Waters

Lough Ree

Baseline tactics

Co. Roscommon / Westmeath / Longford · Lough · wild · 10.5k ha

Yellow warninguntil Fri 02:00

Rain warning for Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford, Wicklow, Cork, Waterford

Spells of heavy rain with a possibility of thunderstorms. Potential impacts: • Localised flooding • Outdoor events impacted • Difficult travelling conditions

Met Éireann

Yellow warninguntil Sun 21:00

Blight advisory for Ireland

A potato blight advisory is in effect. For details, please see the Farming commentary under the Forecast tab.

Met Éireann

Weather check

Issued 17:59
NESW
Light east-north-easterly9 km/h · gusting 13 km/hBlowing onto the west-south-west shore · ripple
SKYWINDAIRRAINNENEENEgusts to 28peak 19 km/h19 °C16 °Cdry all day060912151821now
Today — conditions every three hours
TimeSkyWindAirRain
04:00cloudNE 10 km/h16 °Cdry
06:00cloudNNE 17 km/h16 °Cdry
08:00cloudNE 18 km/h17 °Cdry
10:00cloudENE 17 km/h18 °Cdry
12:00cloudENE 16 km/h19 °Cdry
14:00cloudENE 18 km/h19 °Cdry
16:00cloudENE 14 km/h19 °Cdry
18:00cloudENE 9 km/h19 °Cdry
20:00cloudNE 10 km/h18 °Cdry

Times are UTC · wind in km/h · sun and rain read left to right across the day.

Air
15–19°
Wind
19 km/h
Rain
Dry

Water

measured

Warm 19 °C

Fish the cool ends of the day. Barbless, quick, wet hands.

Measured at Hodson's Bay on the water · OPW

Ripple on the forecast.

Today · Lough Ree

Best window today is dawn, around 06:20.

Water · Warm (16–19°C)
Daylight↑ 05:1019:54 ↓00:0006:0012:0018:0024:00050100Fishability★ DawnMornMiddayEveDusknow

Fishability is the engine's own hourly score. Why these conditions matter.

Compare the week

This week

Dawn
Morn
Midday
Eve
Dusk
Today
Tmrw
Sat
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Mon
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Wed

ExcellentGoodFairPoor★ best of the day

Check season dates with the fishery (link below).

Where & when — all waters ›Pack for this trip — Kit Check ›
Depth character (estimated)
Mixed depths · to ~36 m
Water clarity (estimated)
Clear
Exposure (estimated)
Moderate
Species
Brown trout →

Where to fish

  • Hare IslandIFI-named trout hotspot; drift the shallows and drop-offs around the island group south of the lake's middle.
  • InchmoreIFI-named trout hotspot — the largest island, mid-lake; work the surrounding shallows.
  • InchturkIFI-named trout hotspot between Inchmore and the east shore.
  • Coosan Lough & the Inner LakesSheltered inner water at Athlone (Coosan Point / Killinure Lough / Ballykeeran) — a known trout and coarse area, and the sane option when the main lake is blowing.
  • Hodson BaySheltered bay on the south-west (Roscommon) shore; holds trout particularly early and late season.
  • Portrunny BayWest-shore bay with harbour access; deeper water beyond Cruit Point.
  • Galey BayDeep west-shore bay with a trout-bearing stream inflow.
  • St John's Bay (Rinn Duin)Bay in the lee of the Rindoon peninsula on the WESTERN shore (~9 miles north of Athlone by water); deep water behind the point.
  • Barley Harbour shoreEast (Longford) shore around the stone harbour — safe mooring and a workable drift shore.
  • Inny BayMouth of the River Inny. CORRECTION (2026-07-10 research pass): documented as a reeded COARSE bay (roach, ~4.5 m average) — not verified trout water; the tributary matters for recruitment, the bay itself is not a trout mark.
  • Portlick shoreEast (Westmeath) shore trout area — independently corroborated by two dated IFI reports (2015 fly-caught fish near Portlick; 2016 Portlick Anglers competition). One of the few named non-island trout marks.

Hatch calendar

  • DuckflyMar–Apr
    IFI names duckfly on Ree; months are the typical Irish early-season window, not lake-specific — approximate.
  • OlivesApr–May, Sep
    IFI names olives; months typical-Irish, not lake-sourced — approximate.
  • MayflyMay–Jun
    IFI names mayfly on Ree; window shown is the general Irish mid-May-to-early-June season, not lake-specific.
  • SedgesJun–Aug
    IFI names sedges; months typical-Irish, not lake-sourced — approximate.
  • Daddy longlegsSep
    September dapping with daddies is explicitly IFI-documented for Ree.

Getting there

Bank access: LimitedShoreline mostly rocky/irregular with few formal angler stands; realistic bank options cluster at the public access points (Coosan Point, Hodson Bay, Portrunny, Lecarrow, Ballyleague–Lanesborough incl. purpose-built disabled-angler platforms, Barley Harbour). Boat is the default approach.
Boats available
  • Coosan Point · Pier
  • Hodson Bay slipway · Slipway
  • Portrunny Harbour · Slipway
  • Lecarrow Harbour · Slipway
  • Ballyleague–Lanesborough slipway · Slipway
  • Barley Harbour · Slipway

37 more unverified piers, slipways and car parks on the map (OpenStreetMap).

Features

BaysIslandsShallowsDrop offsStream mouth
Weed: LightPeat/silt-stained water limits light penetration; macrophytes restricted to water shallower than ~2 m (NPWS, quoted in the IFI 2022 survey). Weed is a margin feature, not a lake-wide one.
Coarse fry present (Roach, Perch)

Local notes

[UNVERIFIED DRAFT] A boat-first water: drift the shallows and drop-offs around the islands (IFI's named hotspots are Hare Island, Inchmore and Inchturk) and the big western bays; the Inner Lakes at Athlone are the shelter option in a blow. IFI's own guidance notes fly fishing now outperforms trolling for Ree trout, with both wet and dry fly working through the season and dapping daddies in September. Peat-stained water keeps the weed to the sub-2 m margins; the forage base is dominated by roach and perch fry. Open water — it gets rough quickly in wind, and the navigation marks matter.

Fishery rules & regulations
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