Coarse Fishing in Ireland

Fri, 05 Sep 2008

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Coarse Fishing in Ireland

Ireland has some of the cleanest and most lightly-fished freshwaters in Europe. The Irish landscape is one of small fields and wild peat bogs, littered with loughs of all sizes and drained by many rivers; there are over 7,000 miles of riverbank for the coarse and pike angler. The scale of these waters varies dramatically. Two of the biggest rivers, the Shannon and the Erne, each comprise huge systems. The Shannon contains in its course several massive loughs, such as Lough Ree which is eighteen miles long. The Erne also spreads into big networks of loughs, like Lough Oughter in County Cavan. But apart from these systems there are innumerable smaller rivers and loughs. What all of the waters, big and small have in common is their richness and their wealth of fish life.
Irish inland waters have retained their pristine quality. Ireland has never had a significant degree of heavy industry, and its inland towns are mainly small. It is still possible to find yourself in a corner of an Irish lough, sheltered by dense reedbeds standing in ten feet of clear water, and to feel that you are the first person ever to have fished that particular place.
This peace can be found on any one of the many types of Irish water. There are the big rivers, such as the Shannon, but there are also medium sized rivers like the Barrow. There are deep loughs dark with peat stain and there are crystal clear waters, such as Lough Annagbrnore in County Roscommon, where you may see the fish take your bait. Some of the biggest loughs are rugged and wild when stirred by the westerly winds which sweep over Ireland. But there are also small quiet loughs and miles of canal sheltered by stands of mature trees where the most delicate styles of angling can be practised in perfect peace.
Irish coarse fishing offers this solitude and tranquillity and it can also offer companionship to those who like to fish in company. But above all it offers superb fishing.

Coarse - Pike Fishing:
The pike is one of the most widespread of Irish fish and pike fishing is as old as Irish angling. Pike are predators, but a big pike is perhaps the greatest predator still living in the wild in these islands. Its physical make up - the smooth enameled body, the great head - has a beauty which no one appreciates more keenly than the pike angler.
Many of the stories of great Irish pike are well-founded and far bigger fish swim in Irish waters than have been caught on rod and line. Sometimes they are seen - by an angler during a brief contact, or while taking wildfowl from the surface, or perhaps in the shallows of a lough in spring when the big females spawn. Such incidents start legends, and stories of great pike are often associated with very large waters such as Lough Ree or Lough Derg in the midlands. So when the angler is afloat on a wild lough or on the banks of a wide river the idea of a big pike has a special power, because it is here that such a pike can grow quickly and remain unseen until the day it takes the bait. However, very big fish are also taken from small loughs in Counties Clare, Cavan, Monaghan and Roscommon.
It is said that pike thrive on neglect, and in Irish waters they have every opportunity. Ireland is still a pastoral country of farmland and peat bog with a very low population by European standards. The land is drained by a network of rivers (there are 7,000 miles of riverbank for the pike angler) and there are hundreds of loughs varying in size from a few acres to thousands of acres. Many loughs, for example the bigger loughs on the Shannon system, such as Lough Allen, have preserved their wild qualities. They can be difficult to approach from the bank because of marginal reeds growing in deep water, or because the shores may be rocky or boggy. And even from a boat, one angler would not be able to fish all of just one of Ireland's bigger loughs in a lifetime. So pike have been able to flourish and many fish will not even have seen an angler's bait.
This quality of habitat is one of the attributes of Irish pike fishing, and because of it the pike angler in Ireland can expect an excellent general standard of angling. But pike anglers hope for more than this. Ireland's wild windswept waters have produced pike of legendary size, several of them exceeding 50lbs. It is the chance of meeting a very big pike, in a river or lough little changed from the time when its ancestors first swam, which really fires the imagination of the pike angler in Ireland.

GENERAL FRESHWATER
The only legal method to catch freshwater fish is by rod and line (Bye-law No.595)
A person may fish with not more than two rods at any time (Bye-law No.595)
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PROHIBITION OF LIVE BAITING
It is illegal to have or to use live fish as bait (Bye-law No.592)
It is illegal to transfer live roach from one water to any other waters (Bye-law No.561)
PIKE
It is prohibited to take and kill more than one pike on any one day.(Bye-law No.667)
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It is prohibited for any person to have in their possession more than 6.6 lb.(3Kgs) of pike flesh whether in parts or fillets, steaks, cutlets, sides or in any other form whatsoever. (Bye-law No.667) except in the case of a specimen pike, provided that only one specimen pike is taken or killed by any person on any one day and that only one such pike, which shall be whole and ungutted, is in the possession of any one person.
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SALMON and SEA TROUT
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A State Licence is required to fish for salmon and sea trout, but does not entitle you to fish. Permits or permission from fisheries owners must be obtained.
Licence Fees
All Districts (i.e. all Regions), Annual:€31.74, £25
Juvenile€10.15, £8 ( under the age of 16 years )
One District, Annual:€15.23 (£12)
All districts, 21 Days:€12.69 (£10)
All districts, 1 Day:€3.80 (£3)
Foyle Area Extension€21.58 (£17.00)
Special Local (for Annual Licence holders)€6.34 (£5.00)
Special Local (for non- Annual Licence holders)€26.66 (£21.00)
*There has been no increase in licence prices, just a straight conversion to Euro*
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All salmon (and sea trout over 40cm) kept must be tagged, and the logbook filled out accordingly.
The salmon and sea trout season opens on January 1st in some fisheries. Most fisheries open at a later date (various dates up to the March 20th). Most fisheries close on September 30th with some exceptions which close on various dates between September 15th and October 12th.
It is prohibited to keep or kill any sea trout in Connemara or the Ballinakill district.
It is prohibited keep more than one salmon OR one sea trout over 40cm per day before June 1. Any subsequently caught fish must be returned unharmed to the water immediately upon capture.
It is prohibited sell rod caught salmon or sea trout over 40cm between January 1st and October 31st.
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BROWN TROUT
Most brown trout fisheries open between February 15th and March 1st. Most close on September 30th with some exceptions which close on various dates between September 15th and October 12th. Clubs may have their own regulations on opening and closing dates.