Spate · Granite · Devon / South Hams

River Yealm

River Yealm venue image
Google Places

The Yealm falls off the south flank of Dartmoor above Cornwood and runs through the wooded South Hams country to its estuary at Newton Ferrers — a small, intimate river with a disproportionate sea trout (peal) reputation.

Marginal · Brown Trout
CDC Emerger · 14-18
Marginallive now
Slow going — pick your moments
River temperature is the limiting factor today, not the flow. Fish dawn or dusk if you go at all, and handle everything with extra care.
80% confidence
What moved it
  • Level0.11 mDropping after lift
  • Water temp19.4°C
  • ClarityClear
Today’s fly
CDC Emerger
CDC Emerger14-18
Upstream dry, in the film
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Steady
0.11 m
Dropping after lift
Water temp19.4°C
ClarityClear
Weather19°C
WindNE 33 km/h
Pressure1020 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
19°C est.ideal 1016°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 19.4°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 · todayPeak at 5pm

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 3 active hatches hour by hour with Pro.

Start free trial

14-day free trial. Cancel anytime.

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

See the full sub-surface read with Pro.

Start free trial

14-day free trial. Cancel anytime.

Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey

Hatch predictions

See what else is on the menu with Pro.

Start free trial

14-day free trial. Cancel anytime.

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 19°C. Nothing cooler within range — carry a thermometer.
Gallery · 1
  1. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

The Yealm falls off the south flank of Dartmoor above Cornwood and runs through the wooded South Hams country to its estuary at Newton Ferrers — a small, intimate river with a disproportionate sea trout (peal) reputation. The upper river above Cornwood is granite pocket-water wild brown trout fishing; the middle river through Puslinch and Lee Mill is sea trout country from mid-June. The Yealm has historically been a private and syndicated fishery for much of its length, but the rod-caught peal run is one of the steadier small-river sea trout fisheries in south Devon. Salmon are not a feature.

  • Granite
The full read · show the working · for brown trout · confidence 80%
How the 31 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature33 × 28%9.2
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time75 × 13%9.8
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity47 × 12%5.6
Conditions total= 65
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
Seasons & zones
  • Trout15 March → 30 September

Sea trout: Variable seasonal (2026)

Related guides
Booking & contacts