Freestone · Schist · Cévennes / Lozère-Ardèche, FR

Chassezac

Chassezac — No need for HDR
Poor · Brown Trout
Pheasant Tail Nymph · 14-18
New ruleReported 21 Aug 2026

Severe drought restrictions (crise) in force

VigiEau lists this venue's surface-water zone (Cèze amont (de source à la confluence Tave jusqu'à la confluence avec la Claysse, ruisseau de la Clays), dépt 30) at crise, under an official préfectoral drought arrêté. Fishing is not itself banned by it, but water levels are low — go gently on stressed fish.

Arrêté préfectoral n°37847 ↗

Temporary notices from official orders and recent fishery reports — they clear automatically once out of date. Always confirm locally before travelling.

Closed season
Out of season. Try elsewhere.
Closed — confidence not applicable today.
What moved it
  • LevelProxyvia Loire (Upper)
  • Water temp11.9°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Pheasant Tail Nymph
Pheasant Tail Nymph14-18
Upstream
Conditions on the water
Proxy gauge
Level
Steady
Proxy
via Loire (Upper)
Water temp11.9°C
ClarityClear
Weather12°C
WindNW 12 km/h
Pressure1024 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead0.0 mm

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

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Ideal
12°C est.ideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Brown Trout
When
Through the open trout season. Spring olives April through May; sedges through summer evenings.
Where
Pool tails and pocket water through the Lozère-Ardèche valley. Cévennes freestone — clear water, fast pockets.
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
Stoneflies
Hatch timeline · todayQuiet day

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 12 active hatches hour by hour as a supporter.

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Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Supporters see the full sub-surface read.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

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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 · October highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
1
Evening SedgeHatch
2
3
3
3
2
Large Dark OliveHatch
1
2
2
1
Iron BlueHatch
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
Blue Winged OliveHatch
1
2
2
2
2
1

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

Ranked for today
Fly box · Brown Trout
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • AAPPMA Lozère / Ardèche
  • 1ère catégorie
  • Zones de réserve à truite sauvage sur le cours amont.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Beaume
18 km
0
Brown trout
Cèze
22 km
0
Brown trout
Tarn (Upper)
23 km
0
Brown trout · Grayling
Allier (Upper, Langogne–Langeac)
33 km
0
Brown trout · Grayling
Ardèche (Upper, Aubenas Headwaters)
33 km
0
Brown trout
Gallery · 2
  1. Chassezac — No need for HDR
    No need for HDR
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
Water quality (WFD)
  • Ecology: Good
  • Chemical: Unknown
What this classification means

WFD ecological status Moderate → Good corrected to EEA WISE 2022 (3rd RBMP) classification for waterbody FRDR413C (was a stale earlier-cycle value). Source: EEA WISE SWB_SurfaceWaterBody (discodata.eea.europa.eu), verified 2026-06-18.

WFD classification · FRDR413C

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 75%
How the 0 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time40 × 13%5.2
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity44 × 12%5.3
Conditions total= 79
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowproxy via Loire (Upper)proxy
Prey activitysurvey-backed invertebrate datasurvey
What would change the calculation
The dawn and dusk windows score higher than the midday lull.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 2e Saturday de March → 3e Sunday de September
Related guides
Pyrenees PlaybookFrench riversEuro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts