Freestone · Granite · Lozère / Haute-Loire, FR

Allier (Upper, Langogne–Langeac)

FR-48-Allier Valley2
Poor · Brown Trout
Hare's Ear Nymph · 14-16
New ruleReported 12 Sept 2026

Severe drought restrictions (crise) in force

VigiEau lists this venue's surface-water zone (bassin de l'Allier amont, dépt 48) at crise, under an official préfectoral drought arrêté. Fishing is not itself banned by it, but water levels are low — go gently on stressed fish.

Arrêté préfectoral n°38072 ↗

Temporary notices from official orders and recent fishery reports — they clear automatically once out of date. Always confirm locally before travelling.

Closed season
Out of season. Try elsewhere.
Closed — confidence not applicable today.
What moved it
  • Flow7.2 m³/sLast reading 10h ago
  • Water temp13.5°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Hare's Ear Nymph
Hare's Ear Nymph14-16
Upstream
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Flow
Steady
7.2 m³/s
Last reading 10h ago
Water temp13.5°C
ClarityClear
Weather14°C
WindS 20 km/h
Pressure1021 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead18.0 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
Ideal
14°C est.ideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Brown Trout
When
Through the open trout season — March through September. Spring olives; sedges in summer; the upper Allier holds wild browns above the dam at Vichy.
Where
Pool tails, riffle heads, and the cushion behind boulders through the Massif Central headwaters. Above Vichy is wild trout-and-grayling water — no migratories pass the dam.
Method
Upstream dry to risers; nymph the deeper pockets between hatches. The headwater Allier is intimate — short casts, careful approach.
Kit
9 ft #4 — French freestone default. Floating line, 12 ft leader to 4 to 5 lb fluoro. Studded boots.
Likely species
Mayflies
Stoneflies
Caddisflies
Gammarids
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 6 Uhr

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 12 active hatches hour by hour as a supporter.

Start free trial

14-day free trial. Cancel anytime.

Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 2 as a supporter.

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 · September highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
1
Grayling seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
1
Freshwater ShrimpHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Large Dark OliveHatch
1
2
2
1
Blue Winged OliveHatch
1
2
2
2
2
1
Autumn OliveHatch
1
2
1

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Ranked for today
Fly box · Brown Trout
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • AAPPMA Haute-Loire
  • Fly-only parcours in several reaches — verify locally.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Lac de Naussac
4.0 km
Brown trout · Rainbow trout · Pike
Loire (Upper)
24 km
Brown trout · Grayling
Chassezac
33 km
Brown trout
Ardèche (Upper, Aubenas Headwaters)
35 km
Brown trout
Beaume
38 km
Brown trout
Gallery · 2
  1. FR-48-Allier Valley2
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
Water quality (WFD)
  • Ecology: Good
  • Chemical: Failing to achieve good
What this classification means

WFD chemical status Good → Failing to achieve good corrected to EEA WISE 2022 (3rd RBMP) classification for waterbody FRGR0141A (was a stale earlier-cycle value). Source: EEA WISE SWB_SurfaceWaterBody (discodata.eea.europa.eu), verified 2026-06-18.

WFD classification · FRGR0141A

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 90%
How the 0 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time55 × 13%7.2
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity62 × 12%7.4
Conditions total= 83
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.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 2. Saturday im March → 3. Sunday im September
  • Grayling 3. Saturday im May → 3. Sunday im September

    France national rule: grayling opens 3rd Saturday of May in all waters. In 1st category (salmonid) rivers, grayling closes with the trout season on the 3rd Sunday of September. Departmental regulations may impose additional restrictions. Always check the relevant département's 2026 arrêté préfectoral.

Related guides
Grayling Playbookgrayling tacticsPyrenees PlaybookFrench riversEuro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts