Sunday offered a rare and welcome break from recent harsh weather for the first leg of the South Shore 2026 Master Angler Competition at Morriscastle. Conditions were excellent, with a big tide, gentle roll, and good colour in the water, leading to plenty of optimism at the start of the match.
Fish were caught early across the beach, with rockling, flounder, and dabs making up most of the catches. Returning anglers Joe Cummins and Rob Moore settled quickly, landing fish early on.
In Zone A, Anto Scanlon, Gordy Hardman, and Niall Carabini fished consistently throughout. Gav Fogarty was unfortunate to lose a quality spurdog at the surf after playing it into the beach. Anto Scanlon went on to win Zone A and take the overall victory with a strong bag of 17 fish.
Zone B saw a fast start from Ciaran Fogarty and Ian Daly, with Thomas Keogh also among the early fish. A dramatic final cast from Thomas produced a double spurdog and a whiting treble, tying the zone with Ciaran. However, Ciaran claimed Zone B on fish count with 17, with Alby Allan finishing third.
Pools were won by Gordy Hardman with a 46cm spurdog and Thomas Keogh with a 33cm flounder. The Golden Peg competition remains ongoing, with several hundred euro still in the pot.
Richard Dodd reports on Borough SAC’s first competition of 2026, fished on Killiney Beach…
Killiney Beach – Saturday 31 January, 4pm–8pm
January 2026 will go down as the month the weather tried to wash Ireland into the Atlantic. Three winter storms barrelled in one after another, each one wetter, louder, and more dramatic than the last. Rain hammered the East coast so relentlessly that even the ducks were complaining, and the wind blew so hard from the South‑east that seagulls were seen walking instead of flying.
At one point, I even spotted a neighbour building a boat in his garden. The worrying part wasn’t the boat—it was the animals lining up two by two. That’s when you knew: this was going to be an interesting month for fishing.
Despite the chaos, Borough SAC prepared to launch the 2026 season. With the storms still swirling and the ground squelching underfoot, our secretary Tom Butler took it upon himself to rally the troops. Phone in hand, he rang members one by one, offering encouragement, motivation, and possibly mild emotional blackmail. Whatever he said worked—ten brave anglers committed to facing whatever Killiney Beach threw at them.
Bait, however, was another story. The tackle shops looked like they’d been looted by a hungry otter. Worms were nowhere to be found, so most anglers turned up armed with fish baits and hope.
On Killiney beach
Pegging the beach fell to myself, and arriving early proved essential. Blackrock SAC were also fishing from 4pm to 9pm, and several pleasure anglers were already set up. Space was at a premium, but the beach was marked out in time. The beach itself looked like it had survived a Viking raid—weed piled high on the tide line, and the general look of a place that had been slapped around by three storms in a row. Still the weather gods must have felt guilty. The rain stopped. The wind eased. The sea calmed. And suddenly, against all odds, it looked like a perfect night for fishing.
Joe Caffrey
As the first casts hit the water, every angler had the same thought: “Please don’t let the weed ruin this.” At 4pm sharp, the competition began. Concerns about weed vanished almost immediately—conditions were excellent, and the sea fished beautifully throughout the session. Joe Caffrey opened the scoring with the first fish of the night,a lively whiting,and from there the action never slowed.
Peg
Angler
Fish Caught
Notes
1
Tom Butler
12
Still had time to ring people mid‑session (probably).
2
Richard Dodd
29
Included a 34 cm coalie and 22 cm dab.
3
Seb Dungan
11
Quiet but steady.
4
Donald Mullen
13
Included a 23 cm rockling.
5
Jim McDonald
17
Strong performance.
6
Joe Caffrey
9
Started the night with the first fish.
7
Martin Corr
16
Consistent as always.
8
Willie Roche
12
Solid session.
9
Stan Ryan
16
Matching Martin fish for fish.
10
Mick Murray
9
Rounded out the field.
Total Fish Caught: 144, all whiting expect for 2 dabs, a coalie and shore rockling, thank god for whiting. Every single one returned safely to swim another day.
A Brilliant Start to 2026 Against all expectations—and after a month of storms, floods, and questionable ark‑building. Great turnout. Great conditions. Great craic. If the rest of the year follows this trend, 2026 is shaping up to be one of our best seasons yet. And if the weather tries to wash us away again well, at least we know Tom will ring everyone until they show up anyway.
Join the club…
The Borough Sea Angling Club is made up of a group of active anglers. Usually we hire 2 or more charter boats for our 8 boat competitions. The 10 shore competitions have a hardcore group that fish mainly on the east coast. Usually there are 2 competitions around the Ardmore / Youghal area. Some members are also involved in pike, coarse and trout fishing. Usually there is at least one tour abroad each year to various destinations.
The Newbridge District Pike Anglers got their 2026 competition season underway on 25th January. While the intention was to fish a river, widespread flooding across the country meant options were extremely limited, and the decision was made to fish the canal instead.
Eighteen members made the trip on the day. Conditions were favourable, with anglers meeting at 7:30am, on the bank by 8:00am, and fishing until 4:00pm. Members were given the freedom to move along the venue, allowing plenty of water to be covered. A small number of anglers also chose to try the river, but with water levels high and heavily coloured, all fish counted in the competition were taken from the canal.
A total of 15 fish were caught and safely released, including two small doubles. It was great to be back on the bank with the members, with plenty of good craic and banter enjoyed throughout the day. Thanks go to all who took part, and congratulations to the winners.
Full results:
1st: Darron Dunne — 12.08 heaviest fish, 22lb bag 2nd: Dave Murphy — 11.15 heaviest fish, 19.15lb bag 3rd: Darren Doyle — 8.10 heaviest fish, 13.12lb bag
Sunday marked the third running of the Leinster Pairs, held at Ballycommon. Eleven teams took part in this excellent event, organised by none other than Sean Ward and Dean Murray.
Weather conditions were much improved compared to recent outings, much to the anglers’ delight. However, a light breeze would have helped to create some ripple on the water—but that’s canal fishing for you.
The results on the day were as follows:
1st Place: Pat Bartley & Colin Oliver — 6.08
2nd Place: Mark Leonard & Michael O’Connor — 5.7
3rd Place: Brian O’Donoghue & Jack Langan — 5.4
The fourth and final leg of the Leinster Pairs 2026 will take place on Sunday, 15th February.
Sunday saw 25 anglers take on the River Erne for the eighth round of the Winter League in near biblical water conditions. Despite the extremely high water, the match was a success, with all competitors catching fish.
Fishing took place across Bellenaleck Marina, Round O Jetty, Cha Cha (high and low), and Ardhowen Jetty. With so much water in the system, all sections were very tightly contested, with single fish often making the difference.
Top rod on the day was Jack Tisdall, who claimed victory from Ardhowen Jetty with 3.8kg. He was followed closely by Ewan Weed in second place with 3.69kg, while Aaron Hutchman finished third with 3.53kg.
Bellenaleck Marina fished slower than expected, though Edgaras Griskaitis won the section with 1.8kg, narrowly ahead of Maciej Paul Bober. Other section winners included Paul Eyre at Cha Cha with 2.96kg and A. Gregg with 3.27kg.
Overall, it was a tough but successful day, and attention now turns to the next match in the hope of more favourable conditions.
The first salmon of the 2026 season has been reported by the Garrison & Lough Melvin Anglers Association, caught on the lake’s opening day, Sunday, February 1st. The 7lb fish was landed by Sean Maguire shortly after lunchtime while trolling a Yellow Belly minnow along Flanagan’s Shore. The salmon was sea-liced, showing it was fresh in from the sea. Congrats to Sean on being the first to land a salmon in 2026! 👏👏👏
Brenda Montgomery reports on some decent pike fishing on the River Inny:
Pike fishing has been good on the River Inny over the past number of weeks, but with recent rain causing discolouration and rising water levels, angling numbers have reduced in the last number of days. The River Inny, stretching from Camagh to the Inny or New Bridge, Multyfarnham, has fished well for pike during January, with the heaviest fish weighing in at 26.2lbs caught by a Kildare angler deadbaiting along ‘the Competition stretch’ near Coolnagun Bridge. It is all about dead baiting at this time of year, usually on smelt or mackerel, and fishing close to the edge of the river near the reeds.
Local angler Stephen Flynn with his pike of 14lbs (96cm) caught on the River Inny on January 24th 2026.
It’s been another week of weather-related news, with Storm Chandra, named by the UK Met Office, visiting our southern and eastern counties this week. While wind damage was minimal, the rainfall it brought fell on already saturated ground, and caused flooding in many areas from Monaghan to Waterford. Many rivers burst their banks, including the River Slaney in Enniscorthy, the River Barrow in Graigenamanagh, and the River Dodder in Dublin. Some roads in Co. Wicklow are closed due to structural damage, and many homes and businesses have been damaged by floodwater.
There is no respite for some areas too, with 7 eastern and southeastern counties, as well as the 6 counties in Northern Ireland, under a weather warning today for further rainfall and high risk of flooding again.
See here from Met Eireann on Storm Chandra and this weekend’s flood risk, and for advice on how to stay safe.
Needless to say, with rivers bursting their banks and high water levels in the rest of the country, we don’t have a huge amount of angling news to bring you this week.
It is still early days in the salmon season, and the Currane anglers remained fishless this week, with cold and then stormy conditions keeping most off the water.
The trout season for most is still a while away, but Peter Driver and his crew are back in action with the Piscari Fly newsletter, getting ready for the season ahead.
The 37th Irish Winter Shore Angling Festival was heavily disrupted by the weather, with the first session moved to Morriscastle, a great backup venue which produced 632 fish for the session! Day 2 was much tougher, with the backup venue producing fish for just 10 anglers, and Day 3 was cancelled altogether due to the massive swell hitting all the venues. The weather-affected festival was won by well-known Irish angler JP Molloy, but see here for a full run down of the event. Sea anglers will know how rare a 40cm+ flounder is, and Gary Hughes’s 41cm flattie wins our Catch of the Week.
Gary Hughes 41cm flounder
Up north, Carrick Beach Rockers fished a comp in horrendous weather conditions at Waterfoot, and were rewarded for their persistence with plenty of species and decent fishing. Species caught included flounder, dab, cod, whiting, coalie, rockling, dogfish, and plaice.
For sea anglers looking for a good comp this weekend, today is the last day to enter tomorrow’s Micheal Quinn Memorial comp hosted by Killala BC, held at Lacken which produced excellent fishing recently.
The Leinster Coarse Fishing Federation hosted its first junior day of the year last week, and 12 budding young anglers braved the wet and windy conditions to hone their skills under the expert guidance of Dean Murray. Some great fish were caught, and plenty of Hybrids, Roach and Perch were put on the scales.
1 of 4
CM Lakelands club also braved the weather, holding two matches on Garadice at the weekend, with 3-4kg being enough to make the winning weights, mostly roach, perch, hybrids and a few skimmer bream.
Pike anglers will appreciate Steve McDonagh’s latest Youtube video, where he encounters all sorts of adversity – flooded venues and fields, matches, submerged platforms, dropped runs. As he says,“If you’ve ever blanked after doing everything right, this one’s for you.”
The Leinster Pike Angling Club winter league concluded in dramatic fashion last Sunday. Despite recent poor weather making venue selection difficult, the organisers secured a few lakes that remained just about fishable, resulting in a productive day with plenty of fish caught. Standings at the top were tied, with Anthony Byrne winning on a countback of fish caught over the league outings.
Today will see scattered showers, some heavy and prolonged in Ulster. Rain in the south-east will spread up across most of Leinster and eastern parts of Munster this afternoon and evening, with some thundery downpours possible. With saturated ground conditions and high river levels, further localised flooding is possible. Highest temperatures of 7 to 10 degrees. Moderate to fresh southeasterly winds, will gradually ease light to moderate through today, but will continue strong at times near eastern and northern coasts.
Saturday morning , cloud and outbreaks of rain will affect areas away from the southwest, where there will be sunny spells and a few showers. The rain will become patchier as the day goes on and some bright or sunny intervals will develop. Highest temperatures of 7 to 11 degrees with light to moderate, variable winds.
On Sunday, Cloud and outbreaks of rain will move northeastwards across the country, with dry and bright conditions following from the southwest. Highest temperatures of 5 to 10 degrees with light to moderate and variable winds. The outlook is for unsettled weather to continue, staying cool in mainly easterly winds.
Don’t forget to double-check the forecast before heading off, and if you’re going to sea, check the tides.
The 37th Irish Winter Shore Angling Festival took place from the 22nd to the 24th of January 2026. Check-in commenced on the evening of Wednesday 21st at the festival HQ – the Hotel Curracloe in County Wexford – where 122 anglers were registered at the close on Thursday morning.
Session one was planned to be fished on Ballinesker Beach; however, strong sea surges forced a move to Morriscastle Beach. Competition commenced at 12 noon, and fish were recorded almost immediately. Lines-up was at 5pm and 632 fish were recorded, all of which were returned alive to the water. Some anglers had their first shore-caught spurdog and a notable 41cm flounder was captured by visiting angler Gary Hughes. Best round fish were 47cm spur dogfish for Saul Page, Neil Cutler and Ben Arnold.
Nice treble – whiting & Spurdogs
Zone winners were Richard Yates, Saul Page, Ben Arnold and Mark Pinder, all from the UK. The Pairs was led by Richard Yates and Saul Page. The 4-person team was led by Richard Yates, Saul Page, John White and David Morris. The leading lady was Anne Whitty.
The easterly storm Ingrid made all of the proposed venues for day 2 unfishable. The only accessible beach on the east coast was Old Bawn which is the northern extension to the beach fished on day 1. It was decided to proceed as it was deemed safe with a falling tide despite the strong easterly wind. At the end of a disappointing session, only 10 anglers had recorded fish, and only 14 in total. The best fish were a 32cm flounder for Jimmy Price and a 33cm bass for Brendan Wall.
Zone winners were Gavin Parker and Jimmy Price from the UK and Lar Mooney and Brendan Wall from Ireland. The pairs competition was now led by Irish anglers J. P. Molloy and Sean Ivory. The 4-person team was led by Stephen Glynn, Lar Mooney, Alby Allen and Brendan Wall from Ireland. Anne Whitty continued as the best lady angler.
With Storm Ingrid making the east coast beaches totally unfishable local knowledge was sought and it was decided to move the last session to Rostoonstown and Duncannon, 2 zones on each. Unfortunately, Rostoonstown was deemed unsafe due to massive tidal surges so disappointingly the third day’s fishing had to be abandoned. Duncannon was fishable but not big enough to facilitate the entire entry. Some anglers did try their luck and some nice flounder and bass were captured.
Species recorded were dab, flounder, whiting, bass, lesser spotted dogfish, spur dogfish, rockling and coalfish.
Gary Hughes 41cm flounder
116 anglers and guests attended the presentation dinner in the Hotel Curracloe, where a first-class meal was professionally served and enjoyed by all.
The introductory speech was given by George McCullough. He commended the anglers for their perseverance in such severe weather conditions. He thanked everyone involved in the organising of the event and made special mention of Stephen Glynn who had pegged the beaches in harsh early morning conditions. He thanked all those who donated prizes for the raffle and especially Tronixpro for their continued support. He thanked Inland Fisheries Ireland for their support and their field staff for their vigilance on the venues.
The presentation of prizes was conducted by Warren Doyle, Pat Shortt and Tommy Squires. The positions and pools not won due to cancellation and lack of fish were awarded by means of an open draw.
The top 3 positions were taken by:
J. P. Molloy (IRL)
Des Farrelly (IRL)
Gavin Parker (UK).
JP Molloy and his trophy haul
The pairs competition was won by Irish anglers J. P. Molloy and Sean Ivory.
The 4-person team was won by Stephen Glynn, Lar Mooney, Alby Allen and Brendan Wall from Ireland.
Best lady angler was Anne Whitty. The junior award was taken by Luke Kinsella.
The Leinster Coarse Fishing Federation hosted its first junior day of the year last week, and 12 budding young anglers braved the wet and windy conditions to hone their skills under the expert guidance of Dean Murray. Some great fish were caught, and plenty of Hybrids, Roach and Perch were put on the scales.
Top Weights on the day were:
Bradley Gill………………..7.00lbs.
William Coughlan………6.04lbs.
Finn McCarthy……………5.11lbs.
The club would like to thank parents and guardians for getting the kids to the venue, and also the Kilcock Anglers Club for keeping the venue clear for our juniors. A big well done to Dean for giving up his time to organise and get things in place for today.
A BIG THANKS to the Juniors for getting to the venue in such bad conditions, facing the wind and rain. From what we can Leinster will field a very strong side when the Inter-Pros arrive.
