Karst · Limestone · Jura / Doubs

Cusancin

Cusancin terrain map
Terrain map

The Cusancin is a short, secretive limestone tributary of the Doubs that rises at two resurgence springs at Cusance and runs for maybe fifteen kilometres before joining the Doubs at Baume-les-Dames.

Prime · Brown Trout
CDC Emerger · 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.
90% confidence
What moved it
  • Level0.16 mLast reading 10h ago
  • Water temp16.3°C
  • ClarityClear
Today’s fly
CDC Emerger
CDC Emerger16-20
Dead-drift
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Steady
0.16 m
Last reading 10h ago
Water temp16.3°C
ClarityClear
Weather21°C
WindW 9 km/h
Pressure1020 hPa
Rain · recent4.3 mm
Rain · ahead1.7 mm

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

Water temperature for brown trout
Warm — slow
16°C est.ideal 1016°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for brown trout
When
Through the open trout season. The Cusancin is small intimate karst water — read each lie carefully. Spring olives, summer sedges, autumn small flies.
Where
Pool tails, weeded glides, the cushion behind chalk boulders. The Cusancin is short and small-scale — short casts, careful approach.
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 — conditions well-balanced, with water clarity particularly in your favour.
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
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 required
  • Some beats private; fly-only and no-kill parcours on parts of the river
  • Low limits and short rods recommended.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
About this water

The Cusancin is a short, secretive limestone tributary of the Doubs that rises at two resurgence springs at Cusance and runs for maybe fifteen kilometres before joining the Doubs at Baume-les-Dames. It has no business holding the quality of fish it holds. The water emerges from the Jura plateau cold and clear and stays that way through the worst of August, which is exactly when other Franche-Comté rivers are gasping. Wild brown trout and grayling are both present and both take fly life seriously. This is a proper spring creek — the kind of water where you can stand above a glide, watch three fish working different lanes, and take twenty minutes to pick the one you want to try first. The river is narrow enough that a wrong cast puts everything down, and the fish are educated enough that you won't get many second chances. Fish it when you're feeling patient.

  • Limestone
Water quality (WFD)
  • EcologyModerate
  • ChemicalUnknown
What this classification means

WFD ecological status Good → Moderate corrected to EEA WISE 2022 (3rd RBMP) classification for waterbody FRDR11271 (was a stale earlier-cycle value). Source: EEA WISE SWB_SurfaceWaterBody (discodata.eea.europa.eu), verified 2026-06-18.

WFD classification · FRDR11271

The full read · show the working · for brown trout · confidence 90%
How the 85 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature93 × 28%26.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time80 × 13%10.4
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity65 × 12%7.8
Conditions total= 85
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitysurvey-backed invertebrate datasurvey
Directions
Seasons & zones
  • Trout2nd Saturday of March → 3rd Sunday of September
  • Grayling3rd Saturday of May → 3rd Sunday of September
Related guides
Booking & contacts