Lanesboro was the first place
I ever stayed at on my first visit to the Emerald Isle way back in 1969,
at that time the bridge across the Shannon was partly concrete on the
Longford side, on the other side it was a Bailey Bridge, due to the fact
that a difference of opinion existed between the counties of Longford
and Roscommon! I returned again in 1973 when, with Ray Webb (who some
of the older anglers will remember) and a group of anglers from the East
End of London, we diverted the flow from the power station outlet, up
what is now known as, "The Hot Water Stretch" prior to this the hot water
flowed out directly across to the main river. Much sweat for three days
was involved, transporting tons of rocks in rowing boats but we eventually
did the job. It had an immediate effect, and we were all catching Tench
and Bream from the word go.
Lanesboro is a small town situated mid way between Longford and Roscommon,
it is one of the earliest venues discovered by English anglers and has
a richly deserved reputation for hospitality to its angling visitors.
Over the years the town has not grown very much but certainly the businesses
that occupy the town have. Back in the seventies the town had virtually
nowhere to eat apart from the couple of B&B's that existed at the
time, it now boasts a couple of restaurants and a fairly well stocked
tackle shop, there is also a very good marine chandlers and a tourism
office.
The main reason anglers come back again and again to Lanesboro is the
attraction of the hot water stretch, although these days it can be a bit
like fishing on Southend Pier when the fish are on the go. This part of
the fishing is at its best from mid April through to June, after that
the fish can be hard to find.
One of my favorite places to fish is in the mouth of the cut, if you stand
on the bridge, looking downstream, you will see it about a mile down the
Lough, as you approach the cut there is a small bay just to the left of
it, I have had some enormous bags of Bream here in years gone by, of course,
you will have to hire a boat for a couple of days to do it justice, pre
baiting is a must, for I am sure it is not fished much these days, most
anglers are all up to their necks in "Hot Water"! Incidentally, when the
main attraction is overcrowded try the opposite bank, where the boat channel
is, you may get a very pleasant surprise!!!
Night life in the town is very well catered for, with live music in the
pubs and good "Craic" to had generally, you will undoubtedly enjoy your
visit to this venue, you will discover why many of the anglers you will
meet return year after year.
During the course of 1999 an extension to the concrete embankment has
been made on the downstream side of the bridge, extending all the way
round to the harbour, this has resulted in a rather nice promenade walk
and a pleasant picnic area, not much good for angling though!! 1999 has
been a bad year for the fishing at Lanesboro, the fish have been there
but they have not been feeding, this is a mystery that needs investigation
by the powers that be, it would also be great if the stretch could be
dredged as it's getting shallower all the time, money spent on putting
things to right will pay dividends in increased tourism for the future..
Link to Lanesboro The Venue
