Lowland · Limestone · North West / Sligo, IE

Garavogue River

The Garavogue River in Sligo town centre, Ireland, with the Glasshouse Hotel on the bank.

The short river draining Lough Gill through Sligo town to the sea — a small but productive salmon and sea-trout fishery closely tied to the Gill/Bonet system.

Prime · Atlantic Salmon
Cascade · 8-10
Primelive now
Prime conditions — go now
River steady at a fishable height. Settled and taking. Work it methodically.
85% confidence
What moved it
  • LevelProxyvia Drowes
  • Water temp14.9°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Cascade
Cascade8-10
Regional salmon default — river-specific evidence is thin.
Conditions on the water
Proxy gauge
Level
Steady
Proxy
via Drowes
Water temp14.9°C
ClarityClear
Weather13°C
WindW 37 km/h
Pressure1008 hPa
Rain · recent1.5 mm
Rain · ahead0.5 mm

No gauge on this water — conditions are inferred from Drowes. The trend transfers, the absolute level does not.

Water temperature for Atlantic Salmon
Ideal
15°C est.ideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Atlantic Salmon
When
Morning into early afternoon.
Where
Pool tails, steadier runs, and any water with pace.
Method
Fish a sensible line-and-fly combination for the height and pace of water.
Kit
13 ft #8/9 double-hander in spate, 10 ft #8 single in low water. Floating line plus a fast-sink tip. 12–15 lb fluoro tippet.
Why this works
Excellent — water temperature is right today, though river flow could be better.
Likely species
Mayflies
Caddisflies
Gammarids
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 11am

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 12 active hatches hour by hour as a supporter.

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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 5 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
Salmon runRun
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
Sea trout runRun
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
Mayfly (Green Drake)Hatch
2
2
Large Cinnamon SedgeHatch
2
3
3
2
Daddy Long LegsHatch
2
3
2
CapererHatch
2
3
3
2

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

Ranked for today
Atlantic Salmon fly box

Connemara/Mayo low water: a lightly-dressed shrimp on a floating line with sink tip, sized down from 8s in cold spring water to 12s and 14s as summer water warms and clears. Where the current runs faster, a slim tube or hairwing swung through tracks better than a shrimp.

What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Lough Gill & Bonet
5.0 km
Salmon · Sea trout · Brown trout
Drumcliff / Glencar
7.0 km
Brown trout · Salmon · Sea trout
Ballisodare
8.0 km
Brown trout · Salmon · Sea trout
Duff River
22 km
Brown trout · Salmon · Sea trout
Lough Melvin
26 km
Brown trout
Gallery · 2
  1. The Garavogue River in Sligo town centre, Ireland, with the Glasshouse Hotel on the bank.
    The Garavogue River flowing through Sligo town past the Glasshouse.
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

The short river draining Lough Gill through Sligo town to the sea — a small but productive salmon and sea-trout fishery closely tied to the Gill/Bonet system. Catch-and-release for salmon and sea trout in 2026.

Hatches & food

EPA kick-sample monitoring at the Garavogue River's single monitored station confirms mayflies, stoneflies, caddis, midges and blackflies, and freshwater shrimp and hoglice are all present in the food base. With only one segment sampled, this is a modest presence record rather than a hatch calendar.

  • Limestone
Why this score · for Atlantic Salmon
  • Temperature10030% weight
  • Flow6025% weight
  • Clarity9520% weight
  • Feeding Time8015% weight
  • Pressure8510% weight
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Salmon 1 February → 30 SeptemberC&R
  • Sea trout 1 February → 30 SeptemberC&R
  • Trout 15 February → 30 September
Related guides
Atlantic Salmonsalmon tacticsIrish Salmon Rivers Guidefive great salmon fisheriesConnemaraIrish fishing
Casting instructors near here
Booking & contacts
Permits & access