Limestone · East / Meath, IE

Enfield Blackwater

Enfield Blackwater terrain map

The Enfield Blackwater rises north of Prosperous and runs about sixteen miles past Johnstown Bridge and Longwood to the Boyne below Inchamore Bridge.

Today · Not the day for it
Blue-Winged Olive
Forecast · Today
Not the day for it
Not much stacked in your favour today. Worth an hour if you are nearby, not worth the special trip.
45% projected
Today's fly
Blue-Winged Olive
Blue-Winged Olive
Conditions on the water · Today
Live gauge
Level
Rising
0.63 m
Lifting fast
Water temp13.6°C
ClarityUnfishable
Weather11°C
WindN 17 km/h
Pressure1019 hPa
Rain · recent16.1 mm
Rain · ahead7.0 mm

The nearest gauge doesn't record temperatures, so we've estimated it — defer to the river keeper's advice.

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Ideal
14°C est.ideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Brown Trout
When
Nymphing can work through most of the day.
Where
Cover mixed depths.
Method
Start with tight-line nymphs and adjust if fish rise or drift higher.
Kit
9 ft #4 rod, floating line, 12 ft tapered leader to 4–5 lb fluoro tippet.
Why this works
Good — water temperature is working for you, but time of day is the limiting factor today.
Likely species
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 12pm

12pm(now) — Heather Fly

Stage: Terrestrials on topApproach: Dry flyActivity: 52%
Also:Reed Smut41%Autumn Dun26%Cinnamon Sedge25%
Peak emergence window10 food groups active

Peak activity at 12pm — Heather Fly (Heather Fly, Peak emergence window)

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 2 guilds as a supporter.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 3 as a supporter.

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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 · September highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
1
Daddy Long LegsHatch
2
3
2
CapererHatch
2
3
3
2
Hawthorn FlyHatch
2
2
GrannomHatch
2
2

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

Ranked for today
Brown Trout fly box
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
About this water

The Enfield Blackwater rises north of Prosperous and runs about sixteen miles past Johnstown Bridge and Longwood to the Boyne below Inchamore Bridge. The banks are high in places, but there is plenty of fishable water and a sound stock of wild brown trout from half a pound to a pound and a half — the kind of unfussy river you can spend a whole evening on without meeting another soul. Longwood Angling Association controls the water below Johnstown Bridge and runs it catch-and-release.

Hatches & food

A limestone Boyne tributary with steady wild-trout fly life — reliable olives through spring and autumn, summer Blue-Winged Olive and evening sedge, plus black gnat falls on warm afternoons.

  • Limestone
The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 75%
How the 79 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity85 × 18%15.3
Feeding Time40 × 13%5.2
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity61 × 12%7.3
Conditions total= 79
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitysurvey-backed invertebrate datasurvey
What would change the calculation
The dawn and dusk windows score higher than the midday lull.
Directions
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 1 March → 30 September
Related guides
Casting instructors near here
Booking & contacts
Permits & access