Stillwater · Granite · Lozère / Margeride

Lac de Naussac

Lac de Naussac reservoir with lakeside village on the far shore, Margeride, Lozère, France

Naussac is an eleven-hundred-hectare reservoir on the Margeride granite — built in 1983 to store Allier headwater flow for the Loire irrigation network downstream — and it fishes like a genuine upland water despite its artificial origins.

Fair · Rainbow
Small Perdigón · 16-20
New ruleReported 8 Aug 2026

Severe drought restrictions (crise) in force

The bassin de l'Allier amont zone (Dept 48) is at crise — 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°37588 ↗

Temporary notices from official orders and recent fishery reports — they clear automatically once out of date.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

Fairlive now
Good summer conditions for Lac de Naussac
Good wave on — drift country. A useful wave. Work the productive shore.
61% confidence

Lac de Naussac is often best in spring through autumn.

What moved it
  • WindSW 8 km/hLight breeze
Today's fly
Small Perdigón
Small Perdigón16-20
Euro-nymph
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Wind
Light breeze
SW 8 km/h
N
SW
from the south-west
WaveRipple
Water temp—
Air temp19°C
CloudBroken
Pressure1019 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm

Some readings unavailable — check directly before fishing.

How to fish it · for Rainbow
When
Current conditions suit Lac de Naussac well for summer tactics. The ripple should help fish move and feed more confidently.
Where
Start with Booby (8-10) on a fast strip on floating line or static on sinking. Rainbows respond to more active retrieves — try short strips between pauses. If that does not produce, switch depth or speed before changing the pattern entirely. In the ripple, a bushy searching dry (Hopper, Shipman's, Elk Hair Caddis) outperforms flush emergers — it stays visible and holds the surface tension.
The plan
Plan A

Start with Booby (8-10) on a fast strip on floating line or static on sinking. Rainbows respond to more active retrieves — try short strips between pauses. If that does not produce, switch depth or speed before changing the pattern entirely. In the ripple, a bushy searching dry (Hopper, Shipman's, Elk Hair Caddis) outperforms flush emergers — it stays visible and holds the surface tension.

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.

Either bank or boat

Good ripple suits both bank and boat. Bank: work inflows, dam walls, and points. Boat: broadside drift covering wind lanes.

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 2 guilds with Pro.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 5 with Pro.

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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
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
Rainbow fly box

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

Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • AAPPMA Lozère
  • 2ème catégorie reservoir
  • Boat access from Naussac village
  • Float tubes permitted.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Condition match
88%
Cloud100%
Wind100%
Temp60%

Conditions are ideal for Lac de Naussac — wind, cloud and temperature all line up.

Other water nearby · 5
Allier (Upper, Langogne–Langeac)
4.0 km
Brown trout · Grayling
Loire (Upper)
28 km
Brown trout · Grayling
Chassezac
37 km
Brown trout
Ardèche (Upper, Aubenas Headwaters)
40 km
Brown trout
Beaume
41 km
Brown trout
Gallery · 2
  1. Lac de Naussac reservoir with lakeside village on the far shore, Margeride, Lozère, France
    Lac de Naussac, Margeride
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

Naussac is an eleven-hundred-hectare reservoir on the Margeride granite — built in 1983 to store Allier headwater flow for the Loire irrigation network downstream — and it fishes like a genuine upland water despite its artificial origins. Brown trout, rainbow trout (stocked), pike, perch, and zander all hold here, with the trout dominating the upper reaches near the inflow and the predators working the open water. The lake sits at around 940 metres so the season is cool-weighted: fly fishing peaks in May and again in September, with a productive autumn run through to mid-October before the Lozère winter sets in properly. Boat access is good, float tubes are allowed, and the shoreline access around Naussac village and the Chambouret arm is straightforward. Good, under-visited water.

  • Reservoir
  • Granite
Water quality (WFD)
  • Ecology: Good
  • Chemical: Failing to achieve good
What this classification means

WFD ecological status Moderate → Good and chemical status Good → Failing to achieve good corrected to EEA WISE 2022 (3rd RBMP) classification for waterbody FRGL113 (was a stale earlier-cycle value). Source: EEA WISE SWB_SurfaceWaterBody (discodata.eea.europa.eu), verified 2026-06-18.

WFD classification · FRGL113

Why this score
  • Wind conditions (ripple) closely match what this water fishes best in.
  • Cloud cover (cloud) suits the fishery well.
  • Murrough is in its seasonal window, boosting the chance of targeted feeding.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 2nd Saturday of March → 3rd Sunday of September
Related guides
Big Stillwater Playbookreservoir tacticsReservoir Entomologymatching the hatchThermal Layers & Troutreading depth and temperature
Booking & contacts