The level of the old Rhine

flyfishing on the old Rhine

To plan a fly fishing day at the old Rhine, it is important to know its level. I created this page in the idea that it can help you to see more clearly.

In the absence of certainty concerning the old Rhine, it will allow you to know in real time (with relative reliability) the level of the old Rhine at the moment when you visit the page. With thanks to the data, in German, of the “Hochwasser-Vorhersage-Zentrale Baden Württemberg “(HVZ).

To fully understand the data that will appear on your screen, here are some preliminary explanations, under which you will find an explanation table!

Level table.

The German webpage displays the levels of the Rhine in meters, under the tab “Messwerte“, over the last few days. The levels are measured at different rain gauges (“Pegel” in German). The one we are interested in is that of Rheinfelden, located on the Rhine upstream of Basel, conditioning the fishing on the course of the old Rhine, located downstream. They are displayed as a table, by clicking “Wasserstand als Tabelle” in the top menu. This data is also available in graphic form, by clicking on “Wasserstand als Grafik”. A forecast (trend) is also available under the tab “Abfluss

Attention! These values, if they determine the release of dams, indicate only the level of the Rhine, and not that of the old Rhine.

And, in order for these figures not to remain abstract, I have prepared a small explication table, the data of which are generally reliable.


data in meters

Flyfishing in the old Rhine

2,50 bis 2,65

Water releases are rare and short-lived. Good conditions for flyfishing

2,65 bis 3,00

Very frequent water releases, random levels.

3,00 bis4,00

Large releases of water. Fly fishing is not possible!

4,00 und mehr

Opening valves in large, it's the flood! (record 6.67 m the 2/05/1999)

Click here to access the German site with the above indications.

In summary, as soon as the level of the Rhine is around 3 m, be very careful, especially if the trend is on the rise. Warning: The Kembs dam is always open around 3.10 m (= + or-1400 m3/s).

In any case, be vigilant, as the water rises very quickly. I advise you to take landmarks on the bank and keep an eye on them.

by flifishing on this course it's important to know the level of the old Rhine