Intermittent flow is a natural phenomenon in many stream systems worldwide. At the same time, droughts are an increasing threat to ecosystems as a consequence of climate change and water diversion. Severe droughts can change once suitable habitats into ecological traps that cannot support fish communities. Although individual fish movements can allow populations affected by drought to persist, the knowledge about individual fish movement between intermittent and perennial stretches remains limited. Here we present Italian riffle dace (Telestes muticellus) movement patterns (n = 17) in an intermittent and a neighbouring perennial stream stretch before and after a severe summer drought. Fish initially resident in the intermittent section had similar summer survival as fish from the perennial section. The majority of fish from the intermittent river stretch survived the drought by upstream movements to perennially watered reaches (87.5%). Fish from the intermittent stretch showed an average upstream movement of about 100 m, whereas fish from the perennial stretch remained relatively stationary within the stream. Our result highlights the ability of Italian riffle dace to cope with drought by a directed migration to river reaches with the perennial flow. It also underscores the need to preserve longitudinal river connectivity in the face of increasing water scarcity and associated intermittent flows.