Spate · Sandstone · East Devon

River Sid

River Sid venue image

The Sid is the smallest of the east-Devon red-sandstone rivers — Sid Valley above Sidbury and Sidmouth, a short course of around twelve miles from source to sea.

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
  • Level0.06 mLast reading 6h ago
  • Water temp19.1°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
CDC Emerger
CDC Emerger14-18
Upstream dry, in the film
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Falling
0.06 m
Last reading 6h ago
Water temp19.1°C
ClarityClear
Weather18°C
WindNW 21 km/h
Pressure1020 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
19°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 19.1°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.

Start free trial

14-day free trial. Cancel anytime.

Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 2 with Pro.

Start free trial

14-day free trial. Cancel anytime.

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 east-Devon sandstone spate of modest wild browns around Sidbury, with a few peal in the lower river come summer — a useful Otter back-up.

BB
Black Beetle
14-18 · Pattern
Upstream dry, on top
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Water here around 19°C. Nothing cooler within range — carry a thermometer.
Gallery · 1
  1. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

The Sid is the smallest of the east-Devon red-sandstone rivers — Sid Valley above Sidbury and Sidmouth, a short course of around twelve miles from source to sea. The fishing is modest and sparsely covered: wild brown trout in the middle reaches above Sidbury, small numbers of sea trout (peal) in the lower river from mid-June. The catchment is small enough that the Sidmouth gauge moves visibly through a wet afternoon. Worth knowing about as a fall-back venue when the Otter is unfishable.

  • Sandstone
The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 80%
How the 33 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature38 × 28%10.6
Flow95 × 22%20.9
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time45 × 13%5.9
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity50 × 12%6.0
Conditions total= 66
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
Booking & contacts