Stillwater · Peat · West / Mayo

Carrowmore Lake

Long view down the length of Carrowmore Lake, County Mayo.
Contributor photo

Looking down Carrowmore Lake

Oliver Dixon - CC BY-SA 2.0

One of very few stillwaters in the British Isles where spring salmon are regularly taken by fly from a drifting boat.

Fair · Atlantic Salmon
Cascade · 10-14
Fairlive now
Decent — worth a look
Low and clear — careful approach country. Low water tactics — small singles, riffling hitch in the smooth glides.
75% confidence
What moved it
  • LevelProxyvia Owenmore (Erris)
  • Water temp16.1°C
  • ClaritySlightly colouredClearing
Today’s fly
Cascade
Cascade10-14
Regional salmon default — river-specific evidence is thin.
Conditions on the water
Proxy gauge
Level
Falling
Proxy
via Owenmore (Erris)
Water temp16.1°C
ClaritySlightly coloured
Weather12°C
WindNW 12 km/h
Pressure1026 hPa
Rain · recent6.0 mm
Rain · ahead9.6 mm

No gauge on this water — conditions are inferred from Owenmore (Erris). The trend transfers, the absolute level does not.

Water temperature for atlantic salmon
Warm — slow
16°C est.ideal 1014°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for atlantic salmon
When
Morning into early afternoon.
Where
Pool tails, steadier runs, and any water with pace.
Method
Fish a sensible line-and-fly combination for the height and pace of water.
Kit
13 ft #8/9 double-hander in spate, 10 ft #8 single in low water. Floating line plus a fast-sink tip. 12–15 lb fluoro tippet.
Why this works
Fair conditions based on river hydrology and migration patterns.
Hatch timeline · todayQuiet day

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 6 active hatches hour by hour with Pro.

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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 · July highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Salmon runRun
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
Daddy Long LegsHatch
2
3
2
Murrough (Great Red Sedge)Hatch
2
3
2
Black MidgeHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Lake OliveHatch
1
2
2
2
2
2
1

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

Ranked for today
Atlantic Salmon fly box
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Carrowmore Lake, Co
  • Check local access arrangements
  • State rod licence required.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Gallery · 4
  1. Long view down the length of Carrowmore Lake, County Mayo.
    Looking down Carrowmore Lake
  2. View to the northern end of Carrowmore Lake, County Mayo.
    Northern end of Carrowmore Lake
  3. Shoreline of Carrowmore Lake, Erris, County Mayo.
    Shore of Carrowmore Lake
  4. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

One of very few stillwaters in the British Isles where spring salmon are regularly taken by fly from a drifting boat. Carrowmore Lake sits in the Bangor Erris district of north Mayo — 2,300 acres of peaty lough system raised slightly by a small dam in the 1980s, ringed by bog and supplied by the Glencullin and Oweninny systems. Spring fish average 7lb and double-figure fish are a regular occurrence; sea trout from mid-June. The productive drifts concentrate on Bog Bay, Paradise Bay, and the mouth of the Glencullin river. Fish it like a lough, not a river — a team of wets worked slowly across a broadside drift, with a Green Peter or large Dabbler on the bob in any kind of breeze. For 2026 this remains an open fishery — salmon may be retained in season under the Wild Salmon & Sea Trout Tagging Scheme and bag limits, with catch-and-release at other times.

  • Lough system
  • Peat
Water quality (WFD)
  • EcologyModerate
  • ChemicalUnknown
What this classification means

WFD updated 2026-06-18: ecological status Good → Moderate (EEA WISE 2022, 3rd RBMP) and code normalized IE_WE_33_1914 → IEWE_33_1914 (EPA national format → WISE euSurfaceWaterBodyCode; same water body). Source: EEA WISE SWB_SurfaceWaterBody (discodata.eea.europa.eu). | Prior note: EPA WFD 2019-2024 (lake layer) — Lough Carrowmore: Good ecological status. Re-tagged 2026-06-18 from IEWE_32C010250 (a river/stream water body, not the lough) to the lough's own EPA lake water body. Source: EPA Ireland WFD 2019-2024 classification (catchments.ie / EDEN).

EPA (Ireland) · IEWE_33_1914

The full read · show the working · for atlantic salmon · confidence 75%
How the river scores — hydrology factors
Water heightMedium Ideal0.0
Recent riseNone0.0
Falling after liftNot Applicable0.0
Water temperatureCool To Moderate0.0
Time in seasonOpening Period0.0
ClarityClearing0.0
Hydrology base0.0
Legal gate: Unknown Check Local Rules
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowproxy via Owenmore (Erris)proxy
Directions
Seasons & zones
  • Salmon1 February → 30 September
Related guides
Booking & contacts