Spate · Granite · Brittany / Finistère-Morbihan, FR

Ellé

Photo of Ellé

The Ellé is emblematic South Brittany wild trout river where the mood of the water seems to shift with the light on granite.

Today · Closed season
Stonefly Nymph
New ruleReported 19 Aug 2026

Severe drought restrictions (crise) in force

VigiEau lists this venue's surface-water zone (Ellé, dépt 56) 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°37757 ↗

Temporary notices from official orders and recent fishery reports — they clear automatically once out of date.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

Forecast · Today
Closed season
Out of season. Try elsewhere.
45% projected
Today's fly
Stonefly Nymph
Stonefly Nymph
Conditions on the water · Today
Live gauge
Level
Rising
0.30 m
Lifting fast
Water temp9.7°C
ClarityUnfishable
Weather5°C
WindN 13 km/h
Pressure1013 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead8.7 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
Cool — slow
10°C est.ideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Brown Trout
When
Through the open trout season. Spring olives and sedges; summer evenings; small dark flies into autumn close.
Where
Pool tails and pocket water through the Finistère-Morbihan stretches. The Ellé is small-scale Breton freestone.
Method
Upstream dry to risers; dry-dropper through the riffles. Breton spate freestone — fish 12 to 24 hours after rain on the drop. Long leader, fine tippet.
Kit
9 ft #4 — Breton spate freestone. Floating line, 12 ft leader to 4 lb fluoro. Studded boots.
Likely species
Stoneflies
Gammarids
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 11am

12pm(now) — Autumn Needle Fly

Stage: Creeping nymphsApproach: Heavy nymphActivity: 35%
Also:Autumn Olive21%
Peak emergence window

Peak activity at 11am — Autumn Needle Fly (Autumn Needle Fly, Peak emergence window)

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 3 guilds 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 · November highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
1
March BrownHatch
2
3
2
Late March BrownHatch
2
3
2
Large Brook DunHatch
2
3
2
Large StoneflyHatch
2
3
2

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

Ranked for today
Brown Trout fly box

More balanced than the mountain-river pack. French nymphing still matters, but there is more room for dries, spiders and general searching flies.

Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • AAPPMA permits.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Isole
18 km
0
Brown trout · Salmon · Sea trout
Aven
27 km
0
Brown trout · Sea trout
Aulne
27 km
0
Brown trout · Salmon · Sea trout
Blavet
29 km
0
Brown trout · Salmon · Sea trout
Scorff
15 km
Brown trout · Salmon · Sea trout
Gallery · 2
  1. Photo of Ellé
    Ellé — image via Wikipedia (Ellé)
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

Upper stretches and tributaries (Quimperlé system) excellent for fly. Armorican granite means clear water, responsive flow, strong invertebrate populations. Baetis, caddis, and stonefly hatches throughout season. Check AAPPMA for public access.

Hatches & food

On Atlantic trout rivers in Normandy and Brittany, regional studies and on-the-bank experience point to spring mayflies as the main early driver, a strong band of spring and early-summer caddis as channels warm and open, background buzzer life ticking away right through the year, and terrestrials from wooded banks adding important surface food in summer and early autumn, with autumn olives extending sport wherever trout-season rules allow.

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

WFD re-coded 2026-06-18: prior id FRGR0091 actually identifies the Isole — this river was mis-tagged to a neighbouring water body. Re-mapped to FRGR0079. Status: EEA WISE 2022 (3rd RBMP). Confidence: medium — VERIFY upper (FRGR0079, source–Aër) vs lower (FRGR0080, Aër–estuary) for the fished beat. Source: discodata.eea.europa.eu.

WFD classification · FRGR0079

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 75%
How the 0 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature93 × 28%26.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time40 × 13%5.2
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity30 × 12%3.6
Conditions total= 75
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

Salmon: Banned (2026) — Brittany 2026 order bans Atlantic salmon and sea trout on all Breton rivers.

Sea trout: Banned (2026) — Brittany 2026 order bans Atlantic salmon and sea trout on all Breton rivers.

Related guides
Pyrenees PlaybookFrench riversEuro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts
At a glance

Ellé is a spate river in Brittany / Finistère-Morbihan, France. Its recorded elevation is about 147 m above sea level and the catchment geology is granite. The river is described as roughly 72 km long. Our data lists brown trout, salmon and sea trout here. The salmon season is recorded as running from CLOSED to CLOSED. The trout season is recorded as running from 2nd Saturday of March to 3rd Sunday of September. Best window recorded for anglers: March–September for trout. Core methods listed: nymphing; dry fly; small wet fly. Level and flow data for this water is linked from 1 gauge. Its Water Framework Directive ecological status is recorded as good. Access is recorded as day tickets through the local AAPPMA (angling association). Nearby waters in our listings include Scorff at 15 km, Isole at 18 km and Aven at 27 km.