Overview
The Owenduff is a fly-only salmon and sea-trout river, and almost all of it is private, split between three fishing lodges. The one exception is worth knowing: roughly 1.5 km of the left bank below the weir at Srahnamanragh Bridge is open to anyone with a State licence, no lodge permit needed. That is a rare thing on a river of this quality.
The river drains the Owenduff bog, one of the last intact active blanket bog systems in Western Europe, and runs through the middle of Wild Nephin National Park – Ballycroy, as it was called until recently. The park was established in 1998 and covers 15,000 hectares of more or less uninhabited ground: the Nephin Beg range to the east, the bog to the west, and the river cutting north toward the sea past Ballycroy village. The botanist Robert Lloyd Praeger called the Nephin Beg range the very loneliest place in the country, and on a wet Tuesday you will see why.
The Owenduff has been a fishing river a long time. W.H. Maxwell wrote it up in Wild Sports of the West in 1832, and the character he described – a spate river that swings from a trickle to a torrent – has not changed. It is a spring salmon, grilse and sea-trout river, and it fishes best when the water is high and falling. Come after rain; in a dry spell the fishing is slow and the river low.
Fishing the Owenduff
The river is fly-only and privately owned, divided three ways: Lagduff Lodge holds the lower river, Shean Lodge the middle, and Rock House Estate the upper. Shean Fishery manages an 8 km mid-section split into two beats. Day tickets are limited and go early, so if you want summer dates, contact the fisheries months ahead.
Anyone fishing for salmon or sea trout also needs a State licence from Inland Fisheries Ireland, sold at fishinginireland.info. The season opens on 1 February; check the exact salmon and sea-trout dates with Inland Fisheries before you travel, as they shift from year to year.
For the upper river, contact Rock House Fishery: John Campbell, +353 (0)98 49116, rockhouse-estate.com.
The free stretch
About 1.5 km of the left bank below the weir at Srahnamanragh Bridge is open without a lodge permit – you still need the State licence. It is the one place you can fish water of this standard for nothing. Everything upstream is private, so do not wander past the weir.
Walking and wildlife
This is walking country for people who like emptiness. Tracks follow the river through peat hummocks, old farmsteads and stands of aging Scots pine, with small brown-water bog lakes scattered across the surface. The bog is genuinely dangerous underfoot in places – the wet hollows and pond edges will not hold your weight – so stay on the established tracks and off the open bog. The Bangor Trail runs along the eastern edge of the bog complex if you want a longer, rougher walk.
For wildlife, the bog is a stronghold for Greenland white-fronted geese, and you may see golden plover, red grouse and otter along the river and its banks. Wild Nephin is also a Gold Tier International Dark Sky Park, one of the darkest places in the country, so if you are staying over, the stargazing on a clear night is exceptional.
Getting there
The lower river and Srahnamanragh Bridge are reached on the R313 from Ballycroy. This is remote north Mayo: bring what you need, because there is little in the way of services once you leave the village.
The Wild Nephin National Park visitor centre in Ballycroy (opened in 2009) has maps, ecological displays and information on the Mayo Dark Sky Park. Opening months vary by season – it is generally open spring to autumn – so check before making a special trip in winter.
Before you go
- The blanket bog is an internationally important carbon store and a fragile habitat. Keep to marked paths.
- Atlantic weather turns fast. Pack waterproofs, boots with ankle support, and a headtorch if you are out late in autumn or winter.
- Fishery permits sell out before the season opens; book summer dates two to three months ahead.
If you are not fishing, the honest answer is that the Owenduff is a place to walk and be alone rather than a place with things laid on for visitors. Time it for a day after heavy rain, when the river is up and loud, and it makes a great deal more sense.