Blackwater - Indice

Why fish the Blackwater

There are many rivers named Blackwater in Ireland but there is only one Munster Blackwater River, probably Ireland's most famous salmon fishing and fly fishing river. You can read numerous accounts of enormous runs and prolific catches, including grilse and multi sea-winter fish, written by anglers such as Augustus Grimble in "The Salmon Rivers of Ireland", and John Ashley-Cooper in his well-known book "A Salmon Fisher's Odyssey". For many, the Blackwater is where they caught their first Irish salmon or trout and lives therefore long in the memory.

The Blackwater was at one time noted for extremely large fish. Dublin-based fisheries scientist Arthur Went compiled records of portmanteau fish (fish in excess of 40 lbs) caught in Irish rivers between 1874 and 1933, and noted fifteen such fish were caught in the Blackwater, a figure beaten only by the Shannon with seventeen. For fly fishers seeking a break from salmon, large brown trout and sea trout are regularly caught on the fly too. 

Aside from the quality of the fishing, anglers will be able to lose themselves in the peaceful, scenic Blackwater Valley with picturesque towns such as Mallow, Killavullen, Fermoy, Ballyduff and Cappoquin, imposing castles such as Lismore, and in the upper reaches the grandeur of the Mullaghareirk Mountain as a backdrop. 

About the river

Munster Blackwater

 

The Munster Blackwater rises in the Mullaghareirk Mountains in County Kerry and then flows easterly direction through County Cork and County Waterford, passing through the towns of Mallow, Fermoy, Ballyduff and Lismore before reaching a sharp southerly turn and the tide at Cappoquin, eventually emptying into the sea at Youghal Harbour. The Blackwater itself is the second largest river in Ireland as measured by flow, and the fourth longest at 169 kilometres. The main channel is divided into upper, middle and lower reaches by Mallow and Fermoy; Mallow forming the boundary between the upper and middle reaches, and Fermoy the boundary between middle and lower. The main river is joined by a number of significant tributaries and many small streams, giving the system its large catchment area. The head waters of the river flow through barren, peaty land with the result that the main channel runs with the dark water characteristic of peat when heavy rain falls in its headwaters, from which the name "Blackwater" is derived.

Much of the river flows at a rapid rate with streams and pools following each other in quick succession - ideal for fly fishing - whilst other parts consist of long, deep stretches of water with relatively slow flow - where spinning may be most productive. For fly anglers, more than half of the river's length, from the tidal limit near Lismore upstream to Mallow and beyond, provides excellent salmon and trout fishing. The river supports a good range of coarse fish such as dace, roach, bream and pike.

In common with most other fisheries, salmon stocks have fluctuated considerably in the recent past. However, the Irish government banned coastal commercial drift netting in 2006, and this has helped support salmon stocks. 

Using data from Inland Fisheries Ireland, the total angler caught salmon figure for Ireland has remained between 10,000 and 20,000 per annum since 2006. Over a number of years, according to IFI data, the Blackwater has been one of the top four venues in Ireland for salmon catches, the other three being the River Moy, Lough/River Corrib, and River Laune. in 2023, angler caught salmon on the Blackwater numbered 2093.

Munster Blackwater