If you are interested in taking up angling or would like to give it a go, we have a number of tips to help you make your first cast here…
Tackle a shop owner
Nearly every town in Ireland has a fishing tackle shop; some sell nothing else. Others have a mix of bicycles and fishing gear, or hardware and fishing gear, or pet supplies and fishing gear, or surfing stuff and fishing gear. Shoe repair and fishing gear seem to go together, too. There are even a few pubs that dabble in angling tackle. You get the picture—there are lots of places to go.
The men and women who run these shops tend to be pretty well connected to the angling world and can offer excellent advice to the beginner angler or curious enquirer. Call in and ask them where to go; they won’t be long telling you… (!)
To speed up your search, we have a fairly comprehensive list of tackle shops all across Ireland at the following link:
https://fishinginireland.info/tackleshops/index.htm
Jump in a lake
OK. Not really. But you could call into a stocked lake and say hello. Most of the stocked lakes have fishing gear for hire, and fish willing to be caught, just for you. There is a good distribution of stocked or “put and take” fisheries across Ireland. Some have rainbow trout and others have coarse fish like bream, rudd, tench and carp. Some even have a mix of the two (or five, but who’s counting?).
We have a good listing of the stocked lakes around Ireland here: https://fishinginireland.info/trout/putandtake.htm
Join the club
There are literally hundreds of fishing clubs all over this green and rainy island. No matter if you are interested in pike, coarse, trout, salmon, or sea, you’ll find a club to suit you. There are far too many to list here, but what we can do is point you to the federations and associations that the clubs belong to. Get in touch with them, and they’ll tell you where your nearest angling club is…
- Coarse angling clubs: http://www.ncffi.ie/about-us/find-a-club/
- Sea angling clubs: http://www.ifsa.ie/find-a-club/
- Pike angling clubs: http://www.angling-in-ireland.com/index.html
- Trout angling clubs: https://www.facebook.com/TroutAnglersFederationofIreland/
- More trout angling clubs: http://www.naraireland.com/
- Salmon angling clubs: http://fissta.com/
Hop aboard and try your luck
There are numerous charter boats at ports all the way from Louth to Wexford across the south coast to Kerry and all the way up to Donegal. Many organise short charters or evening trips that are perfect for small groups or individuals who want to give angling a go. Most of our charter skippers are cheery types, only too happy to advise and help a novice angler. The only catch here is that they are all based on the coast…
Find a charter boat: https://fishinginireland.info/angling-service-providers/charterboats/
Seek further guidance
Professional help is at hand for those who want to make the most of a learning experience. Angling guides and casting instructors are invaluable to beginner anglers. They help to take a lot of frustration out of the early days for the novice – fast-tracking the important fish catch part while giving plenty of tips and pointers on techniques and tactics. Everyone should take at least one day out with a guide or instructor…
And yes. We have an island-wide list of these guys and gals, too: https://fishinginireland.info/guides/index.htm
Give us a call
You can always ask us for advice. Contact us at any of our offices or through the online contact form at this site: