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Where to fish

  • Forecast
  • Catches

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Forecast
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© 2026·AI-powered bite forecast
0.1.0+2161 · b4069346

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United Kingdom / Hertfordshire / River Lea

Bite forecast: River Lea

  • length 47 km
  • Flows into Bow Creek
Loading map…

Best fishing days for the next week

  1. WednesdaySeptember 2weather-based forecast
    55/100medium activity

    Cloudy: 15–21 °C

  2. SundaySeptember 6weather-based forecast
    53/100medium activity

    Partly cloudy: 16–25 °C

  3. TuesdaySeptember 8weather-based forecast
    53/100medium activity

    Cloudy: 14–17 °C

River Lea (Hertfordshire) — one of the area's fishing spots. About 47 km long. Flows into Bow Creek. The town of St Albans is nearby. Here you'll find a bite prediction — when fish are active and which hours give the best chances, adjusted for weather and pressure.

Nearby towns

  • St Albans4 mi
Loading map…

Catches

Recorded 37 catches here. Most commonly caught: Perch, Pike, Chub. Peak season: year-round.

  • Chub
    River Lea
    7 °C11 mph
    Mar 07, 2020, 5:20 PM
  • Chub
    River Lea
    7 °C11 mph
    Mar 07, 2020, 5:20 PM
  • Pike
    River Lea
    9 °C18 mph
    Feb 21, 2020, 1:06 PM
  • Pike
    River Lea
    9 °C18 mph
    Feb 21, 2020, 1:04 PM
  • Pike
    River Lea
    9 °C18 mph
    Feb 21, 2020, 7:35 AM
  • Pike
    River Lea
    10 °C20 mph
    Feb 01, 2020, 11:09 AM
  • Pike
    River Lea
    10 °C20 mph
    Feb 01, 2020, 9:24 AM
  • Carp
    River Lea
    7 °C9 mph
    Dec 30, 2019, 8:29 AM

Bite calendar

Wednesday, September 2

Aug 31 – Sep 6
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
Bite activity:highmediumlowslow
Based on:weatherseasonal
What is a bite calendar?
DaceEuropean eelGraylingPikeBarbelRuffeZanderBreamPerchWhitefishAtlantic salmonCarpWels catfishRainbow troutBrown troutIdeRoachBleakChubCrucian carpWhite breamRuddTench

Atlantic salmon

6/10 · Fair

Hourly activity

0:006:0012:0018:0023:00
Bite activity:highmediumlow

The bite is strong — fish are active. Pressure is rising — activity tends to be more subdued.

Peak bite hours

Best time — 06:00–08:00 (dawn bite) and 19:00–21:00 (dusk bite).

Tactics

Work the cover — snags, weed edges, hole entrances; retrieve the lure with pauses.

Lures

The water's turning murky — go with bright, noisy lures: salmon spoon or salmon fly.

Gear

No special gear needed — seasonal clothing will do. Rain is expected — don't forget a rain jacket or a waterproof shell.

Summary

Worth going — it's a productive day.

How this forecast is calculated

Why this forecast

The computed water temperature is around 17 °C — warmer than the 4–14 °C comfort range for Atlantic salmon: in the heat it drops deeper and feeds less often.

Computed water temperature by month; the green band is the 4–14 °C comfort rangecomfort 4–14 °C17 °C
JFMAMJJASOND

Atlantic salmon works the twilight: the peaks are pinned to sunrise and sunset — their times are in the sun-and-moon card above.

The day: daylight hours and when Atlantic salmon feeds0:0012:0024:00

Pressure is dropping 3 hPa over the day — fish are usually more active ahead of a weather change.

Pressure through the day, 3 hPa change
00:00 · 102023:00 · 1017 hPa

One more input — the moon's feeding windows: within their hours the score sits higher than across the rest of the day. The window times are in the “Solunar feeding periods” card below.

Feeding windows on the day scale0:0012:0024:00

September is an active season for Atlantic salmon here.

JFMAMJJASOND

These are the same values the bite curve above was computed from. How the forecast works

2 SepWednesday, September 2
+20°

Cloudy · feels like +17°

Low / high
+15°…+21°
Precipitation
0.0 mm
Wind
11 mph SW
Cloud cover
100%
Humidity
60%
Pressure
1019 hPa
00:00+16°—6 mphsouthwest wind, 6 mph73%89%
01:00+15°—6 mphwest wind, 6 mph79%95%
02:00+16°—6 mphwest wind, 6 mph77%100%
03:00+16°—6 mphwest wind, 6 mph79%100%
04:00+16°—6 mphwest wind, 6 mph81%100%
05:00+16°—6 mphsouthwest wind, 6 mph81%100%
06:00+15°—6 mphsouthwest wind, 6 mph81%100%
07:00+15°—6 mphsouthwest wind, 6 mph82%100%
08:00+17°—9 mphsouthwest wind, 9 mph78%97%
09:00+17°—10 mphsouthwest wind, 10 mph76%100%
10:00+19°—11 mphsouthwest wind, 11 mph68%100%
11:00+20°—12 mphsouthwest wind, 12 mph61%100%
12:00+20°—11 mphsouthwest wind, 11 mph60%100%
13:00+21°—15 mphsouthwest wind, 15 mph57%58%
14:00+19°—14 mphsouthwest wind, 14 mph66%97%
15:00+19°0.1 mm16 mphsouthwest wind, 16 mph75%100%
16:00+20°—17 mphsouthwest wind, 17 mph71%73%
17:00+21°—17 mphsouthwest wind, 17 mph69%87%
18:00+20°—15 mphsouthwest wind, 15 mph73%100%
19:00+20°—14 mphsouthwest wind, 14 mph78%100%
20:00+19°0.1 mm10 mphsouthwest wind, 10 mph86%53%
21:00+19°—10 mphsouthwest wind, 10 mph87%66%
22:00+18°—11 mphsouthwest wind, 11 mph87%10%
23:00+18°—12 mphsouthwest wind, 12 mph86%77%
+21°+18°+15°
Weather throughout the day
0:006:0012:0018:0023:00

Sun and moon

Wednesday, September 2
The day: daylight and the hours the moon is above the horizon. Local time0:0012:0024:00
DaylightMoon above the horizon
Sunrise
06:14
Sunset
19:45
Day length
13 h 31 min
Sunshine hours
1 h 47 min
UV index
1
low
Moon
Waning gibbous
Moonrise
21:09
Moonset
13:02

The day is 4 min shorter than yesterday.

Sunshine hours count direct sun only — cloud cover cuts it, so it is shorter than daylight.

Solunar feeding periods

+13% in the windowWednesday, September 2
Feeding windows on the day scale, local time0:0012:0024:00
Major periodsMinor periods
  • Major03:43–05:43Moon overhead
  • Minor12:32–13:32Moonset
  • Major16:10–18:10Moon underfoot
  • Minor20:39–21:39Moonrise

The windows are set by the moon's transit and rise, and the forecast above already accounts for them: within these hours the bite score sits higher than across the rest of the day, while the day's overall level still comes from the catch-calibrated model.

What are solunar periods?

BiteGuide·From anglers’ reports

What actually worked on this water

Based on 37 verified catchesPeriod: 2015–2020

This is a summary of anglers' reports, not a proven cause of the bite: conditions lining up does not mean they drove it.

By fish species

vertical axis — number of catches

0611
111066211
PerchPikeCarpChubBarbelBrown troutBurbot
By fish species
ValueCatchesShare
Perch1130%
Pike1027%
Carp616%
Chub616%
Barbel25%
Brown trout13%
Burbot13%

By month

vertical axis — number of catches

0510
27321021163
JanFebMarAprJunJulSepOctNovDec
By month
ValueCatchesShare
Jan25%
Feb719%
Mar38%
Apr25%
Jun1027%
Jul25%
Sep13%
Oct13%
Nov616%
Dec38%

By time of day

vertical axis — number of catches

048
112341122283223
5678910111314151617192021
By time of day
ValueCatchesShare
05:0013%
06:0013%
07:0025%
08:0038%
09:00411%
10:0013%
11:0013%
13:0025%
14:0025%
15:0025%
16:00822%
17:0038%
19:0025%
20:0025%
21:0038%

Air temperature, °C

vertical axis — number of catches

0612
11211733
0510152025
Air temperature, °C
ValueCatchesShare
0–4 °C13%
5–9 °C1232%
10–14 °C1130%
15–19 °C719%
20–24 °C38%
25–29 °C38%

Pressure, mmHg

vertical axis — number of catches

0816
14216104
740745750755760765
Pressure, mmHg
ValueCatchesShare
740–744 mmHg13%
745–749 mmHg411%
750–754 mmHg25%
755–759 mmHg1643%
760–764 mmHg1027%
765–769 mmHg411%

Wind direction

vertical axis — number of catches

0917
22221766
NEESESSWWNW
Wind direction
ValueCatchesShare
NE25%
E25%
SE25%
S25%
SW1746%
W616%
NW616%

Wind speed, mph

vertical axis — number of catches

0611
231110911
04913182227
Wind speed, mph
ValueCatchesShare
0–2 mph25%
4–7 mph38%
9–11 mph1130%
13–16 mph1027%
18–20 mph924%
22–25 mph13%
27–29 mph13%

Nearby rivers

  • River Lea1 mi
  • Bypass Channel4 mi
  • River Mimram5 mi
  • River Rib5 mi

Nearby water bodies

  • LakeKings Lake2 mi
  • LakeRiverside Lake2 mi
  • LakeBroadwater Lake2 mi
  • LakeBroadwater2 mi
  • LakeOsprey Lake2 mi
  • LakeLodge Lake2 mi
  • LakeThe Broadwater2 mi
  • LakeRiver Lea2 mi
  • LakeGoldings Canal3 mi
  • LakeStanborough Lake (South)3 mi