Spate · Mixed · Pyrénées-Atlantiques / Pays Basque, FR

Nive

Photo of Nive
Poor · Brown Trout
Pheasant Tail Nymph · 14-18
New ruleReported 7 Aug 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 de la Nive (dépt 64).

Arrêté préfectoral n°37629 ↗

Temporary notices from official orders and recent fishery reports — they clear automatically once out of date.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

Poorlive now
Not the day for it
River temperature is the limiting factor today, not the flow. This is not the day to push it. Check the thermal advice above before you head out.
80% confidence
What moved it
  • Level0.34 mLast reading 18h ago
  • Water temp21.8°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Pheasant Tail Nymph
Pheasant Tail Nymph14-18
Upstream
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Steady
0.34 m
Last reading 18h ago
Water temp21.8°C
ClarityClear
Weather26°C
WindSW 17 km/h
Pressure1017 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead1.1 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
Warm — slow
22°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 evenings; small dark flies into late September.
Where
Upper Nive through the Basque Pyrénées is tight pocket water; the middle river through Cambo widens. Pool tails and the seams behind boulders.
Method
Upstream dry to risers; dry-dropper through the riffles. The Nive's Basque water is clear — long leader, fine tippet.
Kit
9 ft #4 — French freestone default. Floating line, 12 ft leader to 4 to 5 lb fluoro. Studded boots.
Why this works
Water at 21.8°C — above the brown trout caution line (18°C). Fish dawn or dusk only. Land it fast, wet hands, no air shots.
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 6am

Hatch predictions

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Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

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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
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
1
Autumn DunHatch
2
3
2
March BrownHatch
2
3
2
Late March BrownHatch
2
3
2
Large Brook DunHatch
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.
  • Basque AAPPMA permits
  • Mandatory catch-and-release in some years — verify with local federation.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Water here around 22°C. Nothing cooler within range — carry a thermometer.
Gallery · 2
  1. Photo of Nive
    Nive — image via Wikipedia (Nive)
  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 FRFR271C (was a stale earlier-cycle value). Source: EEA WISE SWB_SurfaceWaterBody (discodata.eea.europa.eu), verified 2026-06-18.

WFD classification · FRFR271C

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 80%
How the 4 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature2 × 28%0.6
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time55 × 13%7.2
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity60 × 12%7.2
Limiting factor: Water temperature (21.8°C) is outside Brown Trout's preferred range (10–16°C)= 55
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitysurvey-backed invertebrate datasurvey
What would change the calculation
Cooler water — back toward the 10–16 °C ideal band — would lift the score and ease welfare.
The dawn and dusk windows score higher than the midday lull.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 2nd Saturday of March → 3rd Sunday of September

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.

Sea trout: Seasonal open (2026) — Nive — the Basque river draining from the Pyrenees through Bayonne. Sea trout (truite de mer) confirmed as a seasonal quarry alongside salmon. Active sea trout fishery in the Basque Pyrénées-Atlantiques zone. Supersedes earlier 'verify_locally' provisional status.

Related guides
Pyrenees PlaybookFrench riversEuro Nymphingsubsurface methods
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