Stillwater · Acidic · County Down, GB-NIR

Silent Valley Reservoir

Silent Valley Reservoir — Silent valley - Northern Ireland

Silent Valley is a different animal from the little put-and-take lakes — an upland reservoir up in the Mournes, lying over acidic granite, holding both rainbows and wild-spirited brown trout.

Marginal · Rainbow
Perch Fry · 8–10 long shank
A patient day, if you fancy it
Useful ripple, fishable wave. Slow going — pick your moments and do not force it.
39% confidence
limited data

Silent Valley Reservoir is often best in spring through autumn.

What moved it
  • WindN 32 km/hFresh breeze
Today's fly
Perch Fry
Perch Fry8–10 long shank
Retrieve
Conditions on the water
Estimate
Wind
Fresh breeze
N 32 km/h
N
N
from the north
Wave60 cm wave
Water temp9.0°C
Air temp4°C
CloudClear
Pressure1010 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm

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

Head to
Wind driftN wind
Northern end

A northerly has held for 8 hours, running colder than the water (4°C air against 9°C water). The end it blows into is taking that chilled surface water, so try the sheltered northern end instead — off the back of the wind, where the undertow returns food along the bottom. That chill sits in the top of the water, though, and the bed is slower to feel it — on a bottom bait it is the undertow, not the temperature, that puts you at this end. Treat it as a tiebreaker between good swims rather than an override — features and angling pressure usually count for more.

How to fish it · for Rainbow
When
Conditions are not ideal but fishable at Silent Valley Reservoir.
Where
Start with Perch Fry (8–10 long shank) — on the point. Early in the day, try buzzers on a slow figure-of-eight or a booby on a fast-sink line near the bottom. Rainbows respond to more active retrieves — try short strips between pauses.
The plan
Plan A

Start with Perch Fry (8–10 long shank) — on the point. Early in the day, try buzzers on a slow figure-of-eight or a booby on a fast-sink line near the bottom. Rainbows respond to more active retrieves — try short strips between pauses.

Plan B

Slow down everything. A booby on a fast-sinking line, left static, can pick up deep fish.

Watch for

Keep an eye on changing conditions — wind shifts and cloud breaks can trigger short feeding spells.

Bank

Bank-only venue. Fish from accessible margins, points, weed edges, and inflows.

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 4 as a supporter.

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Through the year
0–3 scale · November highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Reservoir BuzzerHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
2
Daphnia SwarmHatch
2
3
3
3
2
Lake OliveHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
2
Silverhorns & LonghornsHatch
1
2
2
2
1

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

Buzzer team todayfor the conditions now
Point
Black buzzer, orange thorax
Not in this water's box
#10
How to fish it
Intermediate line · let the breeze drift the team, then hang it 15–30 s

Fly recommendations

Point fly shown — supporters see the whole team, sizes and why.

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Ranked for today
Rainbow fly box
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Condition match
50%
Cloud25%
Wind30%
Temp100%

A reasonable day here, though cloud isn't quite in the sweet spot.

Other water nearby · 5
Silent Valley Reservoir
< 1 km
Rainbow trout · Brown trout
Spelga Reservoir
6.0 km
Brown trout
Castlewellan Forest Lake
15 km
Brown trout · Rainbow trout
River Lagan
25 km
Brown trout
Ballymascanlan River
27 km
Brown trout · Sea trout
Gallery · 2
  1. Silent Valley Reservoir — Silent valley - Northern Ireland
    Silent valley - Northern Ireland
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

Acidic water tends to run clear and a little sparse, and the fishing has a wilder, more exposed feel for it. This is wind-and-light fishing: the trout come on when a ripple breaks up the surface and cloud takes the glare off, and go quiet when the reservoir lies flat and bright under a high sun. Buzzers and bloodworm work the cool water early; come summer there's enough damsel and sedge to fish nearer the top. The brown trout especially want a careful, unhurried approach. Open upland water that asks you to read the day — the breeze, the cloud, the temperature — rather than just turning up and casting.

  • Reservoir
  • Acidic
Why this score
  • Wind conditions (windy) are not ideal for this water.
  • Temperature (cool) is in the sweet spot for winter fishing.
  • Reservoirs of this kind fish hard at this time of year.
Related guides
Irish Loughs Playbooklough-style fishingBig Stillwater Playbookreservoir tacticsReservoir Entomologymatching the hatch
Casting instructors near here
Booking & contacts
At a glance

Silent Valley Reservoir is a reservoir in County Down, Northern Ireland. The catchment geology is recorded as acidic, and the water sits at about 154 m above sea level. Species listed for this water: rainbow trout and brown trout. Best window recorded for anglers: Rippled, overcast conditions; cool water and broken light far better than bright calm. Core methods listed: Buzzers fished under the wave on a floating line; Damsel along the drop-offs in summer; Dry sedge to evening risers in settled weather. Nearby waters in our listings include Silent Valley Reservoir at < 1 km, Spelga Reservoir at 6.0 km and Castlewellan Forest Lake at 15 km.