Spate · Mixed · South-West / Cork

River Ilen

River Ilen terrain map
Marginal · Brown Trout
Partridge and Orange · 14-16
Marginallive now
Slow going — pick your moments
River temperature is the limiting factor today, not the flow. Fish dawn or dusk if you go at all, and handle everything with extra care.
80% confidence
What moved it
  • Level1.42 mLifting fast
  • Water temp20.3°C
  • ClarityVery colouredColouring up
Today's fly
Partridge and Orange
Partridge and Orange14-16
Upstream
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Rising
1.42 m
Lifting fast
Water temp20.3°C
ClarityVery coloured
Weather21°C
WindSW 19 km/h
Pressure1021 hPa
Rain · recent0.5 mm
Rain · ahead0.0 mm

Live readings only. Trends shown where the gauge supports them.

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Warm — slow
20.3°Cideal 1016°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
Water at 20.3°C — above the brown trout caution line (18°C). Fish dawn or dusk only. Land it fast, wet hands, no air shots.
Hatch timeline · todayQuiet day

Hatch predictions

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Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey

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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 · August 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
Daddy Long LegsHatch
2
3
2
March BrownHatch
2
3
2
GrannomHatch
2
2
Large StoneflyHatch
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.
  • South Western Fisheries District
  • River Ilen AC manages the river around Skibbereen
  • Permits from Field Newsagents, The Square, Skibbereen (+353 28 21400)
  • Shrimp prohibited (fly, spinning, worm only)
  • Night fishing prohibited to visiting anglers
  • State rod licence required.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Water here at 20.3°C. Nothing cooler within range.
The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 80%
How the 26 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature21 × 28%5.9
Flow30 × 22%6.6
Clarity15 × 18%2.7
Feeding Time70 × 13%9.1
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity49 × 12%5.9
Limiting factor: Water is very coloured — too coloured for Brown Trout= 36
Can you trust it?
Water temperaturelive gauge readinggauge
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitysurvey-backed invertebrate datasurvey
What would change the calculation
Cooler water — back toward the 10–16 °C ideal band — would lift the score and ease welfare.
A drop and clear would lift the flow and clarity scores.
Directions
Seasons & zones
  • Salmon 1 February30 September
  • Trout 15 February30 September
Related guides
Casting instructors near here
Booking & contacts