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River South Esk

Type
Freestone river, Scotland, United Kingdom
Season
Feb–Oct (salmon)
Where the season comes from

(b) North and South Esk 1st September to 30th April 1st September to 31st October 16th February to 30th April

Set for this water by name. The page gives the close season; the months shown are the rest of the year.

Conservation of Salmon (Annual Close Time and Catch and Release) (Scotland) Regulations 2014, Schedule
Scottish Government (Scottish Statutory Instrument, legislation.gov.uk) · checked 2026-11-04. Dates change each season: confirm them there.

Live gauges
3 verified
Listed by
1 authoritative list
Guides
6 nearby
Shops
None listed

Today on River South Esk

Reading the gauge…

Regulations & lists Guides & shops

The River South Esk running fast between thick summer trees
Photo credit

The River South Esk. Photo: Scott Cormie, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

More about River South Esk

The River South Esk is a freestone river in Scotland. The Scottish Government grades it under the Conservation of Salmon (Scotland) Regulations in its 2026 river gradings. The gradings list it as “River South Esk SAC” (a Special Area of Conservation), in Angus (South Esk district). This is not the Lothian South Esk.

Flow now at 3 gauges
Reading the gauges…

Where to fish

About this

Nothing on this page grants or implies access: check the agency map, posted signs and landowner permission before you fish. Most waters here need a rod licence or permit and often a beat booking or club ticket; the listing pages under Regulations say which.

Nothing on this page grants or implies access.

River South Esk on the map

About this

Gauges, shops and guides nearby

Map of River South Esk: gauges, shops and guides

Restrooms

Map of River South Esk with 3 gauges.

Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors · OpenFreeMap · © OpenMapTiles

Restrooms near River South Esk

Restrooms near River South Esk

Restrooms within 2 miles of River South Esk in a straight line, nearest first, with what anglers found when they went. The map says a restroom is there, not whether it is clean or open today.

No restroom mapped within 2 mi yet — add one you know.

Campgrounds, fishing access sites and boat ramps often have one that isn't on the map yet.

Restroom locations and map details: © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License, read Oct 24, 2026. Ratings, answers and photos are members' own; who shared them is never shown, and every photo is reviewed before it appears. Visits older than 18 months no longer count. Distances are straight-line miles, not driving. Nothing here grants access to private land. Community guidelines.

More water near River South Esk (6)

Sources OpenStreetMap via Nominatim (position)Overture Maps places (guide map points)

Where the map point comes from

Position: the OpenStreetMap feature “River South Esk, Angus, Scotland, United Kingdom” (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), found with Nominatim; a point on or near the named feature, approximate.

We hold no access map for Scotland yet.

The map shows gauges (tap one for its reading on this page), and shops and guides nearby that publish a street address on their own website. Everyone else is in the lists below.

Regulations and official lists

About this

Each line is an official list that names this water. Those pages are the authority on seasons, licences, limits and closures for each beat or reach; read them before you go.

Guides and shops near River South Esk

About this

Listings are unclaimed: confirm licensing, rates, dates and hours directly.

Guides

Show 3 more guides

All Scotland guides

Shops nearby

No shop nearby yet.

All Scotland shops

How these are chosen

Guides whose own website names this water come first, nearest first. After them, fly-focused guides within 60 km whose website does not name it. Distances are straight-line.

Shops whose website names this water first, then fly shops within 100 km when the shop's website gives its location.

Guide and shop listings come from the Legendary directories.

Species

About this

The species the agency lists here; presence varies by reach and season.

Listed by the agency

  • Atlantic salmon
  • Sea trout

Fish these in the US

About this

Matched on the fish the agencies list for both waters first, then the same water type, an official designation or flagship listing on both, and a similar mapped size where USGS hydrography covers both.

At most two waters per country. A shared fish is a listing, not a promise: presence varies by reach and season.

Like the River South Esk? Same fish, US waters.

  • The Housatonic River at Kent, calm and reflecting bare trees and wooded hillsSteelhead / salmon water
    Photo credit

    The Housatonic River at Kent, Connecticut. Photo: John Phelan, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Housatonic River

    Connecticut

    Same fish: Atlantic salmon · also a freestone river

  • Sepia print of Kennebago Lake with birch trees and a stump on the near shore and low mountains across the waterFly-fishing only
    Photo credit

    Kennebago Lake, Maine, which the Kennebago River passes at its western end, in a print from about 1875–1880. Photo: Rijksmuseum, CC0, cropped, via Wikimedia Commons

    Kennebago River

    Maine

    Same fish: Atlantic salmon · also a freestone river

  • Anglers wading and fishing from the grassy bank and from drift boats on the wide lower Salmon River in autumnSteelhead / salmon water
    Photo credit

    Anglers on the lower Salmon River near Port Ontario, New York, in October. Photo: Bill Blevins, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Salmon River

    New York

    Same fish: Atlantic salmon

  • Wyman Lake on the Kennebec River framed by autumn foliage near Moscow, MaineCatch and release
    Photo credit

    Wyman Lake on the Kennebec River near Moscow, Maine (the impoundment above the Solon tailwater). Photo: Paul VanDerWerf, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Kennebec River

    Maine

    Same fish: Atlantic salmon

  • The Black River flowing dark and smooth through northern forest in Cheboygan CountySteelhead / salmon waterRepresentative photo · not Saint Marys River
    Photo credit

    The Black River in Cheboygan County, Michigan. Photo: SweetCanadianMullet, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Saint Marys River.

    Saint Marys River

    Michigan

    Same fish: Atlantic salmon · also a freestone river

Gear checklist

About this

A steelhead and salmon fly-fishing checklist: a switch or spey rod (or 9′6″ single-hand) in 7–8 weight, Skagit lines and sink tips, swing flies, studded boots and cold-weather layers, with estimated prices and where to buy.

Steelhead & salmon

11′–13′6″ two-hand rod, 7–8 weight, Skagit head + sink tips · Steelhead and Pacific salmon

Open the checklist
Videos for this water (5)

Watch: reading a trout stream

About this

Seams, shelves and soft water, shown on real rivers.

Public YouTube videos from established channels, chosen by us to support this page. Not sponsored; the creators are not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear.

  • How I Learned to Read Water (Fly Fishing)Embedded from YouTube · Mad River Outfitters · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube
  • How To Read The Water with Tom RosenbauerEmbedded from YouTube · The New Fly Fisher · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube
  • Reading the Water to Successfully Locate TroutEmbedded from YouTube · Orvis Guide to Fly Fishing · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube

Not sponsored All videos on reading water

Watch: nymphing basics

About this

Indicator rigs, depth and detecting the take.

Public YouTube videos from established channels, chosen by us to support this page. Not sponsored; the creators are not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear.

  • 90° Nymph RigEmbedded from YouTube · Huge Fly Fisherman · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube
  • Casting with an Indicator & Better Nymphing TechniquesEmbedded from YouTube · The New Fly Fisher · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube

Not sponsored All videos on nymphing

Fish Tales

About this

Trip stories anglers chose to share publicly and tagged with River South Esk.

No stories from here yet.

Write the first story Share your day

Sources for this page

Not a statement of access, fish presence or conditions.

Something wrong?

All 9 sources and dates

A water page organises discovery. It does not assert public access, legal access, current fish presence, guide availability or fishing conditions.

Live readings come from the named provider when the page is shown, under the licence shown on each card. Designations, species and the flagship note link to the agency or body that publishes them; this page copies only the list wording and the species names. Guide and shop listings come from the Legendary directories. Position: the OpenStreetMap feature “River South Esk, Angus, Scotland, United Kingdom” (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), found with Nominatim; a point on or near the named feature, approximate. Water type is our own classification.