Spate · Mixed · South-West / Cork, IE

River Ilen

River Ilen venue image

West Cork spate river flowing to Roaringwater Bay.

Today · Closed season
Czech Nymph
Forecast · Today
Closed season
Out of season. Try elsewhere.
45% projected
Today's fly
Czech Nymph
Czech Nymph
Conditions on the water · Today
Proxy gauge
Level
Rising
Proxy
via River Sullane
Water temp9.4°C
ClarityUnfishable
Weather10°C
WindN 38 km/h
Pressure1007 hPa
Rain · recent0.2 mm
Rain · ahead2.1 mm

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

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Cool — slow
9°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
Stoneflies
Gammarids
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 11am

12pm(now) — Autumn Needle Fly

Stage: Creeping nymphsApproach: Heavy nymphActivity: 36%
Also:Autumn Olive28%
Peak emergence window4 food groups active

Peak activity at 11am — Autumn Needle Fly (Autumn Needle 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

Supporters see what else is on the menu.

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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 · November highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Salmon runRun
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
March BrownHatch
2
3
2
CapererHatch
2
3
3
2
Heather FlyHatch
2
2
Autumn DunHatch
2
3
2

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

Ranked for today
Brown Trout fly box
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • South Western Fisheries District
  • River Ilen AC manages the river around Skibbereen
  • Permits from Field Newsagents, The Square, Skibbereen (+353 28 21400)
  • Shrimp prohibited (fly, spinning, worm only)
  • Night fishing prohibited to visiting anglers
  • State rod licence required.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
River Coomhola
23 km
0
Brown trout · Salmon · Sea trout
River Ilen
< 1 km
Brown trout · Sea trout
Shepperton Lake
9.0 km
Brown trout · Rainbow trout
Ballin Lough (West Cork)
11 km
Rainbow trout · Brown trout
Lough Bofinne
16 km
Brown trout · Rainbow trout
Gallery · 1
  1. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

Wild brown trout with some sea trout. Mixed geology in a mild Atlantic-coast catchment.

Hatches & food

EPA freshwater monitoring on the River Ilen confirms mayflies, stoneflies, caddis, aquatic diptera and freshwater crustaceans (shrimp and hoglice) are present across its monitored segments. The records establish food presence rather than adult emergence timing.

  • Mixed
The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 75%
How the 0 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature39 × 28%10.9
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time55 × 13%7.2
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity29 × 12%3.5
Conditions total= 62
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowproxy via River Sullaneproxy
Prey activitysurvey-backed invertebrate datasurvey
What would change the calculation
Warmer water — toward the 10–16 °C ideal band — would lift the temperature score.
The dawn and dusk windows score higher than the midday lull.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Salmon 1 February → 30 September
  • Trout 15 February → 30 September
Related guides
ConnemaraIrish fishingEuro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Casting instructors near here
Booking & contacts
At a glance

River Ilen is a spate river in South-West / Cork, Ireland. It sits at about 7 m above sea level. Our data lists brown trout and sea trout here. The trout season is recorded as running from 15 February to 30 September. The salmon season is recorded as running from 1 February to 30 September. Core methods listed: soft_hackle_swing; upstream_nymph; blind_fishing_coloured_water. Nearby waters in our listings include River Ilen at < 1 km, Shepperton Lake at 9.0 km and Ballin Lough (West Cork) at 11 km.