Spate · Mixed · East / Wicklow, IE

River Vartry

River Vartry — River Vartry, Wicklow, Ireland

A short Wicklow sea-trout river under a strict IFI conservation order — closed for salmon and for sea trout over 40 cm in 2026, with one sea trout of 40 cm or less per day permitted in the open season.

Tomorrow · Closed season
Elk Hair Caddis
Forecast · Tomorrow
Closed season
Out of season. Try elsewhere.
45% projected
Today's fly
Elk Hair Caddis
Elk Hair Caddis
Conditions on the water · Tomorrow
Proxy gauge
Level
Rising
Proxy
via River Dargle (Tinnehinch Fishery)
Water temp12.0°C
ClarityUnfishable
Weather11°C
WindN 24 km/h
Pressure1015 hPa
Rain · recent3.3 mm
Rain · ahead4.5 mm

No gauge on this water — conditions are inferred from River Dargle (Tinnehinch Fishery). The trend transfers, the absolute level does not.

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Ideal
12°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 · tomorrowPeak at 6pm

12pm(now) — Autumn Needle Fly

Stage: Creeping nymphsApproach: Heavy nymphActivity: 39%
Also:Autumn Olive28%Daddy Long Legs21%
Peak emergence windowWeather boost6 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
Sea trout runRun
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.
  • IFI conservation bye-law (2026): salmon closed; sea trout >40 cm closed; one sea trout of 40 cm or less per day in season
  • Devil's Glen (Coillte) public car park is the practical access
  • Vartry Reservoir closed to angling — Uisce Éireann drinking-water supply
  • State rod licence required.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
River Avonmore
11 km
0
Brown trout
Avonbeg River
16 km
0
Brown trout
River Dargle (Tinnehinch Fishery)
19 km
0
Sea trout · Brown trout
Annamoe Trout Fishery
10 km
Rainbow trout · Brown trout
River Avonmore
11 km
Brown trout
Gallery · 2
  1. River Vartry — River Vartry, Wicklow, Ireland
    River Vartry, Wicklow, Ireland
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

A short Wicklow sea-trout river under a strict IFI conservation order — closed for salmon and for sea trout over 40 cm in 2026, with one sea trout of 40 cm or less per day permitted in the open season. Worth knowing about for the broader Dublin sea-trout picture, but not the river to plan a trip around. Devil's Glen (Coillte forest car park) is the practical public access; the Vartry Reservoir itself is closed to angling as a Uisce Éireann drinking-water supply. Treat the day as a privilege — hold any fish in the water, get it back quickly, and fish carefully.

Hatches & food

EPA river-invertebrate monitoring on the Vartry confirms mayflies, stoneflies, a broad caddis assemblage, chironomids and blackflies, plus freshwater shrimp and hoglice are all present, indicating a reasonably food-rich freestone rather than one shaped by a single hatch.

  • Mixed
Water quality (WFD)
  • Ecology: Unknown
  • Chemical: Unknown
The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 55%
How the 0 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity15 × 18%2.7
Feeding Time70 × 13%9.1
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity54 × 12%6.5
Limiting factor: Water is very coloured — too coloured for Brown Trout= 70
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowproxy via River Dargle (Tinnehinch Fishery)proxy
Prey activitysurvey-backed invertebrate datasurvey
What would change the calculation
A drop and clear would lift the flow and clarity scores.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Sea trout 1 May → 30 SeptemberClosed
Related guides
ConnemaraIrish fishingEuro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Casting instructors near here
Booking & contacts