Stillwater · Limestone · North West / Sligo-Leitrim, IE

Lough Gill & Bonet

Lough Gill. County Sligo, Ireland

The Lough Gill system near Sligo, with the Bonet as its main feeder entering at Dromahair, holds salmon, sea trout and wild brown trout.

Tomorrow · Closed season
Czech Nymph
Forecast · Tomorrow
Closed season
Out of season. File this water for the right month.
85% projected
Today's fly
Czech Nymph
Czech Nymph
Conditions on the water · Tomorrow
Estimate
Level
Dry recently
No gauge reading
Water temp11.0°C
ClarityClear
Weather4°C
WindN 9 km/h
Pressure1018 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead0.1 mm

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

Water temperature for Atlantic Salmon
Ideal
11°C est.ideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Atlantic Salmon
When
All day — lough fishing is best in a good wave. Early morning and evening can produce in calm conditions.
Where
Work the drift lanes from the upwind shore across the productive zones. Cover bay edges, underwater reefs, and any areas where the bottom shoals.
Method
Fish a sensible line-and-fly combination for the height and pace of water.
Kit
10 ft #7/8 single-hander, floating line, 10–12 lb fluoro leader. Boat seat and waterproofs for the drift.
Likely species
Stoneflies
Chironomids
Gammarids
Hatch timeline · tomorrowPeak at 6pm

12pm(now) — Black Midge

Stage: On emergersApproach: Emerger or dryActivity: 33%
Also:Autumn Olive26%
Peak emergence windowWeather boost7 food groups active

Peak activity at 6pm — Caperer (Caperer, Weather boost)

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 4 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
Sea trout runRun
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
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
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.

What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Garavogue River
5.0 km
0
Salmon · Sea trout · Brown trout
Ballisodare
9.0 km
0
Brown trout · Salmon · Sea trout
Drumcliff / Glencar
11 km
0
Brown trout · Salmon · Sea trout
Duff River
24 km
0
Brown trout · Salmon · Sea trout
Lough Melvin
25 km
0
Brown trout
Gallery · 2
  1. Lough Gill. County Sligo, Ireland
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

The salmon and sea trout are catch-and-release for 2026. Fish the lough and the river mouth for running fish, and the Bonet when a flood brings them up. Sligo Anglers and IFI hold the water; the Salmon and Sea Trout State Licence is required.

Hatches & food

A limestone-rich Sligo lough system with genuine wild-trout fly life — duckfly, lake olive, mayfly and sedge — though the headline fishing is migratory salmon and sea trout, which take on traditional loch wets rather than to a hatch.

  • Lough
  • Limestone
Water quality (WFD)
  • Ecology: Unknown
  • Chemical: Unknown
Why this score · for Atlantic Salmon
  • Temperature10030% weight
  • Flow4525% weight
  • Clarity9520% weight
  • Feeding Time1015% weight
  • Pressure8510% weight
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Salmon 1 January → 30 SeptemberC&R
  • Sea trout 1 January → 30 SeptemberC&R
  • Trout 15 February → 30 September
Related guides
Irish Loughs Playbooklough-style fishingThermal Layers & Troutreading depth and temperatureAtlantic Salmonsalmon tactics
Casting instructors near here
Booking & contacts
Permits & access
At a glance

Lough Gill & Bonet is a lough in North West / Sligo-Leitrim, Ireland. The catchment geology is recorded as limestone, and the water sits at about 10 m above sea level. Species listed for this water: salmon, sea trout and brown trout. It is classed as a salmon river. The salmon season is recorded as running from 1 January to 30 September. The sea trout season is recorded as running from 1 January to 30 September. Core methods listed: floating line wet fly on the Bonet feeder; dry/wet fly for brown trout. Boat fishing is recorded as available. Nearby waters in our listings include Garavogue River at 5.0 km, Ballisodare at 9.0 km and Drumcliff / Glencar at 11 km.