Limestone · East / Dublin–Meath, IE

Broadmeadow & Ward Rivers

Broadmeadow & Ward Rivers terrain map

A small limestone river rising near Dunshaughlin and running about 24 km across pasture to the sea north of Swords, the Ward joining it on the way.

Marginal · Brown Trout
Pheasant Tail Nymph · 14-18
Slow going — pick your moments
River lifting fast on the rain. Slow going — pick your moments and do not force it.
45% confidence
limited data
What moved it
  • Level0.47 mLifting fast
  • Water temp14.8°C
  • ClarityVery colouredColouring up
Today's fly
Pheasant Tail Nymph
Pheasant Tail Nymph14-18
Upstream
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Rising
0.47 m
Lifting fast
Water temp14.8°C
ClarityVery coloured
Weather15°C
WindW 24 km/h
Pressure1009 hPa
Rain · recent3.2 mm
Rain · ahead0.6 mm

Live readings only. Trends shown where the gauge supports them.

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Ideal
14.8°Cideal 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.
Why this works
Poor — water temperature is working for you, but water clarity is the limiting factor today.
Likely species
Mayflies
Stoneflies
Caddisflies
Gammarids
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 2pm

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

Supporters see the full sub-surface read.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 5 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
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
1
Daddy Long LegsHatch
2
3
2
CapererHatch
2
3
3
2
Hawthorn FlyHatch
2
2
GrannomHatch
2
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
Fishing better nearby · 5
River Tolka
13 km
77
Brown trout
Rye Water
19 km
74
Brown trout
Courtlough Trout Fishery
11 km
Rainbow trout
Rathbeggan Lakes
15 km
Rainbow trout
River Dodder
18 km
Brown trout · Sea trout
About this water

A small limestone river rising near Dunshaughlin and running about 24 km across pasture to the sea north of Swords, the Ward joining it on the way. The stock of wild brown trout is modest and the fish are small, but the hatches are honest enough — olives and buzzers through the season, a little blue-winged olive, sedge in the late evenings of summer. The water is controlled by riparian owners, which is to say you ask before you fish, which is no bad habit anyway.

Hatches & food

A small lowland limestone river with modest but reliable hatches — spring and autumn olives plus midges carry the fishing, thinning to a little Blue-Winged Olive and evening sedge in summer.

  • Limestone
The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 45%
How the 30 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow55 × 22%12.1
Clarity15 × 18%2.7
Feeding Time70 × 13%9.1
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity60 × 12%7.2
Limiting factor: Water is very coloured — too coloured for Brown Trout= 65
Can you trust it?
Water temperaturelive gauge readinggauge
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitysurvey-backed invertebrate datasurvey
What would change the calculation
A drop and clear would lift the flow and clarity scores.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 1 March → 30 September
Related guides
ConnemaraIrish fishingEuro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Casting instructors near here
Booking & contacts
Permits & access