Stillwater · Peat · West / Galway (Connemara), IE

Lough Fee

Lough Fee — Lough Fee 01

Brown trout, sea trout, and salmon lough in Connemara.

Good · Atlantic Salmon
Cascade · 8-10
Goodlive now
A good day — worth the effort
River dropping into shape after a lift. A taking window. Cover the heads and tails methodically.
50% confidence
What moved it
  • LevelHeavy rain recentlyNo gauge reading
  • Water temp14.0°C
  • ClarityColoured
Today's fly
Cascade
Cascade8-10
Regional salmon default — river-specific evidence is thin.
Conditions on the water
Estimate
Level
Heavy rain recently
No gauge reading
Water temp14.0°C
ClarityColoured
Weather12°C
WindSE 35 km/h
Pressure1012 hPa
Rain · recent26.4 mm
Rain · ahead12.4 mm

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

Water temperature for Atlantic Salmon
Ideal
14°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.
Why this works
Good — water temperature is working for you, but time of day is the limiting factor today.
Likely species
Hatch timeline · todayQuiet day

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 2 active hatches hour by hour as a supporter.

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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 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 · September highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Salmon runRun
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
Heather FlyHatch
2
2
Daddy Long LegsHatch
2
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

Connemara/Mayo low water: a lightly-dressed shrimp on a floating line with sink tip, sized down from 8s in cold spring water to 12s and 14s as summer water warms and clears. Where the current runs faster, a slim tube or hairwing swung through tracks better than a shrimp.

Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Bank and boat access
  • Day tickets €30–50
  • Rules vary seasonally.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Gallery · 2
  1. Lough Fee — Lough Fee 01
    Lough Fee 01
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

Brown trout, sea trout, and salmon lough in Connemara. Fishery-managed; boats and bank fishing available. Rules vary by season. 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 Fee lies in the high Connemara country just south of Killary Harbour, a narrow lough three kilometres long beneath the Twelve Bens and the Garraun hills. It takes the Tooreenacoona River at its head and spills north-west to Lough Muck and on through the short Culfin River to the Atlantic. This is hard granite-and-quartzite country, the water clear but soft and acidic off the surrounding bog and mountain. Fee holds a good stock of small wild brown trout, with salmon running the system and a run of sea trout that, though thinner than in former times, still comes in off the tide. Part of the Twelve Bens Special Area of Conservation, it is wild, scenic, mountain-walled water. The character is an exposed upland lough — rocky margins, granite shoals and a stony shore — fished from boat or bank to the wave. Wading the shore and streams is steady on firm rock.

Wading: Exposed mountain walled lough

  • Lough
  • Peat
  • Unconfined
  • Stillwater
Water quality (WFD)
  • Ecology: Unknown
  • Chemical: Unknown
Why this score · for Atlantic Salmon
  • Temperature10030% weight
  • Flow6825% weight
  • Clarity4020% weight
  • Feeding Time1015% weight
  • Pressure8510% weight
Directions
Seasons & zones
  • Salmon 1 February → 30 September
Related guides
Casting instructors near here
Booking & contacts