Arctic char are probably Ireland's most underrated and least well known
native sport angling species.   Even though they are one of only a handful
of indigenous species to Ireland and are closely related to the salmon and
trout, both very popular with anglers, they remain a mystery to most Irish
people.  Ask anybody you know in Ireland (excluding fishery biologists
and some of the angling fraternity), what is an Arctic char and the answer
will most likely surprise you, if you get one at all.  In fact the species is not
even listed within the Irish Specimen Year Book (a annual record of trophy
sized fish and records).  In some quarters the traditional view has been that angling for this species (long recognised as being vulnerable to extinction) was likely to put it in danger.  Such opinions, although noble and sometimes warranted, have little relevance in an Irish context.  There are no documented cases of negative effects of angling for char on any Irish char population.  In lakes where they do occur, recent surveys by fishery authorities have shown that they are present in very large numbers and there is no reason to see why they could not sustain controlled angling pressure as in other European countries, as in Lake Windermere in the English Lake District.

In fact many other problems or potential problems have been noted in Irish char lakes, which could have a much greater impact on the species, e.g., acidification, eutrophication, abstraction of lake shore gravels, afforestation, stocking with non-indigenous species, water abstraction, sedimentation pollution.

Therefore one of the principal methods to achieve the objective of char conservation in Ireland, is to promote angling for the species. Anglers have made a very important contribution with regard to protection of our lakes and rivers from pollution, and continue to put pressure at a local and European level. Not only would anglers provide an important lobby for the protection of char, but also enable monitoring of the species through creel census data.

Angling for char in its own right is an enjoyable sport and many of our corespondents from the international community can vouch for the value of the species. With this in mind we have provided a table of lakes where char have been caught by rod and line in the past (mostly borrowed from information supplied by the great Arthur Went with a few updates). Where possible details of fishing method are provided. Furthermore, Myles Kelly hs distilled correspondence he has received from our regular contributors (thanks to all!) and has presented the information on fly fishing in a practical format for people to try. We are enclosing a form which we encourage people to fill if they do take up the challenge, so we can update our data base and provide useful information to all.

What they said about our char!

'a most delicate fish.'        
Camden G.W. (1789)on. L.Eske char

'The lough abounds with a most excellent kind of fish called char.'    
Seward (1795)

'Among other new sensations I had the pleasure of catching my first char in a fine sheet of water known as Gort Glas, which in english means, Green Lake.'
John Bikerdyke (1897) Wild sports of Ireland

'But the beauty of the lake is the red trout or char.'

'The red trout is, however, by far the best eating of all the lake breed.'                      
Yarrell (1841) on Melvin char

'...and charr which deemed & excellent fish, pleasant to its taste, beautiful to ye eye.'
Cromwellian Civil Survey (1656)

'The char. We have these beautiful fish gold and silver...'                    
O'Gorman (1845)

'...the flesh of the char is red and curdy as a salmon and eats more delicious than any trout.'
Smith (1774)