Freestone · Limestone · Hautes-Pyrénées / Béarn, FR

Gave de Pau

Wide view of the Gave de Pau river with gravel banks near Laroin in the Béarn region of France
Prime · Brown Trout
Hare's Ear Nymph · 14-16
New ruleReported 19 Jun 2026

Severe drought restrictions (crise) in force

A préfectoral drought order places this catchment's surface water at crise, the highest of France's four restriction tiers. Fishing itself is not named in the order, but flows are low and water-use restrictions are in force. Zone: Bassin du Soust (dépt 64).

Arrêté préfectoral n°36802 ↗

Temporary notices from official orders and recent fishery reports — they clear automatically once out of date.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

Primelive now
About as good as it gets
River steady at a fishable height. On the feed top to bottom — start on the rises with a dry, drop a nymph if they stay down.
90% confidence
What moved it
  • Level0.48 mLast reading 1h ago
  • Water temp15.4°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Hare's Ear Nymph
Hare's Ear Nymph14-16
Upstream
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Steady
0.48 m
Last reading 1h ago
Water temp15.4°C
ClarityClear
Weather15°C
WindSE 8 km/h
Pressure1019 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead0.9 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
15°C est.ideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Brown Trout
When
Through the open trout season. Spring olives April through May; sedges through summer; small dark flies into late September.
Where
Pool tails and the seams behind boulders through the Pyrenean piedmont. The Gave de Pau runs classic Pyrenean freestone water.
Method
Upstream dry to risers; dry-dropper through the riffles. Long leader, fine tippet — Pyrenean water reads clear.
Kit
9 ft #4 — French freestone default. Floating line, 12 ft leader to 4 to 5 lb fluoro. Studded boots.
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 12 active hatches hour by hour with Pro.

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Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 2 guilds with Pro.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 3 with Pro.

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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
Alpine RhithrogenaHatch
2
3
3
2
Sculpin / Baitfish (Rivers)Hatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
March BrownHatch
2
3
2
Late March BrownHatch
2
3
2

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.
  • AAPPMA permits.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Gave d'Ossau
15 km
Brown trout
Gave d'Oloron
20 km
Brown trout
Adour
22 km
37
Brown trout · Salmon · Sea trout
Gave d'Aspe
24 km
78
Brown trout · Grayling
La Truite des Pyrénées
32 km
Rainbow trout · Brown trout
Gallery · 2
  1. Wide view of the Gave de Pau river with gravel banks near Laroin in the Béarn region of France
    The Gave de Pau seen from Laroin, Béarn
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
Water quality (WFD)
  • Ecology: Good
  • Chemical: Unknown
What this classification means

WFD ecological status Moderate → Good corrected to EEA WISE 2022 (3rd RBMP) classification for waterbody FRFR405 (was a stale earlier-cycle value). Source: EEA WISE SWB_SurfaceWaterBody (discodata.eea.europa.eu), verified 2026-06-18.

WFD classification · FRFR405

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 activity59 × 12%7.1
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

Salmon: Banned (2026) — Salmon fishing is closed across the Adour and Gaves basin under the 2026 prefectoral order (Nouvelle-Aquitaine), which renewed the 2025 total prohibition.

Related guides
Pyrenees PlaybookFrench riversEuro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts