Strong regional

Stillwater · Volcanic · Auvergne / Puy-de-Dôme (Monts Dore)

Lac Pavin

Besse Lac Pavin1

Torsade de Pointes (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Torsade_de_Pointes) - CC0

A patient day, if you fancy it

Water temperature is the limiting factor today, not the wave. Fish dawn or dusk if you go at all, and handle everything with extra care.

40% confidence

limited data

Lac Pavin is often best in spring through autumn.

What moved it

WindN 12 km/hLight breeze

Today's fly

Small Perdigón16-20

Euro-nymph

Rules at a glance

Free fishing
Fly only

Live now

Conditions on the water

Live gauge

Trends shown where the gauge supports them

Wind

Light breeze

N 12 km/h

from the north

Wave

20 cm ripple

glasstoo rough

Water temp

—

No reading

Air temp

28°C

coldhot

Cloud

Broken

Pressure

1018 hPa

lowhigh

Rain · recent

0.0 mm

drywet

Some readings unavailable — check directly before fishing.

How to fish it · for Trout

When

Through the open lake season. Spring buzzers and damsels April through June; daphnia mid-summer; sedges into September.

Where

Drift lines along the volcanic-crater margins. Pavin is a small deep maar lake — fish hold on structural edges of the steep-sided basin.

Method

Drift on a floater with team-of-three traditional wets in spring; midge-tip in summer. The small lake size doesn't need a drogue.

Kit

10 ft #6 boat rod; floating, slow-intermediate, and sink-tip lines; 5 to 6 lb fluoro tippet. Drogue and a long-handled net.

The plan

Plan A

Set up a broadside drift and cover the water systematically. Work a bushy searching pattern on the bob and drop a contrasting nymph on the point. Keep a sedge-style dry or emerger on a short leader for the evening rise.

Plan B

If the main plan is not working, switch to a smaller, more imitative pattern fished slower and deeper. A change of drift angle can also make a difference.

Watch for

Watch for Sedge towards evening — this could be the best window of the day.

Boat — drift

A gentle ripple is ideal for drifting — broadside drift covering the wind lanes should be productive.

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

See the full sub-surface read with Pro.

Start free trial

14-day free trial. Cancel anytime.

Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 3 with Pro.

Start free trial

14-day free trial. Cancel anytime.

Through the year

0–3 scale · August highlighted

Trout season

Black Midge

Daddy Long Legs

Murrough (Great Red Sedge)

Lake Olive

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

Ranked for today

Trout fly box

Permits & access

Permit required — see local rules.

AAPPMA Puy-de-Dôme
Standard 1ère catégorie
Boat fishing authorised (check current regulation for boat type).

What's coming

Plan ahead

5-day outlook

Condition match

77%

Cloud100%

Wind100%

Temp25%

A good match for Lac Pavin — most conditions are close to what it fishes best in.

Other water nearby · 5

Gallery · 2

Besse Lac Pavin1
Terrain map

Water quality (WFD)

Ecology: Good
Chemical: Good

What this classification means

WFD ecological status Moderate → Good corrected to EEA WISE 2022 (3rd RBMP) classification for waterbody FRGL125 (was a stale earlier-cycle value). Source: EEA WISE SWB_SurfaceWaterBody (discodata.eea.europa.eu), verified 2026-06-18.

WFD classification · FRGL125

Why this score

Wind conditions (ripple) closely match what this water fishes best in.
Cloud cover (cloud) suits the fishery well.
High temperatures may push fish deeper and reduce surface activity.
Daddy longlegs are in their seasonal window, boosting the chance of targeted feeding.

Directions

Apple Maps Google Maps

Seasons & zones

Trout 2nd Saturday of March → 3rd Sunday of September
Char varies_by_lake → varies_by_lake
French lake char (omble chevalier / omble de fontaine) — seasons and retention rules are set by departmental regulations and local fishing associations (AAPPMA). French char lakes are often managed with strict rules. Check the local AAPPMA or departmental fishing regulations before targeting char.

Related guides

Booking & contacts

Stillwater · Volcanic · Auvergne / Puy-de-Dôme (Monts Dore)

Lac Pavin

Contributor photo

Besse Lac Pavin1

Torsade de Pointes (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Torsade_de_Pointes) - CC0

Marginal · Trout

Small Perdigón · 16-20

A patient day, if you fancy it

Water temperature is the limiting factor today, not the wave. Fish dawn or dusk if you go at all, and handle everything with extra care.

40% confidence

limited data

Lac Pavin is often best in spring through autumn.

What moved it

WindN 12 km/hLight breeze

Today's fly

Small Perdigón16-20

Euro-nymph

Conditions on the water

Live gauge

Wind

Light breeze

N 12 km/h

from the north

Wave20 cm ripple

Water temp—

Air temp28°C

CloudBroken

Pressure1018 hPa

Rain · recent0.0 mm

Some readings unavailable — check directly before fishing.

How to fish it · for Trout

When

Through the open lake season. Spring buzzers and damsels April through June; daphnia mid-summer; sedges into September.

Where

Drift lines along the volcanic-crater margins. Pavin is a small deep maar lake — fish hold on structural edges of the steep-sided basin.

Method

Drift on a floater with team-of-three traditional wets in spring; midge-tip in summer. The small lake size doesn't need a drogue.

Kit

10 ft #6 boat rod; floating, slow-intermediate, and sink-tip lines; 5 to 6 lb fluoro tippet. Drogue and a long-handled net.

The plan

Plan A

Plan B

If the main plan is not working, switch to a smaller, more imitative pattern fished slower and deeper. A change of drift angle can also make a difference.

Watch for

Watch for Sedge towards evening — this could be the best window of the day.

Boat — drift

A gentle ripple is ideal for drifting — broadside drift covering the wind lanes should be productive.

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

See the full sub-surface read with Pro.

Start free trial

14-day free trial. Cancel anytime.

Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 3 with Pro.

Start free trial

14-day free trial. Cancel anytime.

Through the year

0–3 scale · August highlighted

Trout season

Black Midge

Daddy Long Legs

Murrough (Great Red Sedge)

Lake Olive

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

Ranked for today

Trout fly box

Permits & access

Permit required — see local rules.

AAPPMA Puy-de-Dôme
Standard 1ère catégorie
Boat fishing authorised (check current regulation for boat type).

What's coming

Plan ahead

5-day outlook

Condition match

77%

Cloud100%

Wind100%

Temp25%

A good match for Lac Pavin — most conditions are close to what it fishes best in.

Other water nearby · 5

Fontsalade

19 km

Brown trout · Grayling

Gallery · 2

Besse Lac Pavin1
Terrain map

Water quality (WFD)

Ecology: Good
Chemical: Good

What this classification means

WFD classification · FRGL125

Why this score

Wind conditions (ripple) closely match what this water fishes best in.
Cloud cover (cloud) suits the fishery well.
High temperatures may push fish deeper and reduce surface activity.
Daddy longlegs are in their seasonal window, boosting the chance of targeted feeding.

Directions

Apple Maps Google Maps

Seasons & zones

Trout 2nd Saturday of March → 3rd Sunday of September
Char varies_by_lake → varies_by_lake
French lake char (omble chevalier / omble de fontaine) — seasons and retention rules are set by departmental regulations and local fishing associations (AAPPMA). French char lakes are often managed with strict rules. Check the local AAPPMA or departmental fishing regulations before targeting char.

Booking & contacts