Stillwater · Granite · Comunidad de Madrid / west (Río Alberche)

Embalse de Picadas

Embalse de Picadas — Cola del embalse de Picadas 001

Reservoir on the lower Río Alberche, downstream of San Juan, 65–90 minutes west of Madrid.

Poor · Pike
Foam Popper · 12–16
Not the day for it
Good wave on — drift country. Not much stacked in your favour today. Worth an hour if you are nearby, not worth the special trip.
5% confidence
low-confidence read — verify locally

Peak season here starts around September — worth planning ahead.

What moved it
  • WindSE 15 km/hGentle breeze
Today's fly
FP
Foam Popper12–16
A dependable searching pattern for these waters.
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Wind
Gentle breeze
SE 15 km/h
N
SE
from the south-east
Wave20 cm ripple
Water temp—
Air temp29°C
CloudClear
Pressure1017 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm

Some readings unavailable — check directly before fishing.

Reservoir levelas of 10 Aug
┄ 95% 10-yr norm
▼ Dropping
93% full
High & steady
▼-2 ptsvs seasonal norm
▬0 ptsvs last year
▼-7 ptsthis week
Reservoir near full — settled fish across plenty of holding water.
How to fish it · for Pike
When
Pike here are a non-native invasive. High summer fishes poorly, and where catch-and-release is legal warm-water release mortality is high; elsewhere the official advice is to remove any pike caught from the water rather than return it. Defer until water cools below 19°C.
Where
Water at 29.2°C — too warm to target pike today: poor sport, and where catch-and-release is legal (designated pre-2007 waters) warm water makes released fish die. Where it isn't, the official advice is to remove any fish caught from the water rather than return it. Either way, wait for cooler water.
The plan
Plan A

Water at 29.2°C — too warm to target pike today: poor sport, and where catch-and-release is legal (designated pre-2007 waters) warm water makes released fish die. Where it isn't, the official advice is to remove any fish caught from the water rather than return it. Either way, wait for cooler water.

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 3 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
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
Pike fly box

A general southern European warmwater fly pack for barbel, carp and mixed exploratory venues built around slower rivers, canals, backwaters and marginal sight-fishing opportunities. Weighted nymphs, buggy worm patterns, crayfish flies and compact baitfish or leech-style flies matter more than surface trout logic.

WB
White baitfish streamer
8–10 · Streamer
Strip it for fish chasing fry or in coloured water.
CP
Crayfish pattern
12–16 · Fly
A dependable searching pattern for these waters.
SC
Small carp bug
14–16 · Nymph
Search the runs and pockets, dead-drift near the bottom.
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Comunidad de Madrid licence required
  • Check current bank access points, no-fishing buffer zones, and any seasonal closures for the spawning period.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Condition match
41%
Cloud25%
Wind65%
Temp25%

Conditions are away from Embalse de Picadas's sweet spot — it usually fishes best in ripple wind with cloud skies.

Other water nearby · 5
Embalse de San Juan
7.0 km
Black bass · Carp · Pike
Embalse de El Burguillo
22 km
Carp · Barbel
Embalse de Valmayor
28 km
Carp · Pike · Barbel
Río Alberche
33 km
Brown trout
Río Guadarrama
37 km
Brown trout
Gallery · 2
  1. Embalse de Picadas — Cola del embalse de Picadas 001
    Cola del embalse de Picadas 001
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

Reservoir on the lower Río Alberche, downstream of San Juan, 65–90 minutes west of Madrid. A genuine multi-species water listed with barbel, boga, carp, pike, black bass, and zander. For the fly angler the headline is black bass: the pre-spawn window (roughly April to early June) is when the bass push aggressive and visible in the warming margins. Through summer, dawn and dusk poppers and gurglers over rocky shorelines are the most reliable approach. Carp and barbel reward sight-fishing in the upper arms; pike take big streamers along the deeper edges in the cooler months.

  • Reservoir
  • Granite
Why this score
  • High temperatures may push fish deeper and reduce surface activity.
  • Reservoir near full — settled fish across plenty of holding water.
Related guides
Big Stillwater Playbookreservoir tacticsReservoir Entomologymatching the hatchThermal Layers & Troutreading depth and temperature
Booking & contacts