The upper Charente — the source-to-Angoulême reach, before the river becomes the broad navigable waterway of Cognac and La Rochelle — is a proper limestone trout stream that most of the world has no idea exists. It rises on the Massif Central flank near Cheronnac and gathers water from a series of limestone spring feeders as it runs west through Confolens and Mansle towards Angoulême. The groundwater buffering is considerable. The river runs stable through the season, clear in most conditions, and supports a wild brown trout population that sees very few rods. Fish the headwaters and the middle reach around Confolens and Mansle. The hatches are good through spring — Baetis, olives, grannom caddis, building March Browns in the better riffles — and the trout rise freely to small dries when the conditions are right. Nymph in the cold weeks of April, shift to dry fly from mid-May, and expect a river that behaves more like a chalk stream than anything the middle Charente would suggest. The best beats are short and often require local knowledge to find — the AAPPMA of Confolens is a useful first stop.

• Limestone