Spate · Mixed · East / Dublin–Meath, IE

River Tolka

River Tolka terrain map

North Dublin's urban wild trout river — on IFI's Dublin trout-river list alongside the Liffey, Dodder, and Rye Water, but a local option rather than a destination.

Tomorrow · Closed season
Elk Hair Caddis
Forecast · Tomorrow
Closed season
Out of season. Try elsewhere.
75% projected
Today's fly
Elk Hair Caddis
Elk Hair Caddis
Conditions on the water · Tomorrow
Live gauge
Level
Steady
0.23 m
Water temp11.4°C
ClarityClear
Weather10°C
WindN 31 km/h
Pressure1015 hPa
Rain · recent3.6 mm
Rain · ahead0.4 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
11°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
Mayflies
Stoneflies
Caddisflies
Gammarids
Hatch timeline · tomorrowPeak at 6pm

12pm(now) — Autumn Needle Fly

Stage: Creeping nymphsApproach: Heavy nymphActivity: 85%
Also:Autumn Olive54%Daddy Long Legs35%
Peak emergence windowWeather boost9 food groups active

Peak activity at 6pm — Caperer (Caperer, Weather boost)

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

Supporters see what else is on the menu.

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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 · October highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Trout seasonSeason
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
Brown Trout fly box
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Tolka Trout Anglers Club
  • Season permits only via tackle shops (Rory's, Henry's, ABC)
  • All legitimate methods permitted
  • State rod licence required for salmon/sea trout.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
River Dodder
6.0 km
0
Brown trout · Sea trout
Broadmeadow & Ward Rivers
13 km
0
Brown trout
Rye Water
17 km
0
Brown trout
Corkagh Park Fishery
12 km
Brown trout · Rainbow trout
Bohernabreena Reservoirs
17 km
Brown trout
About this water

North Dublin's urban wild trout river — on IFI's Dublin trout-river list alongside the Liffey, Dodder, and Rye Water, but a local option rather than a destination. Rises near Dunshaughlin in Meath and flows ~33 km east through the Tolka Valley and Glasnevin to Dublin Bay at East Wall. The best fly water is the rural Meath headwaters and the Tolka Valley Park reach; the lower urban stretches downstream of Glasnevin are heavily impacted. Useful for the local angler with an evening to spare, not a planned day trip. Season permits only — no day tickets.

Hatches & food

EPA kick-sample monitoring on the River Tolka, a short and largely urban Dublin river, confirms mayflies, caddis, midges and blackflies, and freshwater shrimp and hoglice are present across its WFD segments, with no stoneflies recorded. This is modest presence evidence only, not a hatch calendar.

  • Mixed
Water quality (WFD)
  • Ecology: Unknown
  • Chemical: Unknown
The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 90%
How the 0 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time80 × 13%10.4
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity78 × 12%9.4
Conditions total= 88
Can you trust it?
Water temperaturelive gauge readinggauge
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitysurvey-backed invertebrate datasurvey
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 17 March → 30 September
Related guides
ConnemaraIrish fishingEuro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Casting instructors near here
Booking & contacts