Game Fishing in Ireland

Exceptional fly fishing for trout and salmon at carefully chosen top game fishing locations in Ireland.

Ireland has excellent clean, clear rivers and lakes particularly in the Central and Northwest regions. Lough Sheelin is one of Ireland's top wild brown trout loughs fishing well from late May to September. The Rivers Mourne, Strule and Derg in the Northwest provides excellent salmon fishing. The Strule is a spring/early summer spate river. The Mourne fishes best from June to early October.

Co Mayo - A scenic county noted for excellent river and lake fishing for salmon, trout and sea trout.

Salmon fishing at the Mount Falcon fishery consists of 2 miles of double bank fishing on the lower Moy just a few miles above the tide. The season commences on the 1st February and closes on 30th September. Spring salmon is best from late April through June. The peak months for grilse and summer salmon are June/July/August/September. The fishery is run on a 2 beat system, each beat is 1-mile-long and accommodates 6 anglers. Catch and release is encouraged particularly in September. The lower beat is mainly spinning and bait water while the upper beat contains some excellent fly water, 2 notable pools being the Wall Pool and Connor’s Gap. The fishing is reserved exclusively for hotel/lodge guests, booking is essential. The Moy has an estimated run of 7000 to 9000 fish annually. Our 5 year catch average stands at 614 fish.

Excellent lough style fishing on Conn and Carrowmore for salmon. These fish run the Moy and enter the lakes from late April. Local ghillies know the prime areas, flies etc.

Brown trout fishing is widely available throughout the County and is particularly good on the Moy system which includes Lough Conn. The official recorded annual brown trout catch from Lough Conn in recent years has been in the region of 3,500 to 4,000 fish, averaging 1lb in weight. However, the real catch is probably in the region of 6,000 to 7,000 trout annually. Lough Conn is still a self-sustaining natural system, and has never required stocking. The peak season on Lough Conn is of course the Mayfly period which gets underway towards the end of May. However, very good trout fishing is not uncommon between August and early October. The other great Western lakes in Mayo, Loughs Carra and Mask, also provide good brown trout fishing. Lough Carra supports an excellent stock of wild brown trout averaging 1.5lbs. and Lough Mask is well known for the large ferrox trout taken annually which often weigh in excess of 10lbs.

Sea trout have been scarce in recent years because of the effect sea-lice have on stocks, the stocks are presently protected by having a ban on the killing of the species in this region and part of the North Western Fisheries Region only, but some fishery owners allow anglers to fish for them provided the trout are returned unharmed to the water.

Co Tipperary - Excellent fishing for wild brown trout on Ireland’s second longest river.

The River Suir and its small stream tributaries flows through the scenic and pastoral counties of Tipperary and Waterford. Averaging around 30 meters wide this beautiful limestone waterway offers excellent fly fishing for wild brown trout. Dry fly fishing on a warm summers evening is particularly productive.

Delightful villages with quaint pubs and restaurants can be found along the meandering River Suir. This beautiful and historic area of Ireland offers lush valleys and a stunning coastline with wide sandy beaches along the Waterford and Cork coastline.

Northern Ireland - World-class game fishing, with clean, clear waters teeming with wild salmon, grilse and sea trout

With hundreds of miles of river, large and small freshwater lakes and sea loughs, anglers have a wide choice of venues. The wide expanse of Lower Lough Erne is the perfect habitat for brown trout, as are many of the tributaries of Lough Neagh namely the Moyola, Maine, Six Mile Water and Crumlin Rivers; these same rivers are also known for their salmon and dollaghan, the latter being a unique species of Lough Neagh migratory brown trout. Some superb grilse, meanwhile, can be found in the nearby Lower Bann system from June onwards.

The River Mourne in northwest Ireland is a renown salmon river, one of the top three in Europe. The Mourne is famed for a summer and autumn run of quality Salmon and guests have access to private beats on the Abercorn Estates pools. Knowledgeable guides. The River Finn, a smaller tributary, is an early spate river providing a good grilse run.

Guests stay at Baronscourt on The Duke of Abercorn's Estate. Alternative accommodation may also be on offer. The Finn is an hour’s scenic drive and guests can stay and fish the Glenmore Estates water.

Northern Ireland Rod Licences
From April 2016, anglers will no longer get a paper rod licence or permit. Instead, they will get an electronic record (e-record) with a unique reference number. The new system will work out what type of licence or permit is needed.

See the following link to buy your licence on-line
https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/coarse-rod-licence-types-daera

https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/coarse-angling-permit-types-daera

Further information can also be found at
https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/information-and-services/outdoor-recreation-and-sport/angling

List of authorised distributors where licences can be bought
https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/angling-licence-and-permit-distributors 

Anglers World Holidays are the number one fishing holiday operator to Ireland. Our selection and choice of ferry routes and accommodations is unrivalled, and our ABTA BONDED financial guarantee gives you complete confidence.

Our trading policy for over four decades is to provide great holidays at amazing value prices. Our buying power ensures we can offer you an inclusive holiday invariably far cheaper than when you make your own arrangements.

Getting to Ireland - Ferries sail several times a day from the UK.
Stena Line have the widest choice of routes, sailing from Holyhead, Fishguard and Cairnryan, with a variety of conventional ferries. They also offer sailings from Liverpool (Birkenhead) and Belfast with huge vessels that carry a mix of freight and car passengers.

Flexible fares - so book early to get the best ferry rates. Fares will increase throughout the year and are subject to change at any time.

Please note ferry companies are carrying out increased security checks and we require all passengers’ full names and dates of birth in order to make a ferry booking. Vehicle details are also required (make, model, registration number, height and length of vehicle).

Passports:
There is no requirement for Irish and British citizens to carry passports when travelling within the Common Travel Area. However, many air and sea carriers require some form of identification and some carriers regard a passport as the only valid identification. Immigration authorities may also require you to have valid official photo-identification, which shows your nationality.

Driving:
You need to take your Great Britain or Northern Ireland driving licence with you to drive abroad. You also need to take your logbook (V5C) and your insurance certificate. If you are taking a vehicle abroad that you have hired or leased in the UK, you will need a VE103 certificate.

Make sure you follow overseas driving rules, including local speed limits and drink driving laws. You may be breaking the law and get a fine if you do not. Depending on the country you are visiting, you may need:
• extra equipment - for example, you need a reflective jacket and a warning triangle in many countries
• emission stickers (permits) in some European cities - you may need to buy these weeks before you go abroad
• headlight converter stickers
• UK sticker. From 28 September 2021, you need a UK sticker instead of a GB sticker

Check out rules for driving in the EU on
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/driving-in-the-eu

Pets:
Each pet travelling, or returning, from Great Britain to Ireland must be microchipped and vaccinated against rabies. You must wait 21 days from the date of the rabies vaccination before travelling. Dogs will require treatment for tapeworm by a vet 1 to 5 days before arrival in Ireland. Pets must travel with a health certificate issued by a UK official vet. EU pet passports issued by Northern Ireland will remain valid but an EU pet passport that was issued in GB will not be valid for travel to the EU even it was issued before January 2021. A health certificate is required before each entry into the EU.

You should contact your vet as soon as possible prior to travel (at least one month) to arrange for your health certificate and relevant vaccinations.

Mobile phones:
Check with your provider direct about any roaming charges you may incur.

Taking food into Ireland:
You cannot take the following food products with you:
• meat or products containing meat
• milk or dairy products (There are some exceptions, for example certain amounts of powdered infant milk, infant food, or pet food required for medical reasons). You cannot take the following unless you pay to have them inspected before you leave and get a ‘phytosanitary certificate’:
• fresh fruit (apart from bananas, coconuts, dates, pineapples and durians)
• vegetables
• plants and plant products

Check out the following websites for further information:
https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/ac159f-travelling-and-visiting

https://www.gov.uk/visit-eu-switzerland-norway-iceland-liechtenstein

Northern Ireland Rod Licences:
From April 2016, anglers will no longer get a paper rod licence or permit. Instead, they will get an electronic record (e-record) with a unique reference number. The new system will work out what type of licence or permit you will need. See the following link to buy your licence on-line
https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/coarse-rod-licence-types-daera

https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/coarse-angling-permit-types-daera

Further information can also be found at
https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/information-and-services/outdoor-recreation-and-sport/angling

List of authorised distributors where licences can be bought
https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/angling-licence-and-permit-distributors

Ireland really is an angling paradise and whatever your expectations we can help you have a brilliant fishing holiday.