Spate · Granite · Highlands / Strathspey, GB-SCT

River Dulnain

The River Dulnain flowing fast and peat-stained under an old stone packhorse bridge at Carrbridge, surrounded by autumn trees.
Good · Brown Trout
Hare's Ear Nymph · 12-16
Goodlive now
A proper day on the water
River dropping into shape after a lift. Fishing well — get there before it drops out.
90% confidence
What moved it
  • Level0.17 mDropping after lift
  • Water temp17.0°C
  • ClaritySlightly colouredClearing
Today's fly
Hare's Ear Nymph
Hare's Ear Nymph12-16
Proven pattern for this period
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Steady
0.17 m
Dropping after lift
Water temp17.0°C
ClaritySlightly coloured
Weather16°C
WindW 17 km/h
Pressure1018 hPa
Rain · recent6.7 mm
Rain · ahead5.2 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
Warm — slow
17°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
Good — water clarity is right today, though insect activity could be better.
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 6am

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 12 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

Top nymph shown — see all 3 guilds 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 · regionalHigh confidence

Backed by regional invertebrate surveys; no sampling on this exact reach yet.

Through the year
0–3 scale · August highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
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
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Spey
6.0 km
Brown trout · Salmon · Sea trout
Rothiemurchus Fishery
15 km
Rainbow trout · Brown trout
Achagour Fishery
22 km
Brown trout
River Avon (Spey)
23 km
Atlantic salmon · Brown trout · Sea trout
River Livet
23 km
Brown trout
Gallery · 2
  1. The River Dulnain flowing fast and peat-stained under an old stone packhorse bridge at Carrbridge, surrounded by autumn trees.
    The Packhorse Bridge
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
Water quality (WFD)
  • Ecology: Moderate
  • Chemical: Unknown
What this classification means

SEPA WFD 2022 — Dulnain: Moderate status. Corrected 2026-06-18 (was recorded Good). Source: SEPA WFD 2022 classification (spatialdata.gov.scot / SEPA Aquatic Classification Hub).

SEPA (Scotland) · UKSC023114

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 90%
How the 75 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature77 × 28%21.6
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity85 × 18%15.3
Feeding Time65 × 13%8.5
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity57 × 12%6.8
Conditions total= 75
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.
Related guides
Scotland Playbookloch & river fishingYorkshire & SpidersNorth Country methodsEuro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Casting instructors near here
Booking & contacts