Karst · Limestone · Jura / Franche-Comté, FR

Doubs (France)

A wide, calm river bend with a riverside path and the historic citadel of Besançon on the hillside above.
Prime · Chub
Daddy Longlegs · Hook 10–12 with knotted pheasant tail legs
New ruleReported 17 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: Plateau calcaire jurassien (dépt 25).

Arrêté préfectoral n°37370 ↗

Temporary notices from official orders and recent fishery reports — they clear automatically once out of date.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

Primelive now
About as good as it gets
River dropping into shape after a lift. The kind of afternoon you remember — a weighted nymph through the clearing seams, the dry as it settles.
65% confidence
What moved it
  • Level0.34 mDropping after lift
  • Water temp16.1°C
  • ClaritySlightly colouredClearing
Today's fly
Daddy Longlegs
Daddy LonglegsHook 10–12 with knotted pheasant tail legs
in season · matches water height
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Steady
0.34 m
Dropping after lift
Water temp16.1°C
ClaritySlightly coloured
Weather18°C
WindW 22 km/h
Pressure1016 hPa
Rain · recent26.2 mm
Rain · ahead1.4 mm

The nearest gauge doesn't record temperatures, so we've estimated it — defer to the river keeper's advice.

Water temperature for Chub
Ideal
16°C est.ideal 14–22°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Chub
When
Avril–juin (le printemps est la vraie saison)
Where
The upper Doubs is one of the most argued-about rivers in Europe, and deservedly so.
Why this works
Chub: comfort conditions look perfect. Stable flow — predictable holding lies.
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 6am

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 12 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 4 guilds with Pro.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 3 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
Grayling seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
1
Freshwater ShrimpHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Brown SedgeHatch
2
3
3
3
2
Small SpurwingHatch
2
3
3
3
2
Small Dark OliveHatch
2
3
3
3
2

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

Ranked for today
Chub fly box
SB
Small Black Streamer
Hook 8–10 weighted · Fly
in season · matches water height
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Cartes de pêche AAPPMA
  • La section frontalière franco-suisse fait l'objet d'une réglementation conjointe ; réserves no-kill et mouche seule sur de nombreux parcours
  • Vérifiez avant de vous déplacer les règles en vigueur sur la protection des cormorans et les fermetures en cas de basses eaux.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Cusancin
20 km
Brown trout · Grayling
Les piscicultures Côte
25 km
Rainbow trout
Reverotte
29 km
Brown trout · Grayling
Doubs
30 km
Brown trout · Grayling
Pisciculture de Jougne
32 km
Rainbow trout
Gallery · 2
  1. A wide, calm river bend with a riverside path and the historic citadel of Besançon on the hillside above.
    River Doubs and Citadel, City of Besançon, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
Water quality (WFD)
  • Ecology: Poor
  • Chemical: Unknown
What this classification means

WFD ecological status Moderate → Poor corrected to EEA WISE 2022 (3rd RBMP) classification for waterbody FRDR10307 (was a stale earlier-cycle value). Source: EEA WISE SWB_SurfaceWaterBody (discodata.eea.europa.eu), verified 2026-06-18.

WFD classification · FRDR10307

The full read · show the working · for Chub · confidence 65%
Perfect · warmwater comfort — temperature and clarity led
Water temperatureWater temp 16.1°C — prime band for chub.
FlowStable flow — predictable holding lies.
SeasonPrime month for this species.
Water clarityClarity slightly coloured — accounted for via spook-risk.
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 2nd Saturday of March → 3rd Sunday of September
  • Grayling 3rd 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.

  • Coarse 2nd Saturday of March → 3rd Sunday of September

    Chub has no national closed season of its own in France — on a 1st-category (salmonid) reach like this, ALL fishing (any species, any method) is prohibited outside the water's own open season (Code de l'environnement Art. R436-6), so chub simply inherits the trout/grayling season rather than following a separate coarse-fish law.

Related guides
Grayling Playbookgrayling tacticsPyrenees PlaybookFrench riversEuro Nymphingsubsurface methods
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