Chalk · Normandy / Seine-Maritime (Dieppe area)

Arques

Arques venue image
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The Arques is a quiet Normandy chalk stream near Dieppe that holds a genuine sea trout run alongside its resident brown trout and grayling — 28 declared sea trout in 2024, which places it ahead of several more famous French migratory rivers.

Prime · Brown Trout
Spent Spinner · 16-20
Primelive now
About as good as it gets
Low and clear — careful approach country. Take your time — read the water before you cast.
75% confidence
What moved it
  • Level0.04 m
  • Water temp15.3°C
  • ClarityClear
Today’s fly
Spent Spinner
Spent Spinner16-20
Upstream dry
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Steady
0.04 m
Water temp15.3°C
ClarityClear
Weather14°C
WindNW 4 km/h
Pressure1023 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead0.4 mm

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

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. Iron Blue and CDC grannom in April; olives through May; sedges through summer evenings.
Where
Pool tails and weeded glides through the chalk-stream stretches around Dieppe. The Arques is intimate water; read each lie.
Method
Upstream dry to spotted rising fish; long fine leader. The water reads clear — careful approach matters more than fly choice. Move slowly upstream, cast accurately, accept the result.
Kit
9 ft #4 — French karst-stream default. Floating line, 14 ft leader to 4 lb fluoro. Polarising glasses non-negotiable.
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 10 active hatches hour by hour with Pro.

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Evidence
Survey-backed · regionalModerate confidence

Backed by regional invertebrate surveys; no sampling on this exact reach yet.

Through the year
0–3 scale · July highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Sea trout runRun
1
2
2
2
2
2
1
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
1
Grayling seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
GrannomHatch
2
2
Evening SedgeHatch
2
3
3
3
2
Large Dark OliveHatch
1
2
2
1
Iron BlueHatch
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.
  • AAPPMA permits
  • Private estate water on sections.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Normandy Chalk Streams (Private Estate Network)
8.0 km
Brown trout · Grayling
Durdent
13 km
Brown trout · Grayling
Andelle
22 km
Brown trout · Grayling
Risle
27 km
Brown trout · Grayling
Saâne
32 km
Brown trout · Grayling
Gallery · 1
  1. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

The Arques is a quiet Normandy chalk stream near Dieppe that holds a genuine sea trout run alongside its resident brown trout and grayling — 28 declared sea trout in 2024, which places it ahead of several more famous French migratory rivers. The chalk character gives it stable, clear water and prolific invertebrate life. Small olives and evening sedges sustain selective dry-fly fishing for brown trout through the season. Sea trout enter from the estuary and run on spate water, providing a secondary but credible target from summer through autumn.

  • Chalk
Water quality (WFD)
  • Ecology: Moderate
  • Chemical: Unknown

WFD classification · FRHR166

The full read · show the working · for brown trout · confidence 75%
How the 80 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 activity50 × 12%6.0
Conditions total= 80
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
  • Sea trout25 April → 25 October
  • Trout2nd Saturday of March → 3rd Sunday of September
  • Grayling3rd Saturday of May → 31 December

Sea trout: Open (2026) — Credible secondary sea trout river. 28 declared rod catches in 2024 — better than many historic glamour rivers.

Related guides
Chalkstream Playbookchalk stream tacticsGrayling Playbookgrayling tacticsPyrenees PlaybookFrench rivers
Booking & contacts