Tailwater · Mixed · Castilla y León / Salamanca (below Alba de Tormes), ES

Río Tormes — Villagonzalo II (Hucho)

Río Tormes — Villagonzalo II (Hucho) — Barco de Ávila

Villagonzalo II is the only coto in Spain where hucho hucho (Danube salmon) can be legally targeted — a nearly 3 km stretch of the Tormes downstream of the trout beats.

Today · Not the day for it
Czech Nymph
Forecast · Today
Not the day for it
Not much stacked in your favour today. Worth an hour if you are nearby, not worth the special trip.
45% projected
Today's fly
Czech Nymph
Czech Nymph
Conditions on the water · Today
Live gauge
Level
Rising
1.21 m
Lifting fast
Water temp11.5°C
ClarityUnfishable
Weather19°C
WindN 32 km/h
Pressure1018 hPa
Rain · recent0.2 mm
Rain · ahead0.0 mm

The nearest gauge doesn't record temperatures, so we've estimated it — defer to the river keeper's advice.

Water temperature for Barbel
Cool — slow
12°C est.ideal 16–24°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Barbel
When
Summer through autumn — June through September prime. The lower Tormes barbel are bigger on the Villagonzalo beats than on the Santa Teresa stretches.
Where
Deeper runs and slower glides through the Villagonzalo II beat. Barbel hold below the trout water in summer warm.
Method
Weighted nymphs upstream — Spanish-style heavy nymphing through the deeper runs. San Juan worm patterns and large weighted caddis pupa take well; strike on the slightest pause.
Kit
10 ft #4 nymphing rod with a heavy weighted point fly; 5 to 6 lb fluoro tippet. Studded boots — barbel water runs deeper and slicker than the trout reaches.
Why this works
Fair — river flow is working for you, but time of day is the limiting factor today.
Likely species
Mayflies
Caddisflies
Damselflies & dragonflies
Gammarids
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 2pm

12pm(now) — Daddy Long Legs

Stage: On emergersApproach: Emerger or dryActivity: 27%
Also:Autumn Olive26%
Weather boostDegree-days at peak6 food groups active

Peak activity at 2pm — Brown Sedge (Brown Sedge, 9 food groups active)

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 3 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 · September highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Black MidgeHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Freshwater ShrimpHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Summer River MidgeHatch
2
3
3
3
2
Large Dark OliveHatch
1
2
2
1

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

Ranked for today
Barbel fly box
AS
Articulated streamer (4–6, baitfish profile)Top
8–10 · Streamer
Strip it for fish chasing fry or in coloured water.
LM
Large minnow pattern (6–8)
8–10 · Streamer
Strip it for fish chasing fry or in coloured water.
DS
Deceiver-style (2/0–4, white/chartreuse)
12–16 · Fly
A dependable searching pattern for these waters.
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Castilla y León fishing licence + specific Villagonzalo II coto permit required
  • The Junta identifies this as the unique legal hucho coto in Spain
  • Rules may differ from the adjacent trout beats — verify the annual order
  • Conservation rules apply; the hucho population is maintained by managed releases.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Fishing better nearby · 5
Río Tormes (Santa Teresa trout beats — Salamanca)
18 km
64
Brown trout · Barbel
Reservoirs near Salamanca / lower Tormes
14 km
Rainbow trout · Brown trout
Embalse de Santa Teresa
17 km
Barbel · Carp · Pike
Río Corneja system (research priority)
43 km
Brown trout
Zapardiel de la Ribera
49 km
Brown trout
Gallery · 2
  1. Río Tormes — Villagonzalo II (Hucho) — Barco de Ávila
    Barco de Ávila
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

Villagonzalo II is the only coto in Spain where hucho hucho (Danube salmon) can be legally targeted — a nearly 3 km stretch of the Tormes downstream of the trout beats. The Tormes hucho population originates from introductions beginning in 1968, with the present stock maintained by periodic releases concentrated in this section. The Castilla y León species guide describes hucho as a fish of large, flowing middle-river sections — fundamentally piscivorous, holding in deeper, more substantial water than trout. This is not delicate fly fishing; it is predator fishing in salmonid water.

  • Mixed
Water quality (WFD)
  • Ecology: Moderate
  • Chemical: Unknown
The full read · show the working · for Barbel · confidence 65%
Fair · river comfort — temperature and flow led
Water temperatureWater temp 11.5°C — workable but sub-optimal.
FlowStable flow — fishable but not the prime trigger.
LightOvercast — less favourable for bright-sun species.
SeasonPrime month for this species.
Water clarityClarity very coloured — accounted for via spook-risk.
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
What would change the calculation
Water nearer the species’ warm comfort band would lift the temperature score.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Barbel 1 January → 31 December

    Barbel is fishable year-round in Castilla y León's aguas libres, but a mandatory catch-and-release (zero-kill) window applies 1 May–15 July each year to protect spawning — anglers must release all barbel caught in that period (Orden MAV/1506/2025). This is a harvest rule, not a closure, so the season stays open throughout the year.

Related guides
Pyrenees PlaybookSpanish riversEuro Nymphingsubsurface methods
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