The Nive is the salmon river of French Basque country, running with assured composure through mountains and beats where every family has fished for generations. Spate-responsive—a five-hour lag from mountain rain to river rise—which means a competent angler can read the weather and plan the fishing with proper precision. Spring runs in April and May bring fish on the rising water; the finest fishing comes as the river clears and settles, when a tube of an inch or so gives way to small doubles that trout—including sea trout entering on the same flood—will take with conviction. The river carries the particular character of Basque fishing: serious, orderly, attended by men and women who understand that salmon angling is a discipline as much as a pursuit. Brown trout in the headwaters and tributaries offer orthodox dry-fly sport above Saint-Étienne-de-Baïgorry. Check the current AAPPMA arrêté—the Basque federations manage their waters with exactitude, and the regulations shift on a yearly basis.

• Mixed