Spate · Mixed · North West / Sligo, IE

River Easky

The Easkey River in County Sligo, Ireland, viewed upstream towards Easkey village.

A short, steep Ox Mountains spate river of some 12 miles, draining Lough Easky high on the Sligo/Mayo border, through bogland and then pasture, under the N59 at Workhouse Bridge and out to the sea at Easky village.

Today · Closed season
Wickham's Fancy
Forecast · Today
Closed season
Out of season. File this water for the right month.
40% projected
Today's fly
Wickham's Fancy
Wickham's Fancy
Conditions on the water · Today
Estimate
Level
Dry recently
No gauge reading
Water temp9.0°C
ClarityUnfishable
Weather9°C
WindN 42 km/h
Pressure1004 hPa
Rain · recent0.9 mm
Rain · ahead2.1 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
Morning into early afternoon.
Where
Pool tails, steadier runs, and any water with pace.
Method
Fish a sensible line-and-fly combination for the height and pace of water.
Kit
13 ft #8/9 double-hander in spate, 10 ft #8 single in low water. Floating line plus a fast-sink tip. 12–15 lb fluoro tippet.
Likely species
Stoneflies
Gammarids
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 11am

12pm(now) — Autumn Needle Fly

Stage: Creeping nymphsApproach: Heavy nymphActivity: 36%
Also:Autumn Olive24%
Peak emergence window3 food groups active

Peak activity at 11am — Autumn Needle Fly (Autumn Needle Fly, Peak emergence window)

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

Supporters see what else is on the menu.

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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
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
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
Free state water
State rod licence required for trout / salmon as applicable.
  • North Western Fisheries District
  • All legal methods allowed on the free town water below the bridge; the Fortland Fishery upstream is private and controls its own beat
  • State rod licence required.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Moy
23 km
0
Brown trout · Salmon · Sea trout
Ballisodare
30 km
0
Brown trout · Salmon · Sea trout
Garavogue River
33 km
0
Salmon · Sea trout · Brown trout
Drumcliff / Glencar
31 km
Brown trout · Salmon · Sea trout
Lough Gill & Bonet
37 km
Salmon · Sea trout · Brown trout
Gallery · 2
  1. The Easkey River in County Sligo, Ireland, viewed upstream towards Easkey village.
    Looking upstream on the Easkey River, Co. Sligo, with Easkey village in the distance.
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

Primarily a salmon river with a decent run of sea trout from June — grilse arrive from early June and the best of the fishing runs June to September on suitable water. Lough Easky itself holds only small brown trout. Below the village bridge, 700m of free town water runs down to the sea; upstream, the private Fortland Fishery covers over 6km of the Fortland Estate woodlands with more than twenty pools, limited to 12 rods a day. For 2026 this is a catch-and-release fishery under the Wild Salmon & Sea Trout Tagging Scheme — all salmon and grilse must be returned.

Hatches & food

EPA river-invertebrate monitoring on the Easkey confirms mayflies, stoneflies, caddis, chironomids and other aquatic diptera, and freshwater crustaceans are present across its monitored reaches - food-presence evidence only, not a record of when or how strongly any of them hatch.

  • Mixed
Water quality (WFD)
  • Ecology: Unknown
  • Chemical: Unknown
Why this score · for Atlantic Salmon
  • Temperature7230% weight
  • Flow6025% weight
  • Clarity9520% weight
  • Feeding Time1015% weight
  • Pressure8510% weight
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Salmon 1 February → 30 SeptemberC&R
  • Sea trout 1 February → 12 October

Sea trout: Variable seasonal (2026)

Related guides
Atlantic Salmonsalmon tacticsIrish Salmon Rivers Guidefive great salmon fisheriesConnemaraIrish fishing
Casting instructors near here
Booking & contacts
Clubs & associations
  • River Easkey Angling Association
    Members only: no day tickets, join the club to fish here
At a glance

River Easky is a spate river in North West / Sligo, Ireland. It sits at about 20 m above sea level. The river is described as roughly 19 km long. Our data lists brown trout, salmon and sea trout here. 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 February to 12 October. Best window recorded for anglers: June–September, on suitable water. Core methods listed: fly, spinning and worm all permitted; spate fishing after Ox Mountains rain. Nearby waters in our listings include Moy at 23 km, Ballisodare at 30 km and Drumcliff / Glencar at 31 km.