Lough Arrow 3.08

Lough Arrow is a freshwater lake in the northwest of Ireland. This large, scenic lake covers an area of 12.47km2 and lies mostly in County Sligo with a smaller part in County Roscommon. It is a popular trout fishing lake.GeographyLough Arrow lies mostly in south County Sligo about 24km southeast of Sligo and 6km northwest of Boyle. The Bricklieve Mountains rise west of the lake.Lough Arrow is about 6km long from north to south and 2km wide. The lake has four islands: Annaghgowla, Inishmore, Inishbeg and Muck.HydrologyLough Arrow is a mesotrophic lake. It is fed mainly by springs but also by a number of streams entering on the lake's western and southern sides. The lake drains north into the Unshin River. The mean lake depth is 9m with a maximum depth of 33m.Natural historyFish present in Lough Arrow include brown trout, perch, roach, three-spined stickleback, pike, rudd, bream and the critically endangered European eel. A number of duck species winter at the lake including mallard, wigeon, teal, red-breasted merganser, tufted duck, pochard and goldeneye. Other bird species found at the lake include great crested grebe, little grebe, cormorant and mute swan.