Freestone · Granite · Normandy / Manche (Avranches)

Sée

Sée terrain map

The Sée runs off the Armorican granite into the Baie du Mont-Saint-Michel and is one of the last few Normandy rivers where wild Atlantic salmon still return in meaningful numbers.

Poor · Brown Trout
CDC Emerger · 16-18
New ruleReported 4 Aug 2026

Severe drought restrictions (alerte renforcée) in force

The VI - Sélune - ESU zone (Dept 50) 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°37583

Temporary notices from official orders and recent fishery reports — they clear automatically once out of date.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 Noireau
  • Water temp22.1°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
CDC Emerger
CDC Emerger16-18
Dead-drift
Conditions on the water
Proxy gauge
Level
Steady
Proxy
via Noireau
Water temp22.1°C
ClarityClear
Weather23°C
WindNW 12 km/h
Pressure1020 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead1.5 mm

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

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Warm — slow
22°C est.ideal 1016°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Brown Trout
When
Through the open trout season — opens 2nd Saturday of March; spring olives; sedges through summer; small dark flies into late September.
Where
Normandy chalk-stream character — pool tails, weeded glides, ranunculus runs. The Sée is intimate water; read it carefully.
Method
Upstream dry to spotted rising fish — long leader, fine tippet. The Sée's water is clear and demanding. Move slowly, cast accurately.
Kit
9 ft #4 — chalk-stream default. Floating line, 14 ft leader to 4 lb fluoro. Polarising glasses non-negotiable.
Why this works
Water at 22.1°C. This is the line where catch-and-release kills brown trout. Do not fish for them today.
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 6am

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 2 active hatches hour by hour with Pro.

Start free trial

14-day free trial. Cancel anytime.

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 2 with Pro.

Start free trial

14-day free trial. Cancel anytime.

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
Sea trout runRun
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
1
Large Dark OliveHatch
1
2
2
1
Blue Winged OliveHatch
1
2
2
2
2
1
Autumn OliveHatch
1
2
1
GrannomHatch
1
1

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

Ranked for today
Brown Trout fly box

More balanced than the mountain-river pack. French nymphing still matters, but there is more room for dries, spiders and general searching flies.

Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • AAPPMA Sée / Fédération Manche
  • Sea trout night fishing permitted in summer.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Water here around 22°C. Nothing cooler within range — carry a thermometer.
About this water

The Sée runs off the Armorican granite into the Baie du Mont-Saint-Michel and is one of the last few Normandy rivers where wild Atlantic salmon still return in meaningful numbers. The run is small by Scottish standards — a few hundred fish a year in good seasons — but it is genuine and unsupported by stocking. Salmon fishing is closed throughout the Seine-Normandie basin under the 2026–27 basin order. The fishable water runs from Avranches upstream through Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët to the headwaters above Sourdeval. Sea trout numbers are now negligible and should not be relied on. The trout fishing in the upper reaches is honest rather than remarkable — wild fish, granite pools, good Baetis and stonefly hatches — and it is what the river is for at present.

Hatches & food

On Atlantic trout rivers in Normandy and Brittany, regional studies and on-the-bank experience point to spring mayflies as the main early driver, a strong band of spring and early-summer caddis as channels warm and open, background buzzer life ticking away right through the year, and terrestrials from wooded banks adding important surface food in summer and early autumn, with autumn olives extending sport wherever trout-season rules allow.

  • Granite
Water quality (WFD)
  • EcologyGood
  • ChemicalUnknown

WFD classification · FRHR345

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 90%
How the 12 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature6 × 28%1.7
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time60 × 13%7.8
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity59 × 12%7.1
Limiting factor: Water temperature (22.1°C) is outside Brown Trout's preferred range (10–16°C)= 57
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowproxy via Noireauproxy
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
  • Sea trout 11 March31 October
  • Trout 2nd Saturday of March3rd Sunday of September

Salmon: Banned (2026) — Salmon fishing is closed throughout the Seine-Normandie basin, fresh and estuarine, under the 2026–27 basin order.

Sea trout: Negligible (2026) — 1 declared sea trout in 2024. Biologically present but rod catches negligible.

Related guides
Booking & contacts