The Guide to Where to Fish in Southern Ireland (Eire), Mayo

 

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Lough Carra lies just to the north of Mask and is a smaller water, but at 6 miles long and up to a mile wide it is still quite a specimen. A limestone lough of high fertility Carra is rated the best of the loughs in the area, so popular it is stocked on an annual basis by the fisheries board to keep the numbers up. The water is gin clear and when fishing in shallow water over the white marl bottom it is possible the sight fish for trout which is an exciting prospect as there is a report of an 18lb fish taken once and of many double figure fish being present. Mayfly time the when the anglers have the best chance of a big fish and the hatch is earlier on Carra, the last week of April to the end of the second week of May. Fly life and fly patterns are as for Corrib.

 

Lough Conn drained by the river Moy, Louch Conn is a large fishery some 9 miles long by 2 to 4 miles wide covering about 12,000 acres with many islands and bays. The lough holds a very good stock of brown trout (average annual catch about 8 to 10,000 fish), estimated at over 500,000 fish and has good runs of salmon and grilse.

 

Spring fish start to arrive in march through to May when the grilse start to move fro May to July. Brown trout fishing starts in March with the Duck Fly followed at the end of may early June by the Mayfly hatch. Fishing is mostly with wet flies ( three fly casts) although dry fly is growing in popularity. Dapping is also very effective and locally this is often done with live Mayfly, daddies and grasshoppers. There is no requirement for a permit, you do need a rod license, size limit is ten inches and C & R is encouraged. Boats and ghillies can be hired locally.

 

Lough Mask is a near neighbour to Corrib, a limestone lough of high fertility which produced top notch baskets of trout averaging 1.25lb with fish over 3lbs not uncommon at all at all at all. Smaller than Corrib, Mask is never the less a big lough of 20,000 acres, 10 miles long and 4 miles wide. Mask offer the angler opportunities to fish from both bank and boat with the area around the mouth of the canal recommended for bank fishing with sedges and the bays on eastern shore with wet olives.

 

The tactics and flies used on Mask are very like those employed on Corrib with wet and dry flies doing well and dapping the Mayfly, daddies and grasshoppers in their season being both productive and exciting. Mask also hold a number of ferox up to the twenty pound mark and these are fished for by trolling the deeper waters around the islands in the middle of the lough.

 

The major angling centre is Ballinrobe although there are several other places and boats and ghillies are available for hire all round the lough. The loch is unkind to the foolhardy with many shallows and rocky reefs just under the surface waiting to break a boat. Even if you are launching your own boat it is advisable to hire a guide. The fishing is free.

 

Newport House fishery, Newport River and Loch Beltra

8 miles double bank fishing on the Newport River plus boat fishing on Loch Beltra for good spring salmon and grilse. The river is small but productive fishery easily fished from the bank with a rod of about 11 feet. The season is 20th March to 30th September, catch and release up to 11th May with a daily limit of 3 fish per day up to a maximum of 10 for the season. Call (*353 098 4122) for further information.

 

For essential background information about fishing in Scotland, England Ireland and Wales Click HERE

For salmon and sea trout season dates Click HERE

 

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Please note: the information displayed is gathered from a number of sources to save you time browsing the net, the information and prices are indicative of what was available when we searched for data. Please confirm details with the fishery before booking as Spinfish does not accept any liability for variations and changes to terms and conditions relating to any fishery listed.

 

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