Freestone · Mixed · South / Cork

Lower Lee

The River Lee lined with mature trees near Daly's Bridge in Cork, Ireland, with calm reflective water.
Poor · Atlantic Salmon
Hot Orange Achilles Shrimp · size 15 double and other small sizes
ReopenedReported 4 Aug 2026

Reopened after warm-water closure

The ESB has confirmed the River Lee catchment reopened for fishing on 4 August after water temperatures dropped to safe levels. Permits are available from the IFI permit shop.

ESB Reopens Lee Fishing – All ESB Fisheries Now Open ↗

Temporary notices from official orders and recent fishery reports — they clear automatically once out of date. Always confirm locally before travelling.

Poorlive now
Slow going — better windows ahead
Low and clear — careful approach country. Stale fish in low clear water spook easily — pick your hour.
90% confidence
What moved it
  • Level0.17 mLast reading 23h ago
  • Water temp20.7°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
HO
Hot Orange Achilles Shrimpsize 15 double and other small sizes
From the river-specific salmon pack.
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Steady
0.17 m
Last reading 23h ago
Water temp20.7°C
ClarityClear
Weather19°C
WindS 9 km/h
Pressure1021 hPa
Rain · recent0.1 mm
Rain · ahead0.0 mm

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

Water temperature for Atlantic Salmon
Warm — slow
20.7°Cideal 10–14°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Atlantic Salmon
When
Fish early morning (first light to 9am) and late evening (7pm to dark) only. Midday heat stresses fish — stop fishing and rest pools when the sun is high. This is welfare-critical above 20°C.
Where
Fish are concentrated in the deeper pools and under any available cover. Focus on the deepest lies — pool hearts and tail croys. Approach very carefully, avoid silhouetting yourself against the sky. Dawn and dusk are your windows.
Method
Surface or just sub-surface. Consider a riffling hitch or Portland hitch to skate the fly across the surface — devastating in warm, low water. Alternatively, dead-drift a small fly upstream like a nymph.. Floating line. Tiny: size 12-16 singles or doubles, hitch tubes. Ultra-discreet presentation for spooky fish in warm, clear water.
Kit
13 ft #8/9 double-hander in spate, 10 ft #8 single in low water. Floating line plus a fast-sink tip. 12–15 lb fluoro tippet.
Why this works
Conditions are tough, but salmon can always surprise you. Peak summer — grilse and summer salmon are active and willing. Small flies, lightly dressed, fished with purpose. August is a decent month for salmon here, though not the peak.
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 6am

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 9 active hatches hour by hour with Pro.

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Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 2 guilds with Pro.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 2 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 · August highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Salmon runRun
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
Daddy Long LegsHatch
2
3
2
GrannomHatch
2
2
Evening SedgeHatch
2
3
3
3
2
Large Dark OliveHatch
1
2
2
1

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

Ranked for today
Atlantic Salmon fly box
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • The Lower Lee below Inniscarra Dam
  • ESB manages the dams — water releases affect fishing
  • Cork Trout Anglers and other clubs
  • **2026 Brown Tag scheme: 152 brown tags allocated via four electronic draws, 1 February to 30 September.** Brown tag required to harvest a salmon; standard blue tag is C&R only
  • IFI Macroom office is the contact for current permits and brown-tag draw info
  • State rod licence required.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Water here at 20.7°C. Nothing cooler within range.
Gallery · 2
  1. The River Lee lined with mature trees near Daly's Bridge in Cork, Ireland, with calm reflective water.
    River Lee from Daly's Bridge
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
Water quality (WFD)
  • Ecology: Good
  • Chemical: Unknown
What this classification means

WFD ecological status Unknown → Good corrected to EEA WISE 2022 (3rd RBMP) classification for waterbody IESW_19M300900. Source: EEA WISE SWB_SurfaceWaterBody (discodata.eea.europa.eu), verified 2026-06-18.

EPA (Ireland) · IESW_19M300900

The full read · show the working · for Atlantic Salmon · confidence 90%
How the river scores — hydrology factors
Water heightVery Low-2.2
Recent riseNone0.0
Falling after liftDropping Too Far Towards Low Clear+0.9
Water temperatureShutdown Risk-14.0
Time in seasonSummer Peak Window+2.3
ClarityClearing+2.4
Hydrology base-10.6
Rules that fired
Low And Hot Penalty-1.5
Will they take?Very dourcaps the band

Taking mood is very dour — clearing, stained water, very low flow, water too warm.

Can you trust it?
Water temperaturelive gauge readinggauge
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
What would change the calculation
No prolonged stable spell before the current rise.
A pressure change or a fresh lift would improve the taking mood.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Salmon 1 February → 30 September
Related guides
Atlantic Salmonsalmon tacticsIrish Salmon Rivers Guidefive great salmon fisheriesConnemaraIrish fishing
Casting instructors near here
Booking & contacts