Spate · Mixed · East / Louth, IE

Castletown River

Castletown River venue image

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.

Prime · Brown Trout
Pheasant Tail Nymph · 14-18
Primelive now
About as good as it gets
Low and clear — careful approach country. Take your time — read the water before you cast.
90% confidence
What moved it
  • LevelProxyvia River Glyde
  • Water temp14.3°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Pheasant Tail Nymph
Pheasant Tail Nymph14-18
Upstream
Conditions on the water
Proxy gauge
Level
Steady
Proxy
via River Glyde
Water temp14.3°C
ClarityClear
Weather15°C
WindW 26 km/h
Pressure1008 hPa
Rain · recent2.5 mm
Rain · ahead0.3 mm

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

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Ideal
14°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.
Why this works
Excellent — conditions well-balanced, with water temperature particularly in your favour.
Likely species
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

Top nymph shown — see all 3 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 · September highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Salmon runRun
Trout seasonSeason
1
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
Ballymascanlan River
4.0 km
Brown trout · Sea trout
River Fane
12 km
Brown trout
River Fane
12 km
Brown trout
River Dee (Louth)
16 km
30
Brown trout
River Dee (Louth)
16 km
Brown trout
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.

Hatches & food

A mixed-geology spate river where the upper Creggan and tributaries throw olives and stoneflies; main fishing is flood-run sea trout taking sedges and the occasional dapped terrestrial through summer nights.

  • Mixed
The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 90%
How the 87 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time70 × 13%9.1
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity83 × 12%10.0
Conditions total= 87
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowproxy via River Glydeproxy
Prey activitysurvey-backed invertebrate datasurvey
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Salmon 1 March → 30 SeptemberClosed
  • Trout 1 March → 30 September

Sea trout: Variable seasonal (2026)

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