Freestone · Limestone · Masham / Lower Wensleydale, GB-ENG

River Burn

The River Burn flowing near Masham in North Yorkshire
Good · Grayling
Sawyer Pheasant Tail Nymph · sizes_14_18
Goodlive now
A proper day on the water
Low and clear — careful approach country. Stay small, stay accurate.
55% confidence
What moved it
  • LevelProxyvia River Ure
  • Water temp14.5°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Sawyer Pheasant Tail Nymph
Sawyer Pheasant Tail Nymphsizes_14_18
in season · matches water height · all-rounder · regional default
Conditions on the water
Proxy gauge
Level
Steady
Proxy
via River Ure
Water temp14.5°C
ClarityClear
Weather17°C
WindSE 21 km/h
Pressure1006 hPa
Rain · recent0.1 mm
Rain · ahead2.9 mm

No gauge on this water — conditions are inferred from River Ure. The trend transfers, the absolute level does not.

Water temperature for Grayling
Warm — slow
15°C est.ideal 4–14°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Grayling
When
Midday window — grayling feed best from late morning into early afternoon.
Where
Work runs and glides — grayling shoal in the bottom third of the water column.
Method
Tight-line nymph the bottom third with weighted patterns.
Kit
10 ft #3 rod, floating line, long leader to 4 lb fluoro for nymphs.
Why this works
Good — water clarity is working for you, but time of day is the limiting factor today.
Likely species
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 6h

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 3 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
2
1
Daddy Long LegsHatch
2
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
Fly box · Grayling
North Country spider water
Local classics: Snipe & Purple·Waterhen Bloa·Hare's Lug
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Gallery · 2
  1. The River Burn flowing near Masham in North Yorkshire
    River Burn near Masham, North Yorkshire
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
Water quality (WFD)
  • Ecology: Moderate
  • Chemical: Fail
What this classification means

Classification for the fished main stem of the River Burn at Masham / Swinton — EA waterbody 'Burn from Leighton Beck to River Ure' (GB104027069310), Ure Middle and Lower operational catchment, Swale Ure Nidd and Ouse Upper management catchment, Humber river basin district. Latest EA data (updated 17 March 2025), Cycle 3 2022: Moderate ecological status, held at Moderate since 2019. Heavily modified water body sitting within the North Pennine Moors SAC/SPA. The step down from earlier Good classifications is driven by the fish element (RNAG: surface-water abstraction affecting flow) plus a phosphate 'suspect data' reason-for-deterioration; invertebrates, macrophytes and the other physico-chemical elements are High/Good. Chemical 'Fail' reflects the England-wide ubiquitous-substance failure (mercury and PBDE in biota — measures delivered, awaiting recovery), not a Burn-specific pollution event; the 2022 cycle itself records chemical as 'does not require assessment'. Classifying monitoring sites include Burn at Masham (Badger Lane Bridge) and Burn at Swinton Saw Mill Race. Note: the prior entry pointed at GB104027068800 (Ings Goit from Source to Burneston Beck), a separate small waterbody in the Swale catchment, not the Burn — corrected 2026-06-18.

EA (England) · GB104027069310

The full read · show the working · for Grayling · confidence 55%
How the 69 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature77 × 28%21.6
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity85 × 18%15.3
Feeding Time10 × 13%1.3
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity61 × 12%7.3
Conditions total= 69
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowproxy via River Ureproxy
Prey activitysurvey-backed invertebrate datasurvey
What would change the calculation
The dawn and dusk windows score higher than the midday lull.
Directions
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 22 March → 30 September
Related guides
Casting instructors near here
Booking & contacts