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Chris Lawlor wins 5th round of the Athy Anglers Summer League

By
Myles Kelly
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Des Bridgette reports on the fifth round of the Athy & District Anglers Summer League which was fished on earlier in July…

Athy Anglers held the 5th leg of their summer league on the Canal on July 5th. Conditions were hard with the bright sunshine but some good bags of fish were caught. Well done to Chris Lawlor on winning the match with 7lbs 5ozs.

Results

  1. Chris Lawlor 7lbs 5ozs
  2. Barry Maher 6lbs 15ozs
  3. Mark Allsop 6lb 13 ozs
  4. Paula ó Néill 2lbs

Well done to every one who participated and it was a pleasure having Keith fish his first match with us well done Keith

Go fishing…

Our next match will be in Oaklands 19th of July which will include the John Shaughnessy memorial match.

Athy and District Anglers

If you’d like to fish the Marina Club Grounds or get involved with the club and fish matches like these, then click the links below!

Athy & District Anglers Club was formed in 1959 and to this day they continue to pursue their goals of protecting, maintaining and encouraging the sport of angling in the greater Athy area. The club works with local authorities to improve and maintain local fishing areas as well as organizing events and matches for local and national anglers. Athy & District Anglers Club welcomes all new members and all age groups to the sport! If you’d like to get involved, please check out the Getting Involved section of their website.

David Kennedy wins WCAD Open at Ballinwilling Beach

By
Myles Kelly
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West Cork and District SAC Ballinwilling Beach Open Competition Report…

On Friday night, we held our club open on Ballinwilling Beach. This was our late-night competition, with fishing taking place from 9:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.

The talk before the competition was that there should be plenty of dogfish on the match cards, and the big question was whether everyone would have enough sandeels to last the night.

Thinking we had a good tide and good conditions, we thought we were in for a great night. However, we got it so wrong, and for some reason, the fish barely showed on the night. That’s fishing.

A big well done to David Kennedy, who took the win with two bass on the night. Congratulations to David on landing two fish on what proved to be a really tough night’s fishing.

Second place went to John O’Mahoney with a bass.

Third place was shared by Seán O’Sullivan and Paul Forde, with both anglers landing a 37 cm bass, so we were unable to separate them.

Winning the Flatfish Pool on the night was Stephen O’Donovan with a 19 cm plaice.

Brendan Wall, on his very last cast of the night, landed a 64 cm conger to win the Round Fish Pool.

Congratulations to all the prize winners.

A big thank you to all the anglers who turned up to support us. Your continued support is greatly appreciated, and we look forward to seeing you all at our next competition.

Join the club…

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/

Dutch anglers getting huge skate, sharks, ling and more with Courtmacsherry Angling Centre

By
Myles Kelly
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Mark Gannon reports from Courtmacsherry Angling Centre…

When Chris O’Connell joined our team at Courtmacsherry Angling Centre in May as a Skipper I thought it would take him a while to find his feet. But talk about hitting the ground running Chris caught the first Flapper Skate of the year, hit the wrecks with the Belgians for a great Ling catch and had good sized Blue Shark.

Then to top it all to he put the Dutch out of their World Cup misery hby landing them the biggest Porbeagle every caught by Courtmacsherry Angling Centr. The porbeagle weighed about 250 lbs and was caught by Piet Verkade along with some serious sized Blue Shark. I think Chris is enjoying his first season with us!

the crew that fished on the Lady Louise skippered by Chris O Connell last week
the crew that fished on the Lady Louise skippered by Chris O Connell last week

He followed all this with a Flapper Skate measuring 2.3m total length for Willem Jan while fishing with a group from the Netherlands. The skate was estimated to be over 200 lbsWillem expertly played the fish for over an hour when finally it was tagged and released. The largest skate recorded at Courtmacsherry.

Go fishing…

We have individual spaces on select dates in August and have dates in late August for a weeks charter and in early September

Courtmacsherry Sea Angling Centre

Address Woodpoint Guest House Courtmacsherry Cork Ireland Mobile Phone: +353 86 8250905 Website: courtmacsherryangling.ie
More information
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Shark Time in Galway Bay

By
IFI Staff
-

Well, it’s July, and that can only mean one thing for skipper John Fleming on the Brazen Hussy. No, it’s not the Galway hurlers in the All-Ireland final – it’s shark fishing. John was in touch to let us know that his porbeagle season is up and running, and the good news is that there seems to be a lot of fish around. The first outing saw a good few dropped runs, as well as a few nice fish brought to the boat.

With the good weather, conditions are ideal to target these big predators. John still has a few dates available, particularly midweek, so get booking now if you want to hook a giant!

 

Go fishing…

Blue shark Angling

Address Spiddal Galway Ireland Mobile Phone: +353 87 7571320 Website: bluesharkangling.ie
More information
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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

Blue Shark Angling Galway,
Phone John Fleming : +353 (0)87 7571320

 

Anglers enjoying the sunshine and fishing in Clare

By
IFI Staff
-

Skipper Sean Maguire reports great action in the fine weather off the Clare coast. Pollack, spurdogs, ling and good mackerel have been providing great sport for his guests.

In his own words…”A pure pleasure to be be at sea in this beautiful weather, a gentle breeze with plenty of fish on the take, and good size mackerel have appeared in quite big numbers, so let’s hope they stay.“

With the forecast showing no significant change in weather over the next week, we’re sure his crews will be enjoying themselves in the coming days.

 

Go fishing…

Fishing Adventures Ireland

Address Kilbaha Clare Ireland Mobile Phone: +353 87 7508758 Mobile Phone: +353 89 4431182 Website: fishingadventures.ie
More information
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Sea angling in the Shannon Estuary and the Clare coast

 

River Moy Report to 12 July

By
IFI staff
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Ridge Pool at the Moy Fishery, Co Mayo, which is now closed to angling

Michael Murphy reports from the River Moy…

River Moy Angling Report – week ending 12-07-2026

The week began with a mixture of sunshine and scattered showers before high pressure became established, bringing increasingly warm and settled conditions across the Moy catchment. Daytime temperatures generally ranged from 18 degrees Celsius early in the week to between 24 and 27 degrees Celsius by the weekend, with light winds and very little rainfall during the latter half of the week.

River levels gradually fell throughout the week down to 0.2 m at Ballylahan by noon on Sunday 12th July. Water clarity was excellent, although lower flows and rising temperatures reduced daytime salmon activity, making early morning and late evening the most productive fishing periods. Small flies and lightly dressed patterns fished at dawn and dusk offered the best chance of success on some fisheries. Anglers were encouraged to handle fish carefully and release them quickly where appropriate due to the elevated water temperatures.

A total of 81 salmon were reported caught across the catchment for the week, of which 19 were reported released.

Moy Fishery

The Moy Fishery closed for angling from Friday 10th July due to elevated water temperatures.

Cathedral Beat

Four salmon were caught for the open period Monday to Thursday, all on the fly ranging from 3 lbs to 5 lbs in weight.

Ridge Pool

Eight salmon were caught for the open period Monday to Thursday, from 3.5 lbs to 11 lbs, two of which were released weighing 7 lbs and 11 lbs.

Ballina Salmon Anglers

Robbie reported six salmon caught for the week.

Mount Falcon

Mike reports of two salmon caught for the week.

Knockmore Salmon Anglers

Kenneth reported four salmon caught for the week, three of which were released with the prawn, and bubble & fly working best.

Attymass Angling Club

Kevin reported two salmon caught for the week.

Armstrong Fishery

George reported six salmon caught for the week with weights ranging from 5 lbs to 6 lbs.

Gannon’s Fishery

Pat reported six salmon for the week, two of which were released, with mainly grilse recorded.

Foxford Fishery

Granville reported twenty salmon caught for the week, four of which were released. Most were caught on prawn and bubble & fly with the best weighing 7.5 lbs.

Foxford Salmon Anglers

Harry reported thirteen salmon for the week, caught on the worm and bubble & fly.

Cloongee Fishery

Cloongee Fishery closed for angling from 9th July due to elevated water temperatures.

One salmon weighing 3 lbs caught and released off the fly was reported for the open period Monday to Wednesday.

East Mayo Anglers Association

Kathleen reported nine salmon for the week, six of which were released; all methods worked well, with fish ranging from 3 lbs to 6 lbs.

Hot weather provides great sport in west Clare

By
IFI Staff
-

Skipper Luke Aston and his crew are certainly enjoying the fine weather of late. There has been a bit of sea mist about but plenty of sunshine too. Fishing for pollack with light spinning gear has been lots of fun. Some fine coalfish have been showing up in catches too.

Not every day is prolific, but even on a slow day, what does come to the boat can provide tremendous sport. One slower day saw some fine spurdogs come aboard – hard-fighting and full of muscle, these fish are a great species to fish for!

 

Go fishing…

Carrigaholt Sea Angling Centre

Address Carrigaholt Clare Ireland Mobile Phone: +353 87 6367544 Phone: +353 65 9058209 Website: fishandstay.com
More information
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Sea angling in the Shannon Estuary and the Clare coast

 

State-managed rivers in Donegal to close due to heatwave

By
IFI Staff
-

Due to the continuing heatwave resulting in high water temperatures, the following IFI permitted rivers will close to all angling from Friday morning 17th July 2026 until further notice in accordance with IFI warm water protocols:-

  • Eske
  • Eany
  • Lackagh
  • Owenea & Owentocker
  • Gweebarra

The ESB have also announced that they are closing the Clady and the Crolly rivers.

 

IFI is guided by scientific advice that indicates a dramatic increase in angling-related mortalities at temperatures above 20 degrees.

If temperatures exceed 20°C on two readings within 24 hours, fisheries will be closed to all angling until further notice in accordance with IFI’s Warm Water Protocol.

Fish Handling and Welfare

At all fisheries where catch-and-release angling is permissible, anglers should take extra precautions during times of warm temperatures to minimise the stress on fish such as brown trout and Atlantic salmon.

Anglers using catch-and-release methods are encouraged to limit the exposure of fish to air, or avoid it completely where possible.

See our guidelines to safe handling for catch and release.

IFI urges the public to report any instances of distressed fish, fish kills, illegal fishing, or water pollution to IFI’s confidential 24/7 number on 0818 34 74 24.

Damien Foltyn takes win at Method Feeder Qualifiers

By
Shane O'Reilly
-

The second qualifier for the All-Ireland Method Feeder Championships was held at Oaklands Lake over the weekend, and despite the bright conditions, some decent weights were posted.

Top three anglers on the day were:

  • Damien Foltyn 77.49lb
  • Poitr Horbinski 66.95lb
  • John Browne 56.02lb

The top 18 anglers on the day have qualified for the final, which takes place at Oaklands Lake on Sunday 30th August.

A full report and more photos can be viewed on the NCFFI Facebook Page.

Go Fishing…

Oaklands Fishery

Address Marsh Meadow New Ross Wexford Ireland Phone: +353 51 445348 Mobile Phone: +353 87 6988979 Mobile Phone: +353 87 781 1042 Website: oaklandslake.com
More information
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Bass or bust at Ballinaulart for Ringsend Irishtown Anglers

By
Shane O'Reilly
-

This post was compiled from angling reports shared on the Ringsend Irishtown Angling Club Facebook page:

The Ringsend Irishtown Angling Club held their fourth Master Anglers event of the year from 6 to 11pm on Ballinoulart Beach over the weekend, fishing a dropping tide into darkness.

Thirteen senior and four junior anglers competed on the evening, and it wasn’t long after first casts that fish started to turn up, with bass showing prominently in the early catches. The lower pegs proved to be the more difficult draw, with anglers drawn in 1 to 7 having to scratch around for the odd flattie.

But it was bass that decided the day, and Alby Allan made light of an unfavourable draw to take the win on the night. Brendan Byrne took 8 bass in the final hour to secure second spot, with Sean Kinsella taking third thanks in large part to a fine 58cm bass on his last cast which won him the round pool.

In the junior section, Sean Keane winkled out a couple of schoolie bass to give him the win over Saean and Luke Kinsella in second and third.

A full report and more photos can be viewed on the Ringsend Irishtown Angling Club Facebook Page.

Go Fishing…

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