Esprit Rivières

Fly Fishing Guide in Mountain Rivers of the Southern French Alps

Guillaume Mary is a certified fishing guide (BPJEPS) who practices and teaches fly fishing — dry fly, tandem and Euro nymphing — in the mountain rivers of the Southern French Alps, from the French Riviera hinterland around Nice to the Ubaye Valley and Lake Serre-Ponçon.

Also a professional river guide in rafting and kayaking, he has made mountain rivers and alpine torrents his natural environment.
This is where he spends most of his time, exploring wild and remote places located in the heart of two emblematic valleys of the Southern French Alps: the Tinée and the Ubaye.

Meet Your Guide

peche en seche guidage avec esprit riviere

Fly Fishing

An elegant, highly effective — and accessible — way to fish

Often seen as an elite or complex discipline, fly fishing is in fact a practice that quickly becomes enjoyable, especially on our mountain rivers rich in wild brown trout.
Its graceful casting style, famously popularised by the film A River Runs Through It, has made fly fishing almost mythical.
Among all techniques, dry fly fishing remains the queen: delicately imitating an insect drifting on the surface, using the fly line and its iconic cast.

Dry Fly Fishing in Alpine Rivers: Subtle, Yet Magical
In alpine torrents, surface feeding — the telltale rise of a trout taking an insect — is less frequent than on lowland rivers. Yet dry fly fishing remains remarkably effective.
Why? Because after a long and harsh winter, our mountain brown trout become highly opportunistic as soon as warmer days return. By “fishing the water” — presenting our flies in the right holding lies — it is not uncommon to see a beautiful trout suddenly rise and take the fly.
That moment is unique: magical, addictive, unforgettable.
It is the very essence of fly fishing — what every passionate angler loves to share, and what every guide dreams of introducing to a beginner.

Changing Fish Behaviour: The Importance of Nymphing
With increasing human impact on natural environments and a decline in insect populations, trout now feed mostly below the surface.
European fly anglers, faced with this evolution, have developed an extremely effective method: Euro nymphing, which imitates aquatic larvae drifting near the riverbed.
It is a technique every fly angler should master, especially when fish are inactive on the surface and dry flies produce little response.

Dry–Dropper (Tandem) Fishing: A Complete and Engaging Technique
Between dry fly and nymphing lies an intermediate approach: dry–nymph fishing, often called the tandem or dry–dropper technique.
This method consists of fishing a dry fly and a nymph on the same drift. It allows anglers to:
quickly assess fish activity,
identify the most effective technique of the moment,
and, for beginners, clearly read the take: when the dry fly suddenly sinks like a small float, the nymph has been taken!
A playful, effective technique — and a perfect way to understand the behaviour of our beautiful wild brown trout.

Guided Trips

guidage en nymphe au fil dans un vallon sauvage vallee de la tinee

A Unique Fly Fishing Experience in the Southern Alps

Technical guiding · Immersive stays · Backcountry adventures

I guide fly fishing in two main areas of the Southern French Alps: the French Riviera hinterland near Nice and the Ubaye Valley up to Lake Serre-Ponçon.
Whether you are discovering fly fishing for the first time, looking to refine your technique, or seeking a guide capable of unlocking a wild territory, my guiding is designed around you.

Based in two remote valleys of the Southern Alps — the Tinée (1 hour from Nice) and the Ubaye (around 2 hours from Marseille), I offer experiences ranging from half-day guided trips to multi-day adventures deep in the mountains.
Stay close to the river in two very different ways:
a restored mountain barn overlooking the Tinée Valley,
or a true bivouac camp on the banks of the Ubaye, set in a Nordic tipi with a wood stove, surrounded by pine forest.

Beyond classic fly fishing
For those seeking adventure, I also offer multi-day hike & fly trips, with nights spent outdoors — under a tent, a shelter, or the stars.
Thanks to my dual expertise as a fly fishing guide and professional river guide, I take you safely onto the water by rafting or packraft.
Rod in one hand, paddle in the other, we explore rivers like the Tinée, the Daluis Gorges and the Ubaye to experience fly fishing in a truly unique way.

As summer fades, we head higher into the mountains. From early September to late October, high-altitude lakes offer a final, magical chapter to the season.