lakes antrim

The areas around Lough Neagh and Lough Beg constitute one of the most important bird habitats in Western Europe. The sheltered bays, shores and woodlands offer a haven for a wealth of resident birds and a migration destination for thousands of others throughtout the year....

These waters vary in size from 18 acres up to the 127 acres of Lough Mourne. They all lie north of Carrickfergus and the season runs from 1 March to 31 October, except for the North reservoir where the season is announced annually. Angling is not permitted before 8am or after 10pm. There is a 4 trout daily bag limit and an orthodox fly fishing only is allowed on the Upper and Lower South reservoirs. All legitimate methods on the others, except groundbait and maggots. North Woodburn is stocked wi...

This reservoir is situated just south of the A36 Ballymena-Larne road. Bank fishing is easy in normal water levels, but care should be taken when the levels drop in late summer as patches of soft mud can cause problems. Killylane is unusual in that it is entirely dependent on natural recruitment and the trout are small-by reservoir standards-but fight well. It fishes best in April and gets a small hatch of black chironomids. Useful fly patterns are Blae and Black, Mullard and Claret, Sooty Olive...

Stoneyford Reservoir Stoneyford which is 160 acres and Leathemstown which is 28 acres are two of the most popular trout fisheries in Northern Ireland. They are both to the north west of Lisburn. The reservoirs are stocked with takable brown and rainbow trout. Angling is not allowed before 8am or after 10pm. The season runs from 1 March to 31 October. There is a 4 trout bag limit and a 10 inch size limit. All legitimate methods are allowed but groundbait and maggots are not permitted....

The lower Bann drains the 250 square miles of Lough Neagh and all the salmon entering the huge system pass through it on their way upstream. In contrast to the Foyle, much of the river is slow flowing but at certain points there are weirs and lock gates which create holding pools for the fish. Most of the fish are caught between mid-June and the end of September. The river gets a small but significant spring run and fish are caught from 1st March to the middle of May when the first of the...

Lough Neagh has been described as a huge fish factory. It is the biggest lake in the British Isles, and it covers 153 square miles (400 km). Its uncanny similarity in size and shape to the Isle of Man gave rise to the legend that the mythical giant Fiann McCool scooped out a huge lump of earth and threw it into the Irish Sea - the lump of earth formed the Isle of Man, and the hole filled with water became Lough Neagh.

For the tout angler its main interest is the dollaghan, a unique...

The 4,000 year old tradition of eel fishing is still strong on Lough Neagh, with many local communities dependent upon the 'harvesting' of the eels. The eel's life cycle begins when the tiny elvers set out from the Sargasso Sea on a mammoth journey to the mouth of the River Bann near Coleraine. During the final leg of their journey downstream to Lough Neagh many of the maturing brown eels are caught by local fishermen using traditional methods. The surviving eels remain in the lough and at...

Sea fishing for conger, dogfish, mackerel and plaice is popular from the rocks and piers all the way up the coast. Boats can be hired at Larne, Carnlough and Cushendall for deep-sea expeditions to catch blockan, cod, conger, dab, herring, mackerel, plaice, pollack, skate, tope and whiting. Trout fishing is excellent throughout the area. Around Carrickfergus, where there are public reservoirs and waters at Woodburn Forest, Dorisland, Copeland and Lough Mourne and also at the Killylane, Bally...

Pretty lake fringed with woods. Ruins of 13th century Lissanoure Castle nearby (privately owned). Surrounding bog noted for wild Rhododendrons....