Mountain Freestone · Limestone · Andalucía / Jaén (Sierra de Cazorla)

Upper Guadalquivir

Upper Guadalquivir terrain map
Terrain map

The headwaters of the Guadalquivir in the Sierra de Cazorla natural park — cold, clear limestone water with wild brown trout.

Marginal · Brown Trout
Foam Beetle · 14-18
Marginallive now
Slow going — pick your moments
River temperature is the limiting factor today, not the flow. Fish dawn or dusk if you go at all, and handle everything with extra care.
80% confidence
What moved it
  • LevelDry recentlyNo gauge reading
  • Water temp19.0°C
  • ClarityClear
Today’s fly
Foam Beetle
Foam Beetle14-18
Proven pattern for this period
Conditions on the water
Estimate
Level
Dry recently
No gauge reading
Water temp19.0°C
ClarityClear
Weather22°C
WindE 6 km/h
Pressure1020 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead0.0 mm

No gauge on this water — readings are regional estimates from weather, not a live gauge.

Water temperature for brown trout
Warm — slow
19°C est.ideal 1016°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
⚠️ Water at 19°C — above the brown trout caution line (18°C). Fish dawn or dusk only. Land it fast, wet hands, no air shots. Otherwise poor — water clarity is in the right range.
Hatch timeline · todayQuiet day

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 3 active hatches hour by hour with Pro.

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Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

See the full sub-surface read with Pro.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 2 with Pro.

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Evidence
Records-basedModerate confidence

Based on species-occurrence records, not local invertebrate surveys.

Through the year
0–3 scale · July highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
GrannomHatch
2
2
Evening SedgeHatch
2
3
3
3
2
Large Dark OliveHatch
1
2
2
1
Iron BlueHatch
1
2
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.
  • Junta de Andalucía licence required
  • Sierra de Cazorla natural park rules apply in addition to standard trout regulations.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Cooler water nearby · 3
Water here around 19°C — probably warm enough to stress brown trout. These are likely cooler.
About this water

The headwaters of the Guadalquivir in the Sierra de Cazorla natural park — cold, clear limestone water with wild brown trout. Entirely distinct from the lowland Guadalquivir where no game fishing occurs. No pike in this upper reach.

  • Limestone
The full read · show the working · for brown trout · confidence 80%
How the 34 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature39 × 28%10.9
Flow60 × 22%13.2
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time40 × 13%5.2
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity57 × 12%6.8
Conditions total= 59
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitymodelled from regional profilemodelled
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.
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