Lough Conn

LOUGH Conn is one of Ireland’s premier brown trout lough fisheries with an area of over14,000 acres. The lake is noted for its free-rising trout and is a favourite venue for anglers from all over the world.

Tucked away under the shadow of Nephin Mountain, Lough Conn, joins Lough Cullin at Pontoon, which is famous for its salmon pool at Pontoon Bridge.

Nature rewarded Conn with good numbers of wild brown trout and the lake has never been stocked with trout. The lough is easily accessible by road and there is a good supply of boats and local boatmen.

Wild Brown Trout fishing

Generous bags of fish are common and wild brown trout up to 4 lbs. (1.8kg) weight and above are regularly caught. Angling in March and April can be productive with large hatches of duckfly (chironomid) and Lough Cullin can fish well from early April onwards with small black fly patterns. The cream of angling is to be had during the prolific mayfly hatch which begins from early to mid-May onwards and hatch in good numbers up to the middle of August. Lough Conn is unique in this way as the mayfly continues much longer than on most other Irish loughs. Excellent sport can be experienced using dry flies throughout the season but especially at Mayfly time.

July and August sees large hatches of sedges and again, dry-fly fishing with such flies as the Claret, Cinnamon or Red Sedge (Murrough) as well as various Daddy-Long-Leg patterns can be excellent.

Fishing during the month of September can be consistently good, depending on weather conditions, and the shallow areas close to incoming feeder streams can be ‘hot-spots’ at this time. Trout can be caught right up to the close of the season on October 10th with bumbles and black fly patterns usually best.

Salmon fishing

The lough enjoy a good run of spring salmon and an excellent run of grilse. The main run of spring salmon enter the lake in mid-March and continues until mid-May. The grilse run begins in late May and continue until the end of July or early August. Salmon are mainly taken by trolled lures, but during the mayfly hatches, both grilse and spring salmon are frequently caught on the fly.

September usually accounts for good numbers of salmon on Lough Conn and if there has been a good flush of rain, salmon runs into the lake can be heavy, with the largest fish of the season putting in an appearance.

Information

Conn is well-managed by the North-Western Regional Fisheries Board who have been carrying out an ongoing programme of feeder-stream development which will ensure the continuation of healthy stocks of wild brown trout. Anglers to Lough Conn can be assured of a warm welcome and good advice is always available locally. A boatman or ghillie is most advisable for anglers on their first and subsequent visits and can be arranged through:

Padraic Kelly, Cloghans Tel: 094-22250; Pontoon Bridge Hotel, Tel: 094-56120; Jimmy Murphy, Massbrook, Tel: 096-51079.; Healy’s Hotel, Tel: 094-56443; Joseph Moffat, Crossmolina, Tel: 096-31227; or indeed through any of the guesthouses around the lake.

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