Freestone · Granite · Massif Central / Cantal (Artense), FR

Sumène

Sumene river in Menet

The Sumène drains the Artense, the granite plateau on the northern edge of the Cantal, running west past Saint-Étienne-de-Chomeil and Antignac towards the Dordogne gorges at Vendes.

Poor · Brown Trout
Hare's Ear Nymph · 14–16
New ruleReported 21 Aug 2026

Severe drought restrictions (crise) in force

VigiEau lists this venue's surface-water zone (Herault, dépt 30) at crise, under an official préfectoral drought arrêté. Fishing is not itself banned by it, but water levels are low — go gently on stressed fish.

Arrêté préfectoral n°37847 ↗

Temporary notices from official orders and recent fishery reports — they clear automatically once out of date.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

Closed season
Out of season. Try elsewhere.
Closed — confidence not applicable today.
What moved it
  • LevelDry recentlyNo gauge reading
  • Water temp11.1°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Hare's Ear Nymph
Hare's Ear Nymph14–16
Upstream
Conditions on the water
Estimate
Level
Dry recently
No gauge reading
Water temp11.1°C
ClarityClear
Weather11°C
WindNE 13 km/h
Pressure1028 hPa
Rain · recent0.2 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
Ideal
11°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
Gammarids
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 12pm

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 12 active hatches hour by hour as a supporter.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Supporters see what else is on the menu.

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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
2
1
Freshwater ShrimpHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Large Dark OliveHatch
1
2
2
1
Blue Winged OliveHatch
1
2
2
2
2
1
Autumn OliveHatch
1
2
1

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

Ranked for today
Brown Trout fly box

French nymph-first water. Fast current, technical presentation, weighted nymphs and emergers, with dry flies when fish rise.

Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • AAPPMA permits.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Tarentaine
7.0 km
0
Brown trout · Grayling
Dordogne (upper)
31 km
0
Brown trout · Grayling
Lac Chauvet
26 km
Brown trout
Lac du Pêcher
32 km
Brown trout · Rainbow trout
Lac Pavin
32 km
Brown trout · Char
Gallery · 2
  1. Sumene river in Menet
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

The Sumène drains the Artense, the granite plateau on the northern edge of the Cantal, running west past Saint-Étienne-de-Chomeil and Antignac towards the Dordogne gorges at Vendes. Freestone water with wild brown trout and the usual Massif Central sequence: olives and stoneflies in spring, caddis through the summer. Cold and clear, tighter and more technical in the upper reaches, easier going lower down. Fished on the Cantal AAPPMA permit; check the Cantal federation's rules for no-kill and fly-only stretches.

Hatches & food

In freestone rivers of the Massif Central, resident brown trout feed through a spring build-up of olives and stoneflies into a long summer of caddis and small buzzers, with terrestrials becoming important from early summer; higher volcanic plateaux and colder headwaters tend to run later than the lower freestones.

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

WFD classification · FRFR109

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 75%
How the 0 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow60 × 22%13.2
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time70 × 13%9.1
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity41 × 12%4.9
Conditions total= 78
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitysurvey-backed invertebrate datasurvey
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 2nd Saturday of March → 3rd Sunday of September
Related guides
Pyrenees PlaybookFrench riversEuro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts