Coarse & Pike Angling: Not sold online but is easily accessible at little cost - please see information below for details.

Coarse fishing in Donegal is mainly confined to the south of the county where you will find a number of loughs that contain mainly Pike, Rudd & Perch. The most easily accessible coarse angling venue in south Donegal is Assaroe Lake at Ballyshannon.

Assaroe Lake is a 578-acre reservoir behind the Cathleen Falls Hydro-electricity Dam on the Erne River at Ballyshannon. The lake is controlled by the Electricity Supply Board (ESB). Shore angling is only allowed from the northern shore and around the Lakeside Centre on the southern shore. Boat angling is allowed, although anglers should exercise caution as the lake can be dangerous to navigate in some areas due to rocks. Assaroe is home to large shoals of big bream, good hybrids, perch and roach to well over 2lbs and contains some very big pike and the odd good trout. The lake is a very promising coarse fishery and to date has been very much overlooked. It is very lightly fished and 100lb plus bags of bream are a distinct possibility especially with pre baiting. The roach fishing can also be very good with good bags of fish possible to ledgering or float fishing tactics.

Season:
The Trout is from 1st March to 30th September inclusive and there is no close season for coarse fish.

Permit availability: These are not sold through this website but are readily available through local outlets listed below. Feel free to book our local listed accommodation – they can give you guidance on how to access this fishery.

1. Season Permit:
€50 Adult season,
€25 ‘Old Age Pension’ season permit.

2. Weekly Permit:
€20 adult week permit,
€10 OAP weekly permit.

3. Day Permit:
€5 adult day permit.
Permits are available from:
• O’Neill’s Newsagents, Bridgend, Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal.
Tel: +353 (0) 71 9851159.
• Carty's Land & Sea Sports, West End, Bundoran, Co. Donegal Tel: 00353 (0)86 3903655.
• ESB Generating Station, Cathleen’s Falls, Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal. Tel: 00353 (0)71 9851200.
4. Boat Permit:
To launch a boat on the fishery you will require a season boat permit at €60 - only available at the local Electricity Supply Board (ESB) station in Ballyshannon – anyone can give you directions.

Guiding Services:
Guide services are available on the lake. Contact: North West Anglers. Mob: 00353 (0)87 6001928 or 00353 (0)86 3748171.