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.

Tomorrow · Closed season
Wickham's Fancy
Forecast · Tomorrow
Closed season
Out of season. Try elsewhere.
45% projected
Today's fly
Wickham's Fancy
Wickham's Fancy
Conditions on the water · Tomorrow
Live gauge
Level
Rising
0.36 m
Lifting fast
Water temp8.8°C
ClarityVery coloured
Weather7°C
WindN 22 km/h
Pressure1008 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead0.7 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
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 · tomorrowPeak at 12pm

12pm(now) — Autumn Olive

Stage: On emergersApproach: Emerger or dryActivity: 23%

Peak activity at 12pm — Autumn Olive

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
Daddy Long LegsHatch
2
3
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
Athboy–Tremblestown River
12 km
0
Brown trout
Boyne
15 km
0
Brown trout · Salmon · Sea trout
Kells Blackwater
< 1 km
Brown 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

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
Temperature80 × 28%22.4
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time65 × 13%8.5
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity59 × 12%7.1
Conditions total= 78
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
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

Kells Blackwater is a freestone river in East / Meath, Ireland. It sits at about 52 m above sea level. 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: upstream_nymph; dry_fly; soft_hackle_swing. Level and flow data for this water is linked from 1 gauge. Nearby waters in our listings include Kells Blackwater at < 1 km, Athboy–Tremblestown River at 12 km and Boyne at 15 km.