Doonbeg to win the overall club Master Angler title. This fine flounder of 43cm was the best fish on the day.
Bass are also back on Wexford shores, with anglers encountering very good numbers of schoolies, but no sign yet of the eagerly anticipated, and hard-fighting smoothhounds.
Attention anglers, tweeters, and tweeting anglers! All of the angling reports from the fishinginireland.info angling information website will now appear on the @AnglingUpdate Twitter page and not the previously used @InlandFisherIE handle.
If you want all of the latest Irish angling reports to hit your feed when you need them, don’t forget to follow and retweet from @AnglingUpdate.
Our colleagues in IFI devote countless hours to protecting our natural resources, with water pollution and illegal fishing included among the threats to our fish stocks that they work to prevent. This week their efforts were rewarded with two successful prosecutions for illegal fishing, in Youghal, Co. Cork and on the River Shannon, Co. Limerick.
We also feature a successful prosecution for two food businesses in Co. Monaghan for water pollution offences. Unfortunately, we also had a fish kill last week in Co. Clare that affected 2.6km of the Ballymacraven River. Investigations are continuing and we are confident the source of the pollution will be identified.
It’s a lovely day around the country today, with lots of sunshine and light breezes producing temperatures of 15 to 20C. Tomorrow also looks good, a largely dry day with spells of sunshine though a few showers may bubble up in the afternoon. Cloud will increase from the west during the evening. Highest temperatures of 16 to 21 degrees in light variable breezes.
Sunday will see overnight rain clearing eastwards with sunny spells and perhaps a few light showers following. It will become noticeably cooler as the rain clears with moderate to fresh northwest winds becoming established and highest temperatures of 11 to 14 degrees.
The early days of next week look similar, with mostly dry, bright weather but northwest breezes keeping it cool, with temps of 11-15C, becoming milder later in the week with more chance of showers.
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].
Lough Sheelin Angling Report May 5th – May 12th 2023
“ Happiness, not in another place but this place…not for another hour, but this hour.”
Walt Whitman
This week was dogged by heavy thundery downpours – ‘proper wet rain’ as they say in Cavan. These deluges did nothing to enhance the fishing on Sheelin but nonetheless our anglers soldiered on and those that did were amply rewarded for their piscatorial tenacity. Monday was the pick of the fishing days where a light to moderate southwest breeze stroked the lake’s surface, sunny spells, scattered showers and a humidity in the late teens brought the fishing to boiling point. Sheelin waved its magic wand and great fish of impressive weights and in beautiful condition were landed. True to form, the following day, things crashed, a total anti-climax with few rises and the lake became a difficult and challenging place to be. Things started to turn around a bit as the week progressed, water temperatures rose to over 14 degrees from top to bottom and the trout started looking up.
There were some small hatches of mayfly sighted at the weekend with thursday, finally being the day when the trout started taking the mayfly patterns. Paul McMenamin had his first ‘mayfly’ fish on Thursday evening at Holywell – a 60cm spotted beauty taken on a COD special Mayfly pattern.
Buzzer patterns and set ups using Diawl Bach, Epoxy, nymphs and small dries fished in a Bung or Washing Line rig were the most effective and will be so until the mayfly season takes off in earnest which should be next week if the weather behaves itself. Most days and evenings saw huge numbers of buzzers carpeting the surface but when there is that amount of food it is difficult to find a pattern that attracts and appeals among all those naturals so it can be a frustrating time.
We are fast approaching ‘duffer’s fortnight’ when the fishing is supposedly easy as the trout rise to gorge on mayfly and are much less likely spooked by a clumsy angler or poorly presented fly. The reality is often a bit different. Enthusiastic anglers from all over Ireland drift around in boats waiting for the hatch from early morning, when the hatch usually starts from mid-afternoon and often later. Once the hatch does get underway, the excitement builds in the wait for the trout to rise. Our angler waits and waits some more but often it takes a few days for the trout to switch on to the rising and taking mayfly off the surface. Fishing at this time sometimes can be quite difficult and one thing for sure is that you need the right flies and your normal patterns just won’t cut in the next three weeks. It is important to have both nymph, emerger, dun and spent spinner in the box. Often trout become selective and every now and then, it’s obvious that a fish prefers a certain stage in the insect’s life cycle so you need to be prepared.
Wet fly fishing was still on the back burner as the buzzers and nymph patterns achieved the best results up until mid week. Fish started to take the wets and dries from thursday onwards so patterns like the Gosling, Octopus (yellow), French Partridge, Chocolate Drop, Green Mayfly and Ginger Mayfly started to pick up the trout taking the mayfly. Other patterns that worked were Pheasant tail, Hare’s Ear, Olive Buzzer, Epoxy Buzzer, Fiery Brown Buzzer, Dark Wickham, Bibio, Fiery Brown Palmer, Dark Olive (point fly) and the Dabblers (Silver, Fiery, Pearly and Claret).
The areas that fished best where those favoured by the buzzers – soft silted areas so it was the Sailors Garden, Rusheen, Finea, Goreport and Corru which were best.
Now that the mayfly is appearing the fishing spots on the lake will increase as mayfly like the sandy rocky shorelines like Orangefield and down along Holywell and Crover. The trout will move where the quantities and diversities of food are so soon I will be reporting that ‘every area’ is fishing well.
Now that we are on the cusp of what is undoubtedly the high point of the game fishing season – the Mayfly , it is hard not to wax lyrical about this most elegant little insect. As well as having the capacity to bring every trout angler to their knees, mayflies who require cool, clean water to live are among nature’s best ecological sentinels so their presence or absence is an invaluable indicator of environmental change. The fact that Sheelin supports a huge population of mayflies is a fact that should be exalted from on high.
Lough Sheelin Guiding Services (www.loughsheelinguidingservices.com) 087 1245927
Christopher Defillon
[email protected] (+33685964369) evasionpecheirlande.net
https://m.facebook.com/christopher.defillon?refid=0&fref=seaperch#
Michael Farrell @ 087 4194156Telephone: +353 43 6681298 Email: [email protected]
Grey Duster Guiding
Kenneth O’Keeffe
Tel: 086 8984172 Email: [email protected]
John Mulvany [email protected] 086 2490076
Total number of catches recorded: 97
Heaviest catch: 11.4lb trout caught by Antio Deveraux on May 8th
Selection of catches:
Fergal O’Connor: May 5th, 1 at 7.4lbs in the morning, with a second 3lb trout caught in the afternoon on Buzzer patterns.
Frank Kelly, Cavan – 1 at 9lbs on Buzzer patterns
Gerry Kelly, Drogheda – 2 trout at 5lbs on Buzzer and nymphs.
Declan Young, Cavan – 2 trout averaging 3lbs on Buzzer patterns.
Paul McMenamin, Northern Ireland – 2 trout, heaviest at 5lbs on a COD special Mayfly.
John Carmichael, Cavan – 1 trout at 4lbs, May 10th on a Gosling.
Martin Ryan, Drogheda – 1 trout at 5lbs on a Buzzer.
Andris Rinkulis, Wexford – 1 trout at 3lbs on a lure.
Galway Bay charter skippers report very good fishing over the last week. Mackerel have been plentiful, and with the extra numbers of bait fish the predators are feeding hard. Good numbers of pollack and coalfish are showing, providing plenty of sport. Chgeck out the short video below from skipper Julian Dosso on the Leaca Rua.
Skipper Kevin MacGabhann on the Maighdean Mara reports some great pollack fishing, along with coalies, cod, ling, wrasse, pouting and a few doggies.
Over on the Brazen Hussy, John Fleming says “Some fine fish on the move this weekend, best of the fish taken on soft plastic or slow pitch jigs. We even managed a surprise… well semi surprise megrim yesterday, I say semi surprise as we know they are in that area but we haven’t ever actually targeted them”
To book fishing with John aboard the Brazen Hussy II, give him a call on 087 7571320
A regular day is between 9am- 6pm from either Rossaveal, Spiddal or Galway depending on species being sought after. Fishing on the inshore reefs for pollock, cod, ling, wrasse, conger eel and mackerel can be reached in 10 minutes from departure, while our offshore reef marks are within 45 minutes of departure. Our ground fishing for tope, spurdog, ray, bullhuss, turbot, plaice and the giant common skate can all be reached within the hour which ensures the most amount of time is spent fishing.
The shark season usually starts at the end of June and runs into late October, this is the ultimate angling adrenaline rush with these hard fighting blue and porbeagle sharks all being tagged and released safely.
Package deals available
Address: Baile an tSagairt, Spiddal, Co. Galway.
Telephone: +353 (0)87 7571320
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BlueSharkAngling
A regular Galway Bay Safari is from 9am to 6pm. The Maighdean Mara will pick up your party from the pier at Spiddal, County Galway. The boat is yours for the day, though of course skipper Kevin will advise you where the best fishing is to be found. Tackle hire is free.
Address: Galway Bay Safaris, An Boluisce, Spiddal, Co. Galway.
Telephone: +353 91 553888 or +353 86 8547890
Email: [email protected]
To book a fishing trip with Julian, give him a call on 086 323 4638, email [email protected] or check out the website at www.galwayfishing.ie
Deep sea fishing trip in Galway Bay from Rossaveel. Fish for species such as shark, pollack, ling, ray, mackerel and much more…
Licenced for up to 12 persons. Smaller groups welcomed and individuals also catered for.
For day trips, boat departs Rossaveel around 9am and returns around 5.30pm.
For evening charter, boat departs at 6.30pm and returns approx at 9.30pm.
Telephone: +353 (0)86 323 4638
Email:[email protected]
Trout angling has improved significantly on the Munster Blackwater and on Saturday 6th of May the Munster Senior River Championships was hosted on the Funcheon River by the Kildorrery and Glanworth Trout anglers. The event was a great success with a total of 46 anglers competing with 736 Trout caught and released.
1st place went to Michael Drinan from the Glenville/Kildinan Trout Anglers, who had 71 Trout. 2nd place fell to Jimmy Russell of the Kilworth Trout Anglers and 3rd place was taken by Dave Coughlan of the Kildorrery Trout Anglers.
The team event was won by Michellestown, represented by Dave Coughlan and Tommy Lane.
Largest Fish went to Michael Drinan.
Congratulations to all competitors, the top 20 anglers will now have the opportunity to represent Munster in the Interprovincial later in the year.
Colin Harty reports on the fifth and final leg of the Galway Bay SAC Master Angler competition at Doughmore beach, Doonbeg.
The final leg of the GBSAC Master Angler competition was held in Doonbeg, Co. Clare on May 7th. The competition saw a great turnout with both juniors and seniors participating in the event. The weather conditions were clear and sunny to start, with the rain arriving halfway through the competition, there was a light breeze blowing from the west. The temperature was around 18° in the earlier part of the day and got cold as the rain came in over the bay – making it a great day for fishing!
The tidal conditions were ideal, with high tide occurring around midday. Anglers took full advantage of this and fished to match the conditions – there were high hopes of bass in this beach but due to the lack of a surf they evaded the Anglers for another day.
Mila Harty stole the show in the junior category, catching 5 flounder and winning the title of the overall Junior Winner. She showed great skill and expertise, leaving the seniors impressed with her performance.
Daniel Harty, with his impressive catch, came in second and was awarded the overall junior master angler prize for his effort throughout the year.
In the senior competition, Brian Reidy emerged as the winner, catching the most fish and earning himself a voucher from our Sponsors Wild Hunter Galway. Colin Harty came in second with 2 fish, and Gary Harty secured third place.
Colin Harty won the overall Master Angler in Galway for 2023 and now qualifies to fish in the National Manster Angler later this year. Well done Colin
Overall, it was a great day for anglers, with many impressive catches and a friendly atmosphere. Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to all the participants who made the final leg of the Master Angler competition a success.
Looking forward to the summer and winter outing ahead for the rest of the year!
Galway Bay Sea Angling Club is a progressive club based in Galway, but fishing competitions along the west coast. New members are always welcome, and every level of experience is catered for, with social outings right up to competitions held throughout the year. If you’re looking to get into sea angling in the west, check them out here
River conditions and levels on the Munster Blackwater for the week ending 07 May were described as ideal for fishing.
Salmon angling on the Blackwater for the week was exceptionally poor for the time of year with fisheries citing that the river is in excellent condition, but that there is a fundamental absence of Salmon and anglers are very scarce as a result.
Thankfully there have been a few fish reported again in the last couple of days and hopefully there’ll be more caught over the weekend.
This large and broad river has a lot of fine salmon fishing spread among many private and club fisheries. They are all easily accessible and most welcome visiting anglers. Spring run improving in recent years. The best grilse fishing is towards the end of the season. For more information see:
Blackwater Salmon and Trout Fishery
Blackwater Salmon and Trout Fishery control a number of beats of the Munster Blackwater. The Ballyduff Bridge beat is almost a mile long offering a huge variety of water and is particularly suited to fly fishing. Upstream near the village of Ballyhooley (a few miles outside the town of Fermoy, Cork) we have two beats. The Ballincurrig Beat is one of the most beautiful locations along the river and has an excellent piece of fly water flowing into a deep pool. Just downstream on the opposite bank we have a short but productive beat, called Magners. This beat fishes also well in high water.
Contact Jason Corcoran:
Ballyduff, Co. Waterford.
Tel: +353 (0)586 0146
Mobile: +353 (0)87 720 5690
Web: www.blackwatertroutandsalmon.ie
Blackwater Salmon Fishery
Blackwater Salmon Fishery has 3 beats downstream of the weir and 2 upstream of the weir. Blackwater Salmon Fishery offers fishing on approximately 5 miles of the river Blackwater. The fishing is spread throughout the middle section of the river to offer good sport throughout the fishing season. Due to the location of the beats, fishing can still usually be offered in low or high water.
Contact Glenda Powell: Lismore, Co Waterford,
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: +353 (0) 872351260 Telephone: +353 (0) 5853929
Web: www.blackwatersalmonfishery.com
Fortwilliam Fishery & Self-Catering Cottages
Fortwilliam Fishery offers two miles of double bank salmon and trout fishing over five beats on the river Blackwater.
Our salmon include – Springers, May Salmon, Grilse, Back End Salmon, and in Summer sea trout.
Our beats provide a wide variety of water, suitable for both beginners and the more experienced fishermen.
Fortwilliam Fishery, Glencairn, Lismore, Co. Waterford, Ireland
Web: www.fortwilliamfishing.ie Email: [email protected]
Tel: (00353) 87 8292077 or 058 75299
Careysville Fishery
Careysville Fishery offers some of the best salmon fly fishing in Ireland and includes 26 named pools. It is considered by many to be one of premier beats for salmon fishing in Ireland. Wading is excellent and among the numerous streams, pools and glides there is a great variety of fly fishing to suit both complete novice and challenge the most competent of fly casters.
Careysville, Clondulane, Fermoy, Co. Cork, Ireland
Email: [email protected] Mobile: +353 (0)86 2378788
Web: http://careysville.com/careysville-fishery/
Lismore Castle Fishery
At Lismore Castle & Golf Course Fishery, we offer nearly two miles of two inter-linked beats, the Castle Beat & the Golf Course Beat.
The legendary Castle Beat consistently ranks as one of the top Salmon beats on the River Blackwater, for the number of Atlantic Salmon caught per rod. The Golf Course Beat offers about 1.5 miles of fishable water through meandering majestic countryside. The Golf Course beat offers a number of bewildering pools suitable for unmatched spinning and bait fishing.
For bookings contact Joe Willoughby on Mobile no. 00353 87 8295449 or Email: [email protected]
Website: www.lismorecastlefishery.com
Blackwater Salmon Anglers, Mallow
We provide Day Tickets for some prime Salmon fishing in Mallow Co. Cork. We have excellent fly water, shrimping worming and spinning also. We also have very competitive Day rates and we have very recently upgraded our fishing.
Tickets available from “The Bridge House” and “Vincent Downes Menswear” Mallow.
Facebook: Blackwater Salmon Anglers
Upper Bridgetown Salmon Fishery
Located on the Munster Blackwater in the south of Ireland. Situated mid river between the towns of Fermoy and Mallow. A productive left bank beat in stunning surroundings.
For bookings contact Conor Arnold: +353 87 755 4682
Facebook: Upper Bridgetown Salmon Fishery
Loungueville House Salmon Fishery
For details on availability and conditions of fishing for salmon and trout on the Longueville House waters please contact them at
Contact : Longueville House Hotel, William O’Callaghan
Address : Mallow, Co. Cork.
Telephone : 00 353 22 47156
Email: [email protected]
Website:
Attention anglers! All of the angling reports from the fishinginireland.info angling information website will now appear on the @AnglingUpdate Twitter page and not the previously used @InlandFisherIE handle.
If you want all of the latest Irish angling reports to hit your feed when you need them, don’t forget to follow and retweet from @AnglingUpdate.
Two Limerick men have been found guilty of being in breach of fisheries legislation for using a net to illegally capture salmon.
Mr John Quinlivan of Moyross, Limerick and Mr. Kieran Molloy of Ballynanty, Limerick were prosecuted for illegal salmon netting on the River Shannon at Monabraher, Limerick on June 26th, 2021.
Both were convicted at Limerick District Court on April 27th, 2023 and received fines of €400 and costs of €553 each.
Separately Mr Quinlivan was also convicted of fishing in the tailrace of Ardnacrusha Generating Station on June 10th, 2021, in contravention of the rules of the ESB Lower Shannon Salmon Angling Permit. He was fined €300 and ordered to pay costs of €958 for this offence.
Fishing with a net in this area is illegal, and it is also illegal to catch and keep salmon by any method on the River Shannon as salmon numbers are significantly below levels required to sustain a healthy natural population.
Inland Fisheries Ireland(IFI) reminds members of the public that Atlantic salmon populations are under significant pressure from a range of factors, and any illegal fishing puts further pressure on a very important and iconic wild fish.
Members of the public are encouraged to report suspicions of illegal fishing activity, pollution or fish kills to IFI’s confidential number, 0818 34 74 24, which is open 24 hours a day and seven days a week.
Steve Schreck reports on fishing from loughs Conn and Cullin last week.
Fishing on the lakes proved to be difficult during the week, even though trout started to rise more freely to flies.
Peter Roche gave it a go on Tuesday, catching and releasing three trout around Martha’s Rock and Abbey shore. On Wednesday he managed to land a good trout of 1.5 lbs at Brackwansha.
As if a switch had been turned, fishing improved on Saturday and Sunday, with good hatches of Mayflies being recorded.
Twenty-two anglers partaking in the ‘Michael Benson Cup’ returned to shore, having boated 11 fish. Tom Timoney won the competition with a total of 4 trout. Brian Gallagher came in second with 2 fish and the third place went to Colin McAndrew, who caught the heaviest fish, weighing in at 2.25 lbs.
Peter Roche had an enjoyable Sunday around Chain Island, Brackwansha, Rinmore shore and the “Four Pins Shallows” catching and releasing about 10 small trout.
Successful patterns were the usual suspects, Golden Olive Bumble, Golden Olive Dabbler and Cock Robin Dabbler.
