Spate · Mixed · East / Wicklow

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.

Good · Brown Trout
Partridge and Orange · 14-16
Goodlive now
A proper day on the water
River steady at a fishable height. A proper day for it. Work the seams with an upstream nymph, switch to the dry when they show.
90% confidence
What moved it
  • LevelProxyvia River Dargle (Tinnehinch Fishery)
  • Water temp16.8°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Partridge and Orange
Partridge and Orange14-16
Upstream
Conditions on the water
Proxy gauge
Level
Steady
Proxy
via River Dargle (Tinnehinch Fishery)
Water temp16.8°C
ClarityClear
Weather26°C
WindS 19 km/h
Pressure1020 hPa
Rain · recent0.2 mm
Rain · ahead0.4 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
Warm — slow
17°C est.ideal 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
Good — water clarity is right today, though time of day could be better.
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.

Updated 18 hours ago

Through the year
0–3 scale · August highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Sea trout runRun
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.
  • 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
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)
  • EcologyUnknown
  • ChemicalUnknown
The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 90%
How the 79 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature81 × 28%22.7
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time60 × 13%7.8
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity66 × 12%7.9
Conditions total= 79
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
The dawn and dusk windows score higher than the midday lull.
Directions
Seasons & zones
  • Sea trout 1 May30 SeptemberClosed
Related guides
Casting instructors near here
Booking & contacts