lakes donegal

Lough Deele is the source of the Deele River which flows east towards Raphoe. It lies deep in the mountains 6 miles south west of Letterkenny and is best approached via a small road from the east. This is a difficult walk through forest and across bog and will take at least one and a half hours to complete. The effort of getting there and back - is generally well rewarded- the trout average nearly three quarters pounds and some excellent catches have been reported. An average catch should produc...

This is a large, shallow expanse of water between Inch Island in Lough Swilly and the mainland at Burnfoot. The water is brackish and the level is maintained by means of floodgates in the dam wall. It now holds occasional salmon and sea trout but was once noted as one of the greatest sea trout fisheries in Donegal. The trout are mainly taken on sand eels and by spinning, through you many still chance to get one on a Teal Blue and Silver or Peter Ross off the cormer of the dam. Permission: Not u...

Lough Mourne is an impressive looking stretch of water by the N15 road between Ballybofey and Donegal. You may be tempted to fish, but don't bother because the trout are very small indeed. Permission: Not usually required...

These loughs are referred to locally as the Twin Loughs and lie to either side of the Buncrana-Cardonagh road. Fad is the larger of the two with a road running along the north and east shores. It is very deep and hold only small brownies and you will do well if you get one of a half lb. It holds a large population of small char and they can sometimes be taken on fly off shore in May. The most popular fly patterns are Peter Ross, Mallard and Claret, Black Spider and Wickham's Fancy. Lough Namina...

As you approach Falcarragh you will se New Lake, right and Port Lake is signposted , left. these two lakes are excellent brown trout waters....

Trusk Lough Trusk is 3 miles south of Ballybofey. The trout there average half pound and you might be lucky and get one up to three quarter pound. This lough is used a lot by speedboats, which can make the fishing very uncomfortable. Permission:Not usually required....

These two loughs lie to the west of the T73 Quigley's Point-Moville Road. To get to Lough Inn, take the mountain road up the side of Glencaw Hill:the loughs is to the right after 3 and a half miles. It can also be approached from Cardonagh. Lough Inn holds small brown trout and you might be lucky to get an occasional sea trout from August on. Lough Inn lies to the north east on the northern side of Tawash Hill. It is reported to hold only char that average 6oz. They are sometimes taken on fly i...

Access to these three loughs is either off the small mountain road to the north and in by the west side of Lough Boyle or by taking another small road from the west and coming in past Lough Keeran. Either way, it is difficult going and will take well over an hour. Golagh has an nice stock of good trout averaging three quarter pound, with some to nearly 3 pounds. The banks are difficult to fish in places, but at some points it is possible to wade. One of the best areas is the long, sometimes very...

This lough is to the east of and adjacent to the T73 Buncrana-Clonmany road. It is a lough on which you need a boat because of the reeds. It hold a big stock of small brown trout and is best fished on summer evenings with small flies. If you are careful you can fish in shallow water between the reedbeds and the shore. You must hold your fish tight when yu hook them to prevent them escaping into the reeds. Expect to get up to a dozen, a couple of which should weigh between a half and 1km. Small s...

This is another artificial sea water lough on the shores of Lough Swilly, where the level is controlled by floodgate. It holds occassional salmon and sea trout and fishes best in July. It can be fished from the shore and July is the best month for sea trout. Permission...