Fishing
Upper Lough Erne offers some of the best and rarest boat and bank angling in Europe. Coolbeg’s private shore and boat (if hired at time of booking) offers guests fishing on the doorstep. Catches of pike, bream and roach can be prolific. A short drive takes you to Lough Melvin renowned for salmon, gillaroo, sonaghan and fernox trout, nearby the pristine Colebrook River has excellent fly fishing for brown trout from May to September.
Pike Fishing
The Pike on Upper Lough Erne have provided great sport for fishermen from all over the world. Normally caught on dead bait or by trolling lures, fly fishing for Pike has proved to be a great hit with fly anglers looking for sport during the closed Trout Fishing season. Although not a new method by any means, fly fishing for Pike has remained virtually unchanged for years but is now receiving the attention it deserves.
This is where fishing from a boat proves much more successful than bank fishing with access to Pike hot-spots more readily available. Any area where the water suddenly drops off to deeper levels is likely to hold good sized Pike. Pike are especially prolific in waters holding shoals of fodder fish like bream, roach, hybrids etc with mature pike eating approximately five times its own weight of fodder fish per year.
There is no closed season for Pike fishing but there is a bag limit of 2 fish per angler per day and all those over 4kg weight must be returned to the water, alive.
In October 2013 the world boat fishing with lures championship took place between national teams. Also in mid October the world pike classic is held with £15,000 prize fund attracting over 400 anglers to Lough Erne each year.
We are happy to organise fishing packages, baits or local ghillies and guides. Rod licences and fishing permits are required which we can arrange or may be purchased on line. Click here for downloadable fishing guide.
Where to fish
- Lough/River Bream, Roch, brown trout, rainbow trout
- Mill Lough, Bellanaleck -Rainbow and Brown Trout
- Lough Keenaghan – Belleek Brown Trout
- Lough Corranny – Rosslea Rainbow Trout
- Lough Corry – Rosslea Brown Trout
- Lakes Achork, Glencreawan and Meenameen, Navar Forest, – Derrygonnelly Brown and Rainbow Trout
- Ballinamallard River – Ballinamallard Brown Trout and Occasional Salmon
- Colebrooke River – Maguiresbridge Brown Trout
- Ballydoolagh Lough – Enniskillen Roach, Perch, Pike and Eels
- Killyfole Lake – Lisnaskea Roach, Bream, Hybrids, Perch, Pike and Eels
- Trory, Lough Erne Enniskillen – Bream, Roach, Hybrids, Perch, Pike and Eels
- Ely Lodge, Lough Erne, Enniskillen Bream, Roach, Hybrids, Perch, Pike and Eels
- Lough MacNean – Lower & Upper, Belcoo and Blacklion, Co. Cavan Bream, Roach, Hybrids, Perch, Rudd, Pike and Eels
- River Erne, Cornagrade, Enniskillen Bream, Roach, Hybrids, Perch, Pike and Eels
- River Erne – Sligo Road, Enniskillen Bream, Roach, Perch, Pike, Hybrids and Eels
- Upper River Erne – Bellanaleck Bream, Roach, Hybrids, Perch, Pike
- River Erne – Broadmeadow, Enniskillen Bream, Roach, Perch, Pike, Hybrids and Eels
- Upper River Erne – Schools, Enniskillen Bream, Roach, Hybrids, Perch, Pike and Eels
- Belle Isle Estate -, Lisbellaw Pike, Roach and Breams (Available for Residents only)