Fishing and Angling
County Longford has gained a great reputation among anglers for some of the best, unspoilt lakes and rivers, with over 20 waterways to choose from - Not bad for an inland county!
Your fishing holiday
County Longford guesthouses and local shops, and angling centres are specialising in helping you to get the most out of your next fishing holiday, including:
- Melview Lodge B&B: in the heart of the Upper Shannon, owner Kevin offers his 35 years of fishing experience to guests, with guided tours, advice on the best fishing spots, and free use of his 17ft lake boats. Your bait order can even be arranged to be ready on your arrival!
- Currygrane Fishing Lodge: Situated on the relatively unexplored waters of Currygrane Lake, you are provided a boat for your sole use during your stay.
- AM Pike Guiding: offers guided fishing trips covering County Longford and the Midlands. Listen to our podcast with AM Pike Guiding to learn more about what they offer!
- Denniston's: Located in Longford town, this family-run business has been offering a full stock of fishing equipment and accessories since 1932.
- Lough Ree Angling Hub: is home to the world-renowned 'hot water stretch' on the River Shannon at the north end of Lough Ree, an area famous for some of the best course and pike angling in Europe. This thriving angling hub brings world-class fishing competitions into the area.
Popular fishing spots
Popular game and course fishing spots include the River Shannon, the River Inny, the River Camlin, Lough Gowna, and Lough Ree. Anglers can expect great quality and quantity of bream, roach, tench and in particular pike in County Longford rivers and lakes.
River Shannon
Longford has one of the longest county shorelines for Ireland's longest river, the River Shannon, stretching along the western border from Rooskey to Lanesborough and flowing into Lough Ree.
The River Shannon has excellent stocks of pike in its inlets and wider stretches. The best spots include upstream from Lanesborough, where the Feorish and Camlin rivers enter, and downstream from Termonbarry Lock, particularly at Lough Forbes. Upstream from Rooskey, the River Shannon enters Lough Bofin and Boderg, which are also great fishing locations.
Lough Ree
With a shoreline of over 30km, Lough Ree is the second largest lake on the River Shannon, after Lough Derg. It is known for its stocks of pike, and its many bays contain roach, tench and bream. Trout can also be caught, particularly early and late in the season.
Lough Gowna
Located on the Longford-Cavan border, Lough Gowna is made up of many large and small interconnected lakes. Its many peninsulas are interspersed with bays and inlets. Great for coarse fishing, Lough Gowna produces pike all year round, but the most productive periods tend to be early in the season from March to May, and toward the end of the year from September to November. It is also known for roach, bream, perch and tench. Most of the shoreline is accessible for fishing, but it is best fished from a boat, which can be easily launched at Dernaferst, Lisanny, and Dring. It is also possible to launch boats at Cloone, Aghanoran, and Corfree.
River Inny
The River Inny flows through Lough Sheelin, Lough Kinale, and Lough Derragh before joining the Shannon. It offers top-class coarse fishing, including roach, bream, perch and tench. Most of the river can be fished from the banks. The main spots on the river are at Granard, Abbeyshrule and Ballymahon. Between Ballymahon and Abbeyshrule, the Inny offers a productive wet and dry fly trout fishery.
River Camlin
A tributary of the River Shannon, the River Camlin goes from Granard, through Clonbroney, Ballinalee, Killoe and Longford Town. Popular with anglers, it has good stocks of roach, hybrids, bream and tench. Pike can also be caught there although rarely.
Royal Canal
The Royal Canal holds an excellent stock of pike, perch, bream, roach, tench and eels. There has been extensive development on large stretches of these waterways and there is good access for disabled anglers in some areas
Fishing in Lanesborough. Photo by Brigid Mullooly
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