The Shannon Fisheries Region comprises all the rivers that flow into the sea between Hags Head in Co. Clare and Kerry head. The Headquarters of the Shannon Regional Fisheries Board is at Thomond Weir, Limerick, (tel: 061 55171)
This is a massive region, extending from North Kerry in the South virtually to the border of Northern Ireland. The Shannon River is the biggest in these Islands and drains the entire central plain. Most of it is on limestone and has the characteristics required to produce and nurture huge numbers of fish of all species.
The fisheries are described in detail in Peter O' Reilly's comprehensive book " Trout & Salmon Rivers of Ireland" Merlin Unwin Books, and any visiting angler to the Emerald Isle would do well to purchase a copy before planning a fishing trip.

The River Shannon.

The majestic Shannon is the largest river in Ireland. It rises in the mountains of west Cavan and flows south for 160 miles where it enters the sea at Limerick. The main river and its tributaries drain a catchment area of around 6,060 square miles. This huge sluggish river connects three loughs - Lough Allen, Lough Ree, and Lough Derg.
The Shannon is a wonderfully rich fishery hosting a bountiful variety of fish species that will cater for both the game angler and the coarse angler. Game anglers would be well advised to concentrate their efforts in the following three areas: the Upper Shannon, Meelick, and the lower Shannon at Limerick.
Traditionally, the Shannon is reputed to have produced large numbers of big salmon. In 1929, a hydroelectric power station was commissioned at Ardnacrusha, near Limerick. A fish pass was incorporated in the regulating weir at Parteen. There are many who claim that the salmon did not all run the fish pass. In 1935, the Shannon Fisheries Act gave over the entire fishing rights of the Shannon to the Electricity Supply Board (E.S.B) and in 1959 a Boreland lift was built at Ardnacrusha power station to get the salmon up the river.
At the present time, all the salmon fishing on the river is controlled by the E.S.B. The company actively manages the fisheries on the lower river at Limerick - that is Castleconnell and the Mulcair River - and extensive stocking takes place. However, an E.S.B. fishing permit is required to fish for salmon anywhere on the Shannon or its tributaries. The trout fishing on a number of its tributaries - including the Suck, Inny, Brosna, Little Brosna, and Camlin, etc. - is leased to the Central Fisheries Board and managed by the Shannon Regional Fisheries Board. A trout-fishing permit is required on these rivers - issued by the Regional Board - and a share certificate is mandatory for trout fishing on all rivers upstream of Banagher.

Upper Shannon:

The first stretch extends for a distance of about six miles from Bellantra Bridge (the Baily Bridge) at Lough Allen to just below Battle Bridge near Leitrim village and the fishing is free. This stretch holds fair stocks of brown trout to 2 lbs while occasional trout of up to 9 lbs have been taken on spinner. Fly hatches include olives, sedges, black gnats, and some mayfly above Battle Bridge. Here quite a bit of coarse fishing takes place while the best trout fishing water is a mile below Galley Bridge where access is fair. However, a short stretch above Wooden Bridge access is very difficult and also midway between Battle Bridge and Wooden Bridge access is also very difficult.

The Meelick Fishery:

The salmon fishery at Meelick on the Shannon is situated approximately 5 miles down stream of the bridge at Bannagher. The river here is very wide, with several islands. There is quite good salmon fishing at times and local opinion puts the annual catch at somewhere between 300 and 400 fish, while others would say that this estimate is quite conservative. Two prime locations are above the pump house and immediately above the weir when the fish are running. With a few gates open in Shaughnessy's Weir, fishing can be excellent in the pool under the weir at the mouth of the little Brosna River.

Castleconnell Fishery:

This famous and prestigious salmon fishery lies close by the ancient village of Castleconnell, 7 miles north west of Limerick City and is owned and managed by the E.S.B. The erection of a hydroelectric dam up the river of Parteen greatly reduced the volume of the flow of the old river. The present fishery has been reconstructed to take account of this reduced volume of water. Some new streams and pools have been imaginatively created and many of the old pools retained with their lovely evocative names derived from the Irish - Fall na Hassa (cliff of the waterfall), Thraw-na-Knock (Strand of the Horses), Balchraheen (Place of the Rapids), to name but a few. These pools can be fished from both bank and boat while a controlled flow is maintained from the dam to ensure that the water never runs too low.
In the past the Shannon was famous for its big fish - up to 45 lbs, with some beats averaging an unbelievable 21 lbs (The Salmon Rivers of Ireland, Agustus Grimble, 1913)

The fisheries are described in detail in Peter O' Reilly's comprehensive book " Trout & Salmon Rivers of Ireland" Merlin Unwin Books, and any visiting angler to the Emerald Isle would do well to purchase a copy before planning a fishing trip. All information in this article has been taken from the same book. Many thanks to Merlin Unwin for permission to use this valuable information. For more detailed information on the Shannon, please consult "Trout & Salmon Rivers of Ireland".