The Usses runs in limestone gorges through the Albanais country south of Annecy — one of those rivers that belongs to its landscape so completely you can't imagine it anywhere else. It fishes as varied as it looks: short pools, pocket water, gravel runs, the occasional slow glide under overhanging oak. Wild brown trout throughout, reasonable hatches of olives and caddis, and pocket water that rewards a nymph bounced through the seams. The gorges make some sections a commitment — you'll be scrambling in and scrambling out — but that's what keeps them quiet. Spring and early summer are the prime window. By August you'll be fishing the faster pockets where the oxygen holds up and the fish are willing to work for the food.
- Limestone