Spate · Granite · East / Wicklow, IE

River Ow

River Ow terrain map

The Ow rises in the Lugnaquilla foothills and runs south through compact granite uplands to join the Derry Water at Aughrim village, where the two streams together become the Aughrim River.

Today · Closed season
Stonefly Nymph
Forecast · Today
Closed season
Out of season. Try elsewhere.
90% projected
Today's fly
Stonefly Nymph
Stonefly Nymph
Conditions on the water · Today
Proxy gauge
Level
Steady
Proxy
via Slaney
Water temp8.7°C
ClarityClear
Weather5°C
WindN 18 km/h
Pressure1012 hPa
Rain · recent3.0 mm
Rain · ahead0.0 mm

No gauge on this water — conditions are inferred from Slaney. 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: 77%
Also:Autumn Olive52%Black Midge33%
Peak emergence windowWeather boost5 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 3 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
Trout seasonSeason
1
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
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
River Ow
< 1 km
Brown trout
Derry Water
3.0 km
Brown trout
Derry Water
3.0 km
Brown trout
Aughrim River
4.0 km
Brown trout
Aughrim River
4.0 km
Brown trout
About this water

Small wild brown trout, fast response to rain, intimate water that fishes best the first day after a spate. The Aughrim & District Trout Angling Club holds the rights and tickets the Ow, the Derry Water and the lower Aughrim as three separately named waters — one connected system, three pieces of named water, one day ticket. Tourism copy that loosely refers to 'the Ow or Aughrim' is collapsing the names of the lower mainstem; the Ow proper is the upland tributary above the village confluence.

Hatches & food

EPA kick-sample monitoring on the River Ow confirms mayflies, stoneflies and a decent caddis assemblage, alongside chironomids and freshwater shrimp, present in the river — a modest but genuine food base for a smaller Wicklow freestone.

  • Granite
The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 75%
How the 0 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature82 × 28%23.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time45 × 13%5.9
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity34 × 12%4.1
Conditions total= 73
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowproxy via Slaneyproxy
Prey activitysurvey-backed invertebrate datasurvey
What would change the calculation
The dawn and dusk windows score higher than the midday lull.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 1 March → 30 September
Related guides
ConnemaraIrish fishingEuro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Casting instructors near here
Booking & contacts
At a glance

River Ow is a spate river in East / Wicklow, Ireland. Its recorded elevation is about 104 m above sea level and the catchment geology is granite. The species listed for this water is brown trout. The trout season is recorded as running from 1 March to 30 September. Core methods listed: spider; small_wet_fly; upstream_nymph. Nearby waters in our listings include River Ow at < 1 km, Derry Water at 3.0 km and Derry Water at 3.0 km.