Freestone · Granite · Vosges / Vosges (88) (Rabodeau valley), FR

Rabodeau

Rabodeau venue image

Vosges mountain stream with strict fly-only and no-kill regulation protecting wild trout.

Marginal · Brown Trout
CDC Emerger · 16-18
New ruleReported 16 Jul 2026

Severe drought restrictions (crise) in force

The Moselle amont et Meurthe partie du département 88 zone (Dept 88) is at crise — the second-highest French drought tier — under a préfectoral arrêté. Fishing itself is not named as prohibited, but water is severely restricted and flows are likely very low; fish with care and check locally.

Arrêté préfectoral n°37290 ↗

Temporary notices from official orders and recent fishery reports — they clear automatically once out of date. Always confirm locally before travelling.

Marginallive now
Slow going — pick your moments
River temperature is the limiting factor today, not the flow. Fish dawn or dusk if you go at all, and handle everything with extra care.
80% confidence
What moved it
  • Level0.46 mLast reading 9h ago
  • Water temp19.4°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
CDC Emerger
CDC Emerger16-18
Dead-drift
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Steady
0.46 m
Last reading 9h ago
Water temp19.4°C
ClarityClear
Weather21°C
WindE 11 km/h
Pressure1014 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead3.4 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
Warm — slow
19°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.
Why this works
Water at 19.4°C — above the brown trout caution line (18°C). Fish dawn or dusk only. Land it fast, wet hands, no air shots.
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 6am

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 5 active hatches hour by hour with Pro.

Start free trial

14-day free trial. Cancel anytime.

Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 2 with Pro.

Start free trial

14-day free trial. Cancel anytime.

Evidence
Survey-backed · regionalModerate confidence

Backed by regional invertebrate surveys; no sampling on this exact reach yet.

Through the year
0–3 scale · August highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
1
Large Dark OliveHatch
1
2
2
1
Blue Winged OliveHatch
1
2
2
2
2
1
Autumn OliveHatch
1
2
1
GrannomHatch
1
1

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

Ranked for today
Brown Trout fly box

More balanced than the mountain-river pack. French nymphing still matters, but there is more room for dries, spiders and general searching flies.

Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • AAPPMA permits.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Water here around 19°C. Nothing cooler within range — carry a thermometer.
Gallery · 1
  1. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

Vosges mountain stream with strict fly-only and no-kill regulation protecting wild trout. Granitic freestone terrain. Backcountry water where the fish and resource matter more than volume. Spring through early autumn fishing. Local-strain trout management. Check with local AAPPMA for permits.

Hatches & food

In Vosges granite catchments, trout in cool freestone streams feed on early and spring olives once levels settle after winter, daytime stoneflies over clean, stony runs, a broad band of evening caddis supported by rich bug life in the region, steady small buzzer activity on mild days, and terrestrials strongest where the river is hemmed in by forest.

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

WFD ecological status Moderate → Good corrected to EEA WISE 2022 (3rd RBMP) classification for waterbody FRCR295 (was a stale earlier-cycle value). Source: EEA WISE SWB_SurfaceWaterBody (discodata.eea.europa.eu), verified 2026-06-18.

WFD classification · FRCR295

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 80%
How the 31 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature33 × 28%9.2
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time45 × 13%5.9
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity64 × 12%7.7
Conditions total= 63
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitysurvey-backed invertebrate datasurvey
What would change the calculation
Cooler water — back toward the 10–16 °C ideal band — would lift the score and ease welfare.
The dawn and dusk windows score higher than the midday lull.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 2nd Saturday of March → 3rd Sunday of September
Related guides
Pyrenees PlaybookFrench riversEuro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts