Stillwater · Granite · Galicia / Lugo (Ribeira Sacra, río Miño)

Embalse de Belesar

Embalse de Belesar terrain map
Terrain map

Belesar is the great impoundment of the middle Miño — fifty kilometres of flooded river winding through the terraced vineyards of the Ribeira Sacra, the largest reservoir on the river.

Prime · Carp
Foam beetle (10–12) · 10–12
Primelive now
Summer carp — prime fly-fishing conditions
Glassy and bright — hard work without a breeze. Take your time — read the water before you cast.
83% confidence
What moved it
  • WindNW 3 km/hCalm
Today’s fly
Foam beetle (10–12)
Foam beetle (10–12)10–12
Fish it tight to the bank on warm, breezy days.
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Wind
Calm
NW 3 km/h
N
NW
from the north-west
WaveFlat calm
Water temp
Air temp16°C
CloudBroken
Pressure1019 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm

Some readings unavailable — check directly before fishing.

Reservoir levelas of 13 Jul
70% 10-yr norm
Dropping
68% full
About normal
-2 ptsvs seasonal norm
-10 ptsvs last year
-5 ptsthis week
How to fish it · for carp
When
Carp are highly active in warm water, feeding confidently on the surface and in the shallows. This is the golden window for fly fishing — visible fish, aggressive feeding, surface takes. Dawn and dusk are magic.
Where
Peak season for carp on the fly. Early mornings and evenings are best — carp cruise the margins, surface-feed, and tail in shallows. This is pure sight-fishing: walk, spot, stalk, cast. Keep low, tread softly, wear drab clothing. 5-6wt rod, 15ft fluorocarbon leader for sub-surface; floating line for surface. Have both a bread fly and a nymph rigged and ready.
The plan
Plan A

Peak season for carp on the fly. Early mornings and evenings are best — carp cruise the margins, surface-feed, and tail in shallows. This is pure sight-fishing: walk, spot, stalk, cast. Keep low, tread softly, wear drab clothing. 5-6wt rod, 15ft fluorocarbon leader for sub-surface; floating line for surface. Have both a bread fly and a nymph rigged and ready.

Plan B

Fish early and late, try deeper during the heat of the day with a fast-sinking line.

Watch for

Evening tends to be the best period in summer — stay late if you can for a sedge or spinner fall.

Bank

Flat calm suits bank fishing near features — points, weed beds, and inflows where fish patrol.

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey

Hatch predictions

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Through the year
0–3 scale · July highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Black MidgeHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Reservoir BuzzerHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
2
Lake OliveHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
2
Silverhorns & LonghornsHatch
1
2
2
2
1

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

Ranked for today
Carp fly box
BD
Bread / dough fly (8–10)
12–16 · Fly
A dependable searching pattern for these waters.
SC
Small crayfish pattern (8–10)
12–16 · Fly
A dependable searching pattern for these waters.
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Galicia licence required; the Belesar special-regime reservoir sections are fishable year-round — check the annual Xunta de Galicia pesca order for sections and limits
  • Pike is an introduced predator with its own rules.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Condition match
77%
Cloud70%
Wind65%
Temp100%

A good match for Embalse de Belesar — most conditions are close to what it fishes best in.

Other water nearby · 5
About this water

Belesar is the great impoundment of the middle Miño — fifty kilometres of flooded river winding through the terraced vineyards of the Ribeira Sacra, the largest reservoir on the river. It is calm, deep, green water, the kind the tourist catamarans glide along beneath the canyon walls. The fly fishing is a warm-water affair: carp and barbel in the shallower arms and the side-stream mouths, taking a nymph or a beetle when the day is warm and the light is good. Boats run freely here, which suits a water of this scale. Pike are present and introduced, as they are across so much of Iberia now. Come for the setting as much as the fishing — there are few more beautiful places in Spain to put a fly on still water.

  • Reservoir
  • Granite
Why this score
  • Temperature (cool) is in the sweet spot for summer fishing.
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