Hooked on fishing: How a Tipperary man turned a lifelong passion into a growing fishing community

For Senan Stanley, fishing was never something he picked up later in life or drifted into by chance. It was part of his world from the very beginning.

“I’ve been fishing on Lough Derg since I was six or seven,” he says.

“I started out with my grandparents, just simple gear, catching whatever would bite. I loved it straight away.”

That early start set the tone for everything that followed. Long before cameras, social media or guiding bookings entered the picture, fishing was simply how Senan spent his time. It was routine, comfort and challenge all rolled into one.

Years later, that same childhood passion has quietly evolved into a full-time livelihood. Through patience, consistency and a strong sense of authenticity, the Tipperary-based angler has built one of Ireland’s largest online fishing followings, while establishing himself as a respected guide on Lough Derg.

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What makes Senan’s story stand out is not just the size of his audience or the fish he catches, but the way he approaches both.

“I was fishing every day anyway,” he explains.

“I just decided one day to start documenting it.”

At the beginning, there was no plan to build a brand or grow a following.

“The idea was simple. I wanted the videos saved somewhere so I could look back on them in 20 or 30 years,” he says.
“That was it.”

That mindset still shapes his content today. Senan’s videos do not feel like polished advertisements or carefully scripted productions. Instead, they unfold naturally, often slowly, mirroring the rhythm of a day on the water.
Viewers see quiet mornings, missed chances, sudden moments of excitement and long stretches of reflection.

“I never wanted it to feel forced or obnoxious,” he says. “I didn’t want to be pushing a camera into people’s faces. I just wanted it to feel like an adventure.”

In the early days, even speaking to the camera was a challenge.
“I was painfully shy,” he admits.
“I remember doing the same take ten times, stuttering and messing it up. It took a while before I relaxed into it.”

That awkwardness eventually faded, replaced by a calm, conversational style that has become a hallmark of his videos. Viewers are not being lectured or sold to. They are simply brought along for the day.
That authenticity has struck a chord. Today, Senan has built a combined following well into six figures across TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook, with TikTok proving to be the fastest-growing platform.

“I think fishing is finding a new audience,” he says. “A lot of kids are seeing it pop up on TikTok or YouTube and thinking, ‘That looks cool, I want to try that.’”

For Senan, that younger audience comes with a responsibility. He is conscious that many of the people watching his videos are just starting out, often with limited means.

“A lot of my viewers are kids, and they don’t have money,” he says.
“So I make a point of showing that you don’t need the most expensive gear to catch fish.”

Some of his most popular videos reflect that approach. Rather than focusing solely on high-end equipment, Senan often experiments with budget tackle or unconventional methods.
“I’ve caught fish using stuff people would laugh at,” he says. “I once wrapped fishing line around a tin can and caught pike with it.”

The point, he explains, is not to be gimmicky. “It’s about showing that understanding the water matters more than how much you spend,” he says.

“If you’re in the right place and you know what you’re doing, you can catch fish with very little.”

That philosophy also explains why Senan has been careful about commercial partnerships. Despite opportunities to align himself closely with specific brands, he has resisted becoming overly sponsored.
“I didn’t want to limit myself,” he says. “I wanted the channel to grow naturally first.”

He believes that audiences are quick to spot insincerity, particularly in niche communities.
“If people feel like you’re just there to sell them something, they switch off,” he says.
“Fishing people are very good at spotting that.”

That same grounded approach carries through to his guiding work on Lough Derg. After years of informal trips and constant requests through social media, Senan made the decision to register as self-employed and offer guiding full time.
“At first it was just favours for people,” he says. “Birthdays, requests through messages. Then it got to the point where I had to either commit to it properly or stop altogether.”

Rather than advertising months of availability in advance, Senan works on a weekly basis, guided by weather conditions and his own time on the water.
“I want to bring people out on good days,” he says. “I could take money and bring people out in poor conditions, but I won’t do that.”

His clients range from experienced anglers to complete beginners, as well as families and visitors travelling from abroad.
“You get everyone,” he says.
“Pros, lads who’ve never fished before, fathers and sons. Once someone catches their first fish, you can see it click.”

He is particularly conscious of younger clients, many of whom are experiencing fishing for the first time.
“A lot of them are coming from watching videos online,” he says. “They’ve seen it on a screen and now they want to try it in real life.”

Despite growing demand and an increasingly busy schedule, Senan remains clear about what matters most.
“They’re coming out for the experience,” he says.
“Not to inspect the boat or the gear.”

Looking ahead, he hopes to continue growing the guiding side of his work steadily, while maintaining the balance that drew people to his content in the first place.
“I’m still figuring it all out,” he admits.
“But I don’t want to lose what made it enjoyable in the first place.”

That perspective has been shaped by years on the water, long before algorithms or follower counts mattered.
“I still see it the same way I did when I was a kid,” he says. “It’s just fishing. The camera came later.”

In a digital landscape often driven by speed, spectacle and selling, Senan Stanley’s success is built on patience, honesty and a genuine love for what he does and that, perhaps, is why so many people continue to tune in.

Now, that lifelong routine on the water has become Senan’s full-time focus.

He currently works entirely as a self-employed fishing guide on Lough Derg, taking individuals and small groups out on the lake throughout the year, weather permitting. Each trip is tailored to the people on board, whether they are experienced anglers looking to refine their skills or complete beginners casting a line for the first time.
“It’s very much about the day itself,” he says.
“People want to learn, but they also want to enjoy being out there.”

In response to demand, Senan has also begun offering gift vouchers for guided fishing experiences, which he says have proven particularly popular for birthdays and special occasions.

The vouchers allow flexibility around dates and conditions, ensuring trips can be planned when the lake is at its best.
Alongside guiding, Senan continues to document his days on the water across multiple social media platforms, including TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook.

Each channel serves a slightly different audience, but the core approach remains the same.
“I just show what happens,” he says.
“Some days are great, some days are quiet, but it’s all part of it.”

Balancing filming with guiding has become part of the job, but Senan is careful that the camera never takes priority over the people he brings out.

“The fishing comes first,” he says. “The content follows after that.”

While his audience continues to grow, Senan remains focused on keeping the work sustainable and enjoyable.

“I’m lucky to be doing this full time,” he says. “I don’t take that for granted.”For now, his days are spent on the lake, his evenings editing footage, and his future firmly tied to the water that first sparked his interest as a child.

You can find him at Senan Stanley Fishing on Instagram, YouTube and Facebook.