Unione Pesca Sportiva Sondrio (UPS Sondrio).

Unione Pesca Sportiva Sondrio (UPS) is the main management body responsible for the salmonid waters of the Province of Sondrio in northern Lombardia. The association collaborates closely with local municipalities and the Region of Lombardia to manage Alpine rivers, high-mountain streams, and regulated reservoirs.
UPS oversees all public fishable waters in the Sondrio district, including key parts of the Adda headwaters, the Spöl (Spoel), and Lake Livigno. The waters include both pristine high-alpine streams and larger regulated tailwaters with a mix of wild trout and stocked fish. Their management emphasizes habitat protection, native species conservation, and sustainable angling.

Regulations.

Fishing in the Province of Sondrio is regulated by Unione Pesca Sondrio (UPS) according to the regional rules set by Regione Lombardia. Waters are divided into different fishing regimes, each with its own restrictions:

• Regime Particolare Salmonidi (RPS) – Special salmonid waters.
• No Kill – Catch-and-release only.
• Standard Salmonid Waters – General rules for the region.

While some stretches have additional local restrictions, the general rules you must follow are:

• A daily or annual permit is required.
• Only one rod may be used in salmonid waters.
• Single barbless hook (or with crushed barb).
• Only artificial lures and flies are permitted.
• Natural baits, doughs, pastes, and all organic baits are forbidden.

Fishing Seasons.

General Salmonid Season (All Salmonid Waters)

• Last Sunday of March – Last Sunday of September
• No Kill Zones remain open until 31 October.
• Grayling Season 31 May till the end of September.

Waters Managed by UPS Sondrio.

UPS manages a diverse range of high-alpine salmonid waters across two major river basins. Danube Basin – including the Italian sectors of the Spöl (Spoel) and Lake Livigno, which ultimately flow into the Inn and then the Danube and the Po River Basin, covering the Adda headwaters, which descend from alpine valleys toward Lake Como and eventually join the Po. These rivers lie in a dramatic landscape of glacial valleys, steep forested slopes, and cold limestone headwaters. The waters range from technical mountain streams to large alpine reservoirs, with fishing dominated by wild Brown Trout and complemented in some areas by Rainbow Trout and Char.

Danube River basin.

Unione Pesca Sondrio manages the alpine headwaters that drain toward the Danube via the Inn. These high-elevation waters are cold, clear, and dominated by wild Brown Trout.

• Spöl River (Italian Headwaters) – The Spöl starts in Italy as a steep alpine stream flowing into Lake Livigno. This upper section is natural, fast, and very clear, holding mainly wild Brown Trout with occasional Rainbow Trout in stocked areas. Short but technical water, best suited for experienced anglers.
• Lake Livigno (Lago di Livigno) – A cold, deep alpine reservoir where UPS manages the Italian shoreline. The lake holds Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout, and Char. Access is mostly from steep banks, and fishing is scenic but simple to describe, large, open water in a dramatic high-mountain setting.
• Tributaries of the Upper Spöl – Small, fast alpine creeks entering the Spöl and Lake Livigno. These streams serve as spawning and nursery habitats for wild Brown Trout and offer very technical small-stream fishing with limited access.

Po River basin.

UPS Sondrio also manages several important salmonid waters within the Po River Basin, primarily in the upper Adda River system. These are high-alpine tributaries flowing south from the Livigno and Bormio area toward the great subalpine lakes and, ultimately, the Po.

• Adda Headwaters – The upper Adda originates in the high valleys near Bormio and flows south toward Lake Como. These headwaters historically supported native populations of Mediterranean Trout (Salmo ghigii), with Marble Trout (Salmo marmoratus) naturally occurring farther downstream in the broader Po system.
  However, decades of stocking with non-native Atlantic Brown Trout (Salmo trutta trutta) have caused extensive hybridization. Most trout in the upper Adda are mixed-lineage or stocked fish. Only a few isolated tributaries may still hold genetically meaningful native S. ghigii. Pure Salmo trutta is not native to the Po Basin. For visiting anglers, these rivers offer classic pocket-water fishing, but populations should be considered hybridized troutassemblages rather than intact native stocks.
• Alpine Lakes – UPS also oversees several alpine lakes, both natural and reservoir types, within the Adda drainage. Their salmonid communities vary and may include: Hybrid-origin Brown Trout, Arctic Char (Salvelinus alpinus) in a few stocked systems and Lake Char (Salvelinus umbla) in deeper natural basins connected historically to pre-Alpine lake systems. As in the rivers, pure native trout are rare, and most lakes host a mixture of long-established stocked and naturalized populations.
  

Licenses.