Spate · Sandstone · North York Moors / Whitby

River Esk (North Yorkshire Moors)

The River Esk flowing through a wooded valley below Glaisdale on the North Yorkshire Moors
Marginal · Brown Trout
Pheasant Tail Nymph · 14-16
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
  • Level0.08 mLast reading 9h ago
  • Water temp18.9°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Pheasant Tail Nymph
Pheasant Tail Nymph14-16
Upstream, sub-surface
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Steady
0.08 m
Last reading 9h ago
Water temp18.9°C
ClarityClear
Weather17°C
WindNW 11 km/h
Pressure1018 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead0.5 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
Olives April through May; sedges through summer evenings; small dark flies into October. The Esk is small spate water — fish the drop after rain.
Where
Upper Esk above Glaisdale is tight moorland pocket water; the lower river through Egton holds longer pools. The whole river is small-scale.
Method
Upstream dry or dry-dropper to risers; North Country spider on the swing in cooler water. The Esk is a small river — short casts, careful approach.
Kit
8'6 to 9 ft #4 — small Pennine spate. Floating line, 9 ft leader to 4 lb fluoro. Studded boots.
Why this works
Water at 18.9°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 5 active hatches hour by hour with Pro.

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Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

See the full sub-surface read 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.

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
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
North Country spider water
Local classics: Snipe & Purple·Partridge & Orange·Waterhen Bloa
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Cooler water nearby · 2
Water here around 19°C — probably warm enough to stress Brown Trout . These are likely cooler.
River Rye
38 km
~15°C
Brown trout · Grayling · Sea trout
Costa Beck
33 km
~16°C
Brown trout
Gallery · 2
  1. The River Esk flowing through a wooded valley below Glaisdale on the North Yorkshire Moors
    The River Esk below Glaisdale, North Yorkshire Moors
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
Water quality (WFD)
  • Ecology: Good
  • Chemical: Fail
What this classification means

EA waterbody 'Esk from Sleddale Beck to Ruswarp' (GB104027068150) — the lowest non-tidal main stem of the North York Moors Esk (Sleights/Grosmont down to the Ruswarp tidal limit above Whitby). Latest EA data (Cycle 3, 2022): Good ecological status. Chemical 'Fail' reflects the England-wide ubiquitous-substance failure (mercury and PBDE in biota); the 2022 cycle itself records chemical as 'does not require assessment'. Corrected 2026-06-18 from GB104027068710, which is East Row Beck (a separate coastal beck), not the Esk.

EA (England) · GB104027068150

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 80%
How the 34 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature41 × 28%11.5
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time55 × 13%7.2
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity53 × 12%6.4
Conditions total= 65
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 March → 31 October

Sea trout: Variable seasonal (2026)

Salmon: Negligible (2026) — EA 2024 Salmon Stocks Assessment classifies this river 'at risk' — egg deposition below Conservation Limit. Conservation priority; not a salmon fishing destination.

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