I fished the Upper Liffey at Newbridge, Kildare for the first time last week...what a pleasant experience. The water is owned by the North Kildare Trout & Salmon Angling Association and you can fish it for 10 euros per day. It is a limestone river eventually running through Dublin city and out to sea.

After purchasing my dayticket from the Post Office at Dunnes store (not the petrol station) I parked up, tackled up and headed for the river. Access is difficult in places but not too hard, I crossed a field and got into the river at a lovely looking riffle. The weather was miserable and on my drive from Dublin the air temp had dropped some 5 degrees and the rain started.

Not to be peturbed (it was my birthday) and with no rises I opted for klink & dink tactics for a good hour without so much as a sniff !! I then noticed a couple of olives coming off (once the wind had settled) and I think I saw a rise....

It was now around 16:00 and more olives were coming off and I saw a definite rise, off with the klink and on with a home-tied olive. I waded slowly and saw a couple of repeat offenders rising in a scum lane on the far bank, first cast WAAAAYYYY OFFF (almost a bauble), the next one much more accurate and rewarded with a take.....that I missed.

The next 45 mins continued with rises and missed fish, I landed one and missed at least a dozen. The landed fish was only 6inches but a nice birthday present on my first outing of the season. I cannot have covered more than 500 yrds of bank during my first visit to this lovely river and I cannot wait to get back.

In fairness some of the water in Newbridge town was a little 'interesting' with river features including not just Aldi but Dunne's stores shopping trolleys, but once you were out of the town it improved dramatically.

I will report back !

Happy birthday! Sounds like you had fun. There are a few guys on here who fish the Liffey regularly and do quiet well.... Bit of a drive from Galway though?

You should move out of town, closer to sallins. Millicent bridge area. craking trout and not a shopping trolley for miles

LiffeyBen,
I just got my membership for North Kildare but I'm not sure of the best access points on this stretch, I have heard a few people talk about Millicent bridge so would love to give it a go again unsure how to get there, any advice much appreciated

Troutbhoy, At millicent bridge park in front of the bridge coming from sallins hop over the wall on the left. Another good spot is park up at the Aquaduct as you walk over the bridge there is a white cottage go down the side of it and take an immediate right go under the canal, there is a gate there into a field go across the field following the river down stream some great spots all the way down.

I fished the Liffey again over the weekend and had a super day (not necessarily through the fish caught but the lessons learned).

Sunday was an absolute scorcher in Dublin (& Kildare), bright conditions and very little wind. I fished at Newbridge and I thought the day was going to be a washout after I was greeted by a flotilla of canoes ( I know they have as much right to the river as us anglers but you know......).

Anyway I fished the first riffles with a trusty Duck's Dunn and not a rise to be had, I was suprised to say the least...cast after cast seemed to hit the spot but nothing came. A change of fly to an Iron Blue and lightening of the tippet (1.5 lb) and the fish came all readily taking the size 18 fly, with lots of missed takes. A scattered hatch of Mayfly and Yellow Mays were coming off but no interest from the fish, I changed to a small Kites Imperial and some suprisingly large fish came up to it with me losing a lot of fish to it (barbless hooks..honest !)

The rises stopped and I switched to a nymph set up and managed another couple.

The day was testing to say the least with me finding it very difficult to pick out what fly the fish were on. I know I didn't use the exact fly but with a bit of thought I came up with a good imposter which had reasonable results. I adapted to the conditions (changing tippet and set up) and again I got results.

The fish weren't huge but I felt I fished sensibly and as a result I didn't blank. Everything I had been taught by my fly fishing sensai Rosta obviously paid off and I was really proud of myself !!

I think I'll fish it again (once baby is born)

DrFrank,

Good luck with the baby, The Liffey trout will certainly test you. Once you think you have it sussed everything goes out the window. I fished Saturday and had some great fish with a Iron blue dun (size 18 with the under hackle removed). Sunday not one fish with the Iron blue but five crackers with a black F fly.

Hi LiffeyBen,

Where were you fishing ?

I was fishing at Newbridge, you know the pub car park and the farmer's field a little further on, I tend to cross the field and get in there (bypassing the Aldi trolleys !)

The fish were in a strange mood on Sunday....I had to fish very light and as you found the fly size had to shrink. My size 16 olive soon shrank to a tiny Iron Blue.

The fish were taking the fly in a way I have only seen on the Corrib, one minute the fly was there and the next it had been sucked down and vanished without so much as a ripple. I would have used a Klink but the smallest one I had was size 14!! A small klink (20) would have been perfect but alas my flybox was all out.

I found a paradun was the most successful.

I have fished at Sallins before and enjoyed some lovely pools/riffles there, although my day was tarnished with a run in with 3 large dogs, a barbed wire fence and a subsequent hole in my waders !!!

Such is life........

Drfrank

I usually fish down from the aquaduct, lovely areas on the way down to Millicent bridge.
As for the flies been sucked with out so much of a ripple it happens alot, The trout have caught me so many times with that trick.
Those dogs are they the ones above the railway bridge, the house with the bloody huge treehouse. If so they are pests. I am not sure if the control of dogs act might be appropiate here.

The very same dogs !!!!

I'm unsure how exactly to get to the house but I fully intend to knock on the door next time I head down prior to fishing just to let them know.

They are a real nuisance !