Lowland · Mixed · Co. Antrim / Lough Neagh Tributaries, GB-NIR

Six Mile Water

The Six Mile Water river running through autumn trees near Antrim, Northern Ireland.

The Six Mile Water is the most famous dollaghan river — a Lough Neagh tributary flowing through Antrim town.

Prime · Brown Trout
Hare's Ear Nymph · 12-16
Primelive now
About as good as it gets
River high but settled. Coloured water — fish bigger and deeper, confident takes down the seams.
90% confidence
What moved it
  • Level1.22 mLast reading 8h ago
  • Water temp14.2°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Hare's Ear Nymph
Hare's Ear Nymph12-16
Upstream
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Steady
1.22 m
Last reading 8h ago
Water temp14.2°C
ClarityClear
Weather13°C
WindSE 33 km/h
Pressure1012 hPa
Rain · recent18.0 mm
Rain · ahead19.4 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
Ideal
14°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.
Why this works
Excellent — water temperature is right today, though insect activity could be better.
Likely species
Mayflies
Caddisflies
Gammarids
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 11am

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 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
2
1
Mayfly (Green Drake)Hatch
2
2
Large Cinnamon SedgeHatch
2
3
3
2
Daddy Long LegsHatch
2
3
2
CapererHatch
2
3
3
2

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

Ranked for today
Brown Trout fly box
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Lough Neagh
13 km
Brown trout · Pike · Dollaghan
River Lagan — Shaw's Bridge
20 km
Brown trout · Salmon
Killylane Reservoir
23 km
Brown trout
Hillsborough Lake
23 km
Rainbow trout
Lower South Woodburn Reservoir
24 km
Brown trout · Rainbow trout
Gallery · 2
  1. The Six Mile Water river running through autumn trees near Antrim, Northern Ireland.
    Autumn on the Six Mile Water at Antrim, County Antrim.
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

The Six Mile Water is the most famous dollaghan river — a Lough Neagh tributary flowing through Antrim town. Dollaghan are endemic lake-run brown trout unique to the Lough Neagh system, running upstream July–October to spawn. Night fishing for dollaghan is a Northern Irish tradition — big fish (2–8 lb, occasional doubles) taken on streamers and large wet flies after dark. Resident brown trout throughout. Managed by Six Mile Water Trust and local clubs.

Hatches & food

No venue-specific hatch data yet; as a lowland main-stem river feeding Lough Neagh, expect the mixed upwing, sedge and midge activity typical of Ulster lowland rivers rather than a confirmed hatch — general guidance only.

  • Mixed
The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 90%
How the 86 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time75 × 13%9.8
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity63 × 12%7.6
Conditions total= 86
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitysurvey-backed invertebrate datasurvey
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 1 March → 31 October
Related guides
ConnemaraIrish fishingEuro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Casting instructors near here
Booking & contacts