Lagan Navigation

Broadwater Canal is the Lagan Navigation fishery near Aghalee and Moira, sitting within the old, derelict canal system that historically ran between Belfast and Lough Neagh. The Broadwater itself once worked as a balancing lake and passing area on the navigation. These days it’s managed as part of the DAERA Public Angling Estate, giving anglers a handy stretch of canal water to explore.

• 1 lake: Broadwater Canal
• Fish: pike, perch, bream, roach, tench, rudd
• Find it: Lisburn · BT67 0DA

Based on how each lake is set up — not a ranking.

Broadwater Canal is the Lagan Navigation fishery near Aghalee and Moira, sitting within the old, derelict canal system that historically ran between Belfast and Lough Neagh. The Broadwater itself once worked as a balancing lake and passing area on the navigation. These days it’s managed as part of the DAERA Public Angling Estate, giving anglers a handy stretch of canal water to explore.

The fishery runs for roughly 1.5 kilometres and is classed as a coarse fishery. There’s a decent spread of species listed, too: pike, perch, bream, roach, hybrids, rudd and tench. So it’s not just a one-trick predator venue. You can plan a pike session, pack a float rod, or take a feeder outfit and see what the swim serves up.

Pike are the big draw, with the canal particularly noted for winter pike angling. That makes the colder months a proper time to get the lure or deadbait kit out and go looking. Keep things simple on a new water: walk a few likely areas, watch for signs of fish, and don’t be afraid to move if a swim looks lifeless. Bring unhooking kit, forceps and a suitable mat, and make fish care the priority.

There’s also an early-season tench angle, which is a cheeky option when the weather starts to warm. A float setup or light feeder gear gives you a flexible way into the mixed coarse fishing, with bream, roach, hybrids, rudd and perch all listed alongside tench. The best starting point is to ask the bailiff or current fishery contact what methods and areas have been producing, then keep your first session mobile rather than piling in loads of bait.

Access is helped by onsite car parking and a tarmac path running along the length of the watercourse. The car park is just after the humpback bridge on the B105 near Soldierstown, approached from the M1 junction 9 at Moira roundabout. Take care when leaving, as road visibility is limited. There are no fishing stands listed, and no disabled-accessible stands are listed either, so check the route and banks before committing to a swim.

A few rules and safety points are well worth sorting before you clip up. Fishing is open all year, from 1 January through 31 December, and all lawful fishing methods are permitted. Anglers aged 12 and over need the appropriate DAERA coarse or game rod licence and fishing permit. Boats aren’t permitted, and floating vegetation can’t support an angler’s weight, so stick to firm ground and don’t try to reach spots by stepping across it. Check the current DAERA information for the right licence, permit or day-ticket arrangements, plus the retention rules: one pike up to 4kg and four coarse fish up to 25cm may be retained, while bigger fish must be returned.

We're not sure on ticket prices for this one — check with the club or local regulations before you leave.

Good background reading. Most of it is a few years old, so treat it as a starting point and ask on the day.

Videos linked by the fishery

• Our read

  Checked Sept '26 — “Broadwater Canal near Aghalee and Moira is a 1.5-kilometre DAERA Public Angling Estate coarse fishery, with year-round fishing and a proper winter pike reputation. Early-season tench are another big draw.”

This is our own summary of recurring public feedback and the venue details we checked, not a copied customer review or a promise you’ll catch. Feedback changes, so we keep it separate from the Tackle Index score.