Freestone · Granite · Creuse / Berry (Combraille)

Cher (Upper Trout Reach)

Cher (Upper Trout Reach) — Saint-Aignan-sur-Cher, France
Poor · Brown Trout
CDC Emerger · 16-18
New ruleReported 30 Jul 2026

Severe drought restrictions (crise) in force

The Cher zone (Dept 23) 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°37523

Temporary notices from official orders and recent fishery reports — they clear automatically once out of date.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 Sioule
  • Water temp22.0°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
CDC Emerger
CDC Emerger16-18
Dead-drift
Conditions on the water
Proxy gauge
Level
Steady
Proxy
via Sioule
Water temp22.0°C
ClarityClear
Weather23°C
WindS 10 km/h
Pressure1014 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead11.9 mm

No gauge on this water — conditions are inferred from Sioule. 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
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 22°C. This is the line where catch-and-release kills brown trout. Do not fish for them today.
Hatch timeline · todayQuiet day

Hatch predictions

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

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Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

See the full sub-surface read 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
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
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • AAPPMA Creuse / limite AAPPMA Allier
  • 1ère catégorie standard.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Water here around 22°C. Nothing cooler within range — carry a thermometer.
Gallery · 2
  1. Cher (Upper Trout Reach) — Saint-Aignan-sur-Cher, France
    Saint-Aignan-sur-Cher, France
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
Water quality (WFD)
  • EcologyModerate
  • ChemicalUnknown

WFD classification · FRGR0146

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 Time40 × 13%5.2
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity52 × 12%6.2
Limiting factor: Water temperature (22°C) is outside Brown Trout's preferred range (10–16°C)= 53
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowproxy via Siouleproxy
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