Ireland on the Fly - the people & places of fly fishing in Ireland

With the trout season for 2026 very much underway, it has, so far, been a start stop affair. This spring has brought us a lot of high winds and temperatures have struggled to get into double figures for the most part. The bad weather has prevented a lot of anglers getting out. However, good things come to those who wait and, with an upturn in the weather forecast, things are on the up.
This latest episode sees Tom joined by Mike Keady for his first stint as co-presenter on the show. Mike has been a regular guest on Ireland on the Fly and will be well known to our regular listeners, he will be joining us for the trout episodes.
The guys are joined by another friend of the show, Jackie Mahon. Jackie is one of the top guides in the country, working mainly on the North Western Loughs of Ireland. 
We asked Jackie how it has been so far for him this season and what his plans are up until the end of June. He tells us of Loughs Arrow, Erne and Melvin, when and how he approaches them and also touches a bit on sea trout as well. As ever with most of us anglers, he has high hopes for the season ahead!
Keep up to date with all the latest Ireland on the Fly on https://www.IrelandontheFly.com and get regular updates on https://Instagram.com/IrelandontheFly.

After the long winter break and with the 2026 season now truly under way, we kick the year off and look ahead to the salmon fishing season. 

Joining Tom on this week’s episode is Conor Arnold from the Blackwater. Tom is also joined by Garrett Ruigrok as co presenter and they ask Conor for his thoughts and (more importantly) hopes for 2026, mindful of the disappointing salmon year of 2025.  There is a tinge of optimism which time will tell whether it is well founded or not.

Conor also discusses his role last year in getting involved after the catastrophic fish kill on the Blackwater when he rose to prominence nationally in dealing with Government bodies and politicians after this disaster.

We also discuss the current standing regarding salmon angling regulations, which is very much a wait and see exercise. 

And for anyone brave enough to venture forth in the search of spring silver, we get a good insight in to the tactics to adopt in their pursuit.  

Keep up to date with all the latest Ireland on the Fly on https://www.IrelandontheFly.com and get regular updates on https://Instagram.com/IrelandontheFly.

A Happy Christmas to all our listeners and as it’s that time of the year we thought we’d bring you a bucket list episode that many of us can only dream about – fly fishing for the golden mahseer in remote Bhutan.
 
Jake Anchell joins Tom Doc to tell him about the recent once-in-a-lifetime trip he made with his father, David.
 
Find out about Bhutan, the place of the mahseer in their culture and how you can target this massive fish on the fly.  One for the Christmas wish list!
 
Keep up to date with all the latest Ireland on the Fly on https://www.IrelandontheFly.com and get regular updates on https://Instagram.com/IrelandontheFly.

So, the salmon and trout season is over for another year and while there was plenty of negatives with fish kills and pollution incidents, there was also still a lot of great fishing to be had.
 
And for this week’s episode we’re focusing on the brown trout season with Eamonn Ross from Lough Sheelin and Mike Keady from Lough Corrib.
 
Plus Tom also has updates on a recent worrying development of green algae on Lough Corrib.
 
Keep up to date with all the latest Ireland on the Fly on https://www.IrelandontheFly.com and get regular updates on https://Instagram.com/IrelandontheFly

No matter the fishing and conditions, the 2025 season will go down in memory as the year of the worst ever fish kill in the history of the State, which is certainly saying something based on this country’s approach to pollution, water quality and environmental protection.
 
We’ve discussed fish kills on this show before, highlighting the fact that when guilty verdicts and fines are handed down, the consequences are risible anyway.
 
But for this week’s episode we wanted to focus on the questionable practice in the Blackwater investigation and why the current legislation is not fit for purpose.
 
Conor Arnold of the Upper Bridgetown Salmon Fishery on the Blackwater has been to the forefront during this crisis, spending untold hours highlighting the issue and trying to get to the bottom of it as best as he can.
 
Conor also spoke as an invited witness at last week’s Oireachtas Committee hearing into the Blackwater fish kill and a day later he spoke to us about the hearing to tell us what arose from it.
 
Keep up to date with all the latest Ireland on the Fly on https://www.IrelandontheFly.com and get regular updates on https://Instagram.com/IrelandontheFly