Freestone · Granite · Massif Central / Puy-de-Dôme (Orcival)

Fontsalade

Fontsalade terrain map
Terrain map

The Fontsalade is tiny.

Species

A proper day on the water

Low and clear — careful approach country. Stay small, stay accurate.

50% confidence in this read
Water temperature for grayling
Ideal
5°C est.ideal 4–14°C
0°14°28°
Why this score · for grayling
  • Temperature10028% weight
  • Flow6022% weight
  • Clarity8518% weight
  • Feeding Time1013% weight
  • Pressure807% weight
  • Prey Activity1712% weight
Conditions
Level
Dry recently
No gauge reading
Water temp
5.3°C
Estimated
Clarity
Clear
Air temp
3°C
Wind
NW 12 km/h
Gentle breeze
Pressure
1018 hPa
Rain · 48h
0.2 mm
No meaningful rain
Rain · ahead
0.9 mm
No meaningful rain · next 48h

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

How to fish it · for grayling
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
10 ft #3 rod, floating line, long leader to 4 lb fluoro for nymphs.
Why this works
Good conditions. Temperature is favourable (100), Feeding time is weakest (10).
Through the year
0–3 scale · May 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.

Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • AAPPMA permits.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
About this water

The Fontsalade is tiny. A ribbon of meltwater in a glacial valley above Orcival, flowing through high meadow where the only sound most days is the wind and the occasional cowbell. The trout are a hundred per cent wild, local-strain, small, and protected under strict management — the sort of population that exists because someone has been careful for a long time. The season is short: by the time the snow is off the meadows it's May, and by mid-September the fish are thinking about spawning. Short rods, very short casts, very light tippet. A 7ft 2-weight is not an affectation here, it's the right tool. You won't catch many and you won't catch big ones. What you will do is remember every one of them for a long time afterwards, which is the whole point of this kind of fishing.

  • Granite
Seasons & zones
  • Trout2nd Saturday of March → 3rd Sunday of September
  • Grayling3rd Saturday of May → 3rd Sunday of September
Other water nearby · 5
Booking & contacts