FISHING THE BEARA

The Beara is one of Irelands great peninsulas. Situated in the South West of the Country it is flanked to the north by the Ring of Kerry and the Dingle Peninsula and to the South by the Sheeps Head Peninsula and Mizen Head.
Despite its proximity to these well known fishing venues the Beara was pretty much ignored except by a few enterprising fishermen who had discovered its secrets and were keeping it very much to themselves. Dismissed for many years as 'just an outcrop of rock with shallow water', as it was once described to top UK angler Alan Yates, it is only in the last few years that its true fishing potential has started to be realised.
Far from shallow water it is deep water that is a major feature of the Beara and this means fish can be caught a lot closer in, at many stages of the tide and even in bright sunny weather. Those species that normally seek the sanctuary of dark such as huss, conger and ray are regularly caught from the depths where the light struggles to penetrate.
Be guided by your mood or the weather but within a relatively short distance you can be spinning for pollack, fly fishing for bass, float fishing for a trigger or wrasse, drifting a piece of bread for a mullet, using a fillet of mackerel for a huss or a sandeel for a ray - in fact on one of the marks I have achieved five of these species and it was only five minutes walk from the car.
The capital of the Beara Peninsula is Castletownberehaven which is the second largest white fish port in Ireland. Despite this association with fish few locals can be found fishing except with feathers when the mackerel are in. As a result of this there was little information on where to fish on the Beara and even though the last six years have seen us on a voyage of discovery there is little doubt that there are many, many marks which have yet to see a rod and line.
For those who would like time afloat during their visit there is a fully licensed charter boat operating out of Castletownbere, The Tigger. details can be found on the links page.
If you are thinking of bringing your own boat there are plenty of free, easily accesible slipways around the Beara and I have yet to see anyone fishing from a kayak but the potential is immense.