Sheelin went through lean years when pollution compromised it, and the recovery since has been the real story here — worth knowing before writing the place off on an old reputation. Mayfly from the middle of May fishes well, and the lough is at its best from late April through June, when olives and mayfly between them carry the season. Good boat fishing whenever the breeze cooperates.
Duckfly opens the season, running from around 15 April and peaking about the 25th into early May across the productive bays and shore drifts; a spring lake-olive hatch can start as early as April and typically peaks in early May, from Rusheen Bay through Derrahorn. Large mayfly usually gets going with first flies between 7 and 12 May, fishing well by day and evening into early June, and Caenis hatch heavily through June and July with the best sport typically found 05:00-07:30 in calm, mild conditions. Sedges, including the Green Peter and Murrough among them, build from mid-June and continue into autumn, though timing that late in the year remains subject to the legal season.
- Surface area
- 18.2 km² (4,487 acres)
- Mean depth
- 4.4 m (14 ft)
- Area: EPA Ireland (CC BY 4.0). Mean depth: Inland Fisheries Ireland.
- Lough system
- Limestone