Spate · Mixed · East / Louth

Castletown River

Castletown River venue image
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The Castletown rises near Newtownhamilton — where it goes by the Creggan — and runs down to Dundalk, gathering the Kilcurry and Falmore tributaries that hold its wild brown trout.

Poor · Brown Trout
Pheasant Tail Nymph · 14-18
Poorlive now
Not the day for it
River dropping into shape after a lift. Take your time — read the water before you cast.
80% confidence
What moved it
  • LevelProxyvia River Dee (Louth)
  • Water temp21.0°C
  • ClarityUnfishableClearing
Today’s fly
Pheasant Tail Nymph
Pheasant Tail Nymph14-18
Upstream
Conditions on the water
Proxy gauge
Level
Falling
Proxy
via River Dee (Louth)
Water temp21.0°C
ClarityUnfishable
Weather23°C
WindE 18 km/h
Pressure1014 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead7.1 mm

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

Water temperature for brown trout
Warm — slow
21.0°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
⚠️ Water at 21°C — above the brown trout caution line (18°C). Fish dawn or dusk only. Land it fast, wet hands, no air shots. Otherwise very poor — river flow is in the right range.
Hatch timeline · todayQuiet day

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 5 active hatches hour by hour with Pro.

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Through the year
0–3 scale · June highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Salmon runRun
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
1
Daddy Long LegsHatch
2
3
2
March BrownHatch
2
3
2
GrannomHatch
2
2
Large StoneflyHatch
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
Water here at 21.0°C. Nothing cooler within range.
Gallery · 1
  1. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

The Castletown rises near Newtownhamilton — where it goes by the Creggan — and runs down to Dundalk, gathering the Kilcurry and Falmore tributaries that hold its wild brown trout. Salmon and sea trout enter the lower river from July to September; fish the water below Tuberona Bridge after a flood. Note that for 2026 the river is closed for salmon and sea trout over 40 cm. Single or double barbless hooks only, no worm, under Bye-law 982 of 2020. Permits from Dundalk & District Brown Trout & Salmon Anglers via onthewater.ie.

  • Mixed
The full read · show the working · for brown trout · confidence 80%
How the 0 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature14 × 28%3.9
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity0 × 18%0.0
Feeding Time65 × 13%8.5
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity42 × 12%5.0
Limiting factor: Water is unfishable — too coloured for Brown Trout= 41
Can you trust it?
Water temperaturelive gauge readinggauge
Level / flowproxy via River Dee (Louth)proxy
What would change the calculation
Cooler water — back toward the 10–16 °C ideal band — would lift the score and ease welfare.
A drop and clear would lift the flow and clarity scores.
The dawn and dusk windows score higher than the midday lull.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Salmon1 March → 30 SeptemberClosed
  • Trout1 March → 30 September
Related guides
ConnemaraIrish fishingEuro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts