Freestone · Mixed · Clackmannanshire, GB-SCT

River Devon

A winding lowland river, the River Devon in Clackmannanshire, curving through open pasture with autumn trees and wooded hills in the background.

The Devon is the Hillfoots river — it gathers off the southern face of the Ochils and runs along the foot of the hills through Dollar, Tillicoultry and Alva before joining the Forth near Cambus.

Today · Closed season
Czech Nymph
Forecast · Today
Closed season
Out of season. Try elsewhere.
75% projected
Today's fly
Czech Nymph
Czech Nymph
Conditions on the water · Today
Live gauge
Level
Steady
0.63 m
Water temp6.7°C
ClarityClear
Weather6°C
WindN 21 km/h
Pressure1007 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead3.6 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
Cool — slow
7°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.
Likely species
Gammarids
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 11am

12pm(now) — Autumn Needle Fly

Stage: Creeping nymphsApproach: Heavy nymphActivity: 32%
Also:Black Midge29%Autumn Olive22%
Peak emergence window5 food groups active

Peak activity at 11am — Autumn Needle Fly (Autumn Needle Fly, Peak emergence window)

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 4 guilds as a supporter.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Supporters see what else is on the menu.

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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 · November highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Daddy Long LegsHatch
2
3
3
2
CapererHatch
2
3
3
2
Hawthorn FlyHatch
2
2
GrannomHatch
2
2

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

Ranked for today
Brown Trout fly box

A balanced Scottish river profile. Early season nymphs and spiders, then more dry-fly and emerger fishing as hatches strengthen on steadier glides and richer water.

What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
River Carron (Stirlingshire)
4.0 km
0
Brown trout
Wellsfield Trout Fishery
5.0 km
Brown trout
Swanswater Fishery
8.0 km
Rainbow trout · Brown trout
Loch Coulter Reservoir
9.0 km
Brown trout
Carron Valley Reservoir
11 km
Brown trout
Gallery · 2
  1. A winding lowland river, the River Devon in Clackmannanshire, curving through open pasture with autumn trees and wooded hills in the background.
    Floodplain
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

It's a classic little Lowland wild trout stream: fast, rocky in its middle reaches, slower and weedier in the lower part, and holding the kind of wild brown trout that make a short rod and a floating line feel like exactly the right tool. The Devon Angling Association controls most of the fishable water and offers day tickets at sensible prices. Best in April and May on spiders and small wets, then dry fly through the summer when the olives and small stoneflies are coming off. A proper local treasure.

  • Mixed
The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 75%
How the 0 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature42 × 28%11.8
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time55 × 13%7.2
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity33 × 12%4.0
Conditions total= 63
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitysurvey-backed invertebrate datasurvey
What would change the calculation
Warmer water — toward the 10–16 °C ideal band — would lift the temperature score.
The dawn and dusk windows score higher than the midday lull.
Related guides
Scotland Playbookloch & river fishingYorkshire & SpidersNorth Country methodsEuro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Casting instructors near here
Booking & contacts
At a glance

River Devon is a freestone river in Clackmannanshire, Scotland. It sits at about 21 m above sea level. The river is described as roughly 34 km long. The species listed for this water is brown trout. Best window recorded for anglers: April to June, September. Core methods listed: upstream wet fly; North Country spiders; dry fly. Level and flow data for this water is linked from the gauge “Sterling Mills (Tillicoultry) — was Glenochil (14891), decommissioned 2021”. Nearby waters in our listings include River Carron (Stirlingshire) at 4.0 km, Wellsfield Trout Fishery at 5.0 km and Swanswater Fishery at 8.0 km.