Freestone · Limestone · Haute-Savoie

Fier

The Fier river flowing over rocks through a wooded limestone gorge near Lovagny, Haute-Savoie, France.

The Fier cuts through the Bornes and Aravis on its way down towards the Rhône — fast, cold, limestone-clear, and punctuated with gorges that turn casual fishing into a day's expedition.

Poor · Brown Trout
Small Perdigón · 16-20
New ruleReported 1 Aug 2026

Severe drought restrictions (alerte renforcée) in force

The Fier zone (Dept 74) is at alerte renforcée — the second-highest French drought tier — under a préfectoral arrêté. Fishing itself is not named as prohibited, but water is severely restricted and flows are likely very low; fish with care and check locally.

Arrêté préfectoral n°37507

Temporary notices from official orders and recent fishery reports — they clear automatically once out of date.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.
90% confidence
What moved it
  • LevelProxyvia Borne
  • Water temp22.8°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Small Perdigón
Small Perdigón16-20
Euro-nymph
Conditions on the water
Proxy gauge
Level
Steady
Proxy
via Borne
Water temp22.8°C
ClarityClear
Weather32°C
WindNW 9 km/h
Pressure1021 hPa
Rain · recent0.1 mm
Rain · ahead0.8 mm

No gauge on this water — conditions are inferred from Borne. The trend transfers, the absolute level does not.

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Warm — slow
23°C est.ideal 1016°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Brown Trout
When
Through the open trout season. Spring once snowmelt drops; sedges through summer evenings; small dark flies into autumn close.
Where
Pool tails and pocket water through the Haute-Savoie valley. Alpine freestone character — clear water, fast pockets.
Method
Upstream dry to risers; dry-dropper through the riffles. The water reads clear — long leader, fine tippet. Move slowly, cast accurately.
Kit
9 ft #4 — French freestone default. Floating line, 12 ft leader to 4 to 5 lb fluoro. Studded boots.
Why this works
Water at 22.8°C. This is the line where catch-and-release kills brown trout. Do not fish for them today.
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 6pm

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 7 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

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 2 with Pro.

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Evidence
Survey-backed · regionalModerate 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
Alpine RhithrogenaHatch
2
3
3
2
Sculpin / Baitfish (Rivers)Hatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
March BrownHatch
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

French nymph-first water. Fast current, technical presentation, weighted nymphs and emergers, with dry flies when fish rise.

What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Water here around 23°C. Nothing cooler within range — carry a thermometer.
Gallery · 2
  1. The Fier river flowing over rocks through a wooded limestone gorge near Lovagny, Haute-Savoie, France.
    Canyon @ Gorges du Fier @ Lovagny
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

The Fier cuts through the Bornes and Aravis on its way down towards the Rhône — fast, cold, limestone-clear, and punctuated with gorges that turn casual fishing into a day's expedition. The upper and middle reaches hold wild brown trout in pocket water that rewards the kind of fishing where you can read the seams in your sleep. Standard Alpine drill: heavy nymph, tight line, pick the cushion behind each boulder. Dry fly comes into its own when the olives and caddis are working in the slower pools between the ragged sections. The gorges limit access to specific entry points — the AAPPMA marks them — and once you're in, you may not get out easily, so plan accordingly. The prime window is May through late June. By July the lower reaches warm and the fishing moves upstream.

  • Limestone
Water quality (WFD)
  • EcologyModerate
  • ChemicalUnknown

WFD classification · FRDR530

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 90%
How the 4 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature2 × 28%0.6
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time60 × 13%7.8
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity60 × 12%7.2
Limiting factor: Water temperature (22.8°C) is outside Brown Trout's preferred range (10–16°C)= 56
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowproxy via Borneproxy
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
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 2nd Saturday of March3rd Sunday of September
Related guides
Booking & contacts