The River Suir is a wild brown trout river of genuine international standing, and the water at Cahir is among the best of it. This is not a stocked fishery dressed up as a wild one. It is a limestone river with a heavy fly life and a large head of wild fish, and it is fished accordingly.
Who controls the water
Cahir and District Anglers Association has been going for over eighty years and holds more than twelve miles of water on the Suir and the River Aherlow. That is a substantial stretch by any standard, and the club describes itself, with reasonable cause, as a regional centre of excellence for brown trout fishing.
The club water runs through and beyond the town. The stretch that matters most to visitors is the one below Cahir, from around the Swiss Cottage down to Garnavilla Ford.
The rules that catch people out
The trout water at Cahir is fly only. Spinning and bait fishing for trout on this stretch is not permitted. Visitors turn up not knowing this more often than any other rule on the river.
Salmon permits are a different matter and allow the legal methods you would expect, fly, spin and lure.
The season for both salmon and trout in the Suir catchment runs from 17 March to 30 September. Outside those dates there is no fishing, and the closed season is strictly observed.
Permits
You need a club permit for the club water, and a separate State salmon licence if you are fishing for salmon. Permits are sold in the town, and the club's permits page is the place to check what is currently available, what it costs and where to buy it, because those details change season to season.
Get the permit before you fish, not after you are asked for it. This is a well-warded river.
The fishing itself
The Suir here is classic upstream dry fly and nymph water: streamy runs, long glides and deep pools, wadeable in many places and best fished carefully. The trout are wild, educated and not enormous, and the pleasure is in the fishing rather than the size of the fish. Evening rises in summer are the thing to plan around.
The Aherlow, which the club also holds, is a smaller and more intimate river and is worth a day if the Suir is high.
Practical
Cahir is a good base for a fishing trip because everything is close. Bed and breakfast in Cahir and self catering in Cahir are the usual choices, and camping near Cahir works in summer. The pubs and the restaurants cover the evening.
If the water is unfishable, walking near Cahir and things to do in Cahir cover the alternatives.
Before you travel
Water levels, permit arrangements and local rules all change, and a wet fortnight can put the river out entirely. Contact the club before you commit to a trip rather than after you arrive.