Spate · Mixed · South West Wales / Pembrokeshire

Eastern Cleddau

The Eastern Cleddau river seen from Llawhaden Bridge, Pembrokeshire, Wales
Poor · Brown Trout
CDC Emerger · 16-18
Poorlive now
Not the day for it
River temperature is the limiting factor today, not the flow. This is not the day to push it. Check the thermal advice above before you head out.
80% confidence
What moved it
  • Level0.62 mLast reading 56 min ago
  • Water temp21.4°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
CDC Emerger
CDC Emerger16-18
Upstream dry, in the film
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Steady
0.62 m
Last reading 56 min ago
Water temp21.4°C
ClarityClear
Weather23°C
WindNW 13 km/h
Pressure1018 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead0.0 mm

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

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Warm — slow
21°C est.ideal 10–16°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 21.4°C — above the brown trout caution line (18°C). Fish dawn or dusk only. Land it fast, wet hands, no air shots.
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 6am

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 4 active hatches hour by hour with Pro.

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Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

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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
1
Trout seasonSeason
1
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
Beats · 2
Pembrokeshire AA — Eastern & Western Cleddau, day ticket via Fishing PassportAccess varies
Fifteen miles of prime fishing on the Western Cleddau and its tributaries, plus beats on the Eastern Cleddau — held by the long-established Pembrokeshire Anglers Association.
Visit official site ↗
The Bont — day ticket via Fishing PassportAccess varies
Three quarters of a mile on the Eastern Cleddau — single-bank fishing for sewin, salmon and brown trout, with twenty-two named lies and pools.
Visit official site ↗
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Water here around 21°C. Nothing cooler within range — carry a thermometer.
Gallery · 2
  1. The Eastern Cleddau river seen from Llawhaden Bridge, Pembrokeshire, Wales
    Eastern Cleddau at Llawhaden
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
Water quality (WFD)
  • Ecology: Moderate
  • Chemical: Unknown
What this classification means

NRW WFD Cycle 3 — Eastern Cleddau (conf with Syfynwy to tidal limit): Moderate ecological status; The Bont/Llawhaden beats. Corrected 2026-06-18 from a Western-Cleddau tributary tag (Cartlett Brook). NB the stored coordinates sit in the Western Cleddau cluster and should be moved to the Eastern Cleddau beats. Source: NRW DataMapWales WFD Cycle 3 classification layer.

NRW (Wales) · GB110061030670

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 80%
How the 19 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature11 × 28%3.1
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time65 × 13%8.5
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity59 × 12%7.1
Limiting factor: Water temperature (21.4°C) is outside Brown Trout's preferred range (10–16°C)= 59
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
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.
The dawn and dusk windows score higher than the midday lull.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Salmon 1 April → 17 October
  • Trout 3 March → 30 September

Sea trout: Variable seasonal (2026) — NRW At Risk classification. Small Pembrokeshire spate river. Sea trout present in summer but stocks are marginal; classified At Risk. Night fishing after summer spates is the productive approach.

Salmon: Negligible (2026) — NRW / EA 2024 Salmon Stocks Assessment classifies this Welsh principal salmon river 'at risk' — egg deposition below Conservation Limit. All Wales byelaws (in force 2020-2030) make catch & release mandatory. Conservation priority; not a salmon fishing destination. The Cleddau (Eastern + Western) is at risk; salmon now scarce.

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