Chalk · Normandy / Seine-Maritime (Dieppe area), FR

Arques

Arques terrain map

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.

Poor · Sea Trout
Black & Silver Tube · 1-2 inch
Poorlive now
Slow going — better windows ahead
River temperature is the limiting factor today, not the flow. The thermal advice above stands. Rest this water for the species today.
80% confidence
What moved it
  • Level0.00 mLifting fast
  • Water temp18.6°C
  • ClarityVery colouredColouring up
Today's fly
BS
Black & Silver Tube1-2 inch
In deep pools and dark water, silhouette and contrast do the work colour cannot. A fly that reads as black against depth is enough. Fish it broadside, hold the swing, let it hang at the dangle — that is when the best fish take.
Conditions on the water · Tomorrow
Live gauge
Level
Rising
0.00 m
Lifting fast
Water temp18.6°C
ClarityVery coloured
Weather19°C
WindN 24 km/h
Pressure1014 hPa
Rain · recent14.2 mm
Rain · ahead0.3 mm

The nearest gauge doesn't record temperatures, so we've estimated it — defer to the river keeper's advice.

Water temperature for Sea Trout
Warm — slow
19°C est.ideal 8–15°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Sea Trout
When
Sea trout open in 2026 — better than many of the famous rivers (28 declared rod catches in 2024). Main run summer through October. Evening into night where AAPPMA night extension applies on lower beats.
Where
Lower Arques pool tails through to the Dieppe tidal limit. Pool tails walked in daylight before fishing them at night.
Method
Across-and-down on a floating line with size 10 to 12 wets — Steer's Head, Stoat's Tail, soft-hackle emerger. Steady swing, never hurry. Carte de pêche with timbre migrateur required.
Kit
10 ft #6/7, floating line, 8 lb fluoro tippet. Spare leader on a wrist spool.
Why this works
Water at 19°C — above the sea trout caution line (18°C). Fish dawn or dusk only. Land it fast, wet hands, no air shots.
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 5pm

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 12 active hatches hour by hour as a supporter.

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Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 4 guilds as a supporter.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 4 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
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
Freshwater ShrimpHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Mayfly (Green Drake)Hatch
2
2
Brown SedgeHatch
2
3
3
3
2
Small SpurwingHatch
2
3
3
3
2

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

Ranked for today
Sea Trout fly box

Classic French chalkstream fishing. Gin-clear, weed-rich, slow to moderate flow. Dry fly and sight nymphing dominate. Stronger sedge hatches than English equivalents. French tradition favours flush-sitting dries (comparaduns, CDC patterns) and upstream presentation.

BS
Black & Silver TubeTop
1-2 inch · Tube
In deep pools and dark water, silhouette and contrast do the work colour cannot. A fly that reads as black against depth is enough. Fish it broadside, hold the swing, let it hang at the dangle — that is when the best fish take.
Medicine Fly
Medicine Fly
8-12 · Streamer
Slim and mobile — fished sunk through the pool when surface work is not producing. Consistently takes fish that will not come to the surface.
SF
Snake Fly (Black)
2-4 inch · Streamer
A mobile eel-like profile that undulates through deep pools — effective when sea trout are lying deep and not responding to conventional wets.
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • AAPPMA permits
  • Private estate water on sections.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Cooler water nearby · 3
Water here around 19°C — probably warm enough to stress Sea Trout . These are likely cooler.
Béthune / Eaulne
25 km
~17°C
Brown trout · Grayling · Sea trout
Saâne
24 km
~17°C
Brown trout · Grayling
Scie
16 km
~18°C
Brown trout · Grayling
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.

Hatches & food

In chalk-spring and karst trout systems, generally stable temperatures broaden olive and other mayfly activity from early spring into autumn, with strong evening caddis, steady subsurface scuds and buzzers where clear groundwater and weedbeds develop, and terrestrials from meadow and woodland banks rounding out the food calendar, depending on how fast each river drops and clears after rain.

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

WFD classification · FRHR166

Why this score · for Sea Trout
  • Temperature128% weight
  • Flow8022% weight
  • Clarity8518% weight
  • Feeding Time2013% weight
  • Pressure857% weight
  • Insect activity6812% weight
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Sea trout 25 April → 25 October
  • Trout 2nd Saturday of March → 3rd Sunday of September
  • Grayling 3rd Saturday of May → 31 December

    France national rule: grayling opens 3rd Saturday of May in all waters. In 2nd category waters, grayling remains open until 31 December. Departmental regulations may impose earlier closing dates. Always check the relevant département's 2026 arrêté préfectoral.

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
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