The River Moy System

Ireland has a number of great river systems and of these, the Moy, which straddles counties Mayo and Sligo, is one of the most productive. It is approximately one hundred kilometers long and with its extensive tributaries, it drains a catchment of over two thousand square kilometers. The system includes great loughs such as Conn and Cullin but also many small lakes and streams. For much of its course, the Moy flows through pastureland hut the mountains of the watersheds which feed it are almost always in view from its banks. The Nephin Beg range lilies the western horizon and the Ox mountains mark the eastern watershed.

The Moy has long been famous as a salmon river but it offers a wide variety of quality angling to suit all tastes and budgets. One can spey cast for spring salmon or grilse, pursue the sea trout or cast a dry fly to a brown trout. One can even fish for specimen pike in waters within the Moy catchment which contains a wide range of aquatic habitats.

The main Moy channel is deep and up to forty meters wide in the middie and lower reaches. Huge numhers of salmon are landed here each season. The annual average declared salmon rod catch on the Moy over the last ten years is a staggering 7,362 fish. The famous Ridge Pool alone has produced up to 2,660 salmon to rod and line in a single season.

The upper river has a different character and is more akin to a spate river in parts. The fishing here can be superb and the pioneering angler can find excellent salmon fishing in solitude.

The rich lowland limestone rivers and loughs are home to stocks of heavy, fast-growing trout which are selective feeders and offer challenging sport. They have hatches of mayfly, olives and many sedge species. The remote mountain loughs and streams are populated by smaller free-rising trout which make up for their size by their large numbers. The occasional bigger fish may also lurk in the deeper pools.

The Moy estuary has large stocks of sea trout, some of which exceed four pounds, and which can be caught on fly and bait. The lower heats around Ballina and Foxford, and some locations on the upper river; also provide good sea trout fishing late in the season.

In the east Mayo area, around Kiltimagh, Knock and Manulla, the small limestone loughs am rich and productive. Many contain excellent stocks of perch, pike, rudd and tench Although the Moy catchment has never been renowned as a coarse fishery, pans of it offer fine angling for these species in peaceful, rural surroundings.

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