Stillwater · Sandstone · South West / Kerry (Waterville/Currane system), IE

Lough Derriana

Lough Derriana terrain map

Lough Derriana lies above the main Waterville system, a staging lough for migratory fish moving through the Kerry chain.

Today · Closed season
Perch Fry
Forecast · Today
Closed season
Out of season. File this water for the right month.
40% projected
Today's fly
Perch Fry
Perch Fry
Conditions on the water · Today
Estimate
Level
Dry recently
No gauge reading
Water temp9.9°C
ClarityUnfishable
Weather9°C
WindN 33 km/h
Pressure1005 hPa
Rain · recent0.1 mm
Rain · ahead7.4 mm

No gauge on this water — readings are regional estimates from weather, not a live gauge.

Water temperature for Atlantic Salmon
Cool — slow
10°C est.ideal 10–16°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.
Likely species
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 10am

12pm(now) — Black Midge

Stage: On emergersApproach: Emerger or dryActivity: 20%

Peak activity at 10am — Black Midge

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

Top prey shown — see all 3 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 · November highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Salmon runRun
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
Heather FlyHatch
2
2
Daddy Long LegsHatch
2
3
3
2
Claret DunHatch
2
3
2
Murrough (Great Red Sedge)Hatch
2
3
2

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

Ranked for today
Atlantic Salmon fly box

Munster Blackwater and neighbouring SW spring rivers: when the water is cold or running high, a tube fly fished deep on a Skagit head or sinking shooting head with a heavier leader finds fish that a floating line can't reach. Comes down to a 9'-10' single-handed rod and small flies on an 8lb tippet once the river drops into summer trim.

Munroe Killer
Munroe Killer
10–14 doubles · Salmon fly
Traditional Irish salmon fly with long local history. Popular on the Munster rivers; the black/yellow combination has worked reliably for grilse fishing throughout the summer.
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Part of Waterville estate.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
About this water

Boats are available at Clodragh; there is no public bank access. The Waterville/Currane management arrangements are currently unsettled — confirm access locally before you make the drive. 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.

Under the surface

Lough Derriana is one of the larger upper loughs of the Waterville system in south Kerry, lying among the chain of lakes — Namona, Cloonaghlin, Iskanamacteery — that the Cummeragh and Owengarriff rivers thread down to Lough Currane and the sea. This is remote, beautiful Old Red Sandstone country beneath the high hills of the Iveragh peninsula, the water clear and soft off a catchment of sandstone rock and blanket bog. Derriana is sea-trout water first and foremost, the fish running up into the system off the Currane when the rivers fill and flood, with salmon among them on the high water and wild brown trout through the season. The character is upland lough — rocky shoals, sandstone reefs and peat-stained bays, exposed to the Atlantic wind. This is boat-and-drift fishing read by the wave and the shoreline lies; the connecting streams wade steadily on firm rock.

Wading: Atlantic wind on an exposed lough

Hatches & food

No venue-specific hatch data yet; as an oligotrophic upland lough in this Cork/Kerry sandstone-freestone system, expect the typical acid-water stillwater character of sparse buzzer and sedge activity with occasional terrestrial fall — treat this as a general expectation, not an observed hatch.

  • Lough system
  • Sandstone
  • Unconfined
  • Stillwater
  • Lough
Water quality (WFD)
  • Ecology: Unknown
  • Chemical: Unknown
Why this score · for Atlantic Salmon
  • Temperature8830% weight
  • Flow4525% weight
  • Clarity9520% weight
  • Feeding Time2015% weight
  • Pressure8510% weight
Directions
Seasons & zones
  • Salmon 17 January → 30 September

Sea trout: Variable seasonal (2026)

Related guides
Casting instructors near here
Booking & contacts
At a glance

Lough Derriana is a lough system in South West / Kerry (Waterville/Currane system), Ireland. Its recorded elevation is about 0 m above sea level and the catchment geology is sandstone. Our data lists sea trout and salmon here. It is classed as a salmon river. The salmon season is recorded as running from 17 January to 30 September. Best window recorded for anglers: January–May (spring); June–September (sea trout). Core methods listed: wet fly from boat. Access is recorded as membership required. Boat fishing is recorded as available. Nearby waters in our listings include Lough Namona at 2.0 km, Cloonlaghlin Lough at 2.0 km and Iasknamacnateery Lough at 4.0 km.