Freestone · Mixed · Lothian / Edinburgh, GB-SCT

Water of Leith

A rocky, moss-covered stretch of the Water of Leith running through dense green woodland at Colinton Dell, Edinburgh.

The Water of Leith is Edinburgh's urban wild trout river — a small stream that rises in the Pentlands, runs through Balerno and Colinton and Dean Village and Stockbridge before emptying into the Firth of Forth at Leith, and somewhere along the way holds a population of genuine wild brown trout that have been in residence for longer than the city.

Poor · Brown Trout
Partridge and Orange · 14–16
Closed season
Out of season. Try elsewhere.
Closed — confidence not applicable today.
What moved it
  • Level0.50 mLast reading 3h ago
  • Water temp6.2°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Partridge and Orange
Partridge and Orange14–16
Proven pattern for this period
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Steady
0.50 m
Last reading 3h ago
Water temp6.2°C
ClarityClear
Weather2°C
WindW 18 km/h
Pressure1015 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead2.5 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
6°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 · todayQuiet day

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 4 active hatches hour by hour as a supporter.

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Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 3 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 Almond (Lothian)
7.0 km
0
Brown trout · Sea trout · Atlantic salmon
Clubbiedean Reservoir
7.0 km
Rainbow trout · Brown trout
Glencorse Reservoir
11 km
Brown trout · Rainbow trout
Threipmuir Reservoir
11 km
Brown trout · Rainbow trout
Loganlea Reservoir
14 km
Brown trout
Gallery · 2
  1. A rocky, moss-covered stretch of the Water of Leith running through dense green woodland at Colinton Dell, Edinburgh.
    The Water of Leith tumbling over mossy rocks through the wooded Colinton Dell.
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

You can fish it in the middle of Edinburgh, within earshot of the traffic on the A90 and ten minutes' walk from the Gallery of Modern Art, which is either delightful or ridiculous depending on your mood. The river is managed by the Water of Leith Trust and permits are cheap and accessible. The fish are not large but they are genuinely wild and they rise well to small dry flies and spiders through the summer. A proper curiosity, and better fishing than it has any right to be.

  • Mixed
Water quality (WFD)
  • Ecology: Poor
  • Chemical: Unknown

SEPA (Scotland) · UKSC003700

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 75%
How the 0 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature38 × 28%10.6
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time80 × 13%10.4
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity36 × 12%4.3
Conditions total= 66
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.
Related guides
Scotland Playbookloch & river fishingYorkshire & SpidersNorth Country methodsEuro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Casting instructors near here
Booking & contacts
At a glance

Water of Leith is a freestone river in Lothian / Edinburgh, Scotland. It sits at about 53 m above sea level. The river is described as roughly 35 km long. The species listed for this water is brown trout. Best window recorded for anglers: April to September. Core methods listed: upstream wet fly; North Country spiders; dry fly. Level and flow data for this water is linked from 1 gauge. Its Water Framework Directive ecological status is recorded as poor. Nearby waters in our listings include Clubbiedean Reservoir at 7.0 km, River Almond (Lothian) at 7.0 km and Glencorse Reservoir at 11 km.