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Fishing in Ardara
What can I fish there ?Join our 58 fishermen in Ardara in County Donegal. The fishing forecast is currently 4.9. The most caught fishes here are the striped bass, the lahontan cutthroat trout, the westlope cutthroat trout and the king mackerel. Come try the most famous fishing techniques like the pollack fishing with soft lure, plug-drift fishing for sea bream, boat fishing for eel or tips on material to catch bass on plug from the shore.
Most caught fish species in Ardara Top species caught by Club members
Top species caught by Club members
N°1 | The Striped Bass
The Striped Bass belongs to the Moronidae family. It can weigh between 4 and 23 kg and size 46 to 140 cm. He can live up to 20 years. It spawns from April to mid-June. It can be fished from May to November. The striped bass has a laterally compressed body, a large terminal mouth, distinct dorsal fins and six to nine continuous lateral bands on both sides of its body. The second anal spine is shorter and thicker than the third anal spine. Striped bass tend to be pale green, olive, steel blue, black or brown on their back, with an iridescent white or silvery belly. Individuals over 25 years of age have been recorded and sexual maturity is reached between 2 and 4 years for men and between 5 and 8 years for women.
Fishing period : May to November
Minimum size : 70 cm
Difficulty : 
N°2 | Bitterling Fish
The Bitterling fish is a freshwater fish and belongs to the Cyprinidae family. Its scientific name is Rhodeus Amarus. The current size of the bitterling fish is 5-6 cm. Some individuals can reach a maximum height of 11 cm and a weight of 10 g. This species is one of the smallest Cyprinid in Europe. It lives on average from 2 to 3 years. The spawning period is between April and June. It lays 40 to 100 oocytes. This fish is easy to catch due to its small size. The bitterling is a small fish whose body is high and laterally compressed. The lateral line is short or incomplete. The scales on the back have a grey-green coloring. The sides are clear with silvery reflections. During the breeding period the silver coloration changes to a pink to bright red color with a dark blue sideband. Sexual dimorphism occurs between the male and female during reproduction. A 5 to 8 mm laying tube (ovipositor) develops in the female, which allows her to lay her eggs in the gill cavity of freshwater mussels. The male has a higher body than the female and its colors become brighter during the breeding season. The bitterling fish's eyes are quite large. Its mouth is small, oblique and the upper jaw protrudes beyond the lower jaw. The anal and dorsal fins have a short base and 8 to 10 branched rays.
Fishing period : prohibited all year
Minimum size : not available
Difficulty :
N°3 | Bleak Fish
The Bleak fish is a Cyprinidae. In general, its average size is 10 to 15 cm and its weight is 15 to 50 g. However, some individuals can reach up to 60 g for a size of 25 cm. The bleak has a lifespan of 6-7 years. The spawning period is between April and August. It can lay up to 7000 spawns. You can fish bleak from June to September. This fish swims quite fast and offers a little resistance during the catch. The bleak is a fish with an elongated body that is very compressed laterally, allowing it to have a high velocity. The upper jaw is shorter than the lower jaw. The mouth of the bleak is oriented upwards (above), a typical character of fish that seek their food on the surface. The caudal fin is strongly indented and the caudal peduncle is thin. The dorsal fin is inserted behind the pelvic fins and has a shorter base than the dorsal fin. Its name refers to the bright white color of its scales, which gives the bleak a metallic sheen. Its back is darker greenish-blue, its sides are silvery white and its fins are pale grey. During the breeding season, nuptial tubers appear on the backs and sides of males and their fins become orange.
Fishing period : June to September
Minimum size : 10 cm
Difficulty :
N°4 | Marlin
Marlin is a fish from a large family called Istiophoridae, which includes about 10 species. The most popular species include the blue marlin (makaira nigricans), the striped marlin (kajikia audax), the white marlin (kajikia albidus) and the black marlin (istiompax indica).
Fishing period : All the year
Minimum size : 40 inches
Difficulty :
N°5 | Striped bass
Striped bass (morone saxatilis) is a fish of the Moronidae family found along the Atlantic coast of North America.
Fishing period : All the year
Minimum size : 28 inches
Difficulty :
N°6 | Swordfish
Swordfish (xiphias gladius) is a highly migratory pelagic fish considered as one of the fastest sea animals. It tends to be large and its weight often exceeds 100 kg. It can be distinguished thanks to its long bill and its iridescent blue body. Most of sport fishermen feel really proud to catch swordfishes on their lines.
Fishing period : June to October
Minimum size : 47 inches
Difficulty :
N°7 | The Almaco Jack
The Almaco Jack belongs to the Carangidae family. Its adult size varies from 80 cm to 120 cm. They reproduce in spring. It can be fished all year round. It has two dorsal fins, the longer of the two is about twice as long as the longer of the dorsal spines. It has a pale blue-green color, with a lavender glow. The Almaco Jack has a short upper jaw, with a yellowish streak from the jaw to the first dorsal fin, but its color becomes less recognizable as the fish ages. Younger almaco jacks usually have six black bars on the sides. The mouth is protractile and allows it to swallow its entire prey.
Fishing period : All year
Minimum size : no restriction
Difficulty :
N°8 | The American Eel
The American Eel belongs to the Anguillidae family. The size of the adult female can reach 1 m in length, while that of the male does not exceed 40 cm. Spawning takes place in mid-winter. Females lay 3 to 22 million eggs. He can live to be 50 years old. It can be fished from April to September. The American eel is a species of fish with a snake-like body all in length with fins that extend over its back, around its tail and along its inner surface. It has thick lips and a slightly longer lower jaw than her upper jaw, which gives her the appearance of having an overbite. The color of young eels varies from yellow-green or brown. Adult eels are grey with white or cream bellies.
Fishing period : April to September
Minimum size : 50 cm
Difficulty :
N°9 | The Apache trout
The Apache trout belongs to the Salmonidae family. The Apache trout is 15 to 61 cm long and weighs 0.2 to 2.7 kg. It rarely exceeds 25 cm but can reach up to 40 cm in its natural headwaters. It breeds from May to June. Fishing for Apache trout is prohibited all year round. Apache trout are yellowish gold in color with a golden belly and have medium sized dark spots, uniformly spaced, which can extend below the lateral line and over the dorsal fins and tail. The top of the head and back are dark olive in color, and it appears to have a black stripe/mask through each of its eyes, thanks to two small black dots on each side of the pupil. There may be a throat mark under the lower jaw, ranging from yellow to gold.
Fishing period :
Minimum size :
Difficulty :
N°10 | The Atlantic Sharpnose Shark
The Atlantic Sharpnose Shark belongs to the Carcharhinidae family. The average size of the Atlantic Sharpnose Shark is 90 to 99 cm. Their maximum size is 120 cm. In captivity it can live up to 4 years. The young are usually born in June. The Atlantic Sharpnose Shark can be fished all year round. The Atlantic Sharpnose Shark has a long snout and labial furrows that surround its mouth. The triangular teeth with smooth edges are identical on the upper and lower jaws. The livery of the Atlantic Sharpnose Shark can be brown, olive grey or blue grey, turning white on its belly. Adults may have some white spots, and in smaller individuals the edges of the dorsal fins and caudal fin are often black.
Fishing period : All year
Minimum size : no restriction
Difficulty :
N°11 | The Atlantic salmon
The Atlantic salmon belongs to the Salmonidae family. Atlantic salmon can measure up to 1.50 m in length and weigh up to 36 kg. The average longevity of Atlantic salmon is estimated at 10 years. It breeds from October to November. The female lays 1500 to 1800 eggs per kg of weight. It can be fished all year round. Atlantic salmon have an elongated and slender body. The anal fin has eight to eleven rays. The caudal is large, concave in adults and forked in young people. The head is small and flattened on top. The mouth is large (split to the posterior edge of the eye) and has strong teeth on the jaws, tongue and palate. The scales are large and visible. The lateral line is straight. Large black dots on a light background form X on the head, back and dorsal fin. The color varies from blue to blue-grey on the back, it is silvery on the sides. It varies during the spawning season, with adults turning bronze to dark brown. They lose their silvery livery when they enter fresh water. Males are marked with red dots on the sides. The young are marked with seven to eleven vertical fingerprints that they will lose when they enter the sea. As spawning approaches, the male's head will change: it will elongate, the lower jaw will develop and bend to form a hook (male "becard").
Fishing period : All year
Minimum size : 50 cm
Difficulty :
N°12 | The Banded Rudderfish
The Banded Rudderfish belongs to the Carangidae family. Their adult size is 50 cm for 2 kg. They can live for 17 years. They can be fished all year. The banded rudderfish is similar in appearance to the other amberjack fishes, but smaller than most others. It has a relatively thin but deep body with a forked boomerang tail. This semi-profiled shape indicates that it is a fast swimmer. The body is light in color with a slight amber or gold band on the sides, extending from eye to tail. Younger banded rudderfish have six black bars on their bodies and a black band that extends from the eye to the first dorsal fin; they retain this pattern strongly until they reach 27 to 35 cm long, when the stripes begin to fade. The larger fish have no bars; they are generally brownish or greenish, with the dorsal side darker than the belly. This species can be distinguished from other amberjacks in several ways. Other young amberjacks have a striped pattern similar to the young banded rudderfish, but the latter begin to lose their pattern when they are several centimeters taller than those of other young amberjacks. Moreover, unlike other amberjacks, the banded saffron is white at the end of its tail. Eight spines in its first dorsal fin and 34 & 39 rays in its second dorsal fin are characteristic of banded fish, while other amberjacks generally have less than 34 rays in their second dorsal fins. The young banded rudderfish also closely resembles the pilot fish. However, the other amberjack
Fishing period : All year
Minimum size : no restriction
Difficulty :
Ardara - Fishing techniques Top fishing techniques
Top fishing techniques
N°1 | Pollack Fishing with soft lure
Fishing with soft lures is one of the most common fishing techniques used to catch Pollack in a variety of conditions and locations.
N°2 | Plug-drift fishing for sea bream
This technique, whether practiced by boat or kayak, consists in letting yourself drift with a fairly simple setting consisting of a plug, a leaded wire with one or more hooks.
N°3 | Boat fishing for Eel
With its elongated silhouette like that of a snake and its smooth, viscous body, it is difficult to grasp the eel that moves easily in every corner. It is thanks to the secretion of a thick mucus that it can capture ambient oxygen to evolve on the ground and travel, out of the water, several hundred meters.
N°4 | Tips on material to catch bass on plug from the shore
For each category of equipment, the items (four per category) will be classified from the cheapest to the most expensive. What we propose here is only a suggestion, you are free to use the material you want. Some parts of the equipment (weights, hooks, etc...) will not be mentioned in this article.
N°5 | Slabbing the bass
Intrigued and attracted by vibrations, the bass rarely resists the technique of slabbing. Subjugated by noise, shapes and colors: lures are extremely effective on this famous predator. This very active fishing consists, as its name suggests, in constantly launching and bringing back lures to deceive its prey while exploring the different heights of the water column. It requires a solid knowledge of the subject and equipment that is just as reliable!
N°6 | Trap fishing for lobster
A crustacean whose reputation is well established; lobsters enjoy an incredible reputation thanks to their succulent flesh. Located in its claws and abdomen, its edible parts represent only 30% of its weight. Nevertheless, lobster is highly prized by all, and has long been the subject of great covetousness and an ancestral fishery: that of the trap.
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