Fishing

County Kildare has many waterways with the rivers, Barrow, Slate, Liffey & Rye to name a few and the Royal & Grand canals flowing through the county. These waterways, along with several stocked lakes make Kildare a great place for freshwater fishing and popular with fishing enthusiasts!

Fish the Rivers

1. The River Liffey is particularly popular for fly fishing. The links below provide useful information regarding permits and also, when and where to fish the Liffey in Kildare.

• Fishing in Ireland

• Ireland Fly Fishing

2. The Enfield Blackwater is another popular fly fishing spot and has good stocks of Brown Trout. The river rises in Prosperous in the north of the county and flows north west into Co. Meath.

3. Coarse fishing takes place frequently on the River Barrow in Athy. A wide array of fish lie within The Barrow waters such as, roach, perch, rudd, bream, dace and pike. The rare shad, a herring like fish which enters the river from the sea in May, can be fished close to the village of St. Mullins.

4. The Rye River is another river in the north of Kildare and is for fly fishing only. It flows for 12 miles to Leixlip where is joins the Liffey.  The Rye is known to have some large trout and so is a popular spot.

* Please ensure to check what licenses are required before river fishing in Co. Kildare.

Canal Fishing in Kildare

The canals in Ireland are well established and so are known as having some of the best coarse fishing available in Europe.  Not only do three canals, The New Barrow Line, Royal Canal and Grand Canal, run through the county but there are some other bonuses to fishing the canals like, no licence required, easy to drive (by car) banks, free fishing, small amount of boat traffic and peaceful rural settings.

The Irish Waterways Association of Ireland (IWAI) have put together a comprehensive list of where the canals in Kildare are most accessible - see the article here.

Fisheries in Kildare

1. Lyreen Angling Centre
   Maynooth, Co. Kildare
   Tel: 00 353 1 629 3202.

2. Curragh Springs Fishery
   The Curragh, Co. Kildare
   Tel: 00 353 87 246 2028 / 00 353 45 441 184

3. Kilooney Fisheries

   Collinstown, Cadbury, Co. Kildare
   Tel: 00 353 87 138 1599