Spate · Granite · West / Connemara, IE

Dawros / Kylemore

Kylemore Lough surrounded by mountains at the Kylemore Pass, County Galway, Ireland.

Two Connemara fisheries of different scale and character that are often grouped together under the Ballinakill District heading.

Today · Closed season
Claret Bumble
Forecast · Today
Closed season
Out of season. File this water for the right month.
40% projected
Today's fly
Claret Bumble
Claret Bumble
Conditions on the water · Today
Estimate
Level
Dry recently
No gauge reading
Water temp8.8°C
ClarityUnfishable
Weather9°C
WindN 39 km/h
Pressure1004 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead0.9 mm

No gauge on this water — readings are regional estimates from weather, not a live gauge.

Water temperature for Atlantic Salmon
Cool — slow
9°C est.ideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Atlantic Salmon
When
All day — lough fishing is best in a good wave. Early morning and evening can produce in calm conditions.
Where
Work the drift lanes from the upwind shore across the productive zones. Cover bay edges, underwater reefs, and any areas where the bottom shoals.
Method
Fish a sensible line-and-fly combination for the height and pace of water.
Kit
10 ft #7/8 single-hander, floating line, 10–12 lb fluoro leader. Boat seat and waterproofs for the drift.
Likely species
Stoneflies
Chironomids
Gammarids
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 10am

12pm(now) — Black Midge

Stage: On emergersApproach: Emerger or dryActivity: 22%

Peak activity at 10am — Black Midge

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 2 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
Sea trout runRun
1
2
2
1
Heather FlyHatch
2
2
Daddy Long LegsHatch
2
3
3
2
Claret DunHatch
2
3
2
Murrough (Great Red Sedge)Hatch
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.

Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • IFI managed — Ballinakill Fishery District
  • Day tickets may be available
  • Kylemore Abbey context — check access arrangements
  • State rod licence required.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Lough Fee
3.0 km
0
Brown trout · Sea trout · Salmon
Culfin River
6.0 km
0
Salmon · Sea trout · Brown trout
Ballynahinch / Lough Inagh
10 km
0
Brown trout · Salmon · Sea trout
Lough Muck
4.0 km
Brown trout · Sea trout · Salmon
Delphi Lodge
11 km
Salmon · Sea trout
Gallery · 2
  1. Kylemore Lough surrounded by mountains at the Kylemore Pass, County Galway, Ireland.
    Kylemore Lough dominates the Kylemore Pass in Connemara, County Galway.
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

The fishery covers Kylemore Middle and Castle lakes, part of the Upper Lough, and 5.5 km of the Dawros River below. Kylemore Lough itself is the more famous — enclosed in a glacial valley below the Twelve Bens, drained by a short river to the sea at Tully Cross, and surrounded by one of the most photographed landscapes in Ireland. Salmon and sea trout enter on high water from June, and the lake drift can be exceptional, though the sea trout are not as plentiful as in former times and average around the half-pound mark. The Dawros below the lough is smaller and more typical: a short spate system running off blanket bog, fishing only when water is right. IFI-managed. Do not oversell — runs are variable and water-dependent. The setting compensates for many a blank day. For 2026 this remains an open fishery — salmon may be retained in season under the Wild Salmon & Sea Trout Tagging Scheme and bag limits, with catch-and-release at other times.

Hatches & food

No venue-specific hatch data yet; as a lough-river system typical of Connemara's acidic-lough country, expect buzzers and terrestrials to dominate over rich upwing hatches, with the connecting river adding occasional spate-driven stonefly and sedge activity - treat this as a general expectation, not an observed hatch.

  • Lough system
  • Granite
Water quality (WFD)
  • Ecology: Unknown
  • Chemical: Unknown
Why this score · for Atlantic Salmon
  • Temperature6530% weight
  • Flow4525% weight
  • Clarity9520% weight
  • Feeding Time1015% weight
  • Pressure8510% weight
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Salmon 1 February → 30 September
  • Sea trout 1 June → 30 September

Sea trout: Variable seasonal (2026)

Related guides
Irish Loughs Playbooklough-style fishingThermal Layers & Troutreading depth and temperatureAtlantic Salmonsalmon tactics
Casting instructors near here
Booking & contacts
At a glance

Dawros / Kylemore is a spate river in West / Connemara, Ireland. The catchment geology is recorded as granite, and the water sits at about 27 m above sea level. The river is described as roughly 4 km long. Species listed for this water: brown trout, salmon and sea trout. It is classed as a salmon river. The salmon season is recorded as running from 1 February to 30 September. The sea trout season is recorded as running from 1 June to 30 September. Best window recorded for anglers: June–September; lough drifts best in steady westerly wind. Core methods listed: loch-style wet fly drift on Kylemore; across and down on river sections; spate fishing after rain. Boat fishing is recorded as available. Nearby waters in our listings include Lough Fee at 3.0 km, Lough Muck at 4.0 km and Culfin River at 6.0 km.