Freestone · Granite · Massif Central / Puy-de-Dôme, FR

Dordogne (upper)

A rocky, boulder-strewn mountain stream flowing through autumn woodland on the upper Dordogne near La Bourboule, France.

The upper Dordogne flows from Puy-de-Dôme mountains through classic Massif Central terrain — granite and volcanic rock creating cold, clear freestone.

Tomorrow · Closed season
Coch-y-bonddu
New ruleReported 29 Aug 2026

Severe drought restrictions (crise) in force

VigiEau lists this venue's surface-water zone (zone Dordogne des grands barrages rive droite (19), dépt 19) at crise, under an official préfectoral drought arrêté. Fishing is not itself banned by it, but water levels are low — go gently on stressed fish.

Arrêté préfectoral n°37871 ↗

Temporary notices from official orders and recent fishery reports — they clear automatically once out of date. Always confirm locally before travelling.

Forecast · Tomorrow
Closed season
Out of season. Try elsewhere.
45% projected
Today's fly
Coch-y-bonddu
Coch-y-bonddu
Conditions on the water · Tomorrow
Live gauge
Level
Rising
0.05 m
Lifting fast
Water temp15.6°C
ClarityUnfishable
Weather18°C
WindN 14 km/h
Pressure1020 hPa
Rain · recent0.1 mm
Rain · ahead7.5 mm

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

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Ideal
16°C est.ideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Brown Trout
When
Through the open trout season. Spring olives April through May; sedges through summer evenings.
Where
Pool tails and pocket water through the upper Dordogne valley above the dams. Auvergne freestone.
Method
Upstream dry to risers; dry-dropper through the riffles. The water reads clear — long leader, fine tippet. Move slowly, cast accurately.
Kit
9 ft #4 — French freestone default. Floating line, 12 ft leader to 4 to 5 lb fluoro. Studded boots.
Likely species
Mayflies
Caddisflies
Hatch timeline · tomorrowPeak at 6pm

12pm(now) — Heather Fly

Stage: Terrestrials on topApproach: Dry flyActivity: 41%
Also:Reed Smut35%Cinnamon Sedge34%Autumn Dun24%
Peak emergence windowWeather boost9 food groups active

Peak activity at 6pm — Evening Sedge (Evening Sedge, Weather boost)

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 3 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
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
1
Grayling seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
1
Freshwater ShrimpHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Large Dark OliveHatch
1
2
2
1
Blue Winged OliveHatch
1
2
2
2
2
1
Autumn OliveHatch
1
2
1

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

Ranked for today
Brown Trout fly box

French nymph-first water. Fast current, technical presentation, weighted nymphs and emergers, with dry flies when fish rise.

Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • AAPPMA permits.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Miouze
10 km
Brown trout
Lac Guéry
11 km
Brown trout
Fontsalade
12 km
Brown trout · Grayling
Lac Servières
14 km
Brown trout
Petit Sioulet
16 km
Brown trout
Gallery · 2
  1. A rocky, boulder-strewn mountain stream flowing through autumn woodland on the upper Dordogne near La Bourboule, France.
    The upper Dordogne near La Bourboule, Puy-de-Dôme
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

The upper Dordogne flows from Puy-de-Dôme mountains through classic Massif Central terrain — granite and volcanic rock creating cold, clear freestone. Wild brown trout and grayling. Strong mayfly, caddis, and stonefly populations. Designated no-kill parcours on some sections. Upper reaches more technical, lower more accessible. Check local regulations for restrictions.

Hatches & food

In freestone rivers of the Massif Central, resident brown trout feed through a spring build-up of olives and stoneflies into a long summer of caddis and small buzzers, with terrestrials becoming important from early summer; higher volcanic plateaux and colder headwaters tend to run later than the lower freestones.

  • Granite
Water quality (WFD)
  • Ecology: Moderate
  • Chemical: Unknown
What this classification means

WFD ecological status Good → Moderate corrected to EEA WISE 2022 (3rd RBMP) classification for waterbody FRFRR105_1 (was a stale earlier-cycle value). Source: EEA WISE SWB_SurfaceWaterBody (discodata.eea.europa.eu), verified 2026-06-18.

WFD classification · FRFRR105_1

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 75%
How the 0 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time40 × 13%5.2
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity58 × 12%7.0
Conditions total= 81
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitysurvey-backed invertebrate datasurvey
What would change the calculation
The dawn and dusk windows score higher than the midday lull.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 2nd Saturday of March → 3rd Sunday of September
  • Grayling 3rd Saturday of May → 3rd Sunday of September

    France national rule: grayling opens 3rd Saturday of May in all waters. In 1st category (salmonid) rivers, grayling closes with the trout season on the 3rd Sunday of September. Departmental regulations may impose additional restrictions. Always check the relevant département's 2026 arrêté préfectoral.

Related guides
Grayling Playbookgrayling tacticsPyrenees PlaybookFrench riversEuro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts