Hi there,

Maybe some you remember me from my past topic, as a young spanish angler, asking for recommendation and advice on fishing Scotland vs Ireland (and Wales) during my voyage. I'm back here and I just want to let everyone know that we've finally decided ourselves for Ireland! The main reason was that my partner was working there the past year, so we have some conctacts and places to go. And also fishing seems to be great too, while the place is not as cold as Scotland. Also thanks in advance for all the replies and advice, really much appreciated!

Anyway, I'm arriving to Limerick this week with my partner... we've found a shared room in the centre, so that's gonna be our base camp for some time, and while we don't find a job in another place or a better place, we are staying there for now!

I just want to ask for some advice about fishing there (trout, stillwater and maybe pike as well) if there is anyone with some ideas to contribute. As far as I know, the Irish trout fishing season is starting soon isn't it? What about stillwaters and pike fishing, I'm allowed to do it now? Also I will not need any rod license in most of the places for that purpose, right? But I will need some permits for certain places and rivers right? In that case, I'm just wondering about some trout rivers in the region (I don't care if they are just brooks and little streams) to spend our spare time, and also some stillwaters both for trouts and maybe for catching my first pike (or pike rivers). We would like to organise also some other trips to different places for some weekends as well, we want to know the Galway region, and Cork, Killarney and Tralee in the south. But let's see how it goes.

I was checking the google map, and I've only found the river Maigue in Adare (and two interesting tributaires: the Glenn, the Loobag, the Camoge,the Morningstar... correct me if I'm wrong) and another one in Annacotty, but don't know if it's free fishing there (or maybe in their tributaries) or only Salmon and Seatrout. I've also found the Lough Derg (it's massive!) and a little one just between Ballykeeffe and Castlemungret. I think that would be a good starting point, as we haven't any hired car already, and maybe reaching other places is not that easy for now.

Also I've saw lots of stillwaters in the north, and around the Galway region (the massive Corrib, Ree, Mask and lots of small stillwaters, but don't know what would be better for fishing)... maybe we should plan some fishing trips and hire a car for a weekend or pick a train, if the place and the fishing worths it. I would like to explore the southern regions as well.

Thanks a lot for reading and any advice would be really helpful... I don't care if it's about nice fishing places or any other useful thing to know about transport and how to go, best fly tackle shops around, or whatever you could contribute to a foreigner angler.

Regards and tight lines for everyone! Now it's time to tie flies (i'm not sure about carrying my tying tools with me!) and pack all my stuff! I even bought another travel rod to carry with me! Now just let my Irish adventure begins...

P.S: Maybe as this is a public forum, some people prefer to share his advice and fishing spots or whatever in person. In that case, don't hesitate to contact me by PM or even email/msn if you feel to, I would be glad to talk or meet anyone, and share some talks, time or casts. Thanks in advance for everything! I promise to come back with some reports hahaha.

I dont know where to start, a problem you seem to share with me..you see the scope of fishing around Ireland is immense...and having Limerick as a starting point is quite good...you are with in two hours of practically every good fishing region in Ireland..you are also within two minutes of gangland violence but thats a different matter.

I would honestly just buy a detailed ordnance survey map and just go from there..have a look at some interesting areas and then ask a question on here about it, because there is just to much to tell you...many books have been written about fly fishing in Ireland (Peter O Reillys is your 2nd buy after the map) and they barely scratch the surface...you could write half a dozen books about the Shannon region alone and not get in every little stream, lake, bay, seasonal variance etc..

I think you should set yourself out some targets..wild brownie in a stream, pike on a fly, roach/bream on fly etc...what does Ireland offer that Spain does not ? create a little list of must do's and we will do our best to help..

A little starter here..
L. Derg can be a heart breaker, you will be in a hatch of Mayfly that looks like snow and not a trout will rise, then all of a sudden a switch is flicked and the fish come on..but more often than not they don't. However Derg is a beautiful lake and full of roach/bream and pike which all will take a fly..
The Maigue is a lovely river but a lot of it has club beats so you would have to enquire locally about fishing rights..they will usually be very cheap or free..local pubs and shops are the people to ask or even a local farmer...they will be sure to help a Spanish chap with a fly rod..
Killarney is just full of fishing be it river or lake...some rivers have private beats due to Salmon fisherman but most dont..again a guy with a fly rod is usually turned a blind eye to...Killarney and the surrounding mountains are dotted with lakes..all free fishing and all full of trout..if in doubt about access a local farmer will help you but I never have problems if you are just conscious of your surroundings, close gates, dont litter etc etc...

Get cracking on a specific to do list and we will try to point you along

Welcome to Ireland Blueberry. Look forward to hearing how you get on with some of the worlds best fishing locations.

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Blueberry
I'd echo what Stylie has said about getting a map and Peter O'Reill's book, http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rivers-Irela...283557&sr=8-15, Rivers of Ireland. He lists pretty much all the rivers in the country.
Another useful site is the Ordnance Survey site, where you can look at maps and high quality ariel photos of the country, very useful for finding new fishing spots. http://ims0.osiemaps.ie/website/publ...&ecom=S1&user=
There are a lot of nice rivers in the North Cork area, which is quite close to Limerick, the tributaries of the Blackwater are the ones in that area I'm familiar with; the Bride, Awbeg and Funshion. Spider, on this forum, fishes rivers around the Limerick area and would probably be able to point you in the direction of rivers closer to the city.
One interesting feature of the fishing in Limerick is that in some areas of the city trout have adapted to their environment to such an extent they now resemble Cutthroat trout rather than Brown trout .
Welcome to Ireland

Steve

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Steve


"There he stands, draped in more equipment than a telephone lineman, trying to outwit an organism with a brain no bigger than a breadcrumb, and getting licked in the process." Paul O'Neil

This website might come in handy also, it's early in the year so you have time to do a bit of research.
http://www.shannon-fishery-board.ie/...e/game_map.htm

__________________
Where the wandering water gushes
From the hills above Glen-Car,
In pools among the rushes
That scarce could bathe a star,
We seek for slumbering trout
And whispering in their ears
Give them unquiet dreams;
Leaning softly out
From ferns that drop their tears
Over the young streams.
Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.

Hey all...

Thanks for the promt replies! Definitely, my first buy it's going to be a detailed map, both of the city and also the region! I was looking for some info on the Maigue the past hour (as it's the nearest one) but also found that there are many fishing clubs and even private parts. However the end of it into the shannon is free I think.

Well to be a little bit more specific, as stylie suggested, in my Spanish town fishing is ok, but the population of trouts is quite reduced now, and the nature is quite damaged too... you shoud go to remote streams (impossible to cast sometimes under the branches and vegetation) to find some tiny wild brownies. So I think every Irish river is going to be like a trout and fishing paradise for me. The Maigue system looked nice just because its close situation, and possibility to come there quite often. But that information about Killarney and also the north of Cork is juicy... definitely I will type it down in my agenda! Thats what i'm talking about, get some objetives to plan some trips and hire a car when needed and it worths it.

Also here, the stillwater fishing is not very developed... mainly coarse fish, and a few "must_kill" stocked waters, which look much more like holes filled with water and fish rather than beautiful natural landscapes!! And I really want to spend some time in the stillwaters paradise... also my partner is quite novice, so my intentions pass through an initiation with some easy stocked bows to get the feeling of a trout striking & adding some weigth to the line, and develope the basic skills before start exploring the lands! I just asked for that loughs because i've found them easily in the map not too far away from Limerick city... but no preferences. Just looking for some stockies or pike, and also some gorgeous wild ones as near as possible.

And I last but not least, dreaming on watching & catching my first pike, as there aren't many of them along the northern waters of Spain, and no way that big! I love streamer fishing so it would be a sweet challenge. Maybe also perchs or something like that, unavailable in Spain as well.

Thanks for the links, the map looks really useful! I'm gonna use that link quite often for sure...

Tight lines for everyone, the season is coming!

Some of the loughs and rivers have quite big trout as they run off limestone. Fish of 1kg are not unusual in the rivers and in Lough Derg trout of up to 5kg are caught when the mayfly are up. Concentrate on the area around Garrykennedy and Dromineer and fish in the evenings when the spent gnat fall on the water. Plenty of pike and perch in Lough Derg.

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“There is no more lovely country than Monmouthshire in early spring. Nowhere do the larks sing quite so passionately, as if somehow inspired by the Welsh themselves. There is a blackbird on every thorn and a cock chaffinch, a twink as they call him there, on every bush...... It moved me profoundly. I had been spared to see another spring, and I thank God for it.”

Oliver Kite
“A Spring Day on the Usk”
A Fisherman’s Diary

Thanks for the replies, very helpful!

I'm having a look at the Killarney region and the Lough Leane in the National Park, it seems to be a beautiful destination. Also the Derg for pikes.

Now it's time to organize all the baggage. I will come back with news soon! Thanks and tiight lines for y'all!

Best of luck with the trip Blueberry, I'm sure you'll have a great time.

Some websites you should definitely check out are:
Central Fisheries Board (this covers the whole country)
Shannon Fisheries Board (specific to the shannon region, river shannon, lough ree, lough derg etc)
Western Fisheries Board (specific to west of country, galway, mayo, lough corrib, lough mask etc)

You can check all the regulations you need on the CFB website above, some rivers/lakes will have their own rules in addition to these, most of them will be on the regional websites listed too.

You can fish for pike now, and perch too, in some places the trout season starts 14th/15th Feb, and in most places it's 1st March.

If you are interested in natural stillwaters then I would have to really recommend Lough Mask, I have been going there since I was young and it is truly majestic, I can't recommend it highly enough. A small warning though, and this applies to the other big lakes like Corrib and Ree too, the best way to fish these lakes is by boat, but this can be a little dangerous to people who aren't familiar with the lakes so it's worth hiring a ghillie (guide) who can show you safe routes around and where there might be any dangerous rocks, or places you can shelter if the weather turns bad. It's better still if you can hire one each time you go out because they know where all the fish are, but at least check with them the safe paths to take.

You're not kidding! Parts of the eastern shore of Mask have boulders the size of a car just under the surface.

At least for Derg and Ree you can buy the charts that they have for the cruisers and these mark the shallows and reefs pretty well.

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“There is no more lovely country than Monmouthshire in early spring. Nowhere do the larks sing quite so passionately, as if somehow inspired by the Welsh themselves. There is a blackbird on every thorn and a cock chaffinch, a twink as they call him there, on every bush...... It moved me profoundly. I had been spared to see another spring, and I thank God for it.”

Oliver Kite
“A Spring Day on the Usk”
A Fisherman’s Diary