Spate · Granite · West / Connemara, IE

Ballynahinch / Lough Inagh

A small stone fishing hut and moored boat beside a lake on the Ballynahinch Fishery estate, Connemara, with the mountain Benlettery in the background
Prime · Atlantic Salmon
Silver Badger · 8-10
Primelive now
Prime conditions — go now
River high but settled. Heavy water — fish big and slow.
75% confidence
What moved it
  • LevelProxyvia Erriff
  • Water temp13.6°C
  • ClaritySlightly colouredClearing
Today's fly
SB
Silver Badger8-10
From the river-specific salmon pack.
Conditions on the water
Proxy gauge
Level
Falling
Proxy
via Erriff
Water temp13.6°C
ClaritySlightly coloured
Weather13°C
WindSE 32 km/h
Pressure1013 hPa
Rain · recent15.9 mm
Rain · ahead12.6 mm

No gauge on this water — conditions are inferred from Erriff. The trend transfers, the absolute level does not.

Water temperature for Atlantic Salmon
Ideal
14°C est.ideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Atlantic Salmon
When
Spring from March; grilse build through June and July. The Ballynahinch / Lough Inagh system fishes both river and lough drifts. Spate-responsive on the river, settled-wind for the lough.
Where
Ballynahinch Castle beats and the loughs upstream — Inagh and Derryclare. Named pools on the river; drift lines along the shore margins on the loughs.
Method
Small doubles 10 to 12 across-and-down on a floating line; small tubes on a sink-tip in spring water. Catch-and-release encouraged across most Irish salmon water.
Kit
10 ft #7 single-hander on the smaller spate rivers; 11 ft switch where the river opens out. Floating line plus light sink-tip. 10 to 12 lb fluoro tippet.
Why this works
The river is in textbook shape. River dropping nicely into shape after a lift — textbook conditions. Clearing nicely — classic taking conditions. 13.6°C — in the ideal taking range for autumn salmon. This is the window experienced salmon anglers wait for — if you can get to the river, go now.
Likely species
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 06:00

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 12 active hatches hour by hour as a supporter.

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Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 2 guilds as a supporter.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 3 as a supporter.

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Evidence
Survey-backed · regionalHigh confidence

Backed by regional invertebrate surveys; no sampling on this exact reach yet.

Through the year
0–3 scale · September highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Salmon runRun
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
Sea trout runRun
1
2
2
1
Heather FlyHatch
2
2
Daddy Long LegsHatch
2
3
2
Claret DunHatch
2
3
2
Murrough (Great Red Sedge)Hatch
2
3
2

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Ranked for today
Fly box · Atlantic Salmon
SB
Silver BadgerTop
8-10 · Salmon fly
From the river-specific salmon pack.
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Ballynahinch Castle fishery — advance booking essential
  • Premium pricing
  • Lough Inagh Lodge controls Inagh fishing
  • State rod licence required.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Gallery · 2
  1. A small stone fishing hut and moored boat beside a lake on the Ballynahinch Fishery estate, Connemara, with the mountain Benlettery in the background
    A fishing hut and boat on the Ballynahinch Fishery, with Benlettery behind
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
Water quality (WFD)
  • Ecology: Good
  • Chemical: Unknown
What this classification means

EPA WFD 2019-2024 — Good ecological status; filled 2026-06-18. Source: EPA Ireland WFD 2019-2024 classification (catchments.ie / EDEN).

EPA (Ireland) · IEWE_32B090960

The full read · show the working · for Atlantic Salmon · confidence 75%
How the river scores — hydrology factors
Water heightMedium Ideal+2.3
Recent riseNone0.0
Falling after liftDropping Nicely Into Shape+4.5
Water temperatureCool To Moderate+3.5
Time in seasonLate Season+0.8
ClarityClearing+2.4
Hydrology base13.5
Rules that fired
Clearing After Spate Bonus+1
Will they take?Willingcaps the band

Fish should be willing to take — clearing, stained water.

Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowproxy via Erriffproxy
What would change the calculation
No prolonged stable spell before the current rise.
Directions
Seasons & zones
  • Salmon 1 February → 30 SeptemberC&R
  • Sea trout 1 June → 30 September

Sea trout: Variable seasonal (2026)

Related guides
Casting instructors near here
Booking & contacts