Limestone · Baden-Württemberg / Bavaria

Upper Danube (Obere Donau)

Upper Danube (Obere Donau) terrain map

The young Danube flows through the Swabian Jura limestone gorge—excellent grayling and brown trout in clear, alkaline water.

Marginal · Brown Trout
Elk Hair Caddis · 12-16
Marginallive now
Slow going — pick your moments
River temperature is the limiting factor today, not the flow. Fish dawn or dusk if you go at all, and handle everything with extra care.
80% confidence
What moved it
  • Level0.26 mLast reading 7h ago
  • Water temp20.0°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Elk Hair Caddis
Elk Hair Caddis12-16
Upstream dry
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Steady
0.26 m
Last reading 7h ago
Water temp20.0°C
ClarityClear
Weather24°C
WindE 9 km/h
Pressure1022 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead0.5 mm

The nearest gauge doesn't record temperatures, so we've estimated it — defer to the river keeper's advice.

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Warm — slow
20°C est.ideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Brown Trout
When
Nymphing can work through most of the day.
Where
Cover mixed depths.
Method
Start with tight-line nymphs and adjust if fish rise or drift higher.
Kit
9 ft #4 rod, floating line, 12 ft tapered leader to 4–5 lb fluoro tippet.
Why this works
Water at 20°C — above the brown trout caution line (18°C). Fish dawn or dusk only. Land it fast, wet hands, no air shots.
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 6am

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 4 active hatches hour by hour 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
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
1
Grayling seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
GrannomHatch
2
2
Evening SedgeHatch
2
3
3
3
2
Large Dark OliveHatch
1
2
2
1
Iron BlueHatch
1
2
2
1

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

Ranked for today
Brown Trout fly box

Southern Germany only. Trout and grayling in Bavarian meadow streams, alpine creeks and famous upper-river systems.

SS
Small Streamer
6-10 · Pattern
Swing
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Upper Danube source
  • Fischereischein + Erlaubnisschein required.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Water here around 20°C. Nothing cooler within range — carry a thermometer.
About this water

The young Danube flows through the Swabian Jura limestone gorge—excellent grayling and brown trout in clear, alkaline water. The gorge section between Tuttlingen and Sigmaringen is genuinely spectacular. Dry fly and nymphing on classic European limestone water—one of southern Germany's finest grayling rivers.

  • Limestone
Water quality (WFD)
  • Ecology: Moderate
  • Chemical: Unknown

WFD classification · DERW_DEBW_6-02

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 80%
How the 28 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature25 × 28%7.0
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time85 × 13%11.1
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity65 × 12%7.8
Conditions total= 66
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
What would change the calculation
Cooler water — back toward the 10–16 °C ideal band — would lift the score and ease welfare.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 1 March → 30 September
  • Grayling 1 May → 31 December

    Upper Danube access spans Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria, with much of the classic gorge context (Tuttlingen–Sigmaringen) in Baden-Württemberg. Grayling rules must be checked against the exact Bundesland and fishery permit; do not apply the Bavaria default blindly. Individual fishery/Hegering or club rules may impose stricter limits or shorter access.

    Season dates are set at state or regional level — confirm the local rules.

    Prime sport 1 August → 30 November

Related guides
Grayling Playbookgrayling tacticsEuro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts