Spate · Sandstone · East Devon

River Sid

River Sid venue image
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The Sid is the smallest of the east-Devon red-sandstone rivers — Sid Valley above Sidbury and Sidmouth, a short course of around twelve miles from source to sea.

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
  • Level0.05 m
  • Water temp21.0°C
  • ClarityClear
Today’s fly
CDC Emerger
CDC Emerger14-18
Upstream dry, in the film
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Steady
0.05 m
Water temp21.0°C
ClarityClear
Weather19°C
WindNE 28 km/h
Pressure1021 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 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
21°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°C — above the brown trout caution line (18°C). Fish dawn or dusk only. Land it fast, wet hands, no air shots. Otherwise poor — water clarity is in the right range.
Hatch timeline · todayQuiet day

Hatch predictions

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey

Hatch predictions

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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
Cooler water nearby · 2
Water here around 21°C — probably warm enough to stress brown trout. These are likely cooler.
River Axe
18 km
~18°C
Brown trout · Salmon · Sea trout
River Tone
29 km
~18°C
Brown trout
Gallery · 1
  1. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

The Sid is the smallest of the east-Devon red-sandstone rivers — Sid Valley above Sidbury and Sidmouth, a short course of around twelve miles from source to sea. The fishing is modest and sparsely covered: wild brown trout in the middle reaches above Sidbury, small numbers of sea trout (peal) in the lower river from mid-June. The catchment is small enough that the Sidmouth gauge moves visibly through a wet afternoon. Worth knowing about as a fall-back venue when the Otter is unfishable.

  • Sandstone
The full read · show the working · for brown trout · confidence 80%
How the 21 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature14 × 28%3.9
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time75 × 13%9.8
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity52 × 12%6.2
Limiting factor: Water temperature (21°C) is outside Brown Trout's preferred range (10–16°C)= 60
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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