The Ehen drains Ennerdale Water (the only Lake District lake that flows directly to the Irish Sea) through Egremont to Braystones and the Cumbrian coast. Lake-fed upper flow makes it more stable than typical West Cumbrian spate rivers. Atlantic salmon (fragile stocks), sea trout, brown trout. Wath Brow Hatchery supplements stocks. Mostly private and club water. Atlantic salmon are assessed by the Environment Agency against each river's Conservation Limit — many principal rivers are classed 'at risk' with mandatory catch-and-release byelaws; check current rules before fishing.
The Ehen is the outflow of Ennerdale Water, draining the western Lake District fells and running some twenty-seven kilometres past Ennerdale Bridge, Cleator and Egremont to the Irish Sea near Sellafield. It is a clear, cold, lake-fed river over a clean glaciated bed of cobble and gravel — and a river of national importance, holding the largest population of freshwater pearl mussels in England, the source of the rare Ennerdale black pearl. Those mussels depend on the salmon and trout that spawn here, so the Ehen is a Special Area of Conservation watched over with unusual care. The character is steady, lake-buffered water with clean gravel runs and modest pools, less flashy than the spate rivers around it thanks to the lake above. Wading is secure on firm cobble and gravel, with a mind to the protected mussel beds underfoot.
Wading: Protected pearl mussel beds underfoot
Summer-autumn runs (June–September), nocturnal peak season pattern
- Mixed
- Partly confined
- Pool riffle