Mountain Freestone · Schist Metamorphic · Salzburg / Großarltal, AT

Großarler Ache

01 Großarlbach

The Großarltal calls itself the valley of the Almen, the high summer pastures, and most visitors come for the huts rather than the river.

Poor · Grayling
Pink Grayling Bug · Hook 16
Closed season
Out of season. Try elsewhere.
Closed — confidence not applicable today.
What moved it
  • Level0.83 mLast reading 36 min ago
  • Water temp6.6°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Pink Grayling Bug
Pink Grayling BugHook 16
in season · all-rounder
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Steady
0.83 m
Last reading 36 min ago
Water temp6.6°C
ClarityClear
Weather8°C
WindNE 5 km/h
Pressure1029 hPa
Rain · recent1.9 mm
Rain · ahead4.3 mm

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

Water temperature for Grayling
Ideal
7°C est.ideal 4–14°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Grayling
When
Midday window — grayling feed best from late morning into early afternoon.
Where
Work runs and glides — grayling shoal in the bottom third of the water column.
Method
Tight-line nymph the bottom third with weighted patterns.
Kit
10 ft #3 rod, floating line, long leader to 4 lb fluoro for nymphs.
Likely species
Mayflies
Stoneflies
Caddisflies
Oligochaetes
  • Aquatic wormsMost likelyLower confidence
    #12–14–16 · Adult
    Dead-drift a worm pattern deep - a year-round staple.
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 10am

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 5 active hatches hour by hour as a supporter.

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Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

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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 · October highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
1
Grayling seasonSeason
1
2
2
1
Evening SedgeHatch
2
3
3
3
2
Alpine RhithrogenaHatch
1
2
2
1
Large Dark OliveHatch
1
2
2
1
Iron BlueHatch
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
1

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

Ranked for today
Grayling 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.

Small Perdigón
Small Perdigón
Hook 14–18 · Fly
in season
Beats · 1
Aubrücke to the valley head (incl. Ötzlsee)Access varies
One fly-only water from the Aubrücke upstream through Hüttschlag to the head of the valley, taking in the Ötzlsee.
Visit official site ↗
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Fly rod only — dry fly, wet fly or nymph; single barbless hook; catch-and-release, no fish taken; 1 May – 30 September
  • Tickets for the fly water are sold only by Hotel Almrösl, Hüttschlag
  • The stretch below the Aubrücke is a separate, non-fly water with its own tickets and rules
  • Ötzlsee: shore fishing only, no boats
  • A Salzburg fishing card or guest card is also required.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Fishing better nearby · 5
Salzach
15 km
80
Brown trout · Grayling
Rauriser Ache
16 km
Brown trout · Brook trout
Hüttwinklache
19 km
Brown trout
Seidlwinkelache
25 km
Brown trout
Fuscher Ache
28 km
Brown trout
Gallery · 2
  1. 01 Großarlbach
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

Fair enough, but above the Aubrücke the Großarler Ache turns into fly water worth the walk: a clear, cold, stony river running up through Hüttschlag to the head of the valley and the little Ötzlsee, with brown trout and grayling lower down giving way to brown trout and char higher up. Everything goes back. It is single barbless hook, catch-and-release, and a season that runs from May to the end of September, fishing best once the snowmelt has dropped out and the stones show through again. It rewards what small mountain rivers usually do — short casts, a light touch, and not wading straight up the middle of the pool you were about to fish.

  • Schist metamorphic
Water quality (WFD)
  • Ecology: Poor
  • Chemical: Failing to achieve good
What this classification means

Matched 2026-09-14 by point query against EEA WISE WFD2022_SurfaceWaterBody (river line 3 m from the venue pin). Status: WISE 2022 (3rd RBMP) ecological class 4 = Poor; chemical 'failing to achieve good' (Austria-wide in the 2022 cycle).

WFD classification · ATOK304680004

The full read · show the working · for Grayling · confidence 90%
How the 0 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity85 × 18%15.3
Feeding Time95 × 13%12.4
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity52 × 12%6.2
Conditions total= 85
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitysurvey-backed invertebrate datasurvey
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 1 May → 30 September
  • Grayling 1 June → 30 September

    Grayling in the lower fly water. The fishery runs 1 May – 30 September and every fish goes back, but the Salzburg statutory grayling closed season still applies in spring, so the display opener is set conservatively at 1 June. Austrian grayling (Äsche) rules are state and fishery specific; always check the water permit.

    Season dates are set at state or regional level — confirm the local rules.

Related guides
Fly Fishing in Austria: Rivers, Lakes and the Alpine Yearfeatured in this guideGrayling Playbookgrayling tacticsAlpine Streamsmountain entomology
Booking & contacts
At a glance

Großarler Ache is a mountain freestone river in Salzburg / Großarltal, Austria. Its recorded elevation is about 900 m above sea level and the catchment geology is schist metamorphic. Our data lists brown trout, grayling and brook trout here. The trout season is recorded as running from 1 May to 30 September. The grayling season is recorded as running from 1 June to 30 September. Best window recorded for anglers: June – September, once the snowmelt drops. Core methods listed: nymph; dry fly; wet fly. Level and flow data for this water is linked from 1 gauge. Its Water Framework Directive ecological status is recorded as poor. Nearby waters in our listings include Salzach at 15 km, Rauriser Ache at 16 km and Hüttwinklache at 19 km.