Fishing in Co. Monaghan

Monaghan sits in the Ulster drumlin belt, a landscape of low rounded hills and hollows left by glaciers, and almost every hollow holds water. The county is lake country — dozens of small loughs scattered across farmland, connected by short rivers and streams.

It's quiet, unhurried fishing, mostly coarse, with a game tradition on a handful of rivers. If you come expecting big water or dramatic scenery, you'll miss the point.

The appeal is the density of accessible venues and the quality of fish that have been left largely alone. The coarse fishing is the main draw.

Around Monaghan town, lakes like Peter's Lake, Drumreask, and Quig Lough hold good bream, roach, rudd, hybrids, and pike.

Peter's Lake is right in the town centre — less than a hectare, firm banks, easy parking off Glaslough Street — and it punches above its size, with tench recorded over 5lb and pike present year-round.

Drumreask, a few kilometres out on the Scotstown road, is deeper and reed-fringed, with tench to over 6lb reported.

Southwest of town, the Rossmore Park Lakes — Castle Lake, Priestfield Lake, the Twin Lakes, and Barnhill Lake — sit inside a Coillte forest park and tend to be shallow, which makes them fish well in the warmer months.

Coarse fishing in Ireland is free; no state licence is required for the species you'll find in most of these lakes. For pike specifically, Glaslough — the Green Lake at Castle Leslie Estate — has a serious reputation.

A 38lb 9oz fish was taken there in 1991, breaking an 18-year Irish record. The lake is available to residents and non-residents by advance booking through the estate, and use of a boat is included.

It's managed carefully, which is part of why the fish are the size they are. Emy Lough is the county's main game fishery, with dry and wet fly fishing for brown trout available by permit.

The Monaghan Anglers Association controls angling on the local rivers, stocks regularly, and holds both wild and stocked brown trout.

Salmon and sea trout require an IFI licence wherever you fish them; check with Inland Fisheries Ireland for current rules before heading out. Monaghan won't overwhelm you with options or spectacle.

What it does is give you a lot of water in a small area, fish that are often in good condition, and the kind of low-pressure fishing that's harder to find than it used to be.