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Chalkstream Fly Fishing in BerkshireFishing Breaks offer the widest selection of the very best chalk stream brown trout dry fly & nymph fishing in the county of Berkshire.Our rivers | Your guide | Places to stay | Fishing advice & flies | Maps
The Lambourn, the Loddon, the Kennet & the Pang are all good rivers fed from rainfall that collects on and around the chalk downlands of the Berkshire Downs. In fact the Lambourn has the coldest water temperature of any southern river, which makes for great spawning conditions for the brown trout. Naturally grayling, essentially Arctic Char in origin, adore the Lambourn, but are the hardest of fish to catch in that river. So much so, that Frank Sawyer flatly refused all invites to fish for Lambourn grayling on the grounds that they were “too dammed hard to catch”. Our rivers
Your fishing guide - John Stephens
"The river Kennet is rated by many to be as good as the Test and the mayfly hatches can be so heavy that they look like a snowstorm. The Lambourn has the coldest water of any chalkstream in the country and crystal clear, the wild fish grow to about 1lb with a monster at 1lb 1/4 and the flies used can be as small as size 22 – dry fly fishing at its best." NB John is out on the rivers each & all day during the height of the season, so sometimes he doesn’t get to check his e-mails as often as he would like. Places to stay and visitTop Luxury Hotel: Cliveden, Taplow Top Country Pub: Crown & Garter, Inkpen Top Spa Hotel: The Vineyard at Stockcross Top Gastro Pub: The Yew Tree Inn, Highclere Top Place Visit: Royal Mausoleum, Windsor > View the full Fishing Breaks accommodation guide Fishing advice & fliesIn broad terms the fishing season runs from May to September. The Hawthorn hatch generally coincides with the opening week, with the Mayfly running from mid-May to the end of the second week in June. There are no easy pickings in the second half of the season, but small flies, delicately fished are the secret weapons. Top Berkshire Flies:
Recommended outfit: 7.5-8.5ft rod, of 3-5wt. Floating line. Tippet to 2lb/6x. All flies barbless or de-barbed. Waders are not required at Barton Court, but are essential at Donnington Grove. MapsClick to enlarge.
Fishing Breaks Ltd, The Mill, Heathman Street, Nether Wallop |
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