Spate · Granite · Brittany / Finistère-Morbihan, FR

Ellé

Photo of Ellé
Poor · Brown Trout
Pheasant Tail Nymph · 14-18
New ruleReported 19 Aug 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: Ellé (dépt 56).

Arrêté préfectoral n°37757 ↗

Temporary notices from official orders and recent fishery reports — they clear automatically once out of date.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

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.
80% confidence
What moved it
  • Level0.13 mLast reading 15h ago
  • Water temp21.2°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Pheasant Tail Nymph
Pheasant Tail Nymph14-18
Upstream
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Steady
0.13 m
Last reading 15h ago
Water temp21.2°C
ClarityClear
Weather21°C
WindSW 21 km/h
Pressure1013 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead7.2 mm

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

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Warm — slow
21°C est.ideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Brown Trout
When
Through the open trout season. Spring olives and sedges; summer evenings; small dark flies into autumn close.
Where
Pool tails and pocket water through the Finistère-Morbihan stretches. The Ellé is small-scale Breton freestone.
Method
Upstream dry to risers; dry-dropper through the riffles. Breton spate freestone — fish 12 to 24 hours after rain on the drop. Long leader, fine tippet.
Kit
9 ft #4 — Breton spate freestone. Floating line, 12 ft leader to 4 lb fluoro. Studded boots.
Why this works
Water at 21.2°C — above the brown trout caution line (18°C). Fish dawn or dusk only. Land it fast, wet hands, no air shots.
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 6am

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 2 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 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
March BrownHatch
2
3
2
Late March BrownHatch
2
3
2
Large Brook DunHatch
2
3
2
Large StoneflyHatch
2
3
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.
  • Permis AAPPMA.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Cooler water nearby · 4
Water here around 21°C — probably warm enough to stress Brown Trout . These are likely cooler.
Isole
18 km
~18°C
Brown trout · Salmon · Sea trout
Scorff
23 km
~18°C
Brown trout · Salmon · Sea trout
Jet
36 km
~18°C
Brown trout · Salmon · Sea trout
Aven
27 km
~18°C
Brown trout · Sea trout
Gallery · 2
  1. Photo of Ellé
    Ellé — image via Wikipedia (Ellé)
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
Water quality (WFD)
  • Ecology: Good
  • Chemical: Unknown
What this classification means

WFD re-coded 2026-06-18: prior id FRGR0091 actually identifies the Isole — this river was mis-tagged to a neighbouring water body. Re-mapped to FRGR0079. Status: EEA WISE 2022 (3rd RBMP). Confidence: medium — VERIFY upper (FRGR0079, source–Aër) vs lower (FRGR0080, Aër–estuary) for the fished beat. Source: discodata.eea.europa.eu.

WFD classification · FRGR0079

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 80%
How the 8 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature4 × 28%1.1
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time60 × 13%7.8
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity66 × 12%7.9
Limiting factor: Water temperature (21.2°C) is outside Brown Trout's preferred range (10–16°C)= 57
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
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 2nd Saturday of March → 3rd Sunday of September

Salmon: Banned (2026) — Brittany 2026 order bans Atlantic salmon and sea trout on all Breton rivers.

Sea trout: Banned (2026) — Brittany 2026 order bans Atlantic salmon and sea trout on all Breton rivers.

Related guides
Pyrenees PlaybookFrench riversEuro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts