Tailwater · Mixed · Castilla y León / Salamanca (below Alba de Tormes)

Río Tormes — Villagonzalo II (Hucho)

Río Tormes — Villagonzalo II (Hucho) — Barco de Ávila
Contributor photo

Barco de Ávila

C.Frayle (https://www.flickr.com/photos/51195133@N03) - CC0

Villagonzalo II is the only coto in Spain where hucho hucho (Danube salmon) can be legally targeted — a nearly 3 km stretch of the Tormes downstream of the trout beats.

Prime · Brown Trout
Foam Beetle · 14-18
Primelive now
About as good as it gets
River high but settled. Coloured water — fish bigger and deeper, confident takes down the seams.
90% confidence
What moved it
  • Level1.22 mLast reading 16h ago
  • Water temp10.3°C
  • ClarityClear
Today’s fly
Foam Beetle
Foam Beetle14-18
Proven pattern for this period
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Steady
1.22 m
Last reading 16h ago
Water temp10.3°C
ClarityClear
Weather32°C
WindSW 17 km/h
Pressure1014 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead0.0 mm

Live readings — water temperature is an estimate where the gauge does not record it.

Water temperature for brown trout
Ideal
10°C est.ideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for brown trout
When
Through the Castilla y León trout season. The Villagonzalo II beat fishes the lower Tormes — cooler than the Salamanca-end water but warmer than the Gredos headwaters.
Where
Villagonzalo II beat through the lower river. Pool tails, riffle heads, and the seams behind boulders.
Method
Upstream dry to risers; dry-dropper through the riffles. The Tormes runs clear granite water — long leader, fine tippet, careful approach.
Kit
9 ft #4 — Spanish granite spate default. Floating line, 12 ft leader to 4 lb fluoro. Studded boots — granite cobble runs slick.
Why this works
Excellent — water temperature is right today, though time of day could be better.
Hatch timeline · todayQuiet day

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 3 active hatches hour by hour with Pro.

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Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 2 with Pro.

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Evidence
Records-basedModerate confidence

Based on species-occurrence records, not local invertebrate surveys.

Through the year
0–3 scale · July highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Black MidgeHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Freshwater ShrimpHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Summer River MidgeHatch
2
3
3
3
2
Large Dark OliveHatch
1
2
2
1

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

Ranked for today
Brown Trout fly box
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Castilla y León fishing licence + specific Villagonzalo II coto permit required
  • The Junta identifies this as the unique legal hucho coto in Spain
  • Rules may differ from the adjacent trout beats — verify the annual order
  • Conservation rules apply; the hucho population is maintained by managed releases.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Reservoirs near Salamanca / lower Tormes
14 km
Rainbow trout · Brown trout
Embalse de Santa Teresa
17 km
Barbel · Carp · Pike
Río Tormes (Santa Teresa trout beats — Salamanca)
18 km
80
Brown trout · Barbel
Río Corneja system (research priority)
43 km
76
Brown trout
Zapardiel de la Ribera
49 km
Brown trout
Gallery · 2
  1. Río Tormes — Villagonzalo II (Hucho) — Barco de Ávila
    Barco de Ávila
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

Villagonzalo II is the only coto in Spain where hucho hucho (Danube salmon) can be legally targeted — a nearly 3 km stretch of the Tormes downstream of the trout beats. The Tormes hucho population originates from introductions beginning in 1968, with the present stock maintained by periodic releases concentrated in this section. The Castilla y León species guide describes hucho as a fish of large, flowing middle-river sections — fundamentally piscivorous, holding in deeper, more substantial water than trout. This is not delicate fly fishing; it is predator fishing in salmonid water.

  • Mixed
Water quality (WFD)
  • Ecology: Moderate
  • Chemical: Unknown
The full read · show the working · for brown trout · confidence 90%
How the 83 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 activity64 × 12%7.7
Conditions total= 83
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitymodelled from regional profilemodelled
What would change the calculation
The dawn and dusk windows score higher than the midday lull.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Barbel1 January → 31 December

    Barbel is fishable year-round in Castilla y León's aguas libres, but a mandatory catch-and-release (zero-kill) window applies 1 May–15 July each year to protect spawning — anglers must release all barbel caught in that period (Orden MAV/1506/2025). This is a harvest rule, not a closure, so the season stays open throughout the year.

Related guides
Pyrenees PlaybookSpanish riversEuro Nymphingsubsurface methods
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