Flyfishing on Ireland's River Moy

The Moy rises rises in the Ox Mountains of County Sligo, northwest Ireland, and flows south-west into County Mayo before turning north near Kilmore and heading through Ballina and thence into Killala Bay. The Moy is one of the best salmon fishing rivers in Europe, with a ten-year average catch of more than 7000 salmon per year. The weir at Ballina tends to trap fish in the Ridge Pool and to a lesser extent the adjacent Cathederal Pool, both in the town of Ballina, and a high proportion of the rod-caught fish on the Moy come from this area. Foxford, further upstream, is another wll-known salmon mecca.

The famous Ridge Pool on the River Moy in Balina

Salmon and sea trout fishing
The Moy at Balina can be covered easily with a 15 ft rod. the main channel is deep and in all but low water a sink tip or even a fast-sinking line will be advantageous. Sea trout run the Moy, mainly towartds the second half of the season, and most of them are in the 1 to 2 lb region, with a sprinkling of four pounders and the occasional bigger fish.

Salmon fishing on the Moy at Foxford

Popular flies for this river include the locally-devised patterns Ballina Grey and Foxford Shrimp, but an Ally’s Shrimp or a Gary Dog would probably be well worth a try.

If you are new to salmon fishing our introductory Guide to Salmon and Sea Trout Fishing is available online, and of course we recommend it unreservedly if not altogether impartially!

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