I spent five days one July a few years ago fishing both the rivers and lakes of the central and western region of the Spanish Pyrenees, a mere stone’s throw from the French border, and a mere amble from Andorra, and if the truth be told, I really didn’t know what to expect.

Snow-capped mountains

Lead me to a river that is discreetly tucked away amongst majestic, snow-capped mountains, its banks and foothills sprinkled with wild flowers like hundreds-and-thousands on a fairycake, its waters running as clear as mountain air over a freestone bed. Go one step further and reveal to me the spectacle that is a hatch of mayflies, and a suitably rising trout, and I am as good as infatuated.

Guided fly fishing in the Pyrenees

And so by the time the sun dipped behind the western peaks at the end of my first day in Spain, I was already beguiled by the stream in which I stood and the 360-degree panorama of Pyrenean splendour that surrounded me. The following four days of guided fly fishing in the Pyrenees search of wild and indigenous brownies only served to crystallise my feelings towards this relatively unknown trout fishing destination.

Talking of spices, variety, the proverbial spice of life is available in great abundance too, and when it comes to the fishing, this is perhaps the biggest Pyrenean draw card. There are over 1,000km of fishable river and over 300 enticing mountain lakes within a 50km radius of Santa Cilia, and all are inhabited by native brown trout. In addition to the brownies, the upper reaches of several local mountain streams are also home to the North American brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalus) whilst other rivers and lower reaches hold both wild and stocked populations of rainbows.

Gin-clear streams

The remote mountainous upper-reaches of these stunningly picturesque and gin-clear streams offer wonderful opportunities to catch feisty
little brownies and brookies in quite astounding numbers, almost exclusively on dry fly. One particular mountain stream I fished was narrow enough in places to be forded in no more than three steps. And yet, in pools no bigger than a large bath, were incredible numbers of fin-perfect and achingly beautiful brook trout of up to 14 inches. A sociable little fish is the brook trout; they seem to enjoy each other’s company and tend to hang out in groups of five to ten fish.

Hence when a dry-fly is presented to a hungry pod of these voracious fish, you might as well strike immediately as every fish in the pool perilously competes for your Royal Wulff. Perhaps it’s a security in numbers thing, but on several occasions, I managed to land no less than half a dozen trout in so many casts, and all from a pool the size of a Ford Fiesta!

High mountain lakes

Presented with the choice between river and still water, it would have to take a pretty special pond or lake to get my vote over water that gurgles and purls. The Pyrenees however, is one place I’ve been to where this dynamic is turned on its head, and spectacular high-mountain lakes take precedent, in my books, over their flowing counterparts. These are truly magnificent flooded glacial valleys set against a backdrop of rugged alpine wilderness and filled with sparkling waters as clear as crystal. Griffon and Bearded Vultures soar both above you in azure skies and below you in deep glaciated valleys.

Before you’ve had a chance to string up your rod, good-sized browns are spotted from higher ground as they languidly cruise along lake margins and drop-offs making for perfect sight-fishing fodder. Carefully presented and well placed terrestrials like hoppers and beetles tend to be met with aggressive and assertive takes displaying no evidence of any scepticism or alarm, which unsurprisingly suggests that these lakes experience low fishing pressure.

Indeed by lunchtime I had brought several good fish (1.5 – 3 lbs) to the net, all of them giving a very respectable account of themselves. Although there didn’t appear to be vast numbers of fish in these high mountain lakes, the breathtaking scenery, low fishing pressure and sight fishing opportunities far outweighed the sometimes-lengthy periods of inactivity between fish. Normally accessed by helicopter, our six hour hike into and out of the lake valley was an experience that I would happily repeat – with or without a fly rod.

How to organise fishing in the Pyrenees

Salvelinus Fishing Adventures is a well established fly fishing outfitter based in the village of Santa Cilia, a small picturesque farming village, set on the banks of the Aragon River. With a total population of less than two hundred residents, most of whom enjoy daily afternoon siestas, to say that the village has a somewhat ‘sleepy’ feel to it would be an understatement. The lodge itself, once home to 15^th century monks, has now been converted into a very comfortable and well thought-out fishing lodge, its attractive stone walls and floors and wooden shuttered windows giving it a typically Spanish feel.

This article was originally published in 2011 and has been updated.