The Feale rises in the Mullaghareirk Mountains on the Cork border and runs seventy-five kilometres north-west through Abbeyfeale and Listowel to Cashen Bay, where its last ten miles take the name of the Cashen River before it reaches the Shannon estuary and the Atlantic. It is a fast spate river through a picturesque country of heathered bog, fertile valley and rolling hill — running clear in low water and dark with peat in flood, quick to rise and quick to fall. Its defining feature is its pools: large, deep, fish-holding water dominates the lower river, and deep holding pools recur all the way up the main stem and its tributaries. The Feale is among Ireland's classic spate salmon and sea-trout fisheries, with a reputation for strong grilse runs and consistent summer sea-trout fishing. Wading is steady on rock and gravel, with proper care at the heads of the deep pools.

Wading: Deep holding pools in the lower river

EPA freshwater monitoring across the Feale's WFD segments confirms a wide food base of mayflies, stoneflies, caddis, aquatic diptera and freshwater crustaceans. The records establish presence in the riverbed community rather than adult emergence timing or a visible hatch.