Mountain Freestone · Limestone · Tyrol / Rofan (Achensee), AT

Steinberger Ache

Steinberger Ache terrain map

Steinberg am Rofan is a quiet village tucked in behind the Achensee, and the Steinberger Ache is the sort of river that suits a quiet village: small, limestone-clear, cutting its way through a gorge in the Brandenberg Alps, and full of pocket water that punishes a clumsy approach.

Today · Closed season
Black Midge
Forecast · Today
Closed season
Out of season. Try elsewhere.
75% projected
Today's fly
Black Midge
Black Midge
Conditions on the water · Today
Estimate
Level
Light rain recently
No gauge reading
Water temp6.5°C
ClaritySlightly coloured
Weather3°C
WindN 8 km/h
Pressure1026 hPa
Rain · recent5.1 mm
Rain · ahead0.0 mm

No gauge on this water — readings are regional estimates from weather, not a live gauge.

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Cool — slow
7°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
Stoneflies
Caddisflies
Oligochaetes
  • Aquatic wormsMost likelyLower confidence
    #12–14–16 · Adult
    Dead-drift a worm pattern deep - a year-round staple.
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 10am

12pm(now) — Black Midge

Stage: On emergersApproach: Emerger or dryActivity: 55%
Also:Autumn Needle Fly35%
Peak emergence window4 food groups active

Peak activity at 10am — Black Midge (Black Midge, Peak emergence window)

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 4 guilds 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 · October highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
1
Evening SedgeHatch
2
3
3
3
2
Alpine RhithrogenaHatch
1
2
2
1
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

A classic alpine trout and grayling box. Nymphs, dry flies and streamers all belong, with the season often starting later in alpine regions.

SS
Small Streamer
6–10 · Pattern
Swing
Beats · 1
Day-ticket water (upper and lower sections)Access varies
The day-ticket water covers the more accessible stretches of the river around Steinberg, sold on hejfish as an upper and a lower section.
Visit official site ↗
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Fly only
  • Wild, unstocked brown trout: only fish of 23–25 cm may be kept (the lessee's rule, under a Tyrolean exemption from the standard minimum size); all other trout are released
  • Managed by Fliegenfischen mit Herz; day tickets via hejfish (upper and lower sections)
  • Season and barbless rule to be confirmed with the lessee
  • A Tyrolean fishing card or guest card is required.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Rißbach
23 km
0
Brown trout · Brook trout
Isar — guest-angler stretches
31 km
0
Brown trout · Rainbow trout · Grayling
Inn
41 km
0
Brown trout · Rainbow trout · Grayling
Achensee
11 km
Brown trout · Lake trout · Char
Walchensee
36 km
Brown trout · Lake trout · Char
About this water

The trout are wild — nobody stocks them — and the fishery treats them accordingly. It is fly only, and the only fish you may keep are the small ones between 23 and 25 centimetres; everything else goes back. The day-ticket water is the more accessible part of the river, and it rewards the angler who stays low, fishes a short line upstream, and doesn't mind a bit of scrambling.

  • Limestone
Water quality (WFD)
  • Ecology: Good
  • Chemical: Failing to achieve good
What this classification means

Matched 2026-09-14 by point query against EEA WISE WFD2022_SurfaceWaterBody (river line 0 m from the venue pin). Status: WISE 2022 (3rd RBMP) ecological class 2 = Good; chemical 'failing to achieve good' (Austria-wide in the 2022 cycle).

WFD classification · ATOK301950007

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 75%
How the 0 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature52 × 28%14.6
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time40 × 13%5.2
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity36 × 12%4.3
Conditions total= 64
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitysurvey-backed invertebrate datasurvey
What would change the calculation
Warmer water — toward the 10–16 °C ideal band — would lift the temperature score.
The dawn and dusk windows score higher than the midday lull.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 1 April → 30 September
Related guides
Fly Fishing in Austria: Rivers, Lakes and the Alpine Yearfeatured in this guideAlpine Streamsmountain entomologyEuro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts
At a glance

Steinberger Ache is a mountain freestone river in Tyrol / Rofan (Achensee), Austria. Its recorded elevation is about 950 m above sea level and the catchment geology is limestone. The species listed for this water is brown trout. The trout season is recorded as running from 1 April to 30 September. Best window recorded for anglers: May – September. Core methods listed: nymph; dry fly. Its Water Framework Directive ecological status is recorded as good. Nearby waters in our listings include Achensee at 11 km, Rißbach at 23 km and Isar — guest-angler stretches at 31 km.