Limestone · Midlands / Roscommon–Longford, IE

Shannon (Upper)

Shannon (Upper) terrain map

The upper Shannon, above Lough Ree, holds brown trout in slow, limestone-rich water that meanders through the midlands with more intimacy than the lower river ever offers.

Today · Closed season
Black Gnat
Forecast · Today
Closed season
Out of season. Try elsewhere.
75% projected
Today's fly
Black Gnat
Black Gnat
Conditions on the water · Today
Live gauge
Level
Falling
1.38 m
Dropping after lift
Water temp16.2°C
ClaritySlightly coloured
Weather14°C
WindN 35 km/h
Pressure1000 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead6.9 mm

The nearest gauge doesn't record temperatures, so we've estimated it — defer to the river keeper's advice.

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Warm — slow
16°C est.ideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Brown Trout
When
Nymphing can work through most of the day.
Where
Cover mixed depths.
Method
Start with tight-line nymphs and adjust if fish rise or drift higher.
Kit
9 ft #4 rod, floating line, 12 ft tapered leader to 4–5 lb fluoro tippet.
Likely species
Stoneflies
Caddisflies
Gammarids
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 12pm

12pm(now) — Heather Fly

Stage: Terrestrials on topApproach: Dry flyActivity: 95%
Also:Reed Smut84%Cinnamon Sedge49%Autumn Dun41%
Peak emergence windowWeather boost10 food groups active

Peak activity at 12pm — Heather Fly (Heather Fly, Peak emergence window)

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 2 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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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
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
1
Daddy Long LegsHatch
2
3
2
CapererHatch
2
3
3
2
Hawthorn FlyHatch
2
2
GrannomHatch
2
2

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

Ranked for today
Brown Trout fly box
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • State rod licence required
  • Coarse fishing stretches intermixed.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Lough Ree
13 km
Brown trout · Pike
Mount Dalton Lake
35 km
Brown trout
Lough Acalla
39 km
Rainbow trout · Brown trout
Lough Gowna
41 km
Pike
Lough O'Flynn
42 km
Brown trout
About this water

The upper Shannon, above Lough Ree, holds brown trout in slow, limestone-rich water that meanders through the midlands with more intimacy than the lower river ever offers. Mayfly hatches are good in May and June, with sedge activity carrying through summer. Access is largely free, needing nothing beyond the state rod licence.

Hatches & food

EPA river-invertebrate monitoring confirms mayflies, stoneflies, caddis, aquatic diptera and freshwater crustaceans are present through the Upper Shannon's monitored segments. This is food-presence evidence only, not a hatch record, and says nothing about when or how strongly any of these groups emerge on the day.

  • Limestone
Water quality (WFD)
  • Ecology: Moderate
  • Chemical: Unknown
The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 75%
How the 0 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time45 × 13%5.9
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity61 × 12%7.3
Conditions total= 82
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitysurvey-backed invertebrate datasurvey
What would change the calculation
The dawn and dusk windows score higher than the midday lull.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 1 March → 30 September
Related guides
ConnemaraIrish fishingEuro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Casting instructors near here
Booking & contacts