Spate · Volcanic · Co. Antrim / North Coast, GB-NIR

River Bush

The River Bush flowing near Bushmills, County Antrim, Northern Ireland

The Bush is Northern Ireland's premier salmon river — compact, intensely managed by DAERA, and with one of the most studied salmon populations in the British Isles thanks to the Bush salmon research station.

Poor · Atlantic Salmon
Stoat's Tail · 6–10
Closed season
Out of season. File this water for the right month.
Closed — confidence not applicable today.
What moved it
  • LevelProxyvia River Agivey
  • Water temp8.3°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Stoat's Tail
Stoat's Tail6–10
From the river-specific salmon pack.
Conditions on the water
Proxy gauge
Level
Steady
Proxy
via River Agivey
Water temp8.3°C
ClarityClear
Weather5°C
WindS 34 km/h
Pressure1008 hPa
Rain · recent1.4 mm
Rain · ahead4.1 mm

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

Water temperature for Atlantic Salmon
Cool — slow
8°C est.ideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Atlantic Salmon
When
Morning into early afternoon.
Where
Pool tails, steadier runs, and any water with pace.
Method
Fish a sensible line-and-fly combination for the height and pace of water.
Kit
13 ft #8/9 double-hander in spate, 10 ft #8 single in low water. Floating line plus a fast-sink tip. 12–15 lb fluoro tippet.
Likely species
Stoneflies
Gammarids
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 11am

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 6 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 4 guilds 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
Salmon runRun
1
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
Atlantic Salmon fly box

Connemara/Mayo low water: a lightly-dressed shrimp on a floating line with sink tip, sized down from 8s in cold spring water to 12s and 14s as summer water warms and clears. Where the current runs faster, a slim tube or hairwing swung through tracks better than a shrimp.

What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Lower Bann
19 km
0
Brown trout · Salmon · Sea trout
River Agivey
28 km
0
Brown trout · Salmon
River Roe
31 km
0
Brown trout · Salmon · Sea trout
Clady River
34 km
0
Brown trout · Salmon
River Maine
37 km
Brown trout · Dollaghan
Gallery · 2
  1. The River Bush flowing near Bushmills, County Antrim, Northern Ireland
    River Bush near Bushmills, County Antrim
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

It runs from the Antrim basalt plateau to the north coast at Bushmills, close to the Giant's Causeway. Three managed beats (New, Town, Leap) rotate anglers through pools. Spring salmon from March, building through April–May; grilse from June. The river fishes best 12–24 hours after rain — it rises fast off the basalt and clears quickly. Small doubles (10–14) on floating line in summer; larger tubes on sink-tips for spring fish. The unrestricted public stretch below the weir offers free fishing. Book beats through DAERA or Bushmills Salmon Anglers. Volcanic bedrock underlies this river. Atlantic salmon are managed under DAERA and Loughs Agency conservation byelaws, with mandatory catch-and-release on many waters; check current rules before fishing.

Hatches & food

No venue-specific hatch data yet; as a basalt-country spate river, expect flood-driven stonefly and terrestrial activity to outweigh any reliable upwing hatch — a general expectation, not a confirmed observation.

Sea trout here

Summer-autumn runs, seasonal patterns vary by region

  • Volcanic
The full read · show the working · for Atlantic Salmon · confidence 75%
How the river scores — hydrology factors
Water heightMedium Ideal0.0
Recent riseNone0.0
Falling after liftNot Applicable0.0
Water temperatureCool To Moderate0.0
Time in seasonOpening Period0.0
ClarityClearing0.0
Hydrology base0.0
Legal gate: Unknown Check Local Rules
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowproxy via River Agiveyproxy
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Salmon 1 March → 20 October
  • Trout 1 March → 31 October

Sea trout: Variable seasonal (2026)

Related guides
Atlantic Salmonsalmon tacticsIrish Salmon Rivers Guidefive great salmon fisheriesConnemaraIrish fishing
Casting instructors near here
Booking & contacts
At a glance

River Bush is a spate river in Co. Antrim / North Coast, Northern Ireland. Its recorded elevation is about 42 m above sea level and the catchment geology is volcanic. The river is described as roughly 54 km long. Our data lists brown trout, salmon and sea trout here. It is classed as a salmon river. The salmon season is recorded as running from 1 March to 20 October. The trout season is recorded as running from 1 March to 31 October. Best window recorded for anglers: April–May (spring salmon), June–August (grilse). Core methods listed: across and down wet fly (salmon); upstream nymph (trout); dry fly in summer low water. Nearby waters in our listings include Lower Bann at 19 km, River Agivey at 28 km and River Roe at 31 km.