Limestone · Midlands / Westmeath, IE

Lough Ennell

Lough-ennell-co-westmeath

Midlands limestone trout lake south of Mullingar — rich, productive water with good mayfly and sedge hatches.

Fair · Trout
Perch Fry · 8-10_long_shank
Fairlive now
Buzzer expected on Lough Ennell
Useful ripple, fishable wave. Worth a session if the wind holds.
60% confidence
What moved it
  • WindSE 31 km/hFresh breeze
Today's fly
Perch Fry
Perch Fry8-10_long_shank
Retrieve
Conditions on the water
Estimate
Wind
Fresh breeze
SE 31 km/h
N
SE
from the south-east
Wave60 cm wave
Water temp12.6°C
Air temp14°C
CloudOvercast
Pressure1006 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm

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

Head to
Wind driftS wind
Northern end

A southerly has held for 9 hours at much the same temperature as the 13°C water. No thermal steer either way, but the drift still stacks food against the northern end — the bank it is blowing into — so start there. This reads the upper water, though — a bottom bait at range feels it far less than a floater or a fish in the margins. Treat it as a tiebreaker between good swims rather than an override — features and angling pressure usually count for more.

How to fish it · for Trout
When
March–September; buzzer March–April; mayfly mid-May
Where
Work Muddler Minnow on the bob and Perch Fry on the point.
The plan
Plan A

Work Muddler Minnow on the bob and Perch Fry on the point.

Plan B

If the main plan is not working, switch to a smaller, more imitative pattern fished slower and deeper. A change of drift angle can also make a difference.

Watch for

Sedge should come on through the afternoon as the water warms.

Boat — at anchor

Windy conditions suit anchoring in productive areas rather than open-water drifting.

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

Top prey shown — see all 5 as a supporter.

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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
2
1
Green PeterHatch
2
3
2
Murrough (Great Red Sedge)Hatch
2
3
2
DuckflyHatch
2
2
Mayfly (Green Drake)Hatch
2
2

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

Ranked for today
Trout fly box
Permits & access
Free state water
State rod licence required for trout / salmon as applicable.
  • Midlands lough near Mullingar
  • No permit — state rod licence only
  • Boats available
  • C&R encouraged.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Condition match
63%
Cloud70%
Wind30%
Temp100%

A reasonable day here, though wind isn't quite in the sweet spot.

Other water nearby · 5
Gallery · 2
  1. Lough-ennell-co-westmeath
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

Midlands limestone trout lake south of Mullingar — rich, productive water with good mayfly and sedge hatches. Specimen brown trout are present and regularly taken. Less celebrated than Owel or Sheelin but consistently good and less pressured. A quiet gem for the angler willing to explore.

Hatches & food

Lough Ennell's spring turns on a strongly localised duckfly hatch — starting mid-April and peaking around 18-25 April west of Blind Island and the Dysart/Geoghegan shore, with two daily windows, before noon and around 8pm — followed by lake olives from the first week of May for about three weeks. A dense May-into-June sequence follows: large mayfly from around 19 May off Robinstown and Belvedere, chironomids from around 20 May taking fish near the surface on a ripple, the large dark Welshman Button sedge pupae from the third or fourth week of May, and Murrough hatching at dusk by the reed beds. Black terrestrials blown onto the water add a further food source in late May and early June.

  • Lough system
  • Limestone
Water quality (WFD)
  • Ecology: Good
  • Chemical: Unknown
What this classification means

WFD code normalized 2026-06-18: IE_SH_25_188 → IESH_25_188 (EPA national format → EEA WISE euSurfaceWaterBodyCode; same water body, now joinable to WISE). Status confirmed against EEA WISE 2022 (3rd RBMP). Source: discodata.eea.europa.eu. | Prior note: EPA WFD 2019-2024 (lake layer) — Lough Ennell: Good ecological status. Re-tagged 2026-06-18 from IESH_25D050400 (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) · IESH_25_188

Why this score
  • Wind conditions (windy) are not ideal for this water.
  • Temperature (cool) is in the sweet spot for autumn fishing.
  • Buzzer is in its seasonal window, boosting the chance of targeted feeding.
Directions
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 1 March → 12 October
Related guides
Casting instructors near here
Booking & contacts