Tourism \ Activities \ Fishing \ Carlingford Lough

Carlingford Lough

Carlingford Lough lies on the east coast of Northern Ireland and straddles the international border with the Republic of Ireland.

It is a narrow sea Lough surrounded by the Mourne Mountains and the Cooley Peninsula, which are both Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Carlingford Lough provides some of the best fishing in the Irish coastal waters, with specimen fish such as the Irish record for the Tope at 66 ½ lbs.

You can take advantage of the breathtaking views cruising Carlingford Lough and allow the Mourne Mountains and Cooley Peninsula on either side of the Lough to embrace you.

The area offers various attractions. Sailing and wind surfing are available and diving is becoming increasingly popular. The area has many hidden wrecks to interest the diver and is home to a wide variety of marine life.

Fishing on Carlingford Lough

Carlingford Lough offers a great variety for the angler from great tope to the more elusive, but extremely sporting, sea trout and bass.

The tope fishing is arguably at it’s best from June to September and this area has probably produced more specimen tope than the rest of Ireland with fish well over forty pounds not unusual.

There is also the opportunity to fish the wrecks just outside the lough for pollack, ling, whiting, codling, conger etc.

Around the edges of the lough from Ballagan point south of Greenore to Cranfield point on the eastern side there are a number of locations where bass and sea trout may be taken. Rocky reefs combined with seaweed and sandy patches make this an ideal location for these fish. They will find herring and mackerel fry as well as sandeels and crabs to feed on. This combined with a powerful tide rip makes for an exciting shore fishing venue although in some areas the rough ground makes bait fishing almost impossible.

A number of spinning lures and natural sandeels are effective, as is the increasingly popular art of saltwater flyfishing. The use of floating ‘popping’ flies over heavily kelped areas can produce a bass or two where no other method would be viable.