Spate · Mixed · Co. Donegal / Foyle System (border), GB-NIR

River Finn

River Finn fishing venue photo

The Finn is the largest tributary of the Foyle system, rising in the Blue Stack Mountains of Donegal and flowing east to join the Mourne at Strabane.

Poor · Atlantic Salmon
Cascade · 8-10
Closed season
Out of season. File this water for the right month.
Closed — confidence not applicable today.
What moved it
  • Level0.72 mLast reading 1h ago
  • Water temp12.2°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Cascade
Cascade8-10
Regional salmon default — river-specific evidence is thin.
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Steady
0.72 m
Last reading 1h ago
Water temp12.2°C
ClarityClear
Weather16°C
WindSE 43 km/h
Pressure998 hPa
Rain · recent8.5 mm
Rain · ahead6.1 mm

Live readings only. Trends shown where the gauge supports them.

Water temperature for Atlantic Salmon
Ideal
12.2°Cideal 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
Mayflies
Stoneflies
Caddisflies
Gammarids
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 2pm

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 12 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 2 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
1
March BrownHatch
2
3
2
CapererHatch
2
3
3
2
Heather FlyHatch
2
2
Autumn DunHatch
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.

What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Fishing better nearby · 5
Glenelly River
23 km
85
Brown trout · Salmon · Sea trout
Lennon
23 km
44
Brown trout · Salmon · Sea trout
River Deele
2.0 km
Brown trout · Salmon · Sea trout
River Finn
11 km
Salmon · Sea trout · Brown trout
River Mourne
26 km
Brown trout · Salmon · Sea trout
Gallery · 4
  1. From Clady Bridge
    From Clady Bridge
  2. A wide, calm stretch of the River Finn near Clady bridge, flanked by autumn trees and low hills under a cloudy sky.
    gc366day317
  3. Picturesque Donegal: its mountains, rivers, and lakes. Being the Great Northern Railway (Ireland) Company's illustrated guide to the sporting and touring grounds of the north of Ireland
    Picturesque Donegal: its mountains, rivers, and lakes. Being the Great Northern Railway (Ireland) Company's illustrated guide to the sporting and touring grounds of the north of Ireland
  4. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

The Finn is the largest tributary of the Foyle system, rising in the Blue Stack Mountains of Donegal and flowing east to join the Mourne at Strabane. A powerful spate river with excellent salmon and sea trout. The river has both Republic (upper) and Northern Ireland (lower) sections — the Loughs Agency manages the fishery across the border. Salmon run from March with grilse from June. Sea trout from May. One of the most productive salmon rivers in the Foyle system. Day permits from Loughs Agency. Atlantic salmon are managed under DAERA and Loughs Agency conservation byelaws, with mandatory catch-and-release on many waters; check current rules before fishing.

Hatches & food

No venue-specific hatch data yet; as a spate river of this basalt-and-peat country, expect flood-driven stonefly and terrestrial food to dominate over any steady upwing hatch — treat this as general guidance, not an observed hatch.

Sea trout here

Summer-autumn runs, seasonal patterns vary by region

  • Mixed
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 temperaturelive gauge readinggauge
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Salmon 1 March → 15 September

Sea trout: Variable seasonal (2026)

Related guides
Atlantic Salmonsalmon tacticsIrish Salmon Rivers Guidefive great salmon fisheriesConnemaraIrish fishing
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