Freestone · Granite · Normandy / Calvados-Manche, FR

Vire

Vire — I follow rivers

The Vire is the largest of the Calvados-Manche salmon rivers, draining the heart of the Normandy bocage from Saint-Lô to its estuary at Isigny-sur-Mer.

Poor · Brown Trout
Pheasant Tail Nymph · 14–18
Closed season
Out of season. Try elsewhere.
Closed — confidence not applicable today.
What moved it
  • LevelProxyvia Noireau
  • Water temp8.7°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Pheasant Tail Nymph
Pheasant Tail Nymph14–18
Upstream
Conditions on the water
Proxy gauge
Level
Steady
Proxy
via Noireau
Water temp8.7°C
ClarityClear
Weather2°C
WindSE 12 km/h
Pressure1018 hPa
Rain · recent0.1 mm
Rain · ahead8.5 mm

No gauge on this water — conditions are inferred from Noireau. The trend transfers, the absolute level does not.

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Cool — slow
9°C est.ideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Brown Trout
When
Through the open trout season. Olives April through May; sedges through summer evenings; small dark flies into autumn close.
Where
Pool tails, riffle heads, and the seams behind boulders through the Calvados-Manche valley. The Vire runs Normandy spate freestone water.
Method
Upstream dry to risers; dry-dropper through the riffles. The water reads clear — long leader, fine tippet. Move slowly, cast accurately.
Kit
9 ft #4 — French freestone default. Floating line, 12 ft leader to 4 to 5 lb fluoro. Studded boots.
Likely species
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 12pm

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 6 active hatches hour by hour as a supporter.

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Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 2 guilds 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 · November highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Sea trout runRun
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
1
Daddy Long LegsHatch
2
3
3
2
Mayfly (Green Drake)Hatch
2
2
Freshwater ShrimpHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
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
Brown Trout fly box

More balanced than the mountain-river pack. French nymphing still matters, but there is more room for dries, spiders and general searching flies.

Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • AAPPMA Vire / Fédération Calvados & Manche
  • TAC quotas apply.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Gallery · 2
  1. Vire — I follow rivers
    I follow rivers
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

It holds the same wild Atlantic salmon stock as the Sée and Sélune — unsupported by hatchery work, small in numbers, historically significant. Salmon and sea trout fishing are both closed throughout the Seine-Normandie basin under the 2026–27 basin order. The brown trout populations in the upper reaches and tributaries are strong: wild fish in granite pocket water, Baetis and stonefly hatches through spring and summer, good dry-fly work in June and July. The gorge sections above Saint-Lô, where the river cuts into granite bedrock and concentrates its current into proper pools, are the best of it.

Hatches & food

On Atlantic trout rivers in Normandy and Brittany, regional studies and on-the-bank experience point to spring mayflies as the main early driver, a strong band of spring and early-summer caddis as channels warm and open, background buzzer life ticking away right through the year, and terrestrials from wooded banks adding important surface food in summer and early autumn, with autumn olives extending sport wherever trout-season rules allow.

  • Granite
Water quality (WFD)
  • Ecology: Moderate
  • Chemical: Unknown

WFD classification · FRHR317

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 75%
How the 0 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature77 × 28%21.6
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time75 × 13%9.8
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity41 × 12%4.9
Conditions total= 77
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowproxy via Noireauproxy
Prey activitysurvey-backed invertebrate datasurvey
Directions
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 2nd Saturday of March → 3rd Sunday of September

Salmon: Banned (2026) — Salmon fishing is closed throughout the Seine-Normandie basin, fresh and estuarine, under the 2026–27 basin order.

Sea trout: Banned (2026) — 0 declared sea trout in 2024. Effectively dead as a sea trout fishery.

Related guides
Booking & contacts
At a glance

Vire is a freestone river in Normandy / Calvados-Manche, France. Its recorded elevation is about 62 m above sea level and the catchment geology is granite. The river is described as roughly 128 km long. Our data lists brown trout, salmon and sea trout here. The trout season is recorded as running from 2nd Saturday of March to 3rd Sunday of September. The salmon season is recorded as running from CLOSED to CLOSED. Best window recorded for anglers: April–September (trout). Core methods listed: Spey casting; nymphing upper reaches; night fishing for sea trout. Its Water Framework Directive ecological status is recorded as moderate. Access is recorded as day tickets through the local AAPPMA (angling association). Nearby waters in our listings include Pisciculture Les Sources d'Elle at 11 km, Pisciculture Les étangs du Val de Sée at 44 km and Noireau at 49 km.