Spate · Granite · West / Connemara

Delphi Lodge

Delphi Lodge venue image
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One of Ireland's most celebrated private fisheries sits in the Doolough valley — two loughs, Doolough and Finlough, feed the short Bundorragha river that runs to Killary Harbour, Ireland's only true fjord.

Species

Slow going — better windows ahead

Low and clear — careful approach country. Fish on a shallow rise are spooked — choose your hour.

50% confidence in this read
Water temperature for atlantic salmon
Cool — slow
7°C est.ideal 10–14°C
0°14°28°
Why this score · for atlantic salmon
  • Temperature2730% weight
  • Flow4525% weight
  • Clarity9520% weight
  • Feeding Time1015% weight
  • Pressure8510% weight
Conditions
Level
Dry recently
No gauge reading
Water temp
6.5°C
Estimated
Clarity
Clear
Air temp
7°C
Wind
W 27 km/h
Moderate breeze
Pressure
1008 hPa
Rain · 48h
0.0 mm
No meaningful rain
Rain · ahead
29.6 mm
Heavy rain · next 48h

Live readings — water temperature is an estimate where the gauge does not record it.

How to fish it · for atlantic salmon
When
Spring from March; grilse from June; main run through summer. Delphi is rapid-response spate water — fish the rise and the drop after rain. Late afternoon often the prime window.
Where
Delphi Lodge beats through the Bundorragha River and the loughs. Heads and tails of named pools; the lodge ghillies will direct you.
Method
Small doubles 10 to 12 across-and-down on a floating line; small tubes on a sink-tip in spring water. Catch-and-release encouraged across most Irish salmon water.
Kit
10 ft #7 single-hander on the smaller spate rivers; 11 ft switch where the river opens out. Floating line plus light sink-tip. 10 to 12 lb fluoro tippet.
Why this works
Fair conditions. Clarity is favourable (95), Feeding time is weakest (10). Outside the typical run window — score reduced.
Through the year
0–3 scale · May 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
2
1
Black MidgeHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Daddy Long LegsHatch
2
3
2
Hawthorn FlyHatch
1
1
Flying AntsHatch
1
1

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Gallery · 1
  1. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Private fishery — book through Delphi Lodge
  • Premium pricing
  • Catch-and-release only until 11 May; brown-tag fishery from 12 May, with a limited annual kill quota allocated by the lodge (no tag, no kill — wild fish returned)
  • Hatchery-supplemented alongside the wild run: clipped-adipose hatchery salmon must be killed and gill-tagged under State licence
  • Sea trout C&R only — under regional bye-law it is an offence to kill any sea trout over 40 cm in the Galway, Connemara and Ballinakill districts
  • Wading prohibited on all beats — fish from the bank
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
About this water

One of Ireland's most celebrated private fisheries sits in the Doolough valley — two loughs, Doolough and Finlough, feed the short Bundorragha river that runs to Killary Harbour, Ireland's only true fjord. Most salmon are taken in the brief river; some in Finlough, rarely in Doolough. The setting is as important as the fishing — wild and beautiful in a way that stays with you. A small spring run of multi-sea-winter salmon from April; grilse-dominated from June onwards. Very fast spate response — fishable windows are brief after rain. Fish the pools systematically with tube flies, taking advantage of the quick rise and drop.

  • Lough system
  • Granite
Seasons & zones
  • Salmon1 February → 30 September
  • Sea trout1 May → 30 September

Sea trout: Variable seasonal (2026) — Delphi (Co. Mayo) — exclusive Connemara spate fishery in the Doolough valley. Sea-trout runs present recent recovery signals but operate within the broader 1990s-onwards Connemara context. Catch-and-release is the norm.

Other water nearby · 5