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

Cher (Upper Trout Reach)

Cher (Upper Trout Reach) — Saint-Aignan-sur-Cher, France
Poor · Brown Trout
Pheasant Tail Nymph · 14-18
New ruleReported 30 Jul 2026

Severe drought restrictions (crise) in force

VigiEau lists this venue's surface-water zone (Cher, dépt 23) 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°37523 ↗

Temporary notices from official orders and recent fishery reports — they clear automatically once out of date.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 Sioule
  • Water temp13.1°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Pheasant Tail Nymph
Pheasant Tail Nymph14-18
Upstream
Conditions on the water
Proxy gauge
Level
Steady
Proxy
via Sioule
Water temp13.1°C
ClarityClear
Weather16°C
WindSW 12 km/h
Pressure1026 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead1.1 mm

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

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Ideal
13°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.
Likely species
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 12h

Hatch predictions

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

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Supporters see what else is on the menu.

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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
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
Fly box · Brown Trout
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 · 5
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 75%
How the 0 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time75 × 13%9.8
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity43 × 12%5.2
Conditions total= 83
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowproxy via Siouleproxy
Prey activitysurvey-backed invertebrate datasurvey
Directions
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 2e Saturday de March → 3e Sunday de September
Related guides
Booking & contacts