Stoneflies
Gammarids
Limestone-backed and fast-clearing, the Duff receives early salmon and sea trout and is one of the opening-season options in the northwest. Small, with a concentrated fishing area, but the proximity to the Melvin-Drowes catchment gives it a regional legitimacy that larger visitors sometimes overlook. Local club access. Not to be confused with the Duff Water further north. Salmon angling here is closed for 2026 under the conservation regulations; check Inland Fisheries Ireland for the current status. Atlantic salmon and sea trout are managed under IFI's Wild Salmon & Sea Trout Tagging Scheme — many rivers are catch-and-release and harvest is allowed only where a confirmed surplus exists, so check the river's current status before fishing.
EPA river-invertebrate monitoring on the Duff confirms mayflies, stoneflies, caddis, chironomids and other aquatic diptera, and freshwater crustaceans are present across its monitored reaches - food-presence evidence only, with no record of hatch timing or emergence strength.
- Limestone