Limestone · West / Mayo, IE

Lough Conn / Lough Cullin

Wide panoramic view north across Lough Conn from Pontoon Bridge, County Mayo.
Today · Prime conditions — go now
Perch Fry
Forecast · Today
Prime conditions — go now
Settled and taking. Work it methodically.
50% projected
Today's fly
Perch Fry
Perch Fry
Conditions on the water · Today
Live gauge
Level
Falling
1.04 m
Dropping after lift
Water temp12.2°C
ClaritySlightly coloured
Weather13°C
WindN 28 km/h
Pressure1011 hPa
Rain · recent3.0 mm
Rain · ahead0.1 mm

The nearest gauge doesn't record temperatures, so we've estimated it — defer to the river keeper's advice.

Water temperature for Atlantic Salmon
Ideal
12°C est.ideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Atlantic Salmon
When
Salmon run through from the Moy system in May and June. Conn is not a destination salmon water — these are fish moving upstream. Fish dropping water after a lift.
Where
The Pontoon channel and the lower lough where salmon enter from the Moy. Don't fish the open lough for salmon — they're moving, not holding.
Method
Drift fly with team wets if you're trout fishing and a salmon comes through; otherwise this is not where to spend the week. Murrough on the bob is a known salmon take in mayfly season.
Kit
10 ft #7, intermediate plus floater, 12 lb fluoro. The trout-water rod plus heavier tippet — you're not gearing up for salmon-only here.
Why this works
Excellent conditions based on river hydrology and migration patterns.
Likely species
Caddisflies
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 6am

12pm(now) — Daddy Long Legs

Stage: On emergersApproach: Emerger or dryActivity: 85%
Also:Heather Fly84%Lake Olive51%Brown Sedge24%
12 food groups active

Peak activity at 6am — Daddy Long Legs (Daddy Long Legs, 6 food groups active)

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 4 guilds with Pro.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 5 with Pro.

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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
Salmon runRun
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
Green PeterHatch
2
3
2
Murrough (Great Red Sedge)Hatch
2
3
2
DuckflyHatch
2
2
Mayfly (Green Drake)Hatch
2
2

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

Ranked for today
Atlantic Salmon fly box
Permits & access
Free state water
State rod licence required for trout / salmon as applicable.
  • No permit needed — state rod licence only
  • Boats from Crossmolina, Pontoon, Foxford
  • Salmon licence additional.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Lough Conn / Lough Cullin
< 1 km
Brown trout · Salmon
Lough Conn / Lough Cullin
< 1 km
Brown trout · Salmon
Moy
16 km
74
Brown trout · Salmon · Sea trout
Lough Beltra / Newport
16 km
Brown trout · Salmon · Sea trout
Newport River
23 km
Brown trout · Salmon · Sea trout
Gallery · 6
  1. Wide panoramic view north across Lough Conn from Pontoon Bridge, County Mayo.
    Lough Conn from Pontoon Bridge
  2. Open water of Lough Conn viewed from the R310 Pontoon bridge.
    Lough Conn from the Pontoon Bridge
  3. Lough Conn, County Mayo, an open lough landscape.
    Lough Conn
  4. The Pontoon crossing between Lough Conn and Lough Cullin, open water on both sides.
    Pontoon, Lough Conn / Lough Cullin
  5. Lough Cullin viewed from the R310, the sister lough to Lough Conn at Pontoon.
    Lough Cullin from the R310
  6. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
Water quality (WFD)
  • Ecology: Good
  • Chemical: Unknown
What this classification means

WFD code normalized 2026-06-18: IE_WE_34_406b → IEWE_34_406B (EPA national format → EEA WISE euSurfaceWaterBodyCode; same water body, now joinable to WISE). Status confirmed against EEA WISE 2022 (3rd RBMP). Source: discodata.eea.europa.eu. | Prior note: EPA WFD 2019-2024 (lake layer) — Lough Conn: Good ecological status. Re-tagged 2026-06-18 from IEWE_34C050100 (a river/stream water body, not the lough) to the lough's own EPA lake water body. Source: EPA Ireland WFD 2019-2024 classification (catchments.ie / EDEN).

EPA (Ireland) · IEWE_34_406B

Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Salmon 1 February → 30 September
  • Trout 15 February → 30 September

Sea trout: Variable seasonal (2026) — Conn (Mayo) carries sea-trout relevance but should not be modelled as a clean "primary open" signal — returns are condition-dependent and stock context tracks the wider western Irish picture.

Related guides
Irish Loughs Playbooklough-style fishingThermal Layers & Troutreading depth and temperatureAtlantic Salmonsalmon tactics
Casting instructors near here
Booking & contacts