Limestone · East / Dublin–Meath, IE

Broadmeadow & Ward Rivers

Ward River venue image

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.

Tomorrow · Closed season
Czech Nymph
Forecast · Tomorrow
Closed season
Out of season. Try elsewhere.
90% projected
Today's fly
Czech Nymph
Czech Nymph
Conditions on the water · Tomorrow
Live gauge
Level
Steady
0.25 m
Water temp8.9°C
ClarityClear
Weather2°C
WindN 11 km/h
Pressure1019 hPa
Rain · recent0.7 mm
Rain · ahead0.0 mm

The nearest gauge doesn't record temperatures, so we've estimated it — defer to the river keeper's advice.

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 12pm

12pm(now) — Autumn Olive

Stage: On emergersApproach: Emerger or dryActivity: 48%
Also:Autumn Needle Fly40%Black Midge35%
Peak emergence windowWeather boost6 food groups active

Peak activity at 12pm — Autumn Olive (Autumn Olive, 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

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 · November 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
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
Other water nearby · 5
River Tolka
13 km
0
Brown trout
River Dodder
18 km
0
Brown trout · Sea trout
Rye Water
19 km
0
Brown trout
Courtlough Trout Fishery
11 km
Rainbow trout
Rathbeggan Lakes
15 km
Rainbow trout
Gallery · 1
  1. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

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 90%
How the 0 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature78 × 28%21.8
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time55 × 13%7.2
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity56 × 12%6.7
Conditions total= 76
Can you trust it?
Water temperaturelive gauge readinggauge
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
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
  • Trout 1 March → 30 September
Related guides
ConnemaraIrish fishingEuro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Casting instructors near here
Booking & contacts
Permits & access
At a glance

Broadmeadow & Ward Rivers is a limestone river in East / Dublin–Meath, Ireland. Its recorded elevation is about 29 m above sea level and the catchment geology is limestone. The species listed for this water is brown trout. The trout season is recorded as running from 1 March to 30 September. Core methods listed: upstream dry fly; upstream nymph (duo/New Zealand); spider/soft-hackle swing. Level and flow data for this water is linked from 1 gauge. Nearby waters in our listings include Courtlough Trout Fishery at 11 km, River Tolka at 13 km and Rathbeggan Lakes at 15 km.