Freestone · Mixed · Alpes-Maritimes / Mercantour

Var (Upper, Headwaters)

Var (Upper, Headwaters) terrain map
Poor · Brown Trout
Small Perdigón · 16-20
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 Arc (Bessans reach)
  • Water temp22.0°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Small Perdigón
Small Perdigón16-20
Euro-nymph
Conditions on the water
Proxy gauge
Level
Falling
Proxy
via Arc (Bessans reach)
Water temp22.0°C
ClarityClear
Weather24°C
WindS 4 km/h
Pressure1024 hPa
Rain · recent3.0 mm
Rain · ahead12.0 mm

No gauge on this water — conditions are inferred from Arc (Bessans reach). The trend transfers, the absolute level does not.

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Warm — slow
22°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 22°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 3 active hatches hour by hour with Pro.

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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 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
GrannomHatch
2
2
Evening SedgeHatch
2
3
3
3
2
Alpine RhithrogenaHatch
1
2
2
1
Large Dark OliveHatch
1
2
2
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 Alpes-Maritimes
  • Plusieurs réserves de truites sauvages dans les gorges amont.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Cooler water nearby · 1
Probably above the Brown Trout safety line — these are likely cooler, but carry a thermometer.
Tinée
27 km
~18°C
Brown trout
Water quality (WFD)
  • Ecology: Moderate
  • Chemical: Good
What this classification means

WFD ecological status Good → Moderate corrected to EEA WISE 2022 (3rd RBMP) classification for waterbody FRDR91 (was a stale earlier-cycle value). Source: EEA WISE SWB_SurfaceWaterBody (discodata.eea.europa.eu), verified 2026-06-18.

WFD classification · FRDR91

The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 90%
How the 12 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature6 × 28%1.7
Flow95 × 22%20.9
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time70 × 13%9.1
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity57 × 12%6.8
Limiting factor: Water temperature (22°C) is outside Brown Trout's preferred range (10–16°C)= 61
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowproxy via Arc (Bessans reach)proxy
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.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 2nd Saturday of March → 3rd Sunday of September
Related guides
Pyrenees PlaybookFrench riversEuro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts