Connacht & the West
County Galway is genuinely one giant fishery, merely intersected by roads — Lough Corrib and Lough Mask between them are considered two of the finest wild brown trout fisheries in Europe, and both remain entirely wild, stocked-free waters. Corrib is the larger and better known: Ireland's second-largest lake at 33 miles long with over 365 islands, free to fish, and holding both an exceptional head of wild brown trout and a genuine Atlantic salmon run.
Lough Mask, just north across the Cong Canal, is smaller but no less rated — a true limestone lake producing trophy brown trout year after year, home to the annual World Cup Trout Fly Fishing Championship. Both loughs also carry serious pike — Corrib in particular is one of the most storied big-pike waters in the world, featuring repeatedly in Fred Buller's famous "Doomsday Book of Mammoth Pike."
Loughs
Lough Corrib
42,000 acres, 33 miles long, entirely wild brown trout with the record standing at 21.5lb (2002). Salmon fishing for grilse peaks from late May, with the mayfly hatch in May driving both fish and anglers into a frenzy. Angling is free. Also a major trophy pike destination from mid-July to mid-December.
Wild trout · Salmon · PikeLough Mask
83 square kilometres of limestone water on the Mayo/Galway border, the Republic's fourth-largest lake. Internationally known for trophy brown trout, plus pike and perch for the coarse angler. Wet-fly fishing peaks from mid-April; hosts the World Cup Trout Fly Fishing Championship at Cushlough Bay. Drains underground to Lough Corrib via the Cong Canal.
Trophy trout · PikeLough Carra
A smaller limestone lake between Corrib and Mask, feeding into Mask — part of the same wider trout-fishing landscape around Cong.
TroutRivers & coast
River Corrib
The short river draining Lough Corrib to Galway Bay — a major Atlantic salmon migration route, with a weir in Galway city itself where salmon can be seen running.
SalmonClare & Robe Rivers
Feed into Lough Corrib from the north, offering good salmon fishing and evening dry-fly sport in their own right.
Salmon · TroutGalway Bay & Connemara coast
Extensive sea fishing along an intricate, dramatic coastline, alongside salmon and sea trout fishing on the smaller Connemara rivers and mountain streams.
General guide only — a state licence is required for salmon fishing in Ireland; trout fishing on Corrib and Mask is free, though local guides and boat hire are widely used given the scale and occasional hazards of both loughs. Always confirm current rules and, if boating, check the weather — both loughs can turn genuinely rough with little warning.
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