Freestone · Mixed · Borders, GB-SCT

Blackadder Water

A meandering lowland river, the Blackadder Water, curving through green pasture with mature trees on its banks.
Prime · Brown Trout
Elk Hair Caddis · 12-16
Primelive now
About as good as it gets
Low and clear — careful approach country. Take your time — read the water before you cast.
90% confidence
What moved it
  • Level0.21 mLast reading 16h ago
  • Water temp13.6°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Elk Hair Caddis
Elk Hair Caddis12-16
High-confidence seasonal pick
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Steady
0.21 m
Last reading 16h ago
Water temp13.6°C
ClarityClear
Weather12°C
WindW 16 km/h
Pressure1019 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead7.1 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
Ideal
14°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
Excellent — water temperature is right today, though insect activity could be better.
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 6am

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 11 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 4 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
Daddy Long LegsHatch
2
3
2
GrannomHatch
2
2
Evening SedgeHatch
2
3
3
3
2
Large Dark OliveHatch
1
2
2
1

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Ranked for today
Brown Trout fly box
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Tweed
11 km
Brown trout · Salmon · Sea trout
Leader Water
15 km
Brown trout · Atlantic salmon
River Teviot
17 km
36
Brown trout · Grayling · Atlantic salmon
Whiteadder Water
18 km
84
Brown trout
Coldingham Loch
29 km
Rainbow trout · Brown trout
Gallery · 2
  1. A meandering lowland river, the Blackadder Water, curving through green pasture with mature trees on its banks.
    Blackadder Water near Nisbet Hill, Scottish Borders
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 90%
How the 85 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time70 × 13%9.1
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity60 × 12%7.2
Conditions total= 85
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitysurvey-backed invertebrate datasurvey
Related guides
Scotland Playbookloch & river fishingYorkshire & SpidersNorth Country methodsEuro Nymphingsubsurface methods
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