Fishing on Caragh Lake with your kids or grandkids can be absolutely amazing – the excitement in their eyes as they reel in their first trout; the delight as they taste their own catch… memories are made of this! It can also be a real disappointment though if they don’t catch anything (!) so here are some simple tips based on our own outings over the past few months.
First-off get yourself a boat. You can hire one from Mike O’Shea at the Upper Caragh Fishery who will also provide oars, an outboard motor and lifejackets. You can pick it up at the top of the lake and, if the forecast is OK and Mike’s good with it, moor at the house.
Fishing for trout and perch on the lake is free so you don’t need a licence. If you’d like to go for salmon, or you’d like to fish on the Upper or Lower Caragh rivers, you will need a permit, so be sure to talk to Mike about this.
Timing is everything so check the forecast before you decide to go out. We’d recommend Fishbrain for that – a mobile app our son discovered which gives you a percentage likelihood one or two days out and seems to work pretty well. We now check it religiously before we go.
Most of our catches were with a simple kid’s rod and spinner which we let out 20 to 30 meters behind the boat and dragged slowly as we meandered along the shoreline south of Caragh Lake House towards the Ard na Sidhe. As soon as we caught one we’d reel in the other lines, turn around and go again. Nothing technical.
For guests we provide some rods and tackle at the house but if you need more you can always pick some up at Boyles in Killorglin.
And that is it. Three simple things that will hopefully make for a successful trip and some amazing memories. Hope you enjoy it.
Feel free to leave your personal tips for fishing on Caragh Lake in the comments below and if you’d like to book your next family vacation, just send us an email.
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