Lough Conn

Trout Fishing

The vast majority of trout caught on Lough Conn are taken on wet flies when trout are moving near the surface during the seasonal fly hatches but, even in the valley periods, between hatches, it is nearly always possible to attract the attention of a trout to a team of well presented wet flies.

The chief fly hatches of interest to the trout are Chironomids, Lake Olives, Mayflies and Sedges. Other forms of food are Freshwater Shrimp, Freshwater Louse, Snails and various land based insects that get blown onto the water such as Daddys, Sedges etc.

As with all wet fly fishing for brown trout, the greatest success on Conn has traditionally been achieved in the shallower areas but in recent years successful fishing has been experienced in deeper waters where trout tend to feed on Daphnia. The shallows are to be found at a large number of locations around the lough as shown on the map. The northern half of the lough, in particular, is very well endowed with shallow areas. The big shallow bar e.g. Cloghans Bay, Bog Bay and Castlehill Bay can be fished all over and fishing in these areas is possible in almost all wind directions.

See separate section for information on flies.

Trout Fishing on Lough Cullin

Trout fishing on Lough Cullin generally starts around 17th March with the trout feeding voraciously on freshwater shrimp, snails and hoglice. Given some mild weather, large Chironomids, colloquially known as Duckfly, appear. Trout feed on all stages of Duckfly hatches. The most successful flies at this time are Soldier Palmer, March Brown, Gold Ribbed Hares Ear, Black and Peacock Spider, Bibio, Blae and Black, Fiery Brown, Claret Bumble and Claret Dabbler.

Mayflies start appearing around the end of April and, from then to the end of June, some very exciting fishing can be had. All Mayfly patterns fished wet work well and some excellent sport can be enjoyed with dry patterns, especially the Wulff series and the Yellow Fan Winged Mayfly. From 1st July to the end of the season, very little fishing is carried out on Cullin because of the weed and algae growth due to enrichment; it is proposed, however, that this problem will be rectified within the next few years, leading to a full season of fishing on the lough.

Salmon Fishing

The main run of spring fish enters Lough Conn from the end of March and continues right through April. The grilse run begins in May and continues into July. Some fish are taken on fly, generally by anglers fishing for trout, but the majority are taken by trolling baits. The most popular types of bait are Copper and Silver Spoons, Tobys and Devon Minnows. Even tube flies can be successful on occasions. The salmon tend to confine themselves to well defined areas which are known to the local boatmen. The best known and most frequently fished locations are a) the northern end of the lough particularly the area around the mouth of the Deel River and (b) Victoria Bay, Cuilkillew (Cornakillew), Massbrook and Castlehill Bay in the south-western and western areas of the lake. The strait at Pontoon Bridge between Loughs Conn and Cullin is a favorite haunt for salmon anglers fishing from the shore with most salmon taken here on worms and baits.

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