Freestone · Limestone · Navarra, ES

Río Areta

La garganta del Areta

A compact limestone Irati tributary in easternmost Navarra's trout zone.

Today · Closed season
Black Gnat
Forecast · Today
Closed season
Out of season. Try elsewhere.
45% projected
Today's fly
Black Gnat
Black Gnat
Conditions on the water · Today
Live gauge
Level
Rising
0.05 m
Lifting fast
Water temp16.2°C
ClarityUnfishable
Weather20°C
WindN 21 km/h
Pressure1019 hPa
Rain · recent37.5 mm
Rain · ahead1.7 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
16°C est.ideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Brown Trout
When
Nymphing can work through most of the day.
Where
Cover mixed depths.
Method
Start with tight-line nymphs and adjust if fish rise or drift higher.
Kit
9 ft #4 rod, floating line, 12 ft tapered leader to 4–5 lb fluoro tippet.
Likely species
Caddisflies
Gammarids
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 12pm

12pm(now) — Heather Fly

Stage: Terrestrials on topApproach: Dry flyActivity: 56%
Also:Reed Smut44%Cinnamon Sedge26%Pale Watery21%
Peak emergence windowWeather boost10 food groups active

Peak activity at 12pm — Heather Fly (Heather Fly, Peak emergence window)

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 2 guilds as a supporter.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 2 as a supporter.

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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 · September highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Trout seasonSeason
1
1
Daddy Long LegsHatch
2
3
2
Evening SedgeHatch
2
3
3
3
2
Large Dark OliveHatch
1
2
2
1
Iron BlueHatch
1
2
2
2
2
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.
  • Gobierno de Navarra fishing licence required
  • Check the exact tramo and any daily-permit or coto-pass requirement for the named stretch before travel.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Río Aragón
20 km
0
Brown trout
Río Erro
23 km
0
Brown trout
Río Irati
8.0 km
Brown trout
Río Salazar
14 km
Brown trout
Río Urrobi
15 km
Brown trout
Gallery · 2
  1. La garganta del Areta
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

A compact limestone Irati tributary in easternmost Navarra's trout zone. The Areta drains from karst plateaux and flows through narrow alpine valleys with significant drop. Clear, alkaline freestone with pocket-water runs and short pools holding wild browns with good size distribution. Technical short-line nymphing and dry fly. Rapid limestone spate response moderated by karst storage. Access from Aoiz or Orbaieta.

  • Limestone
Water quality (WFD)
  • Ecology: Good
  • Chemical: Unknown

WFD classification · ES091MSPF537

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 75%
How the 0 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time45 × 13%5.9
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity60 × 12%7.2
Conditions total= 81
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 1 May → 30 June

    RSS Irati–Erro basin (2,728 permits in 2026). All catch-and-release. Extendable to 15 Jul by resolution. Daily basin permit required.

Related guides
Pyrenees PlaybookSpanish riversEuro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts