Spate · Limestone · Pyrénées-Atlantiques / Soule, FR

Saison (Gave de Mauléon)

Clear green river flowing under an arched stone bridge past riverside houses in Mauléon-Licharre, France.

Major tributary of the Gave d'Oloron.

Poor · Brown Trout
Pheasant Tail Nymph · 14–18
Closed season
Out of season. Try elsewhere.
Closed — confidence not applicable today.
What moved it
  • Level0.51 mDropping after lift
  • Water temp12.0°C
  • ClarityClearingClearing
Today's fly
Pheasant Tail Nymph
Pheasant Tail Nymph14–18
Upstream
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Falling
0.51 m
Dropping after lift
Water temp12.0°C
ClarityClearing
Weather14°C
WindNE 6 km/h
Pressure1009 hPa
Rain · recent25.4 mm
Rain · ahead24.8 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
12°C est.ideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Brown Trout
When
Through the open trout season. Spring olives April through May; sedges through summer; small dark flies into late September.
Where
Pool tails and seams behind boulders through the Mauléon valley. The Saison runs intimate Basque freestone water.
Method
Upstream dry to risers; dry-dropper through the riffles. Long leader, fine tippet.
Kit
9 ft #4 — French freestone default. Floating line, 12 ft leader to 4 to 5 lb fluoro. Studded boots.
Likely species
Gammarids
Hatch timeline · todayQuiet day

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 5 active hatches hour by hour as a supporter.

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Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 3 guilds as a supporter.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 2 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 · November highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Autumn DunHatch
2
3
2
March BrownHatch
2
3
2
Late March BrownHatch
2
3
2
Large Brook DunHatch
2
3
2

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 required.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Gave d'Oloron
19 km
0
Brown trout
Gave d'Ossau
39 km
0
Brown trout
Nive
43 km
0
Brown trout · Salmon · Sea trout
Gave de Pau
46 km
0
Brown trout · Salmon
Gave d'Aspe
34 km
Brown trout · Grayling
Gallery · 2
  1. Clear green river flowing under an arched stone bridge past riverside houses in Mauléon-Licharre, France.
    Mauléon-Licharre (Pyrénées-Atlantiques)
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

Mountain spate river with limestone clarity and a four-hour response time. Salmon fishing is closed across the Adour and Gaves basin under the 2026 prefectoral order. Large wild brown trout remain, best fished during the rising phase when snowmelt brings fresh water down. Check the regional arrêté for season and parcours regulations.

Hatches & food

Named alongside the other Oloron-basin gaves in departmental federation reporting as one of the rivers where trout took insects at the surface in early afternoon around the March opening — a basin-wide regional account, not a Saison-specific observation.

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

WFD classification · FRFR262

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 90%
How the 0 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow95 × 22%20.9
Clarity75 × 18%13.5
Feeding Time70 × 13%9.1
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity55 × 12%6.6
Conditions total= 84
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitysurvey-backed invertebrate datasurvey
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones

Salmon: Banned (2026) — Salmon fishing is closed across the Adour and Gaves basin under the 2026 prefectoral order (Nouvelle-Aquitaine), which renewed the 2025 total prohibition.

Related guides
Pyrenees PlaybookFrench riversEuro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts
At a glance

Saison (Gave de Mauléon) is a spate river in Pyrénées-Atlantiques / Soule, France. The catchment geology is recorded as limestone, and the water sits at about 242 m above sea level. The river is described as roughly 55 km long. Species listed for this water: brown trout and salmon. The salmon season is recorded as running from CLOSED to CLOSED. Best window recorded for anglers: March–September (trout). Core methods listed: Spey casting; nymphing; dry fly. Level and flow data for this water is linked from 1 gauge. Its recorded parent river is the Gave Oloron. Its Water Framework Directive ecological status is recorded as good. Access is recorded as day tickets through the local AAPPMA (angling association). Nearby waters in our listings include Gave d'Oloron at 19 km, Gave d'Aspe at 34 km and Gave d'Ossau at 39 km.