Fishing in Co. Limerick

Limerick sits at the lower end of the Shannon system, where Ireland's longest river broadens out before reaching its estuary.

It's primarily a river county — the Shannon and its tributaries define the fishing here — with a mix of game and coarse angling that reflects the character of the lower midlands. The Shannon itself is the backbone.

At Castleconnell, about 10 km northeast of Limerick City, the river is best known as a salmon fishery, though it also holds pike across two distinct stretches.

Upstream at Plassey, adjacent to the University of Limerick, the access is genuinely awkward — a 300-metre walk minimum, no riverside parking — which means the bream and coarse fishing there gets far less pressure than it deserves.

Worth noting: boat angling is prohibited on the Plassey section of the Lower Shannon during the spring and summer months, so this is bank fishing only. The Annacotty stretch, locally called the Pumphouse, sits about 5 km from the city on the N7.

It runs roughly a kilometre upstream from the Mulcair confluence and holds the full spread of coarse species — bream, roach, pike, tench, perch — and can be fished year-round.

Down at Adare, the Maigue carries salmon and both brown trout and slob trout on a tidal stretch that runs right up through the village.

Salmon fishing here requires a State licence issued by Inland Fisheries Ireland; check the current river status with IFI before you go, as the Maigue's status can change season to season. The Feale and the Deel are the other named game rivers in the district.

Both fall under the Limerick District licence, and both have been running catch-and-release in recent seasons — again, verify current status with IFI before planning a trip around them.

Coarse fishing across the county is free of licence requirements, though some beats carry local permits.

The pike fishing in particular — on the Shannon, at Castleconnell, and on smaller waters like the Bunoke — can be serious, with fish reaching specimen size in the deeper pools. This is a county where the fishing rewards local knowledge and a bit of legwork.

The rivers aren't always easy to read from the road, and access varies. But the Shannon corridor alone gives you enough water to spend a long time working out.