Groundfishing and Stream Fishing In Ireland May 29 - June 7, 2018

Cynthia, and I recently vacationed in County Clare, Ireland. Between hiking along sea cliffs, exploring medieval ruins, and enjoying the craic of the local pubs I managed to do some 

fishing

                     Pub in Lisdoonvarna                                                Castle in Carrigaholt

Before leaving I booked a trip with Fishing Adventures in Kilbaha on the Lady Gwen II.  Captain Sean Maguire arranged a trip for us sharing the boat with a few other anglers.  He even set us 

up with a place to stay in Doonaha.  This area on the north shore of the Shannon River estuary is referred to as the Loop Head Peninsular.  It is quite rural and very beautiful. It was a great 

place to relax and unwind at the start of our vacation. 

Cliffs at Loop Head

The fishing trip was very successful in both quality and quantity of fish. I even caught two 

new species: European Ling and European Pollock.  Large numbers of Atlantic Mackerel 

and Atlantic Pollock (called Coalfish in the British Isles) rounded out the catch.  We used 

multi-hook rigs dressed with feathers or bucktail, often baited with bits of mackerel.

One Of My European Ling

Cynthia Holds up a European Pollock

Irish Jigs

At the end of the trip Captain Maguire filleted my two Ling and a Pollock for us to take 

back to the cottage.  These fish provided us with two delicious meals.  

Top: Coalfish or what we call Pollock in New England.   Bottom: European Pollock.  Note
the the Coalfishhas a relatively straight light colored lateral line while the European
Pollock has a darker curved lateral line.  The European Pollock also has much larger eyes.

After four nights in Doonaha we traveled north up the coast to Doolin.  From here we explored the Cliffs of Mohr and the Aran Islands.  In the evenings we went to the local 

pubs for food, music, and drinks.  We even joined in on a traditional session in 

Lidoonvarna and played our fiddles for a bit. 

We stayed at the Doolin Cottage B&B near the Aille River.  The accomodations were very comfrtable and a Full Irish Breakfast (or lighter fare if desired) was served each morning.  

Got up very early the first morning to check out the stream.  On the first cast a small fish followed my yellow Panther Martin Spinner.  On the next two casts I hooked up and caught two beautiful little Brown Trout.  These wild native fish were as bright and colorful as the wild Brook Trout that I’m used to catching in New England.  

Aille River in Doolin

Wild Native Brown Trout 

For the last few days of our trip we stayed at the Ardulan Guest House in Ennis (More Full Irish Breakfasts!).  The River Fergus flows through the back yard.  It didn’t take too long for me to catch several Eurasian Perch using a small floating Yellow Perch Rapala.

  The Back Yard of the Ardulan  Guest House in Ennis

Eurasian Perch

Cynthia and I both agree that we need to go back to Ireland in the near future.  I would like to spend more time saltwater fishing from shore in addition to a boat excursion.  Also might try a guided freshwater excursion on a lake to target different species from a small boat.