Spate · Granite · Galicia, ES

Ulla

Ulla — Cabellos dorados (Río Ulla)

The Ulla is Galicia's best-known heritage salmon river, but current salmon stocks are badly depleted and salmon fishing is out of bounds.

Poor · Sea Trout
Black & Silver Tube · 1–2 inch
Closed season
Out of season. File this water for the right month.
Closed — confidence not applicable today.
What moved it
  • Level4.10 mLifting fast
  • Water temp6.7°C
  • ClarityVery colouredColouring up
Today's fly
BS
Black & Silver Tube1–2 inch
In deep pools and dark water, silhouette and contrast do the work colour cannot. A fly that reads as black against depth is enough. Fish it broadside, hold the swing, let it hang at the dangle — that is when the best fish take.
Conditions on the water · Today
Live gauge
Level
Rising
4.10 m
Lifting fast
Water temp6.7°C
ClarityVery coloured
Weather13°C
WindN 14 km/h
Pressure1014 hPa
Rain · recent37.1 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 Sea Trout
Cool — slow
7°C est.ideal 8–15°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Sea Trout
When
From dusk into the first half of the night.
Where
Deeper pools and slower glides · hold water and current seams.
Method
Fish dark patterns on a sink-tip or lightly sunk line, especially near structure.
Kit
10 ft #6/7 rod, floating line with a sink-tip option, 8–10 lb fluoro tippet for the swing.
Hatch timeline · todayQuiet day

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 4 active hatches hour by hour as a supporter.

Start free trial

14-day free trial. Cancel anytime.

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

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

Start free trial

14-day free trial. Cancel anytime.

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
Sea trout runRun
1
2
1
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
1
March BrownHatch
2
3
2
Late March BrownHatch
2
3
2
Large Brook DunHatch
2
3
2
Large StoneflyHatch
2
3
2

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

Ranked for today
Sea Trout fly box
BS
Black & Silver TubeTop
1–2 inch · Tube
In deep pools and dark water, silhouette and contrast do the work colour cannot. A fly that reads as black against depth is enough. Fish it broadside, hold the swing, let it hang at the dangle — that is when the best fish take.
Medicine Fly
Medicine Fly
8–12 · Streamer
Slim and mobile — fished sunk through the pool when surface work is not producing. Consistently takes fish that will not come to the surface.
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Galician fishing licence required
  • Additional coto or tramo permit may be needed depending on the beat
  • Check current Xunta rules before travel; salmon heritage does not make salmon a legal target.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Gallery · 2
  1. Ulla — Cabellos dorados (Río Ulla)
    Cabellos dorados (Río Ulla)
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

It remains a wide, lowland granite river of real trout-and-sea-trout interest, with extensive spawning gravels, moderate gradients and slower-clearing spates than many Asturian limestone systems. Lower and middle beats still matter for migratory-fish culture, but in practical terms it is now best fished as brown-trout and reo water on a river that once held major salmon stocks.

Hatches & food

In Galicia's Atlantic trout rivers, resident browns feed through a spring build-up of olives and other up-wings into a long summer of caddis and small buzzers, with frequent spates and cool water keeping fish active; terrestrials from lush banks and meadows become important once levels settle and the banks green up.

  • Granite
Water quality (WFD)
  • Ecology: High
  • Chemical: Unknown
What this classification means

WFD ecological status Good → High corrected to EEA WISE 2022 (3rd RBMP) classification for waterbody ES014MSPFES-014-NR-244-059-03-02 (was a stale earlier-cycle value). Source: EEA WISE SWB_SurfaceWaterBody (discodata.eea.europa.eu), verified 2026-06-18.

WFD classification · ES014MSPFES-014-NR-244-059-03-02

Why this score · for Sea Trout
  • Temperature6128% weight
  • Flow8022% weight
  • Clarity7018% weight
  • Feeding Time10013% weight
  • Pressure857% weight
  • Insect activity3712% weight
Directions
Seasons & zones
  • Sea trout 1 May → 31 July
  • Trout 1 May → 31 July

Salmon: Banned (2026) — Salmon fishing banned in Galicia by 2026 Xunta decree. Historic salmon presence (salmon_presence: historic) reflects the cultural and ecological importance, but no rod harvest is permitted in 2026. Sea trout (reo) and brown trout fishing remain open under standard Galician regional rules.

Sea trout: Variable seasonal (2026) — Galician reo (sea trout / Salmo trutta) present in the lower Ulla estuary and lower river reaches. Salmon are prohibited 2026 (Xunta emergency decree). Sea trout are legal but stocks are fragile — reo fishing is condition-dependent and low-intensity. Not a primary sea-trout destination in the tradition of Irish or Welsh fisheries.

Related guides
Booking & contacts
At a glance

Ulla is a spate river in Galicia, Spain. Its recorded elevation is about 307 m above sea level and the catchment geology is granite. The river is described as roughly 132 km long. Our data lists brown trout and sea trout here. The trout season is recorded as running from 1 May to 31 July. The sea trout season is recorded as running from 1 May to 31 July. Best window recorded for anglers: May–July for trout and sea trout after rain; salmon are out of bounds. Core methods listed: upstream nymph; wet fly; dry fly. Level and flow data for this water is linked from 3 gauges. Its Water Framework Directive ecological status is recorded as high. Nearby waters in our listings include Río Furelos at 7.0 km, Río Deza at 27 km and Tambre at 34 km.