Lough Corrib cheat sheet

Every fish, the licence and the rules, the rigs and the box of tackle. One page to take to the water.

Fishing Dan · cheat sheet

Lough Corrib

Every fish, the licence and the rules, the rigs and the box of tackle. One page to take to the water.

By Dan · read the full guide

Checked 5 June 2026

fishingdan.com/spots/lough-corrib

What's on

Brown trout 15 Feb – 30 Sep

Pike all year

Perch all year

Salmon in season (licence)

Peak In season Slow Closed (law)▎This month

Trout 15 Feb to 30 Sep, the mayfly about 5 May to early June. Pike all year, best autumn to spring. Perch through the open-water months.

Licence

Trout, pike and perch: free, no licence, no permit. Salmon: a state licence (€100/yr all districts, €10 juvenile, 2026) from Inland Fisheries Ireland, only if you target salmon. Confirm the current rules before you travel.

The byelaws

Trout: 4 a day, no more than one over 10 lb (4.5 kg), 33 cm (13 in) minimum. Pike (Bye-law 809): 1 a day and only under 50 cm; release any over 50 cm. Perch and roach: no limit. Clean and dry your kit between waters.

Release / handle with care

Most anglers release Corrib trout and pike to keep the fishery wild. Wet hands, unhook in the water or a wet sling, return bigger fish carefully. Salmon follow the licence and the annual conservation rules.

Bank vs boat · season · time → rig

Fish	From the shore	From a boat	Best conditions	Rig / method
Brown trout	No (a long-rod margin chance at best)	Yes, the proper method	A fresh "trout ripple" breeze; the mayfly weeks; morning and evening	Wet-fly team on a drift, dapping, or the dry fly to a rise
Pike	Yes, the bays and reed margins	Yes, the weedy bays (Annaghdown)	Autumn to spring; low light	Pike rig (lure or deadbait on a trace)
Perch	Yes, the quays and margins	Yes	First and last light, but fine through the day	Drop shot or float and worm
Salmon	Limited	Yes, the lower lake	The salmon season and run	Trolling or fly (book a gillie); licence required

Shore only is a pike-and-perch trip around the quays and bays (good for pike in autumn). For the trout and the mayfly, get on a boat and take a gillie for a first visit.

The rigs

Wet fly / nymph

Fly line → tapered leader → a team of two or three wet flies on droppers, cast across the drift and worked back

Leader / tippet knots on the rig page

Dry fly

Floating line → tapered leader → a single dry fly to a rise, or a long rod and floss line to dap the mayfly

Leader / tippet knots on the rig page

Pike rig

Wire or heavy fluoro trace → big soft shad or spoon (lure), or a roach deadbait under a float or ledgered (bait)

Knots on the rig page

Drop shot

Braid → fluoro leader → small soft lure on a hook in-line, weight on the tag (5–14 g); or a worm under a float

Knots on the rig page

What you need

Rod & reel

Fly rod and reel 9 – 10 ft (2.7 – 3.0 m), #6 – #7 weight, with a floating line

Dapping rod (optional) a long rod, 12 – 17 ft (3.6 – 5.2 m), with a floss/blow line

Spinning rod and reel 2.1 – 2.7 m rod, 2500 – 4000 reel

Lines & leaders

Fly leader and tippet a tapered leader to about 4 – 6 lb tippet

Dropper line short droppers for a two- or three-fly team

Spinning main line braid (≈0.14 – 0.20 mm) or 8 – 12 lb mono

Pike trace a wire trace, or 0.50 – 0.90 mm heavy fluorocarbon

Terminal tackle

Hooks (perch / bait) #4 to #8

Drop-shot weights 5 – 14 g

Jigheads 5 – 15 g

Swivels small, plus larger for the pike trace

Floats a sliding float and stops; a pike float for deadbait

Flies, lures & bait

Wet flies a Corrib team: Sooty Olive, Bibio, Green Peter, Invicta, Dabbler patterns, sizes 10 – 12

Mayfly patterns dapping mayfly and dry mayfly (Grey Wulff, Green Drake), and the natural mayfly when you can gather it

Dries and emergers olive and sedge patterns, sizes 12 – 16

Soft lures 2 – 4" shads, natural and perch tones

Big lures / deadbait a large soft shad or spoon; roach for deadbait

Bait (optional) worm or maggot for perch

Other kit

Landing net, forceps and unhooking mat a boat-friendly net, long-nosed forceps and a mat for pike

Polarised glasses, lifejacket and waterproofs polarised glasses to read the shoals and spot the rise; a lifejacket; warm, waterproof layers (Corrib weather turns fast)

Drogue (optional) to steady the boat on a fast drift

A fly outfit (and a long dapping rod for the mayfly) covers the trout. One spinning outfit and a wire trace covers the pike and perch.

The knots

Knot	Ties	Used by
Improved clinch	Ties the fly to the tippet.	The fly rigs
Surgeon's knot	Joins leader to tippet, and droppers.	The wet-fly team
Perfection loop	A neat loop in the leader butt.	Leader to fly line

The fly rigs use the improved clinch, the surgeon's knot, the blood knot and the perfection loop. Wet every knot before you pull it tight. The pike rig and drop shot carry their own knots from their pages.

Want the trout and the mayfly? You need a boat, and for a first visit a gillie. Book directly (Camillaun Lodge, Currarevagh House, or the IFI boat-hire directory). See boat hire and gillies in the full guide →

Fishing Dan · fishingdan.com/spots/lough-corrib · Last checked 5 June 2026 · Confirm licences, seasons and boat hire with the authorities named in the full guide before you travel.

The printable

This one page is the printable I take to the water.

Give me an email and I will show it to you, ready to print. A one-page reference: what's on by month, the licence and rules, a rig for every fish, the shared tackle box and the knots.

I'll send you the cheat sheet, and email you when I add a new place to fish. Nothing else.