Spate · Granite · Black Forest / Baden-Württemberg, DE

Gutach

Gutach — River in the Black Forest

Classic Black Forest stream with pocket water and broken currents, wild brown trout in intimate terrain.

Today · Closed season
Gold-Ribbed Hare's Ear
Forecast · Today
Closed season
Out of season. Try elsewhere.
45% projected
Today's fly
Gold-Ribbed Hare's Ear
Gold-Ribbed Hare's Ear
Conditions on the water · Today
Live gauge
Level
Rising
0.71 m
Lifting fast
Water temp15.6°C
ClarityUnfishable
Weather21°C
WindN 10 km/h
Pressure1020 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead11.2 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
Ideal
16°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
Mayflies
Stoneflies
Caddisflies
Gammarids
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 6pm

12pm(now) — Reed Smut

Stage: On emergersApproach: Emerger or dryActivity: 51%
Also:Heather Fly40%Cinnamon Sedge32%Autumn Dun28%
Peak emergence window10 food groups active

Peak activity at 6pm — Evening Sedge (Evening Sedge, Weather boost)

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Supporters see the full sub-surface read.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 3 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 · September highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
1
March BrownHatch
2
3
2
Late March BrownHatch
2
3
2
Large Brook DunHatch
2
3
2
Large StoneflyHatch
2
3
2

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

Ranked for today
Brown Trout fly box

Southern Germany only. Trout and grayling in Bavarian meadow streams, alpine creeks and famous upper-river systems.

Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Black Forest water
  • Fischereischein + Erlaubnisschein required.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Große Wiese
47 km
0
Brown trout
Wutach
31 km
Brown trout · Grayling
Schluchsee
32 km
Brown trout · Lake trout
Wiese (Todtnau)
36 km
Brown trout
Ellbach
46 km
Brown trout
Gallery · 2
  1. Gutach — River in the Black Forest
    River in the Black Forest
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

Classic Black Forest stream with pocket water and broken currents, wild brown trout in intimate terrain. Quick to respond to rain, creating short windows for dry fly during hatches. The river's spate character means timing matters as much as technique.

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

Pin moved 2026-09-28 from the upper Elz (4.9 km west, not on any Gutach) to the Schönwalder Gutach in Schönwald, the club guest water (SFC Schönwald, fly-only, Gasthaus Frieden bridge to above Burger & Keller, ~2.5 km). WFD water body re-assigned to DERW_DEBW_32-09-OR3 (GUTACH), status from EEA WISE SWB_SurfaceWaterBody cYear 2022 (discodata.eea.europa.eu). The old DERW_DEBW_60-01 was the Breg, a Danube headwater.

WFD classification · DERW_DEBW_32-09-OR3

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 90%
How the 0 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time55 × 13%7.2
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity75 × 12%9.0
Conditions total= 85
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitysurvey-backed invertebrate datasurvey
What would change the calculation
The dawn and dusk windows score higher than the midday lull.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 1 March → 30 September
Related guides
Euro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts
Clubs & associations