Cork Blackwater

The cork blackwater

The Munster Blackwater is Ireland’s third largest river.  It rises in the mountains of East Kerry, flowing eastwards for 170 km through Counties Cork and Waterford until it enters the sea at Youghal in East Cork.  It has a catchment area of more than  3,324 square kilometres.  It’s also an extremely beautiful river and has well deserved the title “the Irish Rhine”.  

As a large mature river, it is not subject to the whims of the weather, like a typical spate river, and consequently can provide excellent fishing even in low water. It has extensive tidal reaches, stretching for approximately 20 miles from the estuary mouth at Youghal to Lismore.  This provides a unique haven for salmon and seatrout in low water  conditions when they are waiting to run the main river. The best of the salmon fishing is to be found between the tidal limit just below the bridge at Lismore and up as far as Mallow (approximately 45 river miles upstream). Below Fermoy, there is an excellent mixture of fly runs, glides and deeper pools. The fish can run unhindered through the lower river until they encounter the weir at Clondulane. 

Compared to most other Irish rivers (notably the Moy)  the fishing pressure is very light.  Nevertheless, it is estimated to yield an average of  between 5,000 - 6,000 salmon to the rods each year. It was declared Ireland's most prolific salmon river in 1998. Statistics issued by the Central & Southern Regional Fisheries Boards confirm that the Cork Blackwater had the highest rod catch of salmon of all Irish rivers that year. The total was a staggering 8,063 - over 35% higher than the Moy. It was reputedly the third highest of all the rivers in the North Atlantic (Canada, Iceland, UK, Norway etc.) - beaten only by two rivers on the Kola Peninsula in Russia.