Spate · Granite · Devon / South Hams

River Erme

The River Erme flowing through a wooded valley above Ivybridge, Devon

The Erme is a sister river to the Yealm — small, granite-bedded, falling off Dartmoor above Harford and running through Ivybridge and Ermington to its estuary at Mothecombe.

Marginal · Brown Trout
CDC Emerger · 14-18
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
  • Level0.17 mLast reading 2h ago
  • Water temp20.0°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
CDC Emerger
CDC Emerger14-18
Upstream dry, in the film
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Steady
0.17 m
Last reading 2h ago
Water temp20.0°C
ClarityClear
Weather20°C
WindNW 18 km/h
Pressure1021 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
20°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 20°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 8 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

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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
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

A small South Hams granite spate — wild browns above Harford, peal on the middle beats from midsummer. Mostly private water and short-rod tackle.

BB
Black Beetle
14-18 · Pattern
Upstream dry, on top
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Water here around 20°C. Nothing cooler within range — carry a thermometer.
Gallery · 2
  1. The River Erme flowing through a wooded valley above Ivybridge, Devon
    The River Erme above Ivybridge, Devon
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

The Erme is a sister river to the Yealm — small, granite-bedded, falling off Dartmoor above Harford and running through Ivybridge and Ermington to its estuary at Mothecombe. The character is the same as much of the south Devon coast: pocket-water wild brown trout fishing on the upper river, and a modest sea trout (peal) run on the middle and lower beats from mid-June. Most of the rod fishing is private or controlled by small associations. Salmon are not a feature.

  • Granite
The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 80%
How the 28 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature25 × 28%7.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time60 × 13%7.8
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity60 × 12%7.2
Conditions total= 62
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
  • Trout 15 March → 30 September

Sea trout: Variable seasonal (2026)

Related guides
Yorkshire & SpidersNorth Country methodsTrout Near Londonaccess guideEuro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Casting instructors near here
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