Castlebar's Angling Triangle

Castlebar is located at the centre of a golden triangle of game angling locations - immediately to the South, North or West.

South

To the South are Lough Mask and Lough Carra (20 minutes away). These are large (together approximately 100 km² of water surface) twin lakes of the most pristine quality and of exceptional beauty. These lakes are the ultimate locations for lake brown trout angling. The mayfly season at the end of May is an experience of a lifetime for dappers with their long rods. The white bottom of Carra gives the crystal clear water an aquamarine tint and the trout from Carra have a unique colour and flavour when fried up on the pan. The famous Erriff fishery is also to the South of Castlebar

North

To the North, Lough Conn and the River Moy are both within 15 minutes of Castlebar. Brown trout up to 3.5 kg are caught on the fly in Lough Conn, providing exceptional angling. Salmon run up the Moy in their thousands - book early for a place on the Ridge Pool! The average annual rod and line catch over the past five years has been 7660 salmon. A major habitat development programme has been underway in the Moy system over the past few years and this is increasing salmon numbers by factors of 3 to 4 in some river stretches. In a good week up to 1200 salmon have been landed on rod and line in the Moy system - which surely makes it the premier salmon angling river in Europe. Even Lough Conn can yield over 200 salmon in a single week. While this type of results won't be obtained every week they do give an idea of the high quality of the world class angling available in the region.

West

To the West is found a whole scattering of lakes, large and small left behind by the retreating ice at the end of the Ice Age. Lough Feeagh and Furnace Lough operated by the Salmon Research Agency are just 20 minutes down the road from your home or B&B if you are a visitor to Castlebar. Lough Beltra and the Newport River provide superb salmon angling. Many smaller lakes ranging from high altitude corry lakes to lakes surrounded by peat bogs or nestling in the woods provide a wilderness angling experience you will never forget. For children or the apprentice angler, the stocked lakes such as Bilberry provide guaranteed fun and will help to introduce them to the sport with a higher than average chance of success.

Coarse and Sea Angling

Coarse anglers and sea anglers can also expect something special when heading out from Castlebar for a day's fishing. From Pike in Derryhick lake to Sharks in Clew Bay or Killala Bay there is no shortage of choice.

Information

Vincent Roche and his staff at the North Western Fisheries Board will provide you with all the details you need - locations, angling permits, specialist angling accommodation, guides, boat hire, etc.
Telephone 096 22788 (+353 96 22788 from outside Ireland).

In the summer months a weekly angling magazine is provided by the NWRFB

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