Moving from Galway to Dublin soon and I am keen to get some river action in before the end of the season.

Can anyone suggest any decent fishing in Dublin ?

Thanks

Drfrank

Well dfrank ,
you will find a limited amount of wild brown trout fishing in the greater dublin area,however there is some good fishing to be found.The river liffey is one of the best trout rivers in the country and the leixlip to lucan stretch can be very productive.There is aslso the river dodder on the southside of the city,it has a strong and active club on the water.However if these don"t whet the appetite ,less than hours drive will bring you to any one of the great rivers on the boyne system or indeed the boyne itself,however most of these waters are controlled by clubs so you might have to ring ahead beforehand.

Hi Frank,
I'll list a few rivers within an hours drive from dublin apart from the liffey, dodder and boyne that Grasshopper already mentioned.

The Greise
This is a great little river that I fish 3 or 4 evenings a week during the summer.
The Greise anglers have fishing rights from Crookstown down to Kilkea. A season ticket costs €15 and is available from the Shaker store in Balitore and the Sportmans inn in Timolin. As long as you're sensible(not leaving gates open or blocking entrances,etc.) none of the farmers will mind you fishing their land along the full stretch(about 10 miles). For such a small river it has a high average size of fish. An average fish is around the half pound mark and you'll get a 1lb fish most evenings. The club doesnt mind you taking fish for the table but you know yourself.... dont go mad killing as it isnt stocked.
All methods are allowed on the river but as it is so shallow and the weed is so thick, the only viable option is to either dry fly or upstream nymph. The red spinner is knocking about at the moment and will only get better for the next month. A size 14 greenwells, ginger quill and adams will generally work. Pheasant tail nymph or GRHE nymph work well. Sedges work great and will generally get the best fish for you at dusk or night. Dont be afraid to use a big sedge...size 10 or even an 8(Bigger as it get darker). Grey flag, brown sedge(with a yellow ****) are the best. You can really connect with big fish on the griese, a 4lb fish was caught last month and the biggest recorded in recent years was over 6lb. I think the big fish run up from the barrow as I've never heard of any big ones caught before may. It can be a tough little river at times and most newcomers have a tough time on it but as you get used to it and get to know that pools and lies you'll be fine.

The Slaney,
The Slaney is free fishing all the way from its source in the wicklow mountains down as far as tullow. The best fishing imho is from baltinglass down. The average size is much smaller than the griese and it is a bigger river. A half pound fish would be a good one. My PB on it is 1lb 12oz but thats in 17 years and a lot of fishing. Its a lot easier fishing too. Wet fly or dry. A team of spiders fished upstream works best but the fish arent that fussy and you could reasonably expect to catch around 20 in an evening. Casting mistakes are forgiven unlike the griese where they would put down every rising fish in the pool. There is some lovely dry fly water on the slaney and the same flies I mentioned for the griese will work but use smaller sedges..12 is best in my experience. There are a lot of otter, kingfishers and dippers on the river which is always nice. Also loads of mink unfortunetly.

Carrigower
This is a nice little river which you can fish around whitestown on the dublin road near baltinglass. It is a tributary of the slaney but the average size is a bit bigger. Free fishing again but be carefull of the mountain men around that area if you are from dublin(they hate dubliners). But if you're from anywhere else they'll be very welcoming. Certain runs contain a lot of salmon parr but if you move on a bit you'll connect with the browns again.

River Leer,
The river leer flows from castledermot and joins the Barrow near carlow. I havent fished it since I was a teenager but remember it being a good little river. Free fishing again as far as I remember.

You can get some decent lake fishing too.
Blessington lake fishes well from the shore for browns near the dam at poulaphouca. You can get permits from Super valu in Blessington for €25 a year.
Some people like the goldenfalls lake in ballymore eustace although I've never done well at all. Day tickets available from the Gala shop in ballymore eustace for €5.
Sometime in the summer you should fish Kelly's lough on the side of Lug in the wicklow mountains. Its a 3 mile walk from the road but well worth it. I camp for the night whenever I go up.Lovely little black trout. Most people use small wets but I've found big dry sedges to be the best.

Anyway the very best of luck and if you've any questions send me a PM,
Regards,
Eddie

Thanks Eddie for a comprehensive reply !!

I am new to Dublin and I will be living in Castleknock, any fishing nearby ?

Thanks again

Drfrank

Hi DrFrank,
As someone mentioned before, the dodder is supposed to be good. As far as I remember Rory's tackle shop in temple bar sells the tickets but you can definetly get them in Tallaght Rod and gun shop(near the national basketball arena). I've havent fished it for a hell of a long time but when I did it was in Herbert park in Ballsbridge. The fishing was ok and a size 16 adams caught me a few small trout. The club stocks it with fish up to the pound. I also went fishing for mullet around ringsend...didnt catch any but there are a heap of them at high tide....might be worth a try.
As a member of the dodder anglers you can fish the two lakes up in Bohernabrena(They are listed in peter o reilly's book). They offer good fishing and the surroundings are nice.
I remember my uncle taking me fishing on the river Camac in clondalkin about 20 years ago when I was up visiting my townie relatives. He got a few nice trout on it that evening. I havent a clue how it fishes now and he doesnt fish anymore. You can still fish it in corkagh park for free as far as I know. Incidentally...there is a put and take fishery in corkagh park if you get desperate.
There is a reservoir in leixlip but I dont know if there are any trout in it.
The Rye water in leixlip is supposed to be a good river but I've never fished it. Peter O'Reilly's books would be worth getting.
Tight lines,
Eddie

Hi Dr Frank,

Will you have car? If so you are on the right side of town for the n3 which will take you up to the boyne/blackwater in 40 mins. Depends how far you want to travel but there is a lot of wild fishing within an hour of dublin. I mainly fish the liffey, the bit I fish is about 20 miles from the house.

I have fished the dodder but didn't really enjoy it, to many spectators and too much litter.

As an aside I was out in Leixlip today (this is quite close to castleknock) and had a look over the bridge into the rye water, looks like nice troutey water. Anyone fish it?

Cheers,

S

Hello Drfrank
I usually head west for brown trout, but if you can stoop to fishing for stocked rainbows, there's a excellent fishery at Rathcon in Wicklow. Lovely tranquil surroundings and extremely well managed. The fish are in terrific condition and the numbers fishing are limited so it never feels busy.
Might be worth one outing for you.