Chalk · Normandy / Seine-Maritime (Eu)

Bresle

Bresle — Vieux Rouen-sur-Bresle, Seine Maritime, France
Contributor photo

Vieux Rouen-sur-Bresle, Seine Maritime, France

sybarite48 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/26082117@N07) - CC BY

The Bresle rises in the hills above Aumale and runs seventy kilometres to its tidal mouth at Le Tréport.

Poor · Brown Trout
Spent Spinner · 16-20
Poorlive now
Not the day for it
River temperature is the limiting factor today, not the flow. This is not the day to push it. Check the thermal advice above before you head out.
90% confidence
What moved it
  • LevelDry recentlyNo gauge reading
  • Water temp22.1°C
  • ClarityClear
Today’s fly
Spent Spinner
Spent Spinner16-20
Upstream dry
Conditions on the water
Estimate
Level
Dry recently
No gauge reading
Water temp22.1°C
ClarityClear
Weather24°C
WindN 14 km/h
Pressure1018 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead0.0 mm

No gauge on this water — readings are regional estimates from weather, not a live gauge.

Water temperature for brown trout
Warm — slow
22°C est.ideal 1016°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for brown trout
When
Through the open chalk-stream trout season. Spring olives and grannom; sedges through summer evenings; small dark flies into autumn.
Where
The Bresle runs through Normandy chalk country — pool tails, weeded glides, ranunculus runs. Watch under the alders for trout sipping in the cushion of slow water.
Method
Upstream dry to spotted rising fish — long leader, fine tippet. The Bresle is chalk water; reads every line wrinkle. Move slowly, cast accurately, get it right first time.
Kit
9 ft #4 — chalk-stream default. Floating line, 14 ft leader to 4 lb fluoro. Polarising glasses non-negotiable.
Why this works
⛔ Water at 22.1°C. This is the line where catch-and-release kills brown trout. Do not fish for them today.
Hatch timeline · todayQuiet day

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Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey

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Evidence
Survey-backed · regionalModerate confidence

Backed by regional invertebrate surveys; no sampling on this exact reach yet.

Through the year
0–3 scale · July highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Salmon runRun
1
2
2
2
2
2
1
Sea trout runRun
1
2
2
2
2
2
1
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
1
Grayling seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
1
Brown SedgeHatch
2
3
2
Freshwater ShrimpHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Blue Winged OliveHatch
2
3
3
3
3
2
Mayfly (Green Drake)Hatch
2
2

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

Ranked for today
Brown Trout fly box
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • L'AAPPMA du Pays de Bray et l'AAPPMA d'Eu gèrent la plupart des parcours
  • La pêche de nuit est autorisée pour le sea-trout pendant le pic estival — vérifiez toujours la réglementation en vigueur
  • Des quotas de capture s'appliquent pour le saumon.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Water here around 22°C. Nothing cooler within range — carry a thermometer.
Gallery · 2
  1. Bresle — Vieux Rouen-sur-Bresle, Seine Maritime, France
    Vieux Rouen-sur-Bresle, Seine Maritime, France
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

The Bresle rises in the hills above Aumale and runs seventy kilometres to its tidal mouth at Le Tréport. For the last thirty of those kilometres — from Blangy-sur-Bresle through Gamaches to Eu — it is the most productive sea-trout river in France. Runs enter the system from June onwards, peaking in late July and August when warm nights coincide with low summer water. Fish the classical way: a floating line, a size 8 or 10 Medicine or Peter Ross, cast across and slightly down, swung through the pool tails in the last hour of light and the first hours of darkness. Numbers do not match the Welsh rivers and the fish are not as large as the Scottish, but a good night on the Bresle in August can produce three or four fish. Salmon are present in small numbers. The AAPPMA controls most of the water, and the best beats are below Eu.

  • Chalk
Water quality (WFD)
  • EcologyGood
  • ChemicalUnknown
What this classification means

WFD ecological status Moderate → Good corrected to EEA WISE 2022 (3rd RBMP) classification for waterbody FRHR160 (was a stale earlier-cycle value). Source: EEA WISE SWB_SurfaceWaterBody (discodata.eea.europa.eu), verified 2026-06-18.

WFD classification · FRHR160

The full read · show the working · for brown trout · confidence 90%
How the 12 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature6 × 28%1.7
Flow60 × 22%13.2
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time55 × 13%7.2
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity58 × 12%7.0
Limiting factor: Water temperature (22.1°C) is outside Brown Trout's preferred range (10–16°C)= 52
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitysurvey-backed invertebrate datasurvey
What would change the calculation
Cooler water — back toward the 10–16 °C ideal band — would lift the score and ease welfare.
The dawn and dusk windows score higher than the midday lull.
Directions
Seasons & zones
  • Salmon1 April → 31 October
  • Sea trout1 April → 31 October
  • Trout2nd Saturday of March → 3rd Sunday of September
  • Grayling3rd Saturday of May → 3rd Sunday of September

    France national rule: grayling opens 3rd Saturday of May in all waters. In 1st category (salmonid) rivers, grayling closes with the trout season on the 3rd Sunday of September. Departmental regulations may impose additional restrictions. Always check the relevant département's 2026 arrêté préfectoral.

Salmon: Banned (2026) — Atlantic salmon fishing banned across the Seine-Normandie basin in 2026.

Sea trout: Variable seasonal (2026) — Bresle — Normandy river forming the Seine-Maritime/Somme border. Sea trout (truite de mer) historically significant; still an active sea trout fishery but stocks are condition-sensitive and management-dependent. AAPPMA Bresle manages the water.

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