Spate · Granite · Devon / South Hams

River Erme

The River Erme flowing through a wooded valley above Ivybridge, Devon
Contributor photo

The River Erme above Ivybridge, Devon

Nilfanion, CC BY-SA 3.0

The Erme is a sister river to the Yealm — small, granite-bedded, falling off Dartmoor above Harford and running through Ivybridge and Ermington to its estuary at Mothecombe.

Poor · Brown Trout
CDC Emerger · 14-18
Poorlive now
Not the day for it
River temperature is the limiting factor today, not the flow. This is not the day to push it. Check the thermal advice above before you head out.
80% confidence
What moved it
  • Level0.21 mLast reading 14h ago
  • Water temp21.6°C
  • ClarityClear
Today’s fly
CDC Emerger
CDC Emerger14-18
Upstream dry, in the film
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Steady
0.21 m
Last reading 14h ago
Water temp21.6°C
ClarityClear
Weather24°C
WindE 18 km/h
Pressure1017 hPa
Rain · recent0.2 mm
Rain · ahead0.0 mm

Live readings — water temperature is an estimate where the gauge does not record it.

Water temperature for brown trout
Warm — slow
22°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 21.6°C — above the brown trout caution line (18°C). Fish dawn or dusk only. Land it fast, wet hands, no air shots. Otherwise very poor — water clarity is in the right range.
Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 2 with Pro.

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Evidence
Survey-backed · regionalModerate confidence

Backed by regional invertebrate surveys; no sampling on this exact reach yet.

Through the year
0–3 scale · July 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
BB
Black Beetle
14-18 · Pattern
Upstream dry, on top
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Water here around 22°C. Nothing cooler within range — carry a thermometer.
Gallery · 2
  1. The River Erme flowing through a wooded valley above Ivybridge, Devon
    The River Erme above Ivybridge, Devon
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

The Erme is a sister river to the Yealm — small, granite-bedded, falling off Dartmoor above Harford and running through Ivybridge and Ermington to its estuary at Mothecombe. The character is the same as much of the south Devon coast: pocket-water wild brown trout fishing on the upper river, and a modest sea trout (peal) run on the middle and lower beats from mid-June. Most of the rod fishing is private or controlled by small associations. Salmon are not a feature.

  • Granite
The full read · show the working · for brown trout · confidence 80%
How the 17 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature9 × 28%2.5
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time85 × 13%11.1
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity58 × 12%7.0
Limiting factor: Water temperature (21.6°C) is outside Brown Trout's preferred range (10–16°C)= 61
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.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout15 March → 30 September

Sea trout: Variable seasonal (2026)

Related guides
Yorkshire & SpidersNorth Country methodsTrout Near Londonaccess guideEuro Nymphingsubsurface methods
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