A guide to fishing in Galway

1 Jun, 2023, Earl’s Island, Galway, Ireland,

Lough Corrib is one of the best locations in Ireland for wild brown trout fishing, although a significant numbers of salmon are also taken every year on the lake. Trolling and flyfishing account for most fish, and fish hold in certain areas prior to ascending spawning tributaries, or to rest after running the main river. The Narrows, the Glann shore and the Carrick shore are noted holding lies for salmon. Most local anglers troll when targeting salmon, although quite a few fish are taken on fly, including on trout flies by trout anglers.

The River Corrib flows out of Lough Corrib, and makes its way through the countryside before passing through the City of Galway on its way into Galway Bay; a journey of just over 5 miles.

The Upper Corrib

This fishery starts at Friars Cut just below Lough Corrib, and extends right down to the weir in Galway city, which is a span of some 4 ½ miles. As you can imagine the water is deep and slow as it gets backed up behind the weir.

This stretch is fished for Salmon but it’s mostly spinning and trolling from a boat. It also holds some Brown Trout and lots of coarse fish.

The Galway Fishery

This fishery starts from just below the weir and extends the short distance of 250 yards down to the Salmon Weir Bridge. It’s one of the most prolific salmon fisheries in Ireland as the fish queue up to navigate the weir. You’ll need to apply for a permit well in advance as the fishery only takes 6 rods per session and the demand is always really high, especially in June and July.

The session, from the start of the season until about mid May, lasts for the whole day, from 6.30 a.m. to 8.30 p.m. After mid May, until mid July, the day is divided into two sessions, the first from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. and the second from 1.30 p.m. to 8.30 p.m. After the 16th of July it goes back to an all day session, but this time from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

There are also fly only evening sessions, after the regular sessions have ended. These last from, either 7 p.m. or 8.30 p.m. until dark, depending on the timing of the regular sessions. These sessions are generally bookable on the day.

The fishing in Galway on the Galway Fishery is not straight forward. You’ll need a double handed rod, chest waders, and a wading staff to give you the best opportunity to land a fish. You’ll also need to cast a reasonable length of line to get out across the flow, and mending the line is essential to enable a good presentation of the fly. As with many of the more heavily fished beats in Ireland, you’re expected to fish down the pool at a reasonable pace, then step out and make your way back to the head before starting over again.

For the fly fishing, you’ll need at least an intermediate in the spring and a sink tip in the summer. Your spring leader should be at least 15lb, with 12lb being enough for grilse. For those anglers who prefer spinning you should probably go with a 10-13 foot rod and around 20lb line. The Shrimp setup is similar, and most of the shrimp fishing is from the high west bank and at Jimmy’s pool near the weir.

The spring run starts from opening day but the peak is through April and the first week in May. The fishing is best when 6 or more of the hydraulic gates are closed on the weir. As for flies, tubes and trebles, as big as size 4 are the order of the day.

The grilse run peaks over the course of June and into the first couple of weeks in July. The best fishing is when there is a good flow of water coming down through the weir. If you happen to be there in low water then the best fishing will be in the early morning or just before dusk, and the fishing will most likely be fly only, except for the last two hours of the session, or when there are fewer than 2 gates open on the weir, in which case spinning and the shrimp are allowed.

The New Beat

This beat runs from the downstream side of the Salmon Weir Bridge until the traps. The river is tidal here and can be prone to flooding so you are taking you chances while booking in advance. It takes 4 rods. The fishing on this beat is usually from the man made walkway at the side of the river.

Nimmo’s Pier

This is the final Salmon stretch which runs from Mc Donagh’s turbine down to Nimmo’s Pier, which is at the entrance to Galway Bay. This is for local anglers only.

Galway Canals

At various locations within the city of Galway you have old canals running off the Corrib River and some of these contain good numbers of sizable trout, due to their limestone bottoms. The average fish is somewhere approaching 1 ½ lb and the fishing is free, so if you’ve got the kids with you, you could do worse than take them to one of the canals.

Unusually for canals, most of the water is clear enough that you can actually see some of the trout. You can fly fish for the trout as the canals do have hatches of the most common Irish flies, such as Olives, Sedges and yes, Midges! Some of these canals are also stocked by the Western Regional Fisheries Board (WRFB) so there is always a chance of catching your tea.