Spate · Granite · Galicia, ES

Mandeo

Mandeo — Río Mandeo, Betanzos

A compact, highly responsive heritage salmon river near Betanzos where salmon are now depleted and out of bounds.

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
1.01 m
Lifting fast
Water temp14.2°C
ClarityUnfishable
Weather15°C
WindN 23 km/h
Pressure1018 hPa
Rain · recent30.2 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
Ideal
14°C est.ideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Brown Trout
When
Trout season 1 May to 31 July. Spring olives and sedges through May; summer evenings into July. The Mandeo responds quickly to rain — fish 6 to 12 hours after a spate.
Where
Compact granite spate river through the Betanzos hinterland. Pool tails, riffle heads, and pocket water through the upper reaches.
Method
Upstream dry to risers; dry-dropper through the riffles. The Mandeo is small intimate water — short casts, careful approach, fish each lie before moving on.
Kit
9 ft #4. Floating line, 9 to 12 ft leader to 4 lb fluoro. Studded boots — granite is slick.
Likely species
Stoneflies
Caddisflies
Gammarids
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 2pm

12pm(now) — Heather Fly

Stage: Terrestrials on topApproach: Dry flyActivity: 56%
Also:Reed Smut52%Autumn Dun33%Cinnamon Sedge29%
Peak emergence windowWeather boost11 food groups active

Peak activity at 2pm — Autumn Dun (Autumn Dun, Weather boost)

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

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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
Sea trout runRun
1
2
1
Trout seasonSeason
1
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
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Galician fishing licence required
  • Additional coto or tramo permit may be needed depending on the beat
  • Check current Xunta rules before travel; salmon heritage does not make salmon a legal target.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Río Mendo
9.0 km
Brown trout
Eume
12 km
Brown trout · Sea trout
Río Mero
16 km
Brown trout · Sea trout
Río Belelle
33 km
Brown trout
Río Furelos
34 km
Brown trout
Gallery · 2
  1. Mandeo — Río Mandeo, Betanzos
    Río Mandeo, Betanzos
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

A compact, highly responsive heritage salmon river near Betanzos where salmon are now depleted and out of bounds. Smaller than the Ulla or Tambre, it still offers concentrated trout-and-sea-trout fishing, especially after rain, with a quick 5-hour response that can create short but worthwhile windows. Sea trout in the lower river and estuary now make more practical sense than any salmon-led framing.

Hatches & food

In Galicia's Atlantic trout rivers, resident browns feed through a spring build-up of olives and other up-wings into a long summer of caddis and small buzzers, with frequent spates and cool water keeping fish active; terrestrials from lush banks and meadows become important once levels settle and the banks green up.

  • Granite
Water quality (WFD)
  • Ecology: Good
  • Chemical: Unknown

WFD classification · ES014MSPFES-014-NR-111-025-02-02

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 75%
How the 0 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time45 × 13%5.9
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity59 × 12%7.1
Conditions total= 81
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
  • Sea trout 1 May → 31 July
  • Trout 1 May → 31 July

Sea trout: Variable seasonal (2026) — Reo present in the lower Mandeo and estuary. Salmon depleted and prohibited. Sea trout are a residual fishery — occasional, water-dependent, not a promoted primary species.

Salmon: Heritage only (2026) — Salmon fishing banned in Galicia by 2026 Xunta decree. Heritage salmon river — not a salmon fishing destination.

Related guides
Pyrenees PlaybookSpanish riversEuro Nymphingsubsurface methods
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