Fishing in Co. Longford

Longford sits in the Irish Midlands, a landlocked county where the fishing is almost entirely freshwater and almost entirely coarse.

The landscape is flat, the rivers move slowly, and the lakes are shallow and weedy — exactly the kind of water that grows big bream, tench, and roach, and holds pike well into double figures. The River Shannon is the spine of it.

It runs along Longford's western edge from Rooskey down through Tarmonbarry and into Lanesborough at the northern end of Lough Ree, and this stretch has a long reputation among coarse anglers.

At Lanesborough, the Hot Water Stretch, the Cut, and Kilnacarrow are three distinct venues that fish differently and give you options depending on conditions.

Roach runs here can be prolific — reports of a fish every few minutes are not unusual when the timing is right. Lough Ree itself is the draw for pike anglers, with fish reliably running past 20 lbs.

The River Inny feeds into the Shannon from the east and adds another dimension — slower, more intimate water with good bream and tench populations.

North Longford in particular has a name for well-conditioned bream and roach, and the smaller lakes scattered through that part of the county reward anglers who are willing to move around and find their own spots rather than following a crowd.

These aren't big open sheets of water where you spend half the day searching — they're compact enough that you can read them quickly. The Royal Canal cuts through the county and holds a solid mix of pike, perch, bream, roach, tench, and eels.

It's accessible and consistent, the kind of water that fishes well even when conditions elsewhere are difficult. Tench are worth planning around specifically.

May and June are the prime months, and the catches reported from the Longford and Roscommon border area — anglers returning year after year for 35 seasons — say something about the reliability of it.

This is not fashionable fishing, but it's honest fishing, and the people who know it keep coming back. Inland Fisheries Ireland manages the fisheries here; check with them for current licence requirements and any local rules before you go.