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Day tickets available for Lough Bracken

By
Paul O'Reilly
-

Lough Bracken and District Anglers have announced that day tickets are now available for the fishery from Anglers World in Navan at a rate of €10 per day; children aged 16 and under are €5. The day tickets must be bought using cash.

  • The club have also set down some ground rules for visiting anglers, and anyone caught breaking these rules may have their day ticket invalidated or may become ineligible to visit the fishery in the future.
  • Club rules include the following:
  • Catch and release ONLY
  • Max 2 rods per angler
  • Unhooking mat, landing net and disgorger or forceps required
  • For pike fishing – unhooking mat, landing net, long forceps and side cutter required
  • No live fish bait
  • Absolutely no fires at any time
  • All rubbish/waste must be removed
  • No overnight camping for day ticket holders fishing from 8am till dusk
  • No prebaiting for day-ticket anglers
  • You must purchase your day ticket before heading to the lake and the day ticket must be kept for inspection (NOTE: ANGLERS WORLD DOES NOT OPEN SUNDAYS OR MONDAYS)
  • Day tickets are non-transferable; the name on the ticket must match the angler’s personal identification
  • Treat all other anglers with respect
  • Respect any matches or organised events at the lake; day tickets may not be granted on those occasions and will be announced on the club’s Facebook page, so please check the page before buying a ticket.
  • Children must be supervised at all times
  • Pets must be supervised at all times and dog mess must be removed
  • Boats are permitted with under oars or electric motors only; STRICTLY NO PETROL ENGINES PERMITTED and LIFE JACKETS MUST BE WORN AT ALL TIMES. Boat users must respect other anglers at the lake and care must be taken to avoid interfering with other lake users.

For those unfamiliar with this water, Lough Bracken is located near the village of Drumconrath, Co. Meath. To get there by car, turn right from the N52 coming from the Ardee side onto the R165. Take a left-hand turn on entering the Drumconrath village, then turn right approximately .25 km outside the village. Proceed for about 1.5 km. Bracken Lake is located on the left-hand side of the road down a small laneway, which is signposted. You will find excellent car parking facilities there.

The lake holds good stocks of bream, roach, rudd, hybrids, perch and eels. This lake also holds some very good stocks of pike. Stands, stiles and footbridges are all in place on this water to facilitate access. The deeper swims are located on the northern and eastern shorelines.

Unseasonal Tench showing up for Enfield Anglers

By
Shane O'Reilly
-

The Leinster Coarse Fishing Federation fished the fourth round of their Royal Enfield Winter League at the weekend, and despite it being mid-November, tench still featured prominently in catches!

There were a handful of decent bream as well, along with the usual roach. Section D was the place to be pegged, as both first and second came from that area, with Mark Leonard taking the win with 11lb+.

Results as follows:

Overall
1st…..Mark Leonard…………11.04.
2nd….Donal McGuirk……….8.14.
3rd…..Conor Browne………..6.07.
Section…”A”.
1st…….Sean Ward.. ………….3.14.
2nd……Brian O’Donoghue…2.09.
Section “B”.
1st…….Pat Bartley. ……………6.04.
2nd……Jeff Morrison…………5.08.
Section “C”.
1st……..Conor Browne……….6.07.
2nd…….Jack Langan…………1.00.
Section “D”.
1st………Mark Leonard………..11.04.
2nd……..Donal McGuirk……….8.14

Newbridge District Pike Anglers – Annual Open Pike Fishing Competition This Weekend

By
Shane O'Reilly
-

The Newbridge & District Pike Angling Club will once again host its annual open pike fishing competition — a great day out for families and anglers of all ages. The event continues to grow each year, with over 50 juniors taking part last year.

Entry fees remain €20 for adults and €5 for juniors, with lake permits included in the price. Maps will be provided on the morning, and competitors may fish anywhere within the marked boundaries. Newbridge members will be stationed throughout to weigh, photograph, and safely return fish to the water.

1st prize is for the heaviest fish, and there are also prizes for heaviest bags. (Only one cash prize per competitor.)

Check-in takes place beside the West Wicklow House pub on Blessington Main Street. This is a two-rod competition, open to all legal methods — bait boats are not permitted.

Presentation will be held back at the West Wicklow House pub and they will have a raffle and some hot food laid on, so all will be welcome. All scorecards must be handed in by 5pm.

For more information, contact the club directly via their Facebook Page.

Max Roche takes the win at Round 4 of the Leinster Shore League

By
Shane O'Reilly
-

The report below was summarised from the South Shore SAC Facebook Page.

The Southshore SAC Committee faced a stressful lead-up to the fifth leg of the Leinster Shore League as Storm Claudia threatened the event. After days of strong winds, conditions improved enough on Sunday for fishing on the east coast. Following early venue checks, Ballinoulart was chosen and proved ideal, with calming seas, plenty of space, and minimal weed.

Anglers reached the beach via a challenging track and adopted two main tactics: fishing the gutter for flats and schoolies or casting long to deeper water. In Zone A, strong performances came from Alan Mulcahy, Ciaran Fogarty and Chris Scanlon, with Mulcahy taking the win.

Zone B produced a standout display from Max Roche, whose impressive 29-fish haul secured both the zone and overall victory. Dean Costello and Paul Tyndall followed closely.

In the junior section, Phillip Kennedy Ryan edged out Scott Andrews. Flat pools were won by Thomas Keogh (29 cm) and James Ryan (28 cm), while round pools went to Aaron Byrne (52 cm spurdog) and Dean Costello (50 cm).

Over 40 anglers attended despite difficult conditions. With one leg remaining, Wayne Hamilton leads the league but faces pressure from Paul Tyndall, Anto Scanlon and Eric Gasparro ahead of the final on 30 November.

Go Fishing…

Sea Angling on the East Coast

 

Irish Angling Update 🎣 14th November 2025

By
IFI Staff
-

It’s been a decidedly soggy week, and the rain looks set to keep stealing the headlines for the next few days. Most of the country has taken a thorough soaking, with Valentia in Co. Kerry leading the way at a hefty 96.3 mm. Temperatures have been on the mild side, with sunshine scarce—especially in the south, where Cork recorded the lowest levels. The outlook remains unsettled, with more rain forecast for the south, east, and southeast before conditions finally turn drier and cooler later this weekend.

The tough conditions have clearly kept many anglers at home, with few reports coming through, but the coarse anglers seem to have been the most active, so we’ll begin our roundup with them. In Ulster, the VDE Baggers bounced back after a disappointing last outing, enjoying far better fishing on the River Erne last Sunday. Weights were solid across the board, and Ewan Reed topped the day with 10.8 kg.

In Co. Waterford, the second round of the Ger Hennessey Winter League was held at Oaklands Lake over the weekend. It turned out to be a one-horse race, as Kieran Reeves left all other competitors at the starting gate, with an outstanding bag of 90kg, leaving his nearest rival over 60kg behind him.

Kieran Reeves with his winning bag

In Co. Kildare, the Athy Anglers held a match in the Marina on Sunday. On a pleasant day for fishing, Tommy Cahill’s lucky fishing hat worked its charm and won him the event with 14lb 14oz of mostly roach and perch. A handful of other coarse angling clubs also fished matches over last weekend, and you can catch up with the results in this report.

———————

To pike angling news now, and the lakes in the Boyne Valley area have been producing plenty of decent pike for clients fishing with Chris Barry of Go Fishing Ireland recently. He’s had numerous anglers out with him, landing plenty of PBs and 100cm+ fish, the best of which was a cracking 111cm pike for Lester Hagan, winning Lester this week’s Catch of the Week.

Lester Hagan with his 111cm pike
Lester Hagan with his 111cm pike

And 111 was the magic number up the the Boyle area as well last week. Angling guide Bodo Funke had a trio of French guests with him during the week, and they landed plenty of decent pike, with five 100cm+ fish, the best of which was…, you guessed it…, a super 111cm fish.

Paul Bourke and Senan Stanley of Irish Fishing Tours have had a busy week, guiding lots of clients on Lough Derg. Plenty of those clients achieved PBs, and even experienced anglers felt they learned a lot about pike fishing while out with the guys. As ever, much of the fishing is documented on Senan’s superb YouTube channel.

pike
Father & son duo Paul & Kevin with a PB pike guided by Irish Angling Tours

———————

To sea angling now, and 33 anglers lined out for West Cork & District SAC’s Bait Supplies competition in Youghal over the weekend. Each competitor had just 30 sandeels to last the match, making for a tactical showdown. South Shore’s Ciaran Fogarty came out on top with ten dogfish and a whiting, while Steve Watkins landed the best fish of the day—a beautiful 66 cm bass.

66cm bass
66cm bass for Steve Watkins

 

A quick word of warning for anglers venturing out over the next few weeks. We’ve all heard about the outbreaks of avian flu at various farms around the country, and both the Department of Agriculture and the HSE have issued notices warning us to take care when avoiding wild birds (including waterfowl), bird feathers, and droppings while out and about.

And now the weather

We have status Orange and Yellow weather warnings in effect across much of Ireland over the next 24 hours, and many rivers are expected to be in flood – so please take care if you’re out and about.

Today will be windy nationwide, with heavy rain in Munster and Leinster bringing a risk of flooding, while Ulster and Connacht stay much drier with some bright spells. Friday night will remain wet in the south but dry and clearer further north. Over the weekend, northern areas will see the best of the dry and bright weather, while the rest of the country experiences cloudy conditions with patchy rain or drizzle that gradually becomes more isolated. Sunday will be mainly dry with a mix of cloud and sunshine and cooler temperatures. By Monday, the cloud will spread southeastwards, bringing scattered outbreaks of rain.

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].

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    Busy week on Derg with PBs and lots of 100cm pike

    By
    Myles Kelly
    -

    Angling guides Senan Stanley and Paul Bourke of have been having great fishing with guests recently, and Senan has been busy on his YouTube channel…

    09 November: Chris and his son Finbar travelled all the way down from Belfast to do some pike fishing for Finbar’s 13th birthday! The lads had some hard fighting pike and perch on a cold day on derg and had a comfortable stay in their accommodation at Lough Derg House B&B.

    10 November: Another PB set today for Father and Son Paul and Kevin who travelled down to me from Dublin today for guiding.
    23.8 (108cm) 100cm and some 80-70cm fish, super catches for the lads who’s perseverance with the casting on a tricky day paid off! thanks again for coming all the day down, super fish to catch!

    Paul said:

    That’s me and my son, really enjoyed our first experience of guided fishing.
    Senan is an excellent guide and very patient, fish were very slow in the first few spots we hit but eventually we found a hot spot.
    Last fish of the afternoon was Kevins PB.
    We are experienced anglers but today we learned a huge amount about pike fishing, will be back.
    If you are looking for a good days fishing and want to learn more about pike fishing then give Senan a try.

    11 November: New video out today – two young anglers Leon and Warren got stuck until a good few pike!
    pike

    Apart from that, never say no to a spontaneous last minute fishing trip.

    12 November: 112cm a new PB for Adam and Eric the best of 8 fish today for the lads who travelled down to me for guiding from Kildare well done lads.

    13 November: Top fish today 102cm 97cm 97cm with PBs for both father and son Liam and Fin, some other 70-80cm fish also.. serious craic with the two lads all day, on a very flooded chocolate soup coloured Lough derg!! anyone out over the next while, be careful of floating trees and logs, it’s dodgy out there for you guys with big engines!

    Go fishing…

    Senan Stanley Fishing

    Address Garrykennedy Tipperary Ireland
    More information
    Find on Map | Return to top.

    Irish Fishing Tours

    Address Garrykennedy Tipperary Ireland Mobile Phone: +353 87 1953554 Website: irishfishingtours.com
    More information
    Find on Map | Return to top.

    8 species on sandeel only at exciting West Cork and District match

    By
    Myles Kelly
    -
    youghal beach

    West Cork and District SAC fished a sandeel only competition at Youghal Beach on Sunday…

    On Sunday evening we held our Bait Supplies Competition (Sandeels Only), and it was a fantastic turnout with 33 anglers entered into the match. We run all of our competitions through pre-entry, and do the peg draw the evening before the match — this works very well for us and frees up the organisers on match day.

    sandeels

    Each angler received 30 sandeels for this competition, and it was up to each angler how to manage their bait for the duration of the 4-hour match. A good few big names from the Irish match scene, with a fine collection of world medals to their names, had entered this one — so it was always going to be interesting to see who came out on top.

    On the beach
    On the beach

    Competition time was from 4:30pm to 8:30pm, and a nice coloured sea was definitely going to help the fishing. Fish showed up from the first cast, but it wasn’t until about two hours into the match that the leading pack pulled away from the rest. There were five or six lads in the mix — Richie Gormley, Derek Kenrick, Pat Maher, JP Molloy, and Ciaran Fogarty — all with very little separating them at the halfway stage.

    Going into the second half of the competition, Pete Davis put himself in the mix by landing a few dogfish and a bullhuss, but going into the last hour, big hitters Ciaran and Derek had very little separating them.

    Neither of the two knew who had it until the cards were added up. However, the long journey for Ciaran was worthwhile as he took the win.

    Ciaran’s winning card consisted of 10 dogfish and a single whiting for 522pts. Derek finished with 491pts, his card made up of a mix of whiting, dogfish, flounder, and a bullhuss. Pat Maher took third place with 445pts — well done lads

    results

    Onto the pools — half of the entry fee in a WCAD match goes towards the pools. We find this an excellent system that gives anglers of all levels and abilities a chance of winning one of the best prizes of the competition.

    Dave Keating, no stranger to winning the pools, took the Flatfish Pool with a lovely flounder of 33cm, worth €165 on the night — well done Dave

    Surprisingly, no Ray showed up at this competition.

    The big talking point of the evening was the fish that won the Round Fish Pool — Steve Watkins landed a lump of a bass measuring 66cm, an absolute cracker and well deserving of the €165 prize.

    66cm bass
    66cm bass

    Eight different species of fish were recorded on the night — not a bad showing at all for one type of bait!

    Species caught were LSD, Bullhuss, Whiting, Flounder, Pouting, Poor Cod, Coalfish, and Bass.

    Overall, the competition ran very smoothly for us, and we’d like to thank everyone who travelled to fish it. Hopefully, we’ll get some positive feedback and look at running another Bait Supplies Competition next year.

    Finally, a big thanks to the WCAD members who were involved in running this — ye know who ye are!

    Go fishing…

    All about West Cork and District SAC…

    West Cork and District logoThe club was formed on march 19th 2009, in the small picturesque harbour town of  Kinsale County Cork. We’re an inclusive club, this can be seen in our membership profile; from anglers who are new to match fishing all the way up to members of the Irish World Shore Team 2010, two of which are in the club! The club holds circa 10 competitions per year, members are encouraged to practice a catch and release policy in the interests of conservation. Anybody wishing to join our club is always welcome, just use the contact us page and we will give prospective members full details.
    Web: http://westcorkanddistrict.webs.com/
    Facebook: facebook.com/pages/West-Cork-and-District-SAC/

    Bellenaleck Marina comes good for Baggers

    By
    Shane O'Reilly
    -

    Last Sunday, the VDE Baggers headed to the River Erne for Round 3 of their Winter League. The fishing didn’t disappoint—Bellenaleck Marina proved to be the hotspot as expected, and although one section turned out to be a little peggy, there were still plenty of bites for everyone, a big improvement after the tough second round on the Newry Canal!

    Top weight on the day went to Ewan Weed, who bagged 10.800 kg from peg 2 on the marina, switching between short and long pole. Not far behind him in 2nd was Perry Fairclough, with 10.100 kg from peg 1A, catching small roach steadily on the short pole. 3rd place went to Saul King: 8.640 kg from peg 6 after finally taking his mentor’s advice—just edging out Bartlomiej Szmytkowski on peg 1.

    The next round takes place on the River Erne in two weeks. This is the final chance to enter the league— with three droppers in the 10-match series, you can still join next match and be in the running to win!

    Boyne Valley lakes producing pike to 111cms

    By
    Myles Kelly
    -
    Frankie with his big pike
    Frankie with his big pike

    Chris Barry from Go Fishing Ireland reports on the pike fishing in the Boyne Valley…

    With over 25 lakes to explore, the Boyne Valley region has been producing some great pike fishing recently. Especially the smaller waters.

    Cody Costello with a 105cm pike
    Cody Costello with a 105cm pike

    Cody Costello from Meath was back in action with us recently catching fine fish of 94cm, 96cm and topped off with a 105cm beauty. With mild conditions and southerly breezes, the better pike were feeding well.

    Craig McCullough with 103cm pike
    Craig McCullough with 103cm pike

    California native Craig McCullogh is normally a keen kayak angler but joined us on the boat to target a new PB. He wasn’t disappointed when he hooked into a 94cm fish, soon followed by an even better fish of 103cm. On that day, the pike wanted brightly coloured lures with various patterns getting smashed during the feeding windows.

    David Faughnan with a 106cm pike
    David Faughnan with a 106cm pike

    Dunshaughlin man David Faughnan joined us on another bright November day to try and upgrade his best fish. The Boyne Valley pike didn’t disappoint, and he landed a number of hard fighting fish to 106cm. Again, it was the vibrant colours that worked best in seasonal sunshine with a low sun in the sky.

    Lester Hagan with his 111cm pike
    Lester Hagan with his 111cm pike

    Robert Carson and his pal Lester Hagan travelled from Killyleagh in County Down for a day on the boat to target some quality fish. Robert got into the fish first and seemed to have the magic touch, but Lester waited patiently for his chance and, when it came, it was pure quality.  At 111cm, it was the best fish of the week.  

    Frankie with his big pike
    Frankie with his big pike

    And finally,  special mention goes to Eamonn Hayden and his 14-year-old grandson Frankie.  The mission was to catch Frankie’s first ever pike.  He managed to catch 4 fish including two of 92cms. Twin-tail lures worked a treat that day, but again bright colours were best. We’ve heard on the grapevine that Frankie’s been out again since and already hit the meter mark , so definitely a young angler to watch out for.

    It has been great to see all the fish in excellent condition, fin perfect, strong, and healthy.

    Go fishing…

    Join us for guided fishing trips on the lakes and rivers of the Boyne Valley region in Meath, Cavan, and Westmeath. Chris is an APGAI qualified fly-casting instructor and fly fishing for pike is a speciality, but we also enjoy lure fishing, trolling and other methods. All equipment can be supplied. Newcomers to fishing are welcome and we can provide instruction and tuition in all methods.  Contact:  [email protected] Web:  www.gofishingireland.ie

    Go Fishing Ireland

    Address Macetown Navan Meath Ireland Mobile Phone: +353 86 8055337 Website: Go Fishing Ireland
    More information
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    Lakelands coarse fishing round up

    By
    Paul O'Reilly
    -
    A coarse swim
    The 1st round of the CM Lakelands Lough Muckno Winter League took place on Sunday on Lough Muckno. A good turnout of 23 anglers fished, with 2 sections on Black Island and one section on Yellow Island featuring. 1st overall was Mariusz Kilian, who caught 120 fish weighing 8.200 kg on Yellow Island peg 199. Mariusz caught a mix of roach and hybrids alternating between 30 and 50 metres.
    2nd overall was Irish feeder boss Brenton Sweeney, who had over 100 fish for 8.100 kg on peg 203, Yellow Island. Brenton caught his fish, which were mostly roach, at 24 and 28 metres. 3rd overall was Alan Larkin, who had plenty of roach at 30 metres to weigh 7.250 kg on peg 205, Yellow Island.
    SECTIONS.
    • Yellow Pavel Tkachenko 7.225kg
    • Black upper Piotr HorbiÅ„ski 5.340kg
    • Black Lower Welsh Michael 4.180kg
    The next round is in 2 weeks’ time, on the 23rd of November.
    The Club also held a match on Haughton’s shore on Lough Garadice with 7 anglers competing. 1st overall was Nick Richards, who had some nice skimmers weighing in 6.330 kg from peg 60. 2nd overall was Charlie Richards with a good weight of 5.530 kg of skimmers, roach, and odd hybrids on peg 48. 3rd overall was Roman, who had some skimmers that weighed 4.290 kg from peg 58. The next open feeder match is on the 16th of November on Houghtons shore, Lough Garadice.

    Round two of the Belturbet Winter League. Great days fishing on an unbelievable winter venue. Thanks to all the lads for coming out.
    • 1st Stephen Leddy 9.100 kg
    • 2nd Haydn Kellegher 7.550 kg
    • 3rd Kieran Kelly 4.875 kg

    It was the third league match of 25/26 for Cavan Coarse Angling Club. Nine anglers fished and weights were very poor, with most venues flooded. The lake was nearly unfishable, but club members managed to winkle out enough pegs to get fishing. Their next match is on Sunday, 23rd November; the venue is to be decided.
    • 1st: Mck Mahoney
    • Section A Gay Rogers
    • Section B Steve Clinch
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