Kevin McLoughlin is a lifelong angler from Cork who joins us on this week’s Ireland on the Fly to talk about the good old days for salmon when the spring run was something to behold.

Kevin talks about moving to Cobh, working in the fishing industry and even spending a year on the newly formed fisheries board in 1979.

He has seen it all in Irish fishing since the 1960s and has plenty to tell.

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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.irelandonthefly.com

Throwing Feathers in the Wind is a new book out by Richard Gorodecky, a fly angler who moved full time to Ireland five years ago to be closer to the river fishing that he loves so much.

Richard was a long-time visitor to these shores fishing all over the country before settling in south Munster but his obsession with fly fishing has also seen him fish all over the world.

Throwing Feathers in the Wind is his first collection of essays detailing his fishing in Ireland and further afield, and is, like so many good fishing books, more about the why than anything else.

Plus, Tom and Daire also discuss the dire fish kill on the Blackwater and ask when will it be the tipping point to stop further fish kills?

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To find out more and to buy a copy of Richard's book, go to:Gorodecky.com

Keep up to date and get regular updates on https://Instagram.com/IrelandontheFly.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.irelandonthefly.com

We’re at the tail end of the grilse run now and with the summer conditions we’ve had, coming off the back of a poor spring run, we’ve been desperately looking for some good news on the salmon front.

And we found it – or sort of – because this week Johnny Casey and Yamil Turcuman two passionate salmon anglers who we’ve spoken to before – join us to let us know how their season has been – ranging from the bad to the sublime....

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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.irelandonthefly.com

You may have seen the recent campaign and news stories about the disappearance of sprat from our coastal waters and the government’s unwillingness to do enough to protect our marine habitats – but what has it got to do with you if you're an angler and only interested in freshwater?

Well in the current environmental climate, pretty much everything, and whether it’s marine or freshwater conservation it’s something every angler needs to be informing themselves of and trying to do their bit to help with.

So this week we’re joined by campaigning ecologist, Padraic Fogarty, to tell us more about the SaveOurSprat campaign, how the government isn’t doing enough and why everything from sprats right up the marine food chain are in danger.Plus, Tom is back from his week's fishing in Orkney and tells us how the heatwave hit the loughs and the brown trout even that far north.

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

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.irelandonthefly.com

Is a river alive? What a question….it throws up so many if, buts, maybes, but most importantly, why not?

They are our lifeblood, our circulation, our healing waters.

But they also need saving now in these troubled times of extraction, industrialisation and pollution.

To kick off Season 2, we’re taking the big picture view when it comes to rivers, and we’re asking shouldn’t the rights of nature be respected in our laws and constitutions? If a limited company can have legal rights why then can’t our rivers?

Without our rivers, without due care, without oversight…..well, we all know what can and is happening in terms of water quality and how that is affecting us all, not least of all the wild salmon.

So to help with some of these existential questions, celebrated nature writer, Rob Macfarlane joins Jim Murray to discuss how he set out on journeys around the globe, from Ecuador to India and Canada, and finally to his own home waters in Cambridge, to ask is a river alive?

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The Last Salmon Season 2 is supported by The Missing Salmon Alliance.Image: Richard Davies via https://www.instagram.com/racdavies_photos/

The Last Salmon, presented by actor and salmon activist, Jim Murray MBE, offers hope and solutions to the tragic story that is unfolding for an iconic species in crisis - the wild salmon.

For regular updates, follow the show at Instagram.com/TheLastSalmon.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.irelandonthefly.com

Wild salmon are in a perilous state. But we can’t and won’t give up.The Last Salmon with Jim Murray is back for another season, launching July 25th, addressing the problems and hearing from all sides of the argument, to find the solutions to help save our wild salmon.It’s not too late, the salmon haven’t give up, and nor can we.

The Last Salmon, presented by renowned actor and salmon activist, Jim Murray MBE, offers hope and solutions to the tragic story that is unfolding for an iconic species in crisis - the wild Atlantic salmon.

Listen and follow on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts, and for regular updates, follow the show at Instagram.com/TheLastSalmon.

Season 2 of The Last Salmon launches in July 2025 with more insights from salmon anglers, fishery scientists and conservationists.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.irelandonthefly.com

We should never stop learning – and in fly fishing especially, we’re never done.

This week we hear from Packy Trotter a life long fly angler, guide and instructor who epitomises the spirit of teaching and learning in the sport.

STANIC and APGAI qualified, Packy then travelled to the Catskills where he took the FFF certified and FFF masters qualifications becoming, at that time, only the second person in their history to pass both exams at the one session.

Suffice to say, there’s plenty we can learn from Packy

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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.irelandonthefly.com

Continuing our fly fishing in hot waters theme on the show, this week we’re joined by Ronan Collins, a well-known and well-travelled fly angler who is just back from a trip to Gabon in west Africa.

Ronan tells us why fly fishing in Africa should be on everyone’s bucket list with an incredible array of species to be caught from crevalle to snappers, tarpon, barracuda and sharks.

Ronan is also on the board of Salmon Watch Ireland and he talks to us about this year’s very poor spring run and why a multi-faceted, multi-agency approach is drastically needed to address the emergency situation relating to salmon numbers in Ireland.

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

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.irelandonthefly.com

This week, with the hot temperatures we’ve been having and the noticeable lack of rainfall, we wanted to speak to renowned fisheries scientist, Ken Whelan, who gave a talk at the recent Irish Spring Angling Fair, called ‘Trout in hot water’.

Ken details the impact and consequences of rising temperatures on our freshwater fish as well as their food sources and he challenges anglers to start thinking and adapting to the changing habitat and waters that we are going to be seeing.

As always with Ken, he’s got some thought-provoking and fascinating insights well worth listening to and considering.

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Keep up to date with all the latest Ireland on the Fly on https://Instagram.com/IrelandontheFly.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.irelandonthefly.com

This week, in honour of the midsummer solstice, we’ve recorded a midseason review to find out how the fishing has been so far, the highs and lows, and what we can expect for the second half of the season.

It might be the height of summer but it won’t be long before the long days start getting shorter so make the most of your fishing while you can.

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Keep up to date with all the latest Ireland on the Fly on https://Instagram.com/IrelandontheFly.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.irelandonthefly.com