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
Czech Nymph
Forecast · Today
Closed season
Out of season. Try elsewhere.
45% projected
Today's fly
Czech Nymph
Czech Nymph
Conditions on the water · Today
Live gauge
Level
Rising
1.37 m
Lifting fast
Water temp7.9°C
ClarityVery coloured
Weather8°C
WindN 25 km/h
Pressure1007 hPa
Rain · recent3.6 mm
Rain · ahead1.7 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
Cool — slow
8°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
Gammarids
Hatch timeline · todayQuiet day

12pm(now) — Autumn Needle Fly

Stage: Creeping nymphsApproach: Heavy nymphActivity: 17%

Low insect activity predicted today

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 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 · November 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
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

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
Temperature55 × 28%15.4
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time40 × 13%5.2
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity37 × 12%4.4
Conditions total= 65
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitysurvey-backed invertebrate datasurvey
What would change the calculation
Warmer water — toward the 10–16 °C ideal band — would lift the temperature score.
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
At a glance

Shannon (Upper) is a limestone river in Midlands / Roscommon–Longford, Ireland. Its recorded elevation is about 33 m above sea level and the catchment geology is limestone. The river is described as roughly 120 km long. The species listed for this water is brown trout. The trout season is recorded as running from 1 March to 30 September. Best window recorded for anglers: May–June for mayfly; July–August for sedge. Core methods listed: dry fly to rising fish; nymph in deeper pools; wet fly in coloured water. Level and flow data for this water is linked from 1 gauge. Its Water Framework Directive ecological status is recorded as moderate. Nearby waters in our listings include Lough Ree at 13 km, Mount Dalton Lake at 35 km and Lough Acalla at 39 km.