Freestone · Mixed · East / Meath, IE

Kells Blackwater

The River Blackwater flowing through green countryside near Kells, County Meath, Ireland.

Midlands freestone river in County Meath.

Today · Closed season
Bibio
Forecast · Today
Closed season
Out of season. Try elsewhere.
45% projected
Today's fly
Bibio
Bibio
Conditions on the water · Today
Live gauge
Level
Rising
0.26 m
Lifting fast
Water temp14.9°C
ClarityVery coloured
Weather14°C
WindN 35 km/h
Pressure1001 hPa
Rain · recent3.0 mm
Rain · ahead2.5 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
15°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.
Likely species
Mayflies
Caddisflies
Gammarids
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 12pm

12pm(now) — Heather Fly

Stage: Terrestrials on topApproach: Dry flyActivity: 61%
Also:Reed Smut49%Cinnamon Sedge30%Autumn Dun28%
Peak emergence windowWeather boost10 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 4 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
Kells Blackwater
< 1 km
Brown trout
Athboy–Tremblestown River
12 km
Brown trout
Boyne
15 km
Brown trout · Salmon · Sea trout
Lough Bane
21 km
Brown trout · Rainbow trout
River Glyde
22 km
Brown trout
Gallery · 2
  1. The River Blackwater flowing through green countryside near Kells, County Meath, Ireland.
    The Kells Blackwater near Kells, County Meath, a tributary of the River Boyne noted for wild brown trout.
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

Midlands freestone river in County Meath. Wild brown trout in mixed geology water. Good hatches through spring and summer.

Hatches & food

EPA kick-sample monitoring across the Kells Blackwater's WFD segments confirms mayflies, stoneflies, a wide range of caddis, midges and blackflies, and freshwater shrimp, hoglice and crayfish are present in the food base. This is presence evidence only, not a dated hatch calendar.

  • Mixed
The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 90%
How the 0 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time70 × 13%9.1
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity78 × 12%9.4
Conditions total= 87
Can you trust it?
Water temperaturelive gauge readinggauge
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitysurvey-backed invertebrate datasurvey
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 1 March → 30 September
Related guides
ConnemaraIrish fishingEuro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Casting instructors near here
Booking & contacts