Freestone · Mixed · Catalonia, ES

Cardener

FONTS DEL CARDENER - IB-313

The upper Cardener runs through the pre-Pyrenean ranges north of Solsona — limestone and conglomerate country, alkaline water, productive in hatches when the temperature is right, and technically demanding in the hard Mediterranean summer light when the fish have seen everything.

Poor · Brown Trout
Grasshopper Pattern · 10–14
Closed season
Out of season. Try elsewhere.
Closed — confidence not applicable today.
What moved it
  • LevelProxyvia Noguera Pallaresa
  • Water temp8.8°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Grasshopper Pattern
Grasshopper Pattern10–14
Proven pattern for this period
Conditions on the water
Proxy gauge
Level
Steady
Proxy
via Noguera Pallaresa
Water temp8.8°C
ClarityClear
Weather8°C
WindS 4 km/h
Pressure1014 hPa
Rain · recent43.4 mm
Rain · ahead1.0 mm

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

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Cool — slow
9°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
Stoneflies
Gammarids
Hatch timeline · todayQuiet day

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 6 active hatches hour by hour as a supporter.

Start free trial

14-day free trial. Cancel anytime.

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 3 guilds as a supporter.

Start free trial

14-day free trial. Cancel anytime.

Evidence
Survey-backed · regionalHigh confidence

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

Through the year
0–3 scale · November highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
Evening SedgeHatch
2
3
3
3
2
Large Dark OliveHatch
1
2
2
1
Iron BlueHatch
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
Blue Winged OliveHatch
1
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.
  • Catalan fishing licence required
  • Controlled trout waters may require a ZPC permit, and legal dates differ between low-mountain, high-mountain, with-kill, and no-kill sectors, so check the current Generalitat rules for the exact zone.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Catalan Pyrenees controlled zones
24 km
0
Brown trout
Llobregat
25 km
0
Brown trout
Río Segre
26 km
0
Brown trout
Noguera Pallaresa
47 km
0
Brown trout
Río Segre
26 km
Brown trout
Gallery · 2
  1. FONTS DEL CARDENER - IB-313
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

The trout reach is concentrated above the Llosa del Cavall reservoir, where the river runs freestone through scrubby oak. Wild brown trout in the managed sections, selective as any limestone-water fish tends to be in low clear water. Fish it in the morning or evening and give the midday hours to something else.

  • Mixed
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 ES100MSPF1000560 (was a stale earlier-cycle value). Source: EEA WISE SWB_SurfaceWaterBody (discodata.eea.europa.eu), verified 2026-06-18.

WFD classification · ES100MSPF1000560

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 90%
How the 0 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature78 × 28%21.8
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time80 × 13%10.4
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity51 × 12%6.1
Conditions total= 79
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowproxy via Noguera Pallaresaproxy
Prey activitysurvey-backed invertebrate datasurvey
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 21 March → 12 October
Related guides
Pyrenees PlaybookSpanish riversEuro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts
At a glance

Cardener is a freestone river in Catalonia, Spain. It sits at about 852 m above sea level. The river is described as roughly 80 km long. The species listed for this water is brown trout. The trout season is recorded as running from 21 March to 12 October. Core methods listed: dry fly; small nymph; czech nymphing. Its recorded parent river is the Llobregat. Its Water Framework Directive ecological status is recorded as good. Nearby waters in our listings include Catalan Pyrenees controlled zones at 24 km, Llobregat at 25 km and Río Segre at 26 km.