Freestone · Limestone · Andalucía / Jaén (Sierra de Cazorla–Las Villas), ES

Guadalquivir (upper / Cazorla headwaters)

Clear spring water cascading over moss-covered rock at the source of the Guadalquivir river in the Sierra de Cazorla natural park

This is the Cazorla headwater stretch of the Guadalquivir, rising in the Sierra de Cazorla y Las Villas.

Today · Closed season
Frenchie
Forecast · Today
Closed season
Out of season. Try elsewhere.
45% projected
Today's fly
Frenchie
Frenchie
Conditions on the water · Today
Live gauge
Level
Rising
0.10 m
Lifting fast
Water temp6.0°C
ClarityUnfishable
Weather10°C
WindN 14 km/h
Pressure1020 hPa
Rain · recent14.2 mm
Rain · ahead0.0 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
6°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.
Likely species
Gammarids
Hatch timeline · todayQuiet day

12pm(now) — Autumn Needle Fly

Stage: Creeping nymphsApproach: Heavy nymphActivity: 16%

Low insect activity predicted today

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 4 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
Evening SedgeHatch
2
3
3
3
2
Large Dark OliveHatch
1
2
2
1
Iron BlueHatch
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
Blue Winged OliveHatch
1
2
2
2
2
1

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.
  • Junta de Andalucía licence plus trout surcharge required
  • Upper Guadalquivir cotos and managed beats can carry their own allocation and method rules, so confirm the current BOJA order and local permit conditions before travel.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Río Borosa
10 km
0
Brown trout
Río Castril
26 km
0
Brown trout
Río Segura (headwaters)
35 km
0
Brown trout · Rainbow trout
Guadalquivir (upper / Cazorla headwaters)
< 1 km
Brown trout · Rainbow trout
Río Segura (headwaters)
35 km
Brown trout · Rainbow trout
Gallery · 3
  1. Clear spring water cascading over moss-covered rock at the source of the Guadalquivir river in the Sierra de Cazorla natural park
    The source of the Guadalquivir, Sierra de Cazorla
  2. Nacimiento del Guadalquivir 1
  3. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

Here the river is still a limestone mountain trout stream: native brown trout of the distinct Mediterranean lineage (trucha común andaluza), protected under catch-and-release rules since 2005, share the water with some managed rainbow beats further through the wider upper system. Clear, quick-clearing limestone flows reward a careful, low-water approach and technical presentation.

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

WFD ecological status Poor → Moderate corrected to EEA WISE 2022 (3rd RBMP) classification for waterbody ES050MSPF011009044 (was a stale earlier-cycle value). Source: EEA WISE SWB_SurfaceWaterBody (discodata.eea.europa.eu), verified 2026-06-18.

WFD classification · ES050MSPF011009044

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 75%
How the 0 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature38 × 28%10.6
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time40 × 13%5.2
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity25 × 12%3.0
Conditions total= 59
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitysurvey-backed invertebrate datasurvey
What would change the calculation
Warmer water — toward the 10–16 °C ideal band — would lift the temperature score.
The dawn and dusk windows score higher than the midday lull.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout durante los periodos hábiles (check current BOJA) → during the designated open period
Related guides
Pyrenees PlaybookSpanish riversEuro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts
At a glance

Guadalquivir (upper / Cazorla headwaters) is a freestone river in Andalucía / Jaén (Sierra de Cazorla–Las Villas), Spain. The catchment geology is recorded as limestone, and the water sits at about 811 m above sea level. The river is described as roughly 60 km long. Species listed for this water: brown trout and rainbow trout. Core methods listed: dry fly; nymph; careful low-water approach. Level and flow data for this water is linked from 3 gauges. Its Water Framework Directive ecological status is recorded as moderate. Nearby waters in our listings include Guadalquivir (upper / Cazorla headwaters) at < 1 km, Río Borosa at 10 km and Río Castril at 26 km.