Spate · Granite · Extremadura / Cáceres (La Vera, Sierra de Gredos)

La Vera gargantas (Alardos, Minchones, Gualtaminos, Vadillo, Cuartos)

Five independent mountain gargantas drain the Sierra de Gredos' eastern slopes into the Río Tiétar, a collection of intimate streams threaded through the La Vera villages.

Warm — handle with careBrown Trout are stressed by warm water — handle every fish carefully.

Water estimated at about 21°C from the nearby ga_alardos gauge — there's no sensor on this water, so treat it as a guide. Above 18°C, the risk of killing a released fish climbs. Fish dawn or dusk only — the water can be two or three degrees cooler at first light. Barbless hooks. Land it fast — under thirty seconds. Wet hands. No air shots. If a fish swims off slowly or rolls, stop fishing for the day.

DepthShaded riffles, deep pools, spring inflows, cold tributary mouths. Work them and move on.
TimingDawn and dusk only. Avoid the middle of the day — the water peaks then and the fish are most stressed.

Poorlive now

Not the day for it

Low and clear — careful approach country. A morning for the obvious fish only.

80% confidence

Notify when prime

What moved it

LevelProxyvia Ga Alardos
Water temp21.3°C
ClarityClear

Today’s fly

Perdigón14-18

Proven pattern for this period

Live now

Conditions on the water

Proxy gauge

Trends shown where the gauge supports them

Level

Steady

Proxy

via Ga Alardos

Water temp

21.3°C

coldwarm

Clarity

Clear

Weather

26°C

Light cloud

Wind

N 10 km/h

calmblown out

Pressure

1018 hPa

lowhigh

Rain · recent

0.0 mm

dryspate risk

Rain · ahead

0.0 mm

dryspate risk

No gauge on this water — conditions are inferred from Ga Alardos. The trend transfers, the absolute level does not.

Water temperature for brown trout

Warm — slow

21°C est.ideal 10–16°C

0°14°28°

How to fish it · for brown trout

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

9 ft #4 rod, floating line, 12 ft tapered leader to 4–5 lb fluoro tippet.

Why this works

⚠️ Water at 21.3°C — above the brown trout caution line (18°C). Fish dawn or dusk only. Land it fast, wet hands, no air shots. Otherwise very poor — water clarity is in the right range.

Hatch timeline · todayQuiet day

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 4 active hatches hour by hour with Pro.

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Evidence

Records-basedModerate confidence

Based on species-occurrence records, not local invertebrate surveys.

Through the year

0–3 scale · July highlighted

Trout season

March Brown

Grannom

Large Stonefly

Yellow Sally

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.

Extremadura fishing licence required
These trout no-kill stretches are artificial-only with a single barbless hook; exact tramo limits and category should be checked in the current regional order and annexes.

What's coming

Plan ahead

5-day outlook

Cooler water nearby · 2

Water here around 21°C — probably warm enough to stress brown trout. These are likely cooler.

About this water

Five independent mountain gargantas drain the Sierra de Gredos' eastern slopes into the Río Tiétar, a collection of intimate streams threaded through the La Vera villages. Steep-sided, narrow, and demanding—Garganta Alardos (Madrigal de la Vera), Garganta de Minchones (Villanueva), Garganta de Gualtaminos (below dam near Canal de Rosarito), Garganta de Vadillo (Losar de la Vera), and Garganta de Cuartos (Losar/Madrigal). Each is a sin muerte catch-and-release only stream, granite-bottomed with plunge pools and boulder-pocket water that rewards stealth and precision. Wild brown trout in cold, rushing water demand small dry flies and tight-line nymphing—false casting carries penalty on these confined reaches. Season runs 3rd Sunday March to 31 July; barbless single-hook artificial only. Fishing here is intimate and technical: wading must be careful, presentation delicate, forgiveness minimal.

Granite

The full read · show the working · for brown trout · confidence 80%

How the 19 is built — score × weight = contribution

Temperature11 × 28%3.1

Flow80 × 22%17.6

Clarity95 × 18%17.1

Feeding Time50 × 13%6.5

Pressure80 × 7%5.6

Insect activity51 × 12%6.1

Limiting factor: Water temperature (21.3°C) is outside Brown Trout's preferred range (10–16°C)= 56

Can you trust it?

Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated

Level / flowproxy via ga_alardosproxy

Prey activitymodelled from regional profilemodelled

What would change the calculation

Cooler water — back toward the 10–16 °C ideal band — would lift the score and ease welfare.

The dawn and dusk windows score higher than the midday lull.

Directions

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Seasons & zones

Trout3rd Sunday of March → 31 July

Related guides

Booking & contacts