Chalk · Normandy / Seine-Maritime (Arques headwaters)

Béthune / Eaulne

Béthune venue image
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The Béthune and the Eaulne are the two headwater rivers that join at Arques-la-Bataille to form the Arques proper, and each of them on its own is worth a day's fishing.

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
  • LevelProxyvia Arques
  • Water temp14.9°C
  • ClarityClear
Today’s fly
Spent Spinner
Spent Spinner16-20
Upstream dry
Conditions on the water
Proxy gauge
Level
Steady
Proxy
via Arques
Water temp14.9°C
ClarityClear
Weather13°C
WindW 6 km/h
Pressure1023 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead1.9 mm

No gauge on this water — conditions are inferred from Arques. The trend transfers, the absolute level does not.

Water temperature for brown trout
Ideal
15°C est.ideal 1016°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 Seine-Maritime chalk-stream stretches. Intimate water — read each lie carefully.
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 11 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
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 du Pays de Bray and local AAPPMAs share the beats on both rivers
  • Fly-only parcours on several stretches
  • Check current rules before fishing.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Gallery · 1
  1. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

The Béthune and the Eaulne are the two headwater rivers that join at Arques-la-Bataille to form the Arques proper, and each of them on its own is worth a day's fishing. The Béthune runs down from Neufchâtel-en-Bray through Bellencombre and Saint-Saëns, a proper chalk stream with cold stable water and a wild brown trout population throughout — nothing large, but honest and consistent. The Eaulne is shorter and quieter, rising near Londinières and running parallel to the Béthune before they meet. Both rivers get occasional sea trout running up from the Arques in autumn, and both hold grayling in the steadier pools. Olives from March, mayfly in the second half of May, summer caddis. AAPPMA beats through most of the fishable length. If you've fished the Arques itself and want to trace the river back to its sources, this is where it comes from.

  • Chalk
Water quality (WFD)
  • EcologyModerate
  • ChemicalUnknown

WFD classification · FRHR163

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 activity51 × 12%6.1
Conditions total= 80
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowproxy via Arquesproxy
Prey activitysurvey-backed invertebrate datasurvey
What would change the calculation
The dawn and dusk windows score higher than the midday lull.
Directions
Seasons & zones
  • Trout2nd Saturday of March → 3rd Sunday of September
  • Grayling3rd Saturday of May → 31 December
Related guides
Booking & contacts