Spate · Granite · West / Connemara

Erriff

Erriff terrain map
Terrain map

A short, dramatic river that tumbles into Killary Harbour through some of Connemara's wildest country.

Species

Slow going — better windows ahead

Low and clear — careful approach country. Fish on a shallow rise are spooked — choose your hour.

50% confidence in this read
Water temperature for atlantic salmon
Cool — slow
7°C est.ideal 10–14°C
0°14°28°
Why this score · for atlantic salmon
  • Temperature3030% weight
  • Flow4525% weight
  • Clarity9520% weight
  • Feeding Time1015% weight
  • Pressure8510% weight
Conditions
Level
Dry recently
No gauge reading
Water temp
6.7°C
Estimated
Clarity
Clear
Air temp
8°C
Wind
W 27 km/h
Moderate breeze
Pressure
1008 hPa
Rain · 48h
0.0 mm
No meaningful rain
Rain · ahead
29.6 mm
Heavy rain · next 48h

Live readings — water temperature is an estimate where the gauge does not record it.

How to fish it · for atlantic salmon
When
Spring run from late March; grilse from June; main run summer through September. Spate-driven — fish 12 to 24 hours after rain on the drop. Fish the named pools methodically.
Where
Erriff Fishery beats from below Aasleagh Falls down to the Killary fjord. Heads, tails, and named lies on the assigned beat.
Method
Small doubles 10 to 12 across-and-down on a floating line; small tubes on a sink-tip in spring water. Catch-and-release encouraged across most Irish salmon water.
Kit
10 ft #7 single-hander on the smaller spate rivers; 11 ft switch where the river opens out. Floating line plus light sink-tip. 10 to 12 lb fluoro tippet.
Why this works
Fair conditions. Clarity is favourable (95), Feeding time is weakest (10). Outside the typical run window — score reduced.
Through the year
0–3 scale · May highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Salmon runRun
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
March BrownHatch
2
3
2
GrannomHatch
2
2
Large StoneflyHatch
2
3
2
Yellow SallyHatch
2
3
2

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

Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • The Erriff fishery (Aasleagh Lodge) — advance booking essential
  • All fish released alive
  • State rod licence required.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
About this water

A short, dramatic river that tumbles into Killary Harbour through some of Connemara's wildest country. 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, all fish released alive. 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.

Under the surface

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
Seasons & zones
  • Salmon1 February → 30 September

Sea trout: Variable seasonal (2026)

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