Stillwater · Limestone · Vorarlberg / Lech Zürs, AT

Formarinsee

Formarinsee Panorama

Formarinsee sits at the foot of the Rote Wand in the Lechquellengebirge, and it is the kind of view that makes people forget they came to fish.

Fair · Rainbow
Hare's Ear Nymph · 12-16
Fairlive now
Buzzer on Formarinsee
Glassy and bright — hard work without a breeze. Hard work without breeze. Look for the dimples.
63% confidence
What moved it
  • WindSE 3 km/hCalm
Today's fly
Hare's Ear Nymph
Hare's Ear Nymph12-16
Upstream
Conditions on the water
Estimate
Wind
Calm
SE 3 km/h
N
SE
from the south-east
WaveFlat calm
Water temp8.4°C
Air temp8°C
CloudClear
Pressure1027 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm

No gauge on this water — readings are regional estimates from weather, not a live gauge.

How to fish it · for Rainbow
When
The buzzer is on. Fry may also come into play as the day warms. Calm evenings on lakes can be magical — watch for rises and fish individual fish with dries.
Where
With limited drift, anchor or fish static from sheltered positions. Work a bushy searching pattern on the bob and drop a contrasting nymph on the point. In the calm, a single dry fly or a slowly-fished nymph tends to out-fish an active retrieve.
The plan
Plan A

With limited drift, anchor or fish static from sheltered positions. Work a bushy searching pattern on the bob and drop a contrasting nymph on the point. In the calm, a single dry fly or a slowly-fished nymph tends to out-fish an active retrieve.

Plan B

If the main plan is not working, switch to a smaller, more imitative pattern fished slower and deeper. A change of drift angle can also make a difference.

Watch for

Keep an eye on changing conditions — wind shifts and cloud breaks can trigger short feeding spells.

Either bank or boat

Calm evenings can fish well from bank or boat — target rising fish wherever you find them.

Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 3 as a supporter.

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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
1
Black MidgeHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Lake OliveHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
2
Daphnia SwarmHatch
2
3
3
3
2
Silverhorns & LonghornsHatch
1
2
2
2
1

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

Ranked for today
Rainbow fly box

A classic alpine trout and grayling box. Nymphs, dry flies and streamers all belong, with the season often starting later in alpine regions.

SS
Small Streamer
6-10 · Pattern
Swing
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Barbless hooks only; barbed spinners prohibited, barbless spinners allowed — not a fly-only water
  • Five fish per day
  • 2026 season 21 June – 4 October (Fischereiverein Klostertal)
  • Tickets from Lech Zürs Tourismus, Älpele Klösterle, Hotel Gotthard, the OMV station in Klösterle, or hejfish
  • Toll road; in high season private cars are banned roughly 08:00–16:30 (use the bus) and the road is closed to private vehicles on Wednesdays.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Condition match
52%
Cloud25%
Wind65%
Temp60%

A reasonable day here, though cloud isn't quite in the sweet spot.

Other water nearby · 3
Spullersee
7.0 km
Rainbow trout · Brown trout · Lake trout
Zürsersee
11 km
Char · Lake trout
Lech
45 km
Brown trout · Grayling · Hucho
Gallery · 2
  1. Formarinsee Panorama
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

Formarinsee sits at the foot of the Rote Wand in the Lechquellengebirge, and it is the kind of view that makes people forget they came to fish. Try not to. It is a small, clear mountain lake at nearly 1,800 metres with rainbow and brown trout cruising the margins, fished from the shore, and the season is a short high-summer affair from late June into early October. It is not a fly-only water — barbless spinners are allowed too — but the fly has the better of it on a calm evening. Getting there takes a little planning: private cars are kept off the road for most of the day in high season, so you'll come up on the bus like everyone else.

  • Lake
  • Limestone
Water quality (WFD)
  • Ecology: Unknown
  • Chemical: Unknown
What this classification means

No EEA WISE 2022 water body within 2 km (checked 2026-09-14) — lakes this small are generally not reported under the WFD.

Why this score
  • Buzzer is in its seasonal window, boosting the chance of targeted feeding.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 21 June → 4 October
  • Grayling not applicable → not applicable

    All grayling must be returned — retention is prohibited here.

Related guides
Thermal Layers & Troutreading depth and temperatureAlpine Streamsmountain entomologyEuro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts