Spate · Mixed · South Wales / Cardiff

River Taff

Photo of River Taff
Poor · Atlantic Salmon
Cascade · 10-14
Poorlive now
Slow going — better windows ahead
Low and clear — careful approach country. Stale fish in low clear water spook easily — pick your hour.
90% confidence
What moved it
  • Level0.36 mLast reading 12h ago
  • Water temp22.1°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Cascade
Cascade10-14
Regional salmon default — river-specific evidence is thin.
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Steady
0.36 m
Last reading 12h ago
Water temp22.1°C
ClarityClear
Weather28°C
WindSE 7 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 Atlantic Salmon
Welfare risk
22°C est.ideal 10–14°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Atlantic Salmon
When
Autumn. Fish on the drop after rain — slow 6-hour response on this larger river. Numbers are small.
Where
Lower Taff pools above the tidal limit at Cardiff Bay.
Method
Small doubles 10 to 12 across-and-down on a floating line; small tubes on a sink-tip in spring water. Cover the pools methodically. Mandatory catch-and-release under NRW byelaw — every salmon goes back.
Kit
12 ft #7/8 double-hander or 11 ft switch. Floating line plus light sink-tip. 10 to 12 lb fluoro tippet.
Why this works
Water at 22.1°C. This is the line where catch-and-release kills atlantic salmon. Do not fish for them today.
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
Salmon runRun
1
2
2
2
2
1
Sea trout runRun
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
1
Grayling seasonSeason
2
2
1
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
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
Atlantic Salmon fly box
Beats · 3
Fiddlers Elbow to Abercynon — day ticket via Fishing PassportAccess varies
Just over half a mile of double-bank Taff between the footbridge at Fiddler's Elbow and the Cynon confluence — wild brown trout and grayling.
Merthyr Tydfil Angling Alliance — day ticket via Fishing PassportAccess varies
Around ten miles of the upper Taff and Taf Fawr controlled by Merthyr AA — lightly stocked early in the season but supported by a strong head of natural, hard-fighting wild browns.
Taf Fechan — day ticket via Fishing Passport (Wild Stream)Access varies
Four and a half miles of Wild Stream fishing on the Taf Fechan — the eastern headwater of the Taff, controlled by Pontsticill Reservoir flow, running down to Cefn Coed where it joins the Taf Fawr to form the main Taff.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Water here around 22°C. Nothing cooler within range — carry a thermometer.
Gallery · 2
  1. Photo of River Taff
    River Taff
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
Water quality (WFD)
  • Ecology: Moderate
  • Chemical: Unknown
What this classification means

NRW WFD Cycle 3 — Taff (conf Taf Fechan to conf R Cynon): Moderate ecological status; Merthyr/Abercynon wild-stream beats. Corrected 2026-06-18 from a Whitchurch-Brook tributary tag. Source: NRW DataMapWales WFD Cycle 3 classification layer.

EA (England) · GB109057033100

Why this score · for Atlantic Salmon
  • Temperature030% weight
  • Flow6025% weight
  • Clarity9520% weight
  • Feeding Time10015% weight
  • Pressure8510% weight
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Salmon 1 May → 17 October
  • Sea trout 3 March → 17 October
  • Trout 3 March → 30 September
  • Grayling 16 June → 14 March

Sea trout: Variable seasonal (2026) — Recovering urban river — sewin work back up on autumn lifts in modest numbers. The Taff's primary fishery is wild trout and grayling; sea trout are a seasonal bonus. All-Wales At Risk picture applies.

Related guides
Atlantic Salmonsalmon tacticsGrayling Playbookgrayling tacticsYorkshire & SpidersNorth Country methods
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