Freestone · Limestone · Navarra, ES

Río Irati

Río Irati

Navarra's most celebrated trout river.

Poor · Brown Trout
Klinkhammer · 14-18
Closed season
Out of season. Try elsewhere.
Closed — confidence not applicable today.
What moved it
  • Level0.22 mLast reading 3h ago
  • Water temp14.3°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Klinkhammer
Klinkhammer14-18
High-confidence seasonal pick
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Steady
0.22 m
Last reading 3h ago
Water temp14.3°C
ClarityClear
Weather13°C
WindS 27 km/h
Pressure1017 hPa
Rain · recent24.4 mm
Rain · ahead6.4 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
14°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
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 11am

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 12 active hatches hour by hour as a supporter.

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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

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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
1
Daddy Long LegsHatch
2
3
2
Evening SedgeHatch
2
3
3
3
2
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
Brown Trout fly box
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Gobierno de Navarra fishing licence required
  • The Irati should be planned by exact tramo and permit category, not just by river name, because coto and daily-permit logic varies by section.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Gallery · 2
  1. Río Irati
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

Navarra's most celebrated trout river. The Irati rises in limestone karst near Pic d'Anie and flows southwest through the Selva de Irati UNESCO primeval beech forest before joining the Aragón and ultimately the Ebro (Mediterranean drainage — no Atlantic salmon access). Clear, alkaline freestone with dramatic canyons, transparent pools, and technical pocket runs. This is arguably Spain's finest dry-fly river — the limestone clarity and prolific upwing hatches (Baetis, Rhithrogena, Ecdyonurus) create surface-feeding windows from late April through July that reward delicate presentation with 4x–5x tippet and size 16–20 dries. Brown trout fishing is the primary draw — wild fish of exceptional quality averaging 25–35 cm, with occasional specimens to 45 cm in the deeper canyon pools. Upper valley accessible via Orbaitzeta; lower sections have private cotos. Dry fly and short-line nymphing dominate.

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

WFD re-coded 2026-06-18: prior id ES091MSPF537 actually identifies its tributary the Areta — this river was mis-tagged to a neighbouring water body. Re-mapped to ES091MSPF534. Status: EEA WISE 2022 (3rd RBMP). Confidence: medium-low — VERIFY reach: the Irati has 6 water bodies; ES091MSPF534 is Itoiz dam→Erro. Pick by the fished stretch. Source: discodata.eea.europa.eu.

WFD classification · ES091MSPF534

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 Time70 × 13%9.1
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity60 × 12%7.2
Conditions total= 85
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitysurvey-backed invertebrate datasurvey
Directions
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 1 May → 30 June

    RSS Irati–Erro basin (2,728 permits in 2026). All catch-and-release. Extendable to 15 Jul by resolution. Daily basin permit required. Coto de Eugi (500 permits) covers a specific stretch — coto pass required instead of standard RSS permit.

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Booking & contacts