River Munster Blackwater

River Munster Blackwater Guide

The River Blackwater (also known as the Munster Blackwater) rises in East Kerry and flows in an Easterly direction for over 100 miles, past the towns of, Banteer, Lombardstown, Mallow, Killavullen, Ballyhooly, Fermoy, Ballyduff and Lismore, on its way to meet the tidal estuary at Cappoquin. The estuary begins at Youghal and extends for all of 15 miles up to Cappoquin.

The Munster Blackwater near Fermoy.

There are many peat bogs on the upper river, which give the river its distinctive peaty colour, and ultimately its name. The Munster Blackwater gets one of the biggest Salmon runs of any Irish river, with perhaps the exception of the Moy.

The Blackwater used to be a spring fed river but with drainage and water extraction it is now more of a spate system. It's a big wide river with a mainly gravel bottom so wading is quite easy, and necessary in many places (bring chest waders). For spring fishing you'll need a 15 foot rod, and whilst a shorter rod will do in summer, you'd still be better off with something approaching 13 foot.

River Blackwater near Lismore.

The main obstacle for Salmon running the Blackwater is the Careysville weir, which is downstream of Fermoy. In low water, very few if any fish, will run the weir and its takes quite a bit of water to get them up over. When the water does come the fish will run pretty hard towards the upper reaches of the river.

There are very few clubs on the river and only a couple of those have salmon fishing rights. The Salmon fishing is nearly all private and it let by the fishery owners. Let's take a look at the fisheries.

Blackwater between Fermoy and Lismore.

Cappoquin Salmon and Trout Anglers' Association

The town of Cappoquin is right at the top of the tidal estuary and is the first place on the Blackwater which is of interest to the Salmon fisherman. The club here has 4 miles of double bank fishing, which includes several named pools. There are day tickets available to the visiting angler.

The main fly fishing pools are, the Canal Stream, Feericks, Kennel Stream, The Point, Kitchen Stream, Couples Quay, Bishops Stream, The Bleann and Steamers Quay. The following pools are more suitable for Worm, Shrimp (from 1st of June), and Spinning: The Hut Pool, Kitchen Hole, Mud Hole, Rock Pool, Lehanes Bank, Walls Break and the Factory pool.

As you can imagine the water levels here are heavily influenced by the tides so it is worth while checking the times before setting off.

Fort William

The Fort William Estate is 3 miles upstream from Cappoquin, near the town of Lismore. The fishery consists of 3.5 miles of double bank fishing and is fly and spinning only. There are 5 beats in total and each takes 3 rods.

The Fortwilliam fishery on the Munster Blackwater.

Blackwater Lodge Hotel Fisheries

The Blackwater Lodge is situated at Ballyduff Upper, just 6 miles upstream of Lismore. It has 16 separate beats on the Blackwater, the lowest being 3 miles downstream of the Lodge, and the furthest upstream being just below Mallow, a full 28 miles above the Lodge. Each beat takes 2 rods and averages about ¾ of a mile in length.

Fishery at Blackwater Lodge.

Since the Lodge has fishing on both sides of Careysville weir there is almost always good fishing on a selection of these beats. When you book you get rotated around the beats so that you have an excellent chance of a fish. Wading is pretty easy on all of the Blackwater Lodge's beats as the bottom is mostly all gravel.

Ballinaroone & Moscollop Fisheries

These fisheries are now under the control of Alfred Deppeler Fisheries. They are situated about 1 ½ miles upstream from Ballyduff Bridge, near to where the river skirts the R666. The fisheries account for 400 to 500 salmon per year.

The Ballinaroone and Moscollop Fisheries on the Blackwater.

Careysville Fishery

The Careysville fishery starts at Clondulane weir and extends downstream for approximately 1 ¾ miles. It is all double bank fishing. This is one of the best known fisheries on the Blackwater which accounts for close on 600 salmon per year.

The number of rods permitted fluctuates between 4 and 5 depending on the time of year. The spring fishing is excellent during February and March, with the Grilse fishing peaking in June.

The Blackwater at Careysville.

Fox's Fishery, Killavullen

This fishery is situated a mile downstream of Killavullen Bridge, which is about 5 miles downstream from Mallow. The fishing is left bank only and extends for about a mile. The maximum rods are 4, with all methods allowed.

The fishery includes the well known Poul Caum, and has a good mixture of streams and pools. It averages around 100 salmon per season. The fishery managers also let 3 beats of the River Lee.

Merrie Green Salmon Fishing

This fishery is run by Mrs. Merrie Green of Ballyvolane House. They have 4 beats available on the Blackwater at all times and have access to additional beats at various times, which total over 10 miles of fishing.

The expanses of the Munster Blackwater.

There are 2 beats at Ballyhooley, known as the Grange and the Quarry. There is a beat at Killavullen known as Fallon's and 2 further beats downstream of Careysville, known as O'Neills and Kilbarry. The fishery also has access to the Gaihra beat at Ballyduff.

These beats cover the salmon runs for the whole season and some are fly and spinning only. Almost all of the fishing requires wading with chest waders being the order of the day.

Ballymaquirk Fishery & Lodge

This fishery is situated at Ballymaquirk Bridge, just North of Banteer on the R579. There is ¾ of a mile of fishing on the Blackwater and ¼ of a mile on the Allow River, which flows down from Kanturk.

This fishery takes 3 rods and it has some nice streamy fly water, both on the Blackwater and the Allow. It gets a good run of Grilse through June and July. A singled handed rod is enough as this is well upstream on the Blackwater.

The Lodge does sleep 5 but only 3 may fish at any one time. All methods are allowed but fly fishing is encouraged.

Lombardstown & District Trout Anglers

The club holds trout fishing rights on the Blackwater between the Waterloo Bridge (N72) and Roskeen Bridge (N72). There is good salmon fishing here but it is held by a private syndicate.

The view from Roskeen Bridge Banteer.

Millstreet Anglers Association

The Millstreet anglers have around 10 miles of fishing on the Blackwater, the Finnow and the Aubane around the Millstreet area. The Salmon fishing here is much better towards the end of the season but it can be patchy. This is very good trout water with lots of smallish trout, averaging around ½ lb.

River Munster Blackwater Tributaries

River Allow
River Araglin
River Awbeg
River Bride
River Finnow
River Funshion

River Munster Blackwater Neighbouring Rivers

River Brown Flesk
River Butterstown
River Deel
River Feale
River Flesk
River Foherish
River Glashaboy
River Laney
River Maigue
River Owenacurra
River Owneykeagh
River Roughty
River Shournagh
River Suir

Fishing the River Munster Blackwater

River Munster Blackwater Season

Salmon - 1st February - 30th September
Sea Trout - 1st February - 30th September
Brown Trout - 15th February - 30th September

River Munster Blackwater Methods

Bubble Fly
Fly Fishing
Shrimp and Prawn
Spinning
Worming

River Munster Blackwater Fishing Authority

To fish in Ireland you need a rod license from the appropriate fishing authority. You can find the details for the River Munster Blackwater at:

Southern Fisheries Management

River Munster Blackwater Permits

As well as a rod license, you'll need a permit to fish the River Munster Blackwater. You can get permits from any of the following distributors:

Ballyrafter House Hotel
Lismore
Email: info@ballyrafterhouse.com
Tel: +353 (0)58 54002

Ballyvolane House & Blackwater Salmon Fishery
Castlelyons
Fermoy
Email: info@ballyvolanehouse.ie
Tel: +353 (0)25 36349
KILLAVULLEN, BALLYHOOLY, BALLYDUFF

Dan O'Donovan
Craigside
Blackrock
Tel: +353 (0)21 4358218
FOX'S FISHERY

Doug Locke
Kilbarry Stud
Fermoy
Email: flyfish@eircom.net
Tel: +353 (0)25 32720
MALLOW & FERMOY

Esta Mc Carthy (Alfred Deppeler Fisheries)
Elgin Cottage
Ballyduff Upper
Email: alfreddeppeler@eircom.net
Tel: +353 (0)58 60255
BALLINAROONE & MOCOLLOP FISHERIES

Ian Powell
Ballyduff Upper
Email: info@ireland-salmon-fishing.net
Tel: +353 (0)58 60235
BLACKWATER LODGE

James Murphy-O'Connor
North Quay House
Popes Quay
Email: james@bbmoc.com
Tel: +353 (0)21 450 2555
BALLYMAQUIRK FISHERY

Longueville House Fishery
Mallow
Tel: +353 (0)22 47156
MALLOW

Michael Penruddock, The Estate Office
Lismore Castle
Lismore
Tel: +353 (0)58 54424
CAREYSVILLE FISHERY

Paul Whelan (Fishery Manager, Fort William Estate)
Glencairn
Lismore
Email: info@fortwilliamfishing.net
Tel: +353 (0)87 829 2077
FORT WILLIAM ESTATE

The Manager, Careysville Fishery
Fermoy
Tel: +353 (0)25 31094
CAREYSVILLE FISHERY

River Munster Blackwater Clubs

Cappoquin Salmon and Trout Anglers' Association - River Munster Blackwater
Jeremy Nicholson
Littlebridge Inches
Cappoquin
Email: jeremy@fishcappoquin.com
Web: Cappoquin Salmon and Trout Anglers' Association

The club has 4 miles of double bank salmon fishing around cappoquin.

Lombardstown & District Trout Anglers' Club - River Munster Blackwater
Lombardstown
Mallow

The club has 4 miles of trout fishing only between Waterloo Bridge (N72) and Roskeen Bridge (N72).

Millstreet Anglers Association - River Munster Blackwater
Main Street
Millstreet

The club has around 10 miles of mainly trout fishing on the Blackwater and its tributaries, the Finnow River and Aubane River.

River Munster Blackwater Ratings

River Munster Blackwater Fishing Conditions

River Munster Blackwater Status

Bag Limits

There is an angling bag limit of 10 salmon (any size) or sea trout (over 40 cm).

NOTE: The bag limits are subject to any quota allocated to a river and its tributaries. You should check locally when buying your permit.

Subject to the maximum annual bag limit of ten fish, an angler may take:

- A season bag limit of 3 fish in the period 1 Jan to 11 May.
- A daily bag limit of 3 fish from 12 May to 31 August.
- A daily bag limit of 1 fish from 1 September to the end of the season.
- You must use single hooks and not use worms as bait, once the specified number of fish have been caught in the specified periods.
- Please note that no sea trout of any size caught in the Western Region or the Clew Bay area of the North Western Region can be retained.

After the daily bag limit has been taken, anglers are permitted to fish catch and release, using single barbless hooks and there is a ban on the use of worms.

Local Restrictions

Some rivers impose their own local restrictions so when you are going to buy your permit for the River Munster Blackwater, please check with the distributor.