The upper Tarn rises on the Cévennes flank of Mont Lozère and runs south-west through granite and schist country before the famous limestone gorges take over further down. What most tourists think of as the Gorges du Tarn is the postcard section below Florac; the fishing is further up, in the headwater country above Les Vignes where wild brown trout and grayling share fast runs with the occasional deep holding pool. The grayling here are the real draw — good numbers, willing feeders, and educated enough to make you pay attention. Work upstream with a small olive or baetis imitation in spring, move to caddis in June, keep a brace of pheasant-tail nymphs for when nothing is showing. The gauge runs quickly after rainfall — which is often, because this is Cévennes weather — so plan with the trend in mind. A classic southern river in a landscape that will distract you from the fishing, which is its own kind of problem.

• Granite