Freestone · Granite · Creuse / Berry (Combraille), FR

Cher (Upper Trout Reach)

Cher (Upper Trout Reach) — Saint-Aignan-sur-Cher, France
Good · Brown Trout
CDC Emerger · 16-18
New ruleReported 30 Jul 2026

Severe drought restrictions (crise) in force

A préfectoral drought order places this catchment's surface water at crise, the highest of France's four restriction tiers. Fishing itself is not named in the order, but flows are low and water-use restrictions are in force. Zone: Cher (dépt 23).

Arrêté préfectoral n°37523 ↗

Temporary notices from official orders and recent fishery reports — they clear automatically once out of date.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

Goodlive now
A proper day on the water
Low and clear — careful approach country. Stay small, stay accurate.
90% confidence
What moved it
  • LevelProxyvia Sioule
  • Water temp16.5°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
CDC Emerger
CDC Emerger16-18
Dead-drift
Conditions on the water
Proxy gauge
Level
Steady
Proxy
via Sioule
Water temp16.5°C
ClarityClear
Weather16°C
WindSW 21 km/h
Pressure1017 hPa
Rain · recent16.7 mm
Rain · ahead4.9 mm

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

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Warm — slow
17°C est.ideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°
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
Good — water clarity is right today, though time of day could be better.
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 6am

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 10 active hatches hour by hour with Pro.

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Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 3 guilds with Pro.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 2 with Pro.

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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 · August highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
1
Freshwater ShrimpHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Large Dark OliveHatch
1
2
2
1
Blue Winged OliveHatch
1
2
2
2
2
1
Autumn OliveHatch
1
2
1

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.
  • AAPPMA Creuse / limite AAPPMA Allier
  • 1ère catégorie standard.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 4
Pisciculture Bône
6.0 km
Rainbow trout
Creuse (Upper Combraille Reach)
43 km
Brown trout
Fontsalade
59 km
0
Brown trout · Grayling
Miouze
60 km
Brown trout
Gallery · 2
  1. Cher (Upper Trout Reach) — Saint-Aignan-sur-Cher, France
    Saint-Aignan-sur-Cher, France
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
Water quality (WFD)
  • Ecology: Moderate
  • Chemical: Unknown

WFD classification · FRGR0146

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 90%
How the 78 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature82 × 28%23.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time55 × 13%7.2
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity60 × 12%7.2
Conditions total= 78
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowproxy via Siouleproxy
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 2nd Saturday of March → 3rd Sunday of September
Related guides
Pyrenees PlaybookFrench riversEuro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts