A short, dramatic river that tumbles into Killary Harbour through some of Connemara's wildest country — a declining salmon system where all fish must be released alive. Aasleagh Falls is the landmark every angler remembers. Flashy and spate-dependent — it responds in hours to upriver rain and fishes brilliantly as it clears. Salmon from February; grilse and sea trout from June through September, conservation-focused catch-and-release only. Fish the pools methodically on the drop, working sunk-tip line through the broken water where sea trout hold. The system also includes Tawnyard and Derrintin loughs alongside the 8-mile river — 9 numbered beats with low rod density (2–3 rods per beat) deliver an uncrowded experience.
The Erriff is a short, high-energy Connemara spate river: 33 km total length from the confluence of the Owenree and Owenmore in Glennacally, draining only 163 km² but with a mean discharge of about 8 m³/s concentrated into a confined glacial valley running west-southwest beneath Mweelrea and the Sheeffry Hills. Bedrock is Dalradian quartzite and schist of the Connemara Complex, and the bed is dominated by durable boulder and cobble delivered by glacial legacy deposits. Expect step-pool and plane-bed reaches alternating with forced pools where the channel is pinned against bedrock outcrops. Near the mouth at Aasleagh the river drops 3.5 m over a 20 m-wide block waterfall into the Killary Harbour fjord head — a natural migration barrier. Bed mobility is stable above the main step-pool reaches and moderate in the lower glides.
Wading: Wet boulder slabs and Aasleagh Falls plunge pool
- Granite
- Confined
- Step pool
- Plane bed