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.

Prime · Brown Trout
Hare's Ear Nymph · 12-16
Primelive now
About as good as it gets
Low and clear — careful approach country. Take your time — read the water before you cast.
75% confidence
What moved it
  • Level0.28 mLast reading 6h ago
  • Water temp13.5°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Hare's Ear Nymph
Hare's Ear Nymph12-16
Upstream
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Steady
0.28 m
Last reading 6h ago
Water temp13.5°C
ClarityClear
Weather11°C
WindSE 21 km/h
Pressure1015 hPa
Rain · recent19.7 mm
Rain · ahead9.8 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
14°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.
Why this works
Excellent — water temperature is working for you, but time of day is the limiting factor today.
Likely species
Mayflies
Caddisflies
Gammarids
Hatch timeline · todayQuiet day

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

Supporters see the full sub-surface read.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 2 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
30
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 75%
How the 80 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time40 × 13%5.2
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity54 × 12%6.5
Conditions total= 80
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