For many years, Ireland has been known as one of the world’s premium angling destinations. The ‘Waterways Ireland Angling Guide’ describes the superb fishing locations on Irish inland waterways. Here are some Kildare excerpts.
Leixlip – a 19km stretch of the Royal between Lock 13 at Deey Bridge and Lock 12 at Castleknock … an incredible stock of coarse fish is resident near Leixlip … The principle species present include roach hybrids, tench, bream, perch, rudd, pike and carp.
Enfield – between Lock 17 and Ballasport Bridge Lock 18 – 30km. Each year the Royal Enfield Coarse Angling Club hosts a number of major coarse angling competitions … The popularity of these events is perpetuated by the abundance of quality coarse fish, the high fish catch rate and the hospitality of the local population … Good stocks of tench, bream, roach, rudd and even carp.
West of Prosperous – Lowtown to Ticknevin – 15km. The canal banks are lined with tall dense reed beds in many places. The reeds provide refuges for young fish while also providing vantage points for predatory pike. These reeds also provide a diversity of substrates on which coarse fish can deposit their egg masses during spawning … Supports a wide array of fish species; stocks are excellent and include roach, bream, hybrids, tench, rudd and perch. Eels, pike and gudgeon are also available.
New Barrow Line – Littletown Bridge to Ballyteague. A permanent angling section has been established at Ballyteague on the Barrow Line of the Grand Canal consisting of parking and 20 stands, 10 of which are wheelchair accessible … The local club run a number of competitions and regularly feed the stretch to entice fish into the area. [WI liaise closely with the Irish Wheelchair Association to ensure that the stands and the associated infrastructure are commensurate with the needs of disabled anglers.]
Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI), the ROI state agency responsible for the protection, management and conservation of Ireland’s inland fisheries and sea angling resources, is under contract to Waterways Ireland to manage fisheries development, weed maintenance and water quality on the Royal Canal, the Grand Canal and the Barrow Navigation.
Fishing in Ireland is an Angler’s guide for the whole island. WI Angling focuses on fishing locations on the canals, with recommendations on tackle and bait for the fish to be found in these waters.