The National Biodiversity Data Centre has a number of initiatives aimed at protecting Ireland’s biodiversity. One programme seeks to tackle the problem of invasive species, something that poses a serious threat to our environment, including all our waterways. Over the next while, we’ll be featuring some content from the NBDC, aimed at engaging and informing anglers about invasive species and what we can do to combat their spread. The first message, accompanied by a short video, is below, with more to follow over the coming months.
Check, Clean, Dry To Protect The Sport We Love!!
With the weather warming up and more fishing around the country opening up, many anglers will be keen to hit the water over the coming months. We’re calling on people to protect our environment when moving between waterways to fish by following the Check, Clean, Dry protocol. It’s a positive and simple way people can protect our beautiful loughs and rivers while out fishing this spring.
The message has taken on extra importance since we had discovered demon shrimp in the River Shannon in December– showing just how easily they can be spread. It’s more important than ever to be diligent about your biosecurity efforts!
This video explains how to follow the Check, Clean, Dry steps to protect the environment and the sport we love:
West Cork and District SAC will be hosting an open competition on Ardnahinch Beach on Saturday, 21st February. The competition is open to all IFSA members, and anyone looking to fish the comp should register before midnight on Friday, 20th.
Steve McDonagh of the Fishing with Steve YouTube channel has been having a hard time lately, as bad weather and floods have made fishing really tough. So tough that he was yet to have a fish in 2026… In his latest video, he sets out to break that run of bad luck, but did he succeed…?
The Ringsend Irishtown Angling Club’s first competition of the year marked the opening round of the Master Angler series and was met with high spirits, as members enjoyed some pre-draw camaraderie in the car park. A total of 15 senior anglers and one junior took part. Although Curracloe was originally selected as the opening venue, a change in the week’s forecast led to a safer relocation to Duncannon.
Fishing took place from 11am to 4pm, with low water at 2:30pm. Action started quickly, with Aaron Boyne landing a 36cm flounder on his first cast. Jamie Forsyth followed with an impressive 40cm flounder, which later secured the longest flatfish prize. Brendan Byrne opened his account early with a sand goby, while conditions remained generally slow through the early stages. Junior angler Luke Kinsella got on the scoreboard with an undersized dab, before new member Keith Ryan recorded a 31cm flounder.
1 of 3
Midway through the competition, a brief run of flounder saw several anglers add fish, including Wayne Hamilton (34cm) and Sean Kinsella (32cm). The standout moment of the day came when Luke Kinsella landed a personal-best 39cm flounder, weighing approximately 2.5lb.
At the close of fishing, no round fish were recorded for the pool. Jamie Forsyth claimed the first win of the year with two flounder measuring 30cm and 40cm. Aaron Boyne finished second with one counting flounder of 36cm, while Martin Ryan placed third with flounder of 28cm and 34cm. Aaron Boyne secured second place on countback.
Results
1st: Jamie Forsyth – 80 points (Longest Flat)
2nd: Aaron Boyne – 71 points
3rd: Martin Ryan – 71 points
Fish Caught: 18 flounder, 2 dabs, 2 sand gobies, and 2 sea trout (safely released)
Longest Flat: Jamie Forsyth Longest Round: None (carried over to next competition)
The VDE Baggers fished the Newry Canal at the weekend in a match that saw them tightly pegged together on the bank. You would expect such close quarters to restrict the fishing somewhat, but that wasnt the case at all, with the canal proving it can hold a fair head of fish, with some fine nets of fish. It was tight at the top as well as on the banks, ans only 350g separated the top three. The top bag belonged to Maurice, with 14.8kg, 200g ahead of Paul Hutchman, with Aaron Hutchman another 150g behind in third.
Following a reduced programme in 2025, the Daiwa Pairs returns to a full festival schedule in Dingle for 2026. The organisers have now released the Info Pack for the festival, and entries are invited for this prestigious, and enjoyable event. Anglers from all over Ireland and the UK return for this festival year after year, and this year promises to be better than ever.
The dates for the Daiwa Pairs are September 19-25, with registration on the 19th and prize presentation on the 25th. The festival consists of a number of pegged matches on beaches around the Dingle Peninsula, as well as a specimen hunt that rewards anglers for the best fish of each species caught during the week.
We recently shared the exciting news of three new Irish record fish caught by anglers in 2025, confirmed by the Irish Specimen Fish Committee in their annual specimen fish report.
Well, one of those record breakers was Sean Bannon, from Co. Cork, who caught a Thick Lipped Mullet of 5.24 kg at Cork Harbour in May 2025, and smashed the existing record Thick Lipped Mullet by over 1 kg. Sean has now shared the tale of his amazing catch on the Irish Mullet Fishing facebook page, and it makes for a great read. Take it away Sean…
I started the session early in the morning with my ultralight trout rod (Mikado Sensual 2–12g paired with a Shimano Ultegra 2500) and a loaf of bread. While setting up, I had a quick look at the water and saw no fish on the surface and no real signs of life, so I can’t say my hopes were high. Still, I gave it a go.
I mashed up some bread and scattered it into the area I planned to fish, then went back to get my rod and cast straight into the spot. Within minutes, the rod screamed off. The initial run was frightening. It tore straight along the shore at a serious pace. When it finally stopped, it ran straight for the snags and got caught up in some weeds.
I made a quick decision to get into the water to try and change the angle on the fish. As I approached, it took off again and thankfully came free without coming off the hook. I then played the fish while standing in the water for at least another 15 minutes. At this point, I still hadn’t even seen it, but I knew it was bigger than any mullet I’d ever hooked from the sheer power of the runs and the head shakes it was giving.
Once it began to give up, I made my move to try and land it. I didn’t have my net with me, so the plan was to bring it close and grab it by the wrist of the tail and under the belly. Putting that plan into action was another story altogether. I was very lucky the fish didn’t freak out when I grabbed it, because I certainly did.
I was in complete shock at how big it was. I couldn’t believe it. Definitely the highlight of my year, made even better by watching it swim away strong.
1 of 2
Seans super mullet smashed the Irish record
Irish Specimen Fish Report
Click the image to download a copy
The report is available as a digital download for the moment, but hard copies will be available free of charge from Inland Fisheries Ireland offices nationally in the coming weeks.
Round one of the Ultimate Feeder League 2026 takes place this Saturday, February 14th, at Lough Garadice.
With the persistent wet weather, organisers have had problems with very high water and are unable to use Rockfield and other venues that were originally penned in for the event.
For this Saturday, the following are the sections.
Section A. Grassy Bank – 12 pegs
Section B. Houghton’s Shore – 12 pegs
Section C. Deeps and Cullies Shore – 12 pegs.
There will be a boat to transport gear to Cullies and then the angler can walk through the field to the pegs.
Registration at 8.30am at the church side, Lough Garadice amenity area.
Draw at 8.45am.
Fishing from 10.30 to 3.30pm.
Entry €150 per team (for overall prize money)
Pools on the day €20 per Angler (every 4 pegs €80 paid out on the day)
*The top 3 teams will receive money plus medals overall at the end of the league.
Rules
You can use both paternoster and free-running rigs.
Bomb only to be used to plum up
Feed can only be used through a feeder.
Anglers can be placed in the sections.
Points are awarded 1 to 12.
During weigh-in there must be at least 2 different anglers from 2 different clubs present.
You can change an angler with 1 person if needed. E.g., if an angler that is named on the team is unable to fish, you can have 1 substitute.
Teams can’t have more than 1 end peg during a round, and if a team doesn’t get an end peg in Round 1, they will get one in Round 2, etc.
The club had their 2nd leg of the 2026 master angler at Benone Beach on Saturday 7th Feb fishing 2pm to 7pm but also this was the first outing using a new score system in the style of a modified smaf score system
With the flags raised at the firing ranges the club set up 100 yards before the barrier and pegged back down towards the ramp.
Fishing on the first couple of pegs looked like it was going to be a good day with some nice turbot and flounder coming in from the first couple of casts, but wasn’t to be and got really slow up until darkness started to set in when a few more decent turbot started to appear along with the flounder with Karl finding a bass of 38cm. The last hour fish activity was at its best when most members started to add fish to their score cards.
All in all was a tough session but at least the weather played ball unlike the last club match.
Recent weather has continued to challenge anglers around the country, with spells of heavy rain and harsh easterly winds dominating conditions, particularly in the east and south where recovery from Storm Chandra is still ongoing. Many rivers and lakes remain very high, with flood conditions in places making fishing difficult. Sea angling has also been impacted, with conditions along the east coast proving especially challenging due to significant swells and unsettled seas, while opportunities elsewhere have also been limited. Overall, the past week has been largely unproductive for angling, with poor weather and high water levels continuing to limit opportunities. Despite the challenges, last weekend’s brief pause in the weather, with calmer and drier conditions, offered a short window of better angling opportunities.
Starting with pike fishing, there have been some good reports from the River Inny in recent weeks. The river has been fishing well, with the top fish weighing 26.2lbs, caught by a Kildare angler deadbaiting on the ‘Competition Stretch’ near Coolnagun Bridge. However, recent rain has brought rising water levels and discoloured conditions, and sport has dipped somewhat over the past few days.
From Lough Derg, Damien Culliney of Anglers Paradise Guiding reported a rare triple hook-up for his guests, father Adrian and his two young sons, Jamie and Adam, despite far from favourable conditions. After a cold, fishless couple of hours, a three-fish run was the last thing anyone expected, but it completely turned the day around. The trio had a few more takes afterwards, with Adrian landing the best fish of the session, a 101cm pike.
As expected, sea angling has been exceptionally slow of late, with anglers struggling in difficult conditions. Aside from a few competitions fished last weekend along the east coast at Killiney Beach and Morriscastle during a brief break in the weather, there would have been little to report…were it not for a remarkable surprise catch: a specimen skate landed from the shore in West Cork. Kevin McGowan caught this impressive fish, estimated at 190cm, from a rock mark he and his friend had only discovered a few weeks earlier. This catch is a worthy winner of our “Catch of the Week”.
Our “Catch of the Week” – Kevin’s shore-caught skate
We are concluding this week’s Irish Angling Update with news from Lough Melvin where the first salmon of the 2026 season was caught on the lake’s opening day, Sunday, February 1st. The 7lb fish was landed by Sean Maguire while trolling a Yellow Belly minnow.
Other news
Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Tagging Scheme Regulations 2026
This week, Minister of State with responsibility for Fisheries and the Marine, Timmy Dooley, announced the launch of a second public consultation on the draft Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Tagging Scheme Regulations 2026. This consultation provides stakeholders and members of the public with a further opportunity to comment on the draft Regulations before they are finalised. The consultation will be open for 30 days, closing at 5:30pm on Thursday, 5th March 2026
Job Opportunities
Inland Fisheries Ireland has launched a national recruitment campaign to fill several seasonal roles, including Fisheries Officers and Research Assistants, with positions available across the country. The outdoor roles will begin in April and offer opportunities to work in rivers, lakes, and coastal environments. These seasonal opportunities would be well-suited to those with an interest in protecting, managing and conserving Ireland’s inland fisheries and sea angling resources.
And now the weather
Tonight will be mostly cloudy with areas of mist and fog. Patchy rain will persist in the north, while scattered showers will occur farther south, with the heaviest and most frequent rain in the southwest. Winds will be light, becoming easterly or variable, and temperatures will drop to between 3 and 7 degrees.
Mist and fog will be present in some areas tomorrow morning. Cloud and patchy rain will continue across northern regions, while it will be largely dry elsewhere, although scattered heavy showers will affect the south. Sunshine will be limited, with daytime temperatures reaching between 7 and 11 degrees and light, variable winds.
The weather will remain unsettled as low pressure continues to dominate, bringing further spells of rain or showers. Temperatures will stay around or slightly above average.
Don’t forget to double-check the forecast before heading off, and if you’re going to sea, check the tides.
