Chalk Stream · Chalk · Hampshire, GB-ENG

River Meon

River Meon — River Meon, near Exton

The Meon is the smallest of Hampshire's chalk streams — just 21 miles from East Meon to the Solent at Titchfield.

Prime · Brown Trout
Sawyer's Pheasant Tail Nymph · 16-18
Primelive now
About as good as it gets
River high but settled. Coloured water — fish bigger and deeper, confident takes down the seams.
90% confidence
What moved it
  • Level18.60 mLast reading 19h ago
  • Water temp15.2°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Sawyer's Pheasant Tail Nymph
Sawyer's Pheasant Tail Nymph16-18
Upstream, sub-surface
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Steady
18.60 m
Last reading 19h ago
Water temp15.2°C
ClarityClear
Weather18°C
WindE 8 km/h
Pressure1020 hPa
Rain · recent1.1 mm
Rain · ahead4.9 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
15°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 — conditions well-balanced, with water temperature particularly in your favour.
Likely species
Stoneflies
Caddisflies
Gammarids
Hatch timeline · todayQuiet day

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 12 active hatches hour by hour as a supporter.

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Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Supporters see the full sub-surface read.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 5 as a supporter.

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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 · September highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
1
Mayfly (Green Drake)Hatch
2
2
Freshwater ShrimpHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
CapererHatch
2
3
3
2
Brown SedgeHatch
2
3
3
3
2

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

Ranked for today
Brown Trout fly box

The heartland of English dry fly fishing. Upstream dry fly and emerger presentation dominates. Nymphing restricted or discouraged on many beats. Gin-clear alkaline water, prolific weed growth, educated wild brown trout. Precise imitation and delicate presentation are paramount.

Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Private syndicate / estate
  • Some Wild Trout Trust restoration beats with structured access
  • Strict dry-fly / barbless / upstream rules on most beats.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Moorhen Trout Fishery
2.0 km
Rainbow trout
Meon Springs Fly Fishery
5.0 km
Brown trout · Rainbow trout
Franklyns Fish Farm
9.0 km
Rainbow trout · Brown trout
Avington Trout Fishery
13 km
Brown trout · Rainbow trout
Chiphall Lake Trout Fishery
13 km
Rainbow trout · Brown trout
Gallery · 2
  1. River Meon — River Meon, near Exton
    River Meon, near Exton
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

The Meon is the smallest of Hampshire's chalk streams — just 21 miles from East Meon to the Solent at Titchfield. Pure chalk water through the South Downs National Park, with significant Wild Trout Trust restoration on multiple beats and flow restoration after historic over-abstraction. Wild brown trout dominate; grayling absent. Small, intimate, technical fishing on private syndicate and estate water with limited day-ticket access.

  • Chalk
Water quality (WFD)
  • Ecology: Moderate
Water quality details
  • Dissolved oxygen: High
  • Ammonia (Phys-Chem): High
  • pH: High
  • Phosphate: Good
  • Temperature: High

EA (England) · GB107042016640

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 90%
How the 86 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time65 × 13%8.5
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity80 × 12%9.6
Conditions total= 86
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitysurvey-backed invertebrate datasurvey
What would change the calculation
The dawn and dusk windows score higher than the midday lull.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 1 April → 30 September
Related guides
Fly Fishing Near Southamptonfeatured in this city guideChalkstream Playbookchalk stream tacticsTrout Near Londonaccess guide
Casting instructors near here
Booking & contacts