Overview
Over 2,000 salmon and grilse run into Carrowmore Lake each year, which is why fly-fishers rate this shallow lough among Mayo’s better spring salmon waters. It covers about 1,000 hectares (nearly 2,500 acres), runs over four miles long and almost three miles across at its widest, and is nowhere deep: depth ranges from 1 to 6 metres, with a stony bottom and submerged rocks that catch out first-time boatmen. The Knocknascollop hills rise along the western shore; the Carrowmore River feeds it, and it drains through the Owenmore River towards Blacksod Bay.
The lake supplies the drinking water for the whole of Erris, and that single fact shapes the place: development is restricted, the shoreline stays largely undeveloped, and recreation is kept low-impact. It sits between the villages of Bangor Erris and Barnatra, near the southern end of Broadhaven Bay, with small linear settlements strung along both banks and a scatter of islands – Gortmore, Attavally, Derreens and others – breaking the surface.
Fishing the lake
Make no mistake about why you’d come: this is a fishing lake first and foremost. Bank fishing is not allowed; all angling is from a boat, and from spring onwards it is fly-only. If it’s your first time on the water, take a ghillie. The club’s own advice is plain about it – the lake is studded with submerged rocks and noted salmon lies that a stranger won’t know, and a soft south-west wind can turn to a blow that silts the shallow water brown within the hour.
The spring salmon run is the draw, with a strong showing of sea trout arriving from late June and a resident stock of brown trout. Wet-fly fishing with a team of three is the standard method; green peters, bibios and dabblers all earn their place, and shrimp patterns come into their own in spring.
Seasons (these change, so confirm current bye-laws with the club before booking):
- Salmon: opens 1 January, closes end of September
- Sea trout: run arrives from late June; season closes mid-September
- Brown trout: 1 May to 12 October
Rules and permits
- Boat only; spinning is allowed early in the season to the end of March, after which it is fly-only. Trolling is banned outright.
- Permits, boat hire and ghillies are arranged through the Bangor Erris Angling Club, established in 1970. The club’s hire boats are 19-foot clinker-built fibreglass.
- Phone: +353 97 83487 · Email: info@bangorerrisangling.com · Web: bangorerrisangling.com
- Permits are usually collected in person at the West End Bar in Bangor Erris.
Wildlife & conservation
Carrowmore is an oligotrophic-to-mesotrophic lake over a bed of Dalradian schist and pale quartzite, ringed by blanket bog. It carries both Special Protection Area and Special Area of Conservation status (SAC site code 000476); the SPA is held in particular for its breeding Sandwich terns. Merlin and golden plover breed on the surrounding bog, and in winter a range of waterfowl and ducks settle on the lake and its shores. Bring binoculars and keep to the quieter eastern and northern banks; because this is a drinking-water source, visitors are asked to stay on paths and away from nesting sites.
History & archaeology
The lake’s islands hold the remains of crannogs – artificial island dwellings – some thought to have been in use as lake fortifications from the Iron Age right through to the 17th century. On the western shore, Rathmorgan carries a local tradition linking it to the Táin Bó Flidhais, one of the cattle-raid tales of early Irish literature. Little of this is signposted; the interest is in knowing it’s there as you look out over the water.
Getting there & practical tips
Carrowmore Lake lies about 2 km north of Bangor Erris, reached off the R310. A small slipway on the eastern shore takes small motorboats, with limited, informal parking beside it. There is no visitor centre and no facilities at the lake itself; fuel, groceries and a pub are back in Bangor Erris, with more in Belmullet. For a longer day on foot, the Bangor Trail strikes off across the bog country nearby.
Collect your permit at the West End Bar the evening before, book a ghillie if you don’t know the water, and watch the forecast: a gentle south-west wind is what you want, and anything stronger will have the shallows stirred up and the fish off.