Freestone · Limestone · Haute-Savoie

Usses

Usses terrain map
Terrain map

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.

Species

A side-water session, not the main event

Low and clear — careful approach country. Long leader, small flies, slower casts.

75% confidence in this read
Water temperature for brown trout
Cool — slow
6°C est.ideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°
Why this score · for brown trout
  • Temperature4128% weight
  • Flow6022% weight
  • Clarity9518% weight
  • Feeding Time5013% weight
  • Pressure807% weight
  • Prey Activity3612% weight
Conditions
Level
Dry recently
No gauge reading
Water temp
6.4°C
Estimated
Clarity
Clear
Air temp
3°C
Wind
N 3 km/h
Calm
Pressure
1016 hPa
Rain · 48h
0.8 mm
No meaningful rain
Rain · ahead
13.2 mm
Moderate rain · next 48h

Live readings — water temperature is an estimate where the gauge does not record it.

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.
Why this works
Fair conditions. Clarity is favourable (95), Prey activity is weakest (36).
Through the year
0–3 scale · May highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
1
GrannomHatch
2
2
Evening SedgeHatch
2
3
3
3
2
Large Dark OliveHatch
1
2
2
1
Iron BlueHatch
1
2
2
1

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

Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
About this water

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
Seasons & zones
  • Trout2nd Saturday of March → 3rd Sunday of September
Other water nearby · 5
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