Spate · Old Red Sandstone · South West / Cork, IE

River Arigideen

River Arigideen venue image

A lovely West Cork river draining some fifty-six square miles to the sea, the Arigideen is primarily a sea-trout fishery, with the occasional salmon or grilse through the season.

Tomorrow · Closed season
Stonefly Nymph
Forecast · Tomorrow
Closed season
Out of season. Try elsewhere.
45% projected
Today's fly
Stonefly Nymph
Stonefly Nymph
Conditions on the water · Tomorrow
Proxy gauge
Level
Rising
Proxy
via Bandon
Water temp8.8°C
ClarityVery coloured
Weather4°C
WindN 12 km/h
Pressure1019 hPa
Rain · recent12.1 mm
Rain · ahead0.8 mm

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

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Cool — slow
9°C est.ideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Brown Trout
When
Nymphing can work through most of the day.
Where
Cover mixed depths.
Method
Start with tight-line nymphs and adjust if fish rise or drift higher.
Kit
9 ft #4 rod, floating line, 12 ft tapered leader to 4–5 lb fluoro tippet.
Likely species
Stoneflies
Gammarids
Hatch timeline · tomorrowPeak at 11am

12pm(now) — Autumn Needle Fly

Stage: Creeping nymphsApproach: Heavy nymphActivity: 40%
Also:Autumn Olive25%
Peak emergence windowWeather boost5 food groups active

Peak activity at 11am — Autumn Needle Fly (Autumn Needle Fly, Peak emergence window)

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 4 guilds as a supporter.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Supporters see what else is on the menu.

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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 · November 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
2
2
2
2
2
1
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
March BrownHatch
2
3
2
CapererHatch
2
3
3
2
Heather FlyHatch
2
2
Autumn DunHatch
2
3
2

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

Ranked for today
Brown Trout fly box
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Bandon
10 km
0
Brown trout · Salmon · Sea trout
Lower Lee
28 km
0
Brown trout · Salmon
Ballin Lough (West Cork)
27 km
Rainbow trout · Brown trout
Lee Reservoirs (Inniscarra & Carrigadrohid)
28 km
Brown trout · Rainbow trout · Pike
Shepperton Lake
30 km
Brown trout · Rainbow trout
Gallery · 1
  1. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

For 2026 it is catch-and-release only, for salmon and sea trout alike. Fish it on a flood, when fresh fish have run. There is disabled-angler access at Inchy Bridge. Single or double barbless hooks only, no worm, under Bye-law 982 of 2020. Arigideen Anglers Association and IFI Macroom hold the water.

Hatches & food

A West Cork old-red-sandstone spate river with acidic, soft water — stoneflies, sedges and terrestrials carry the resident trout, while the main fishery is summer sea trout taking sedges and wets on a flood.

  • Old red sandstone
The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 90%
How the 0 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time55 × 13%7.2
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity61 × 12%7.3
Conditions total= 83
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowproxy via Bandonproxy
Prey activitysurvey-backed invertebrate datasurvey
What would change the calculation
The dawn and dusk windows score higher than the midday lull.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Salmon 15 February → 30 SeptemberC&R
  • Sea trout 15 February → 12 OctoberC&R
  • Trout 15 February → 30 September

Sea trout: Variable seasonal (2026)

Related guides
ConnemaraIrish fishingEuro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Casting instructors near here
Booking & contacts
Permits & access
At a glance

River Arigideen is a spate river in South West / Cork, Ireland. Its recorded elevation is about 40 m above sea level and the catchment geology is old red sandstone. Our data lists sea trout and brown trout here. The salmon season is recorded as running from 15 February to 30 September. The sea trout season is recorded as running from 15 February to 12 October. Core methods listed: floating-line wet fly down-and-across; night fishing for sea trout; upstream dry for brown trout. Access is recorded as a water managed by an angling association or club. Nearby waters in our listings include Bandon at 10 km, Ballin Lough (West Cork) at 27 km and Lower Lee at 28 km.