Fishing in Offaly

Angling
The County borders a substantial stretch of the River Shannon and the Grand Canal for 80 kms (50 miles).

Salmon & Trout
The River Shannon at Meelick, both Brosna rivers, the Boyne and Barrow rivers are the primary salmon and trout waters.

There are quite a few smaller but equally exciting waters with a good stock of wild brown trout including the Camcor, Clodiagh, Silver, Slate and Yellow rivers and Pallas lake. All these rivers are beautiful fly waters.

Pike
The River Shannon, Grand Canal and the River Suck are great Pike waters with big stocks of good average size fish. These are great waters to catch a new personal best, it could easily be a fish over 20 Ibs. The Pike is highly regarded in Co. Offaly and the statutory limit on killing of Pike….only one fish per day per person, maximum size 3kgs. (6.6Ibs.) is strictly imposed.

Coarse Fish (Bream, Tench, Rudd, Roach, Hybrids, Perch & Carp)
The River Shannon, Grand Canal and River Suck are already classified among the great course fishing waters in the world. Repeatedly, they have been proved by angling experts for their superb stocks of big, hard-fighting wild fish.

River Shannon & River Suck
The Shannon is a big spate river, varying in width form 100 metres upwards and with an offshore depth averaging 3 to 4 metres it is the perfect habitat for freshwater fish.

The major angling centres on the River Shannon, from Portumna to Athlone and on the River Suck, are Banagher and Shannonbridge. These stretches of River are easily accessible for bank fishing and are already well developed for anglers. Car parks, access styles, fishing stands and natural swims have been developed and are continually being improved to make fishing these big waters most enjoyable.

The popular fish species are Bream of good average size of 4 Ibs. And numerous big fish, many of specimen weight of over 7.5 lbs. Are recorded annually. Daily bags in excess of 100 Ibs. Are common. Rudd are also plentiful and of good size. Roach are beginning to reach this stretch of the Shannon and are likely to increase in number over the next few years. Perch and Hybrids are also common. The hot water stretch, downstream of the Power Station at Shannonbridge, is noted for big stocks of all coarse fish species, especially good average size Tench.

The Grand Canal
The Canal flows westwards from Edenderry to Shannon Harbour where it joins the River Shannon. It has an overall width of 12 metres and an average depth of 1.5 metres. Access is very good with tarred roads on one or both banks for most of it. The Canal has good stocks of coarse fish, especially Bream, Perch and Pike.

Bream stocks are good throughout the Canal, with fish averaging 2 Ibs. And some up to 4 Ibs.
Perch stocks are good but the overall size is around ¼ Ib. with some up to ½ Ib. they can be found in most parts of the Canal.
Pike are very plentiful and they can be found throughout. Fish up to 20 Ibs. Have been caught, but 2 to 6 Ibs. are more common.
Rudd and Hybrids are scarce.
Roach stocks are reasonable and are confined to the Shannon Harbour region.
Tench stocks are spreading in both directions of Tullamore. Fish up to 5 Ibs. are caught regularly.
Carp have been stocked recently in the Rahan and Pullough areas.

Eels are thriving in the Canal and are to be found throughout.

Cloghan Lake Fisheries:
Loch Clochan is situated 2 km east of Cloghan village on the northern side of the R357.

The lake covers an area of three and a half hectares and has depths of up to two and a half metres. A ‘put and take’ trout fishery under the control of the Cloghan and District Anglers Club, membership is open to all for a fee of £10 per year. Members are entitled to fish Loch Cloghan at a reduced rate of £5 per day. For non-members a daily ticket costs £8 with a reduced rate for juvenile anglers. All tickets are available from Daley’s Londis Supermarket in Cloghan village.

The lake is stocked regularly and the average fish size is three quarters of a pound but it is not uncommon to catch fish up to two pounds. The open season is between May the 1st and October the 12th, 8am to 10pm. Fly fishing from the bank or stands is the only method permitted and there is a bag limit of three fish per rod, per day. The size limit is twelve inches. Best returns are got on Nymphs and Muddlers, and there is a hatch of may flies on the lake.

Loch an Dochais

Loch an Dochais, meaning ‘Lake of Hope’, is the first lake you meet to the right (west) of the Cycle Path road when travelling south from the R357 towards Kilcormac.

Developed in 1995 and just under a hectare in size, it has a maximum depth of two metres. A coarse fishing lake, it holds good stocks of tench with regular catches of fish averaging over three pounds reported during 1998 and 1999. The lake also holds a stock of small perch. The use of maggots, worms or sweetcorn is recommended and pre-baiting is advised. There is no closed season but best results are achieved between April and October.

Loch an Dochais has been developed to facilitate anglers with disabilities. Complete with fishing stands designed for wheelchairs, a specially designed car park and a connecting concrete pathway with raised sides, it hosts an annual All Ireland Trout Fishing Match for anglers with disabilities. First prize is the Mary Robinson Perpetual Trophy.

The lake is an ideal site for supervised children to fish in safety and a number of trout matches are held for junior anglers each year. The lake is stocked with trout for these events.

For Further information on Fishing in the locality please see http://www.shannon-fishery-board.ie