Spate · Granite · West / Connemara

Delphi Lodge

Delphi Lodge fishing venue photo
Editorial photo

Bundorragha river

One of Ireland's most celebrated private fisheries sits in the Doolough valley — a conservation-led operation.

Good · Atlantic Salmon
Willie Gunn · small to medium tube / 10-12
Goodlive now
A good day — worth the effort
River high but settled. Water still carrying colour. Heavier flies, settled lies.
50% confidence
What moved it
  • LevelProxyvia Erriff
  • Water temp16.1°C
  • ClarityClearClearing
Today’s fly
Willie Gunn
Willie Gunnsmall to medium tube / 10-12
From the river-specific salmon pack.
Conditions on the water
Proxy gauge
Level
Falling
Proxy
via Erriff
Water temp16.1°C
ClarityClear
Weather12°C
WindW 9 km/h
Pressure1026 hPa
Rain · recent34.4 mm
Rain · ahead8.2 mm

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

Water temperature for atlantic salmon
Warm — slow
16°C est.ideal 1014°C
0°14°28°
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
Good — water clarity is working for you, but time of day is the limiting factor today.
Hatch timeline · todayQuiet day

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 8 active hatches hour by hour with Pro.

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Evidence
Survey-backed · regionalModerate confidence

Backed by regional invertebrate surveys; no sampling on this exact reach yet.

Through the year
0–3 scale · July 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
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
Atlantic Salmon fly box
Delphi Dog
Delphi Dog
10-12 / small tube · Salmon fly
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Private fishery — book through Delphi Lodge; premium pricing
  • To protect the genetic integrity of the wild stock, all fish of hatchery origin ('ranchers', recognised by a clipped adipose fin) must be killed and gill-tagged under State licence
  • Wild salmon must be released — with one exception: an angler's first-ever salmon may be kept
  • All sea trout are catch-and-release (and under regional bye-law it is in any case an offence to kill a sea trout over 40 cm in the Galway, Connemara and Ballinakill districts)
  • Wading prohibited on all beats — fish from the bank; lifejackets required on the loughs
  • Source: delphilodge.ie.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Gallery · 4
  1. Delphi Lodge from Fin Lough
    Delphi Lodge from Fin Lough
  2. Bundorragha river
    Bundorragha river
  3. Doolough
    Doolough
  4. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

One of Ireland's most celebrated private fisheries sits in the Doolough valley — a conservation-led operation. 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. Delphi's rule protects the wild gene pool: any fish of hatchery origin ('ranchers', recognised by a clipped adipose fin) must be killed, while wild salmon are released — with the single exception of an angler's first-ever salmon, which may be kept. All sea trout are catch-and-release.

  • Lough system
  • Granite
Water quality (WFD)
  • EcologyHigh
  • ChemicalUnknown
What this classification means

EPA WFD 2019-2024 — High ecological status; filled 2026-06-18. Source: EPA Ireland WFD 2019-2024 classification (catchments.ie / EDEN).

EPA (Ireland) · IEWE_32B010100

Why this score · for atlantic salmon
  • Temperature5430% weight
  • Flow9025% weight
  • Clarity9520% weight
  • Feeding Time1015% weight
  • Pressure8510% weight
Directions
Seasons & zones
  • Salmon1 February → 30 SeptemberC&R
  • Sea trout1 June → 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.

Related guides
Booking & contacts