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Stillwater Trout Fishing is probably the most popular form of angling in the North East today, and the number of venues in the region readily accessible for this form of the sport is unsurpassed anywhere else in the UK. Our fisheries can be grouped into two distinct sets – Reservoirs (whose primary function is that of water storage for mains water supply) and ‘Independent Fisheries’, and there are numerous examples of both types.

The former category can vary enormously in size, from the vast ‘thousand-plus’ acreages of giants such as Kielder and Derwent to the numerous ‘smaller’ reservoir fisheries, but they almost all have one thing in common – to collect groundwater to maximum efficiency, they need to be situated up on the moors near to the headwaters of the rivers that were dammed-off to form them. These should all, therefore, be considered to be vast areas of water that will more often than not be windswept – conditions that, with regard to fly fishing, won’t always suit a beginner!

In the case of the ‘independents’, these are generally much smaller in size, although there are exceptions, like the Great Lough of Sweethope Trout Fishery, which at over 120 acres has a surface area almost double that of its near neighbour, Fontburn Reservoir. These ‘wilder’ fisheries, which also includes Langley Dam and Westwater Angling Club’s Hallington Reservoir in Northumberland, and the Lockwood Beck Trout Fishery near Teesside, exist high up on the moors and being generally much larger lakes they tend to fish similarly to their upland reservoir counterparts. The smaller venues are usually situated in places close to the towns and cities from which they derive most of their custom and in these instances they are almost always either deliberate excavations filled up with water or flooded pits. Their lowland locations and smaller size can make them less tricky venues for beginners.

Map 1

The main quarry for the stillwater game angler is the rainbow trout, a species which, while not native to the UK, has been stocked successfully into such fisheries for over a hundred years. These are now regularly caught by ordinary anglers at weights which, as little as thirty years ago, would have been considered national record standard (20lb plus) and the quarry only really of experts like Richard Walker or Bob Church. Most of the fish, however, are much smaller, and are stocked at between 1½ and 8lb, with many fisheries also stocking brown and blue trout (some even stock North American Brook Trout), while on some reservoirs there are also wild brown trout that are the progeny of those that inhabited the parent river before it was dammed. These are usually much smaller than their stocked cousins but often far harder to catch!

Map 2

Traditionally, like on rivers, stillwater trout fishing is done with the fly – a subtle variation on the river fly fishing described in Spring Fishing (Part Two), only using rods designed for casting heavier lines over greater distances and with a stronger tippet tied to the leader to cope with the probable greater weight of the fish. The fly fishing techniques employed on stillwater fisheries are more numerous, with by far the most popular two being lure fishing (in which a fly often designed to imitate a small prey fish is stripped through the water, often at speed, like a spinner) and buzzer fishing in which flies intended to resemble chironimid larvae are fished subsurface, normally on a dead drift in the prevailing wind driver current. Traditional wet and dry fly methods do have their applications, however, with each equally as effective on their given day as the more popular techniques – especially on those reservoirs such as Cow Green in Teesdale which contain natural stocks of wild brown trout only. Like on rivers, ‘matching the hatch’ is vital in these instances.

Map 3

Most independent fisheries stipulate that anglers can only use fly fishing techniques, but a number of Northumbrian Water’s reservoirs also permit multi-bait fishing (allowing baits such as worm, maggot, sweetcorn and the highly popular attractant ‘powerbait’ to be used, either float fished or legered), as well as spinning. These venues include the south west shore (only) of the highly popular Derwent Reservoir (see Map 1), and the whole of the reservoirs at Fontburn, Kielder, Grassholme and Scaling Dam. Maps 2 & 3 have directions for how to get to the larger fisheries in Northumberland and the reservoirs of Teesdale.

Full details of all the stillwater game (trout) fisheries – including directions, contact numbers and links to websites where applicable – can also be found on this site. The direct links are below:

◙Stillwater Fishing Venues in Northumberland and Tyne &Wear

◙Stillwater Fishing Venues in County Durham and North Yorkshire

© The Fishing Archives 2012

◙For a far more comprehensive guide to (and a history of) Stillwater Trout Fishing in the North East, as well for all the other angling disciplines found in the region, the recently published book The Lambton Worm – The Definitive Guide to Angling in North East England is also well worth the cover price. 

192 Pages

50 Photographs

28 Diagrams

Published by Amberley and in stock at branches of WH Smiths and Waterstones throughout the North East & North Yorkshire – look in the Angling and Local Interest Sections! Also available from Amazon.co.uk 

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Don’t be put off by the cold weather that often accompanies the opening day of the trout season in the North East – one of the newest and most dynamic angling clubs in the region has the perfect antidote.

Allen Valley Angling and Conservation, based at Allendale in south west Northumberland, are holding an Open Season Day on the River East Allen to mark the start of their first full season as the local angling association.

Meeting time for the event is 8.30am on Saturday 24^th March, at the Allendale Bakery, Allen Mill, where anglers wishing to participate can grab a bacon sandwich to start, before heading out for a few hours fishing and then meeting back up at The Crown at Catton at 12 noon.

Besides the river’s stock of prime wild brown trout, for one morning only, there will be an even more impressive prize on offer. The Lead Trout Trophy – crafted by the club to mark the lead mining heritage of the Allen Valley – is to be awarded to the angler that catches the biggest fish on the day, but photographic evidence will be required, so be sure to bring a camera!

As well as club members, anglers in possession of non-member angling permits are also welcome to come along – these can be obtained from a number of outlets in Allendale and cost £14 for adults. Permit details can be found on the association’s website:  www.allenvalleyanglers.co.uk/fishing-permits, and information on the Open Season Day, as well as on several other conservation-related events, can be found at: www.allenvalleyanglers.co.uk/events

Fishing on the beautiful East Allen is already going from strength to strength. The association, which was only formed last August, already boasts 57 members, one quarter of whom are aged under 17. Last season, catch returns averaged two trout per member per day, and as well as 94 brown trout, there were also 3 sea trout and 4 salmon recorded. The association’s youngest member, five-year-old Lucy Hamilton, also featured among the successful anglers, catching her first fish on the river last summer. The club rewarded Lucy by presenting her with her first fishing rod at their AGM in February.

Full details on Allen Valley Angling and Conservation can be found at: www.allenvalleyanglers.co.uk/

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Game Angling

Coarse Angling

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Fly Fishing on North East Rivers: 

The season for trout fishing in the Northumbrian Region begins again on March 22^nd, and not a moment too soon after those long months of winter! However, that longing to just get out there and start fly fishing in earnest has more often than not to be put on hold, as, sadly, the inclement weather can last right through March and on into April. For this we can blame our close proximity to the still freezing cold North Sea and rivers throughout the region will usually bear more resemblance to those observed by the winter grayling angler than any of the rapidly recovering streams further south. Even if we do get an ‘early spring’  like we did last year (2011), the water in the rivers will still remain stone cold until the strengthening spring sun had been on the hills for a few weeks longer. 

Because the temperature of the water will usually take several weeks to rise, the first problem the trout angler will encounter in March and early April will be the near complete – or absolute – absence of any insect life above the surface of the river. As a direct consequence, the conclusion many a spring angler will draw is the absence of any trout – those same ones that so readily give their presence away with characteristic dimpled or splashy surface rises later in the season. However, this is rarely the case, and besides the worming tactics outlined the companion trout fishing article to this, there are a number of fly fishing techniques the angler can employ while the fish are still stationed deeper in the stream. All that’s needed is the right tackle and the correct flies. For the smaller rivers in the area, a 7-8 ft fly rod taking a #3/4 AFTM fly line will suffice, for medium-sized rivers an 8½-9ft rod and a #5/6 line is sufficient, while for the Tyne and the Tees, a 9½-10ft rod and #7/8 line may well be required. 

Nymph & Wet Fly Fishing: 

These techniques generally correspond to the nymph fishing tactics employed by the autumn grayling angler, but also include wet fly fishing, a technique that employs the use of subsurface fly patterns designed to imitate those few aquatic insects that are active in these early months of spring. Patterns such as the March Brown or Iron Blue Dun will suffice in the wet fly department, while the favourite nymphs used in this region are the Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear (GRHE) and the Pheasant Tail Nymph (PTN). 

Unlike the general rule for grayling fishing, however, wet fly and nymph patterns will work for trout when fished both up and downstream (and indeed straight across). As with grayling, wet fly and nymph fishing for trout is generally practised using two or more flies tied onto the same ‘cast’ (the nylon or fluorocarbon ‘leader’ or ‘tippet’ attached to the end of your fly line), the first fly being attached to the free end of the cast in the manner of a hook in bait fishing (the point), and all additional flies tied onto ‘droppers’, which are short lengths of the same material attached to the cast using a four turn water knot. The fact that you can use two or more flies in this fashion also lends itself to a hybrid technique combining both nymph and wet fly patterns. The advantage in this is that, with the stronger currents usually encountered at this time of the year, the more heavily weighted nymph patterns (particularly copper, brass or tungsten headed ones), when used on the point, will sink more quickly, getting all the imitations down to where the trout are likely to be feeding. 

The upstream method of nymph or wet fly fishing is done by either casting directly upstream (where this is possible) to fish the flies on a ‘dead drift’ back towards you, or at an angle upstream and across, letting the flies swing in the current – the drag that this imparts often stimulating the aggressive predatory instinct of the trout. This drag is even more apparent in the downstream version of nymph/wet fly fishing, as the initial cast is usually made at an angle anywhere between directly across and forty five degrees downstream, with the flies allowed to swing round until they are directly down-river of the angler. In the downstream version of this kind of fly fishing, the all important ‘take’ from the fish is usually felt as a sharp snatch on the line, an indication that must be responded to instantaneously with the strike. In upstream nymph and wet fly fishing, meanwhile, the take is seen and rarely ever felt, as the angler is retrieving fly line all the time to stay in contact with his flies. Takes can resemble anything from the end of the fly line shooting sharply and unmistakably upstream or across, to more subtle variations on this theme, to the line simply stopping dead in the current. In any of these circumstances the strike should also be made without any delay. Nymphs, especially the more heavily weighted variety, will catch the bottom in this form of fly fishing – only trial and error will tell you when this happening, and even still there will invariably be the odd case when repeatedly ‘hanging up’ is actually a fish! 

Later in the spring, as currents lose speed, a turn to lighter nymphs will be the order of the day, and while many of the same patterns will remain effective, the introduction of some of those designed to imitate the now more frequently emerging adult flies will pay dividends. The hatches of these mature insects will be evidenced by often frenzied activity as the trout chase the insect larvae up to and at the surface of the water, then feed on the adults thereof as they hatch through the surface film and again when certain species return to the river to lay their eggs. Wet flies fished across and down, and close to the surface (ie without the added weight of a nymph) mimic the last stage of these emerging insects’ rise to the surface film, with many patterns designed to produce movement as drag is imparted, making them behave uncannily like the real thing! 

Dry Fly Fishing: 

Once the insects have hatched (that is, they have emerged from the surface film and become adults that are able to fly), the angler’s aim is to mimic them using what is termed the ‘dry fly’. The word ‘dry’ pays deference to the fact that, while nymphs and wet flies are fished beneath the surface and as a consequence get wet, flies which are designed to imitate adult insects sitting on top of the surface film must remain dry in order to stay floating. This is achieved through the far more abundant hackles that are tied onto dry fly patterns, a design feature which helps trap minute pockets of air when the fly lands on the surface, helping it to float. Even still, the fly would eventually become waterlogged and sink after several casts were it not for the drying effect of the false casts the angler has to make as he lengthens his line. Floatation of the dry fly is also helped by the use of ‘gink’, an aerosol spray that can be bought at most tackle shops, the application of which gives the hackles still greater water resistance and hence a greater ability to resist becoming waterlogged. 

In conventional dry fly fishing (except for those modern variations, such as ‘the duo’, which involves the combination of both a dry fly and a nymph) you use just the one fly, this single artificial being presented on a length of monofilament line tied to the end of the fly line that is identical to a wet fly or nymph ‘cast’ in everything other than the fact there are no droppers. The length of this cast depends on a number of factors, as well as the angler’s personal preference, but a good rule of thumb is to begin at around six or seven feet, going longer with the increasing size of the river, although a shorter cast may well be less problematic in windy conditions. 

The floating fly is of course a prerequisite to this type of fishing, and like with the other two forms of river fly fishing, a floating fly line is also essential. In dry fly fishing, however, if the cast floats, it will cause very unnatural presentation of the fly that will almost certainly cause the trout to distrust the artificial. Like all monofilament fishing lines, tippet line is virtually invisible when underwater, so a mixture of a substance called ‘Fullers Earth’ and washing up liquid is used to degrease the leader and help it sink into the surface film – a putty-like mixture which can also be bought inexpensively at most tackle shops, and can be used for wet fly fishing with un-weighted patterns as well 

Unlike nymph and wet fly fishing, however, the only directions in which you can ordinarily dry fly fish are either upstream or across, although a very accurate cast made downstream to a fish that rises as you are lengthening will sometimes tempt an instant response. The reason for this is that, unlike the other two forms, the dry fly has to be fished on a dead drift, with no deviation from the natural flow of the current. This is because, with very few exceptions in terms of angling, insects that either land or fall onto the surface of the river are always carried downstream with the current, unable to move in any other direction unless they take flight. 

This may seem like a straightforward consideration – just cast the fly and let it drift – but in fact it is never so, as the action of the current on the fly line and ‘cast’ on different parts of river will always cause them to move faster or slower (or both) than the fly itself – a situation which, if not compensated for, will cause the dry fly angler’s biggest nightmare: ‘drag’. Drag is in effect any unnatural movement of the fly on the surface of the water, caused by differential movement of line between the fly and the angler: the net effect being that the fly will usually either skate along at a speed faster than the real rate of movement of the water in that area, or be slowed down and appear to drag – with either variation being an instant signal to the waiting trout that the imitation is not natural. On most parts of most rivers, the rates of flow are different everywhere, so drag will occur with even a cast made directly upstream. Nonetheless, it follows that the more square the cast the more acute the problem becomes, with a cast made directly across likely to start pulling the fly back towards the angler within a split second unless some compensation is made. 

Dealing with drag is never easy – only practice is the real answer – but a ‘wiggly cast’ – one made so that the line lands on the water with ‘wiggles’ in it that straighten out, alleviating drag as it moves downstream – is as good a method to start with as any. Simply add extra force at the end of the cast to the deliver the line so it lengthens fully and then springs back slightly before landing on the water. Another consideration is that although dealing with drag on a slow flowing stretch of river is easier, fooling trout in this type of water is much harder, as the slow movement of the water allows the trout more time to inspect the artificial fly and become wary of its presentation. In faster water, the fish have much less time in which to make their minds up, and although drag will be spotted in an instant, the fastidiousness nature of many a wily trout is less likely to be evident in these areas. 

Hooking a fish is much more straightforward in dry fly fishing, as the take is much more clearly seen – follow your fly as it floats down the river and strike when a trout rises and takes it! As with the other two forms of the discipline, striking promptly is still a necessity in river dry fly fishing, but as you are responding to the actual take and not to the line movement that indicates it a moment later, it is possible to strike too quickly in this game. Generally speaking, though, as long as you aren’t too keen, the amount of time it ordinarily takes to react will allow the trout to properly take hold of the artificial. Like the other two forms, however, the fish will reject the imitation as soon as it realises it isn’t real, so the strike cannot be delayed for too long! 

Lastly to the types of dry fly patterns to try and there are four main groups of fly that these imitate on rivers in this area – the upwinged flies (olives and mayflies), the stoneflies (including the needle flies), the caddis flies or sedges and the midges. In early season, once the trout have become active on the surface of the river, the olives will often provide the most reliable sport and depending on the river, imitations of the large dark olive or the iron blue dun will be often be effective, with the greenwells glory a pattern intended to imitate a variety of northern olive species. Very early in the season, an imitation of the March Brown can also take trout. In early June, any characteristically large white upwinged pattern that looks similar to our native mayfly E.danica will drive the trout crazy, and later in the summer the blue winged olive (emerger – afternoon) and its fully mature variant the sherry spinner (imago – evening) will temp trout. 

Needle flies are small flies that are often seen in great number whizzing around just above the surface of many North East rivers from early summer onwards and a small grey duster will often score in this situation. Keeping a variety of sedge patterns in your fly box, in a variety of colours, is also recommended, as the bigger caddis flies are a common sight in the margins on late spring and summer days. I’ve most often had success with the brown varieties. One ‘exception to the rule’ is the hawthorn fly, which is actually a terrestrial insect but is blown off fields close to the river and onto the water in late April and May whereupon, if they appear in sufficient number, they can frequently whip the trout into a feeding frenzy. These cumbersome black flies are easy to spot if they happen to end up over the river, so have an imitation ready! 

There are, of course, very many other good trout dry fly patterns with a variety of names (usually non-biological) that imitate natural species specifically, collectively and even non-specifically. The best course of action is a good old-fashioned reference book or, nowadays, there are an ever-increasing number of fly fishing websites that will explain what a specific fly pattern is intended to be with just a simple search. 

So that’s the basic principles of North East river fly fishing taken care of, how about a few places to test them out? Listed below are most of the beats available to the river trout angler in the region, with information on all the main trout rivers found in Northumberland and Durham. 

Trout Fishing Rivers in the Region (from North to South):

Fishing Locations on the Trout Rivers of Northumberland and Durham

River Aln: A small river that runs through Alnwick and on to the sea at Alnmouth in north Northumberland. Regarded primarily as a sea trout and salmon river, it is nonetheless of interest for brown trout as well. Fishing is available on five miles of banks downstream of Alnwick through the Aln Angling Association (1 – see map). Permits can be obtained through Hardy & Greys Ltd, Willowburn, Alnwick, tel:01665 510027, or Jobson’s of Alnwick, , Tower Showrooms, tel:01665 602135. 

River Coquet: An excellent medium-sized game fishing river famous for salmon and sea trout but also an excellent brown trout water as well. The Northumbrian Anglers Federation have three stretches available to trout anglers, 2a, 2b &2c on the map, with inexpensive season permits available to fish for brown trout only, if you don’t want to fork out extra for salmon and sea trout. The beats in question are a short stretch at Harbottle in the upper reaches, a five mile mostly uninterrupted stretch between Rothbury and Pauperhaugh, and three miles immediately downstream of Felton. The NAF website is here  with all the ticket information and contact details. 

River Wansbeck: A small to medium-sized river, the Wansbeck is a trout stream, with no coarse species present and negligible numbers of sea trout or salmon running it. The Wansbeck Angling Association (3) have a mile and a half of single bank water upstream of Morpeth and five miles downstream running through the hamlet of Bothal and on beyond to the tidal limits at Sheepwash. WAA permits and day tickets can be bought from Game Fishing Supplies, 3 Fawcetts Yard, Morpeth (opposite the new bus station), tel:01670 510996, and McDermott’s Fishing Tackle, 112 Station Road, Ashington, tel 01670 812214. There is also a mile of ‘free water’ in the centre of Morpeth -see The Credit Crunch List  and Spring Fishing Part One. In recent years, this river has turned up an 8½lb brown trout. See also the detailed description of Scots Gill, further down the article. 

River Blyth: Slightly smaller than the Wansbeck, and only a few miles further south, the Blyth, too, lacks any significant run of migratory fish but is an excellent trout stream with grayling and a scattering of coarse fish also present. Several miles of fishing on this river, from the A1 bridge near Stannington down as far as Bedlington, is controlled by the Bedlington & Blagdon Angling Association (4) . 

River Tyne: The main River Tyne is extremely large by comparison with all the other rivers in the area, with the exception of the Tees. It is widely regarded as the best salmon fishing river in England and, as such, several of its finest beats are preserved exclusively for this type of fishing. There are still some places you can fly fish for brown trout, however, and around Wylam, there are several such stretches – firstly the river close to the village itself which is controlled by the Wylam Angling Club (5), for whom information and day tickets are available from the Spar shop in the village or by phoning 01661 852214. The Northumbrian Anglers Federation (6) controls two sections of the Tyne near Wylam and Ovington – details as for the Coquet. 

Upstream at Hexham, the Tyne Green beat (7) is controlled by the local council and day and season permits are available from the Hexham Tourist Information Centre, Wentworth Car Park, Hexham, tel:01434  652220. Around a mile long, this stretch is more suited to fly fishing in its upper reaches. 

The Tyne Angling Passport is a scheme run by the Tyne Rivers Trust which gives access to a number of fishing beats in the Tyne catchment, including some of those listed here, through the purchase of tokens from the trust. Full details of the passport can be found here. 

The Tyne has very many tributaries, some of them important rivers in their own right. The River South Tyne has two beats open to trout fishing, at Haltwhistle and near its headwaters at Alston in Cumbria. Tickets for the Haltwhistle Angling Club’s six miles of river fishing (8) can be obtained from Gregg’s Sports, Main Street, in the town, tel:01434 321297. Permits for the Alston & District Angling Club’s stretch of the river (9) between Alston and Langley Viaduct can be bought from Alston Post Office and Tourist Office. 

On the River North Tyne, trout fishing is less accessible, with only a stretch about four miles from Bellingham (10) bookable in advance on 01434 240239. On its tributary, the smaller River Rede, the situation is similar, with fishing on the Otterburn Tower Hotel’s beat (11)  available at a special rate to residents.

The River East Allen (not marked on the map) is a tributary of the South Tyne which flows through the Pennine foothills a few miles south west of Hexham. A brand new angling club was set up there in 2011 to control several beats on this delightful trout stream. Allen Valley Angling & Conservation is based in Allendale offers full membership, as well as day and weekly tickets.To find Allendale, from Hexham, leave the A69 just before Haydon Bridge and follow the A686 for about three miles past Langley Castle. Bear left near the Langley Dam commercial trout fishery and follow the B6295 on through Catton to Allendale

 The River Derwent is the Tyne’s last major tributary and it offers excellent fly fishing for trout (and grayling), controlled by the two clubs on the river. The Axwell Park & Derwent Valley Angling Association (12), has around eight miles of the river’s lower reaches (the last half mile is tidal) running from Lintzford, via Rowlands Gill down to Swalwell. Details here . The Derwent Angling Association (website here) controls much of the upper river, which is divided into several sections. There is a long continuum of water beginning immediately below the dam at Derwent Reservoir and stretching almost all the way down to Shotley Bridge (13b). This water is preserved as a wild trout fishery above Allensford, but suffers frequent invasions by escapee rainbow trout from the reservoir, some of which can run to several pounds! The DAA also controls several miles of the river downstream of the village of Ebchester (13a), a beat that continues almost all the way to the commencement of Axwell Park’s water. Both clubs issue both day and season permits. The Derwent is similar in size and character to the Blyth.

River Wear: Regarded by many as England’s premier sea trout river, the Wear is also an excellent brown trout fishery and in addition contains grayling and numerous coarse species in its lower reaches. Chester-le-Street Angling Club has several miles of the lower river (14), beginning near the tidal limits, between CLS and Washington, and continuing to a mile or two upstream of Chester, with day tickets available in certain areas. Information is on their website here . 

There is also a short section of the lower river available to fishing by day ticket and by season permit, at Finchale Abbey (15), situated between CLS and Durham City. The river here is streamy and well-suited to fly fishing, but the Abbey is popular with tourists at weekends and on bank holidays in the spring and summer, so it may be best to try a weekday! Finchale’s website is here. 

Also located between Chester-l-s and Durham is a stretch of the Wear belonging the Felling Fly Fishing Club (18), a local club that has water on several North East rivers. This section is located near Frankland Farm, just outside of Durham City, details on Felling’s website here. 

The main club in Durham itself is Durham City Angling Club, which controls or shares the rights to four beats in and around the city (16), totalling around five miles. The pick of the fly fishing is found at the excellent Shincliffe Hall stretch. DCAC don’t do day tickets, details about membership can be found here. 

By now we are into the middle reaches of what ranks as the region’s third largest river and Ferryhill Angling Club (17) controls several miles of water between Durham and the next major town on the Wear, Bishop Auckland, including Croxdale (shared with DCAC) and the adjacent Brock Bank, which are both excellent fly waters. Information about the club can be found here . 

Bishop Auckland is home to another River Wear-based angling club, named after the town itself. Bishop Auckland Angling Club controls some twenty miles of bank on the middle and upper reaches of the river (19), with information about how to join the club available here. 

There are also several other stretches of the upper Wear available to fly fishing, with the Upper Weardale Angling Association controlling six miles of fishing from Cowshill, in the upper dale, down to Westgate (21). Permits can be obtained from the Post Office in St. John’s Chapel or the Blue Bell Inn. Weardale Fly Fishers have four miles between Eastgate and Stanhope (20). Day tickets for this stretch can be bought from Stanhope Newsagents in Front Street, Stanhope. 

Last but not least, on the River Wear’s tributary the River Browney, the Malton and District Angling Club controls about two miles of the upper river near Lanchester (22). Further information here. 

River Tees: The second largest river in North East England, the Tees is essentially a river of two halves – in its upper and upper to-mid reaches, it is a game river, and on its mid-to-lower reaches it is a coarse river. The river offers excellent fly fishing for trout at several points in its upper course. Near Middleton-in Teesdale (23), Upper Teesdale Estates have a couple of miles of single bank fishing just to the west of the small market town. Permits are available from Raby Estate Office, High Force Waterfall Gift Shop and Raines Ironmongers in Middleton. Telephone 01833 640209 or email teesdaleestate@rabycastle.com for further details. 

Further downstream, there is fly fishing at Barnard Castle controlled by the Barnard Castle Angling Association (24). Permits can be obtained from Wilkinson’s Gun Shop, Castle Café and the Tourist Information Centre in the town, and just a few miles further down, the Bishop Auckland Angling Club has a stretch of the river above and below Egglestone Bridge (25). For details see entry 19 above. Similarly Ferryhill Angling Club controls around a mile of the river at Middleton One Row (26), near Darlington – see entry 17 for further details. 

Featured Beat: 

River Wansbeck

The Wansbeck at Scots Gill

Scots Gill 

is the only section of the Wansbeck Angling Association’s water that is fly only for the entire season. It consists of about half a mile of classic trout fishing water, with the whole beat well featured. There are two short pools and two longer ones, with the uppermost reaching depths of around ten feet in places. All of these pools have their individual merits, but the uppermost reaches of the top one is arguably the best place to try for a bigger trout. 

Parking is in the public car park for ‘Scotch Gill Woods Nature Reserve’ (no charge), situated next to Morpeth Rugby Club. This is just before you get to the first bridge over the river on the B6343 Mitford Road, which itself is found by taking the road north out of Morpeth Town Centre and turning left towards Scots Gap. The beat is about a fifteen-minute walk from the town centre, following either Mitford Road, or the Lady’s Walk footpath and crossing over the bridge opposite the rugby club. 

From the car park, follow the footpath that goes down the hill towards the river and you’ll immediately come across the second pool on the beat (the first one being just upstream of the road bridge and a scramble down the high bank that’s topped by the car park’s access road!). A set of rapids ensues as the path heads upstream, crossing an area of boggy ground as it goes, with the third pool (which is a bit longer than the second) mainly comprising a slow-ish far bank run. At the top end of this pool, a very shallow glide separates it from the uppermost pool, which begins as the woodland to your right starts to become more dense. 

Map of Scots Gill

The path moves a few yards away from the riverbank at this point, with access to the deeper parts of this pool by following the tracks that lead down to the river. If you continue on a hundred yards or so, however, the path moves back towards the river and you’ll see the point at which the main river and a mill race (now dry owing the collapse of the weir half a mile upstream!) converge as they break into the top of the uppermost pool. 

There is a shingle bank on the nearside and wading towards the deeper run hard in on the far bank is relatively straightforward. You can either head a few paces downstream, wading as deep as you can go and then work back, casting upstream at the deepening run at the head of the pool, or you can fish across and down, allowing a team of flies to swing across the dark water where the whole pool begins to deepen. 

Tickets: Wansbeck Angling Association Membership or Day Tickets from Game Fishing Supplies , Fawcetts Yard (near the bus station), Morpeth. 

Flies: Iron Blue Dun, Black Gnat, Snipe & Purple. 

©The Fishing Archives 2012. All Rights Reserved. 

_________________________________________________________ 

There is much more information on all aspects of North East Angling in the book, The Lambton Worm: The Definitive Guide to Angling in North East England by Pete McParlin, published in August 2011. 

192 Pages 

50 Photographs 

28 Diagrams 

Published by Amberley and in stock at branches of WH Smiths and Waterstones throughout the North East & North Yorkshire – look in the Angling and Local Interest Sections! Also available from Amazon.co.uk 

It’s that time of year again! The days are getting longer, the worst of the winter weather is (hopefully) behind us and – Hallelujah – the trout fishing season on Northumbrian rivers gets back underway on March 22^nd. Unfortunately, due to our geography and climate, just when we think the snow and ice have receded for the last time, all too often back they come with a vengeance in the midst of force eight northerly, just in time for the first or second week of the season! In such circumstances, trying to cast a fly can be a thankless and most unrewarding endeavour, however there is an alternative. 

The humble worm is maligned both as a creature and a fishing bait, yet it is at least loved by the trout, in common with most other species of fish. Its importance to anglers is thus more universal than many would like to admit! For as little as £2 you can buy them from tackle shops – lobs, brandlings or dendrodbaenas – all of which have their uses for catching river trout. You can even dig your own out of the ground if you so wish… It may be seen as ‘cheating’ by some trout angling purists, and it might even be against the rules on certain waters, but done properly worm fishing is far more than simply a ‘chuck it and chance’ it method. 

Legering a worm may indeed be rudimentary, but in everything other than a full-on flood it’s also a largely ineffective technique. Float fishing and upstream worming, however, in their own ways, require as much finesse, skill and knowhow as fly fishing, and can be devastatingly effective methods on their given day. Nowadays, owing to local restrictions, my own first casts are invariably made using a fly – or to be more precise, a weighted nymph – but as I myself started out as a worm fisherman, there’s no way I’m going to overlook this particular trout angling discipline. 

Harking back to the long-lost days of my youth on the River Wansbeck, although the bank-side remained off-limits until the last week of March, I used to ease my growing sense of anticipation for the new season by preparing rods, reels and terminal tackle in readiness. I’d often start as soon as late-February and it’s with this in mind that I’ve prepared this article early too!

The checking of regulations is  important when we come to start fishing for the trout, for while the old byelaw that once prohibited the use of ‘bait’ on many rivers in the region before June 1^st no longer applies, many clubs and associations still retain this as a local statute. As a general rule, therefore, it is best to assume that worm fishing is only allowed before June on those rivers where the old byelaw never applied – namely the Wansbeck, Blyth, Wear and Tees (and also the Yorkshire rivers) – and even then club rules should also be consulted. 

Worm fishing for trout is subtly different to its equivalent for coarse species (and to some extent grayling) and this needs to be taken into account too when devising effective tactics for presenting a bait to them. Unlike many other species, the river trout is in essence a solitary fish, being fiercely territorial at all stages of its life and never living in shoals, in contrast to many other types of river fish. It therefore follows that, like in fly fishing, a trout has first to be ‘seen’ before it can be cast to – as running a bait through any likely looking spot will not necessarily locate a feeding fish in the way it might in coarse angling! It has also to be understood that loose-feeding or ground-baiting is rarely allowed – indeed on those rivers such as the Wear and Tees, where coarse fish are present, it is strictly prohibited before June 16^th! 

Therefore an understanding of where to expect to find a trout is of great importance, especially as on early-season North East rivers, the colour often carried in the water is likely to make visualising them near-impossible. In reference to the previous article in this series, on winter grayling fishing, in terms of habitat what goes for grayling usually follows for the trout. Look for tell-tale features – deeper swiftly flowing stretches are ideal for this sort of fishing – as while a trout will live happily in just a few inches of water, fishing a worm in such locations is much less straightforward than a fly! Creases in the flow in these sorts of places are also good, as are deeper channels cutting through areas of generally shallower water, weir pools – any sort of pool for that matter – and anywhere with overhanging foliage. Slow deep stretches do hold trout – often very big ones – but they don’t offer the advantage of being able to sweep a bait through a lie fast enough to entice a trout to take a gamble. 

Where better place to start then than the River Wansbeck, a cracking trout stream that only requires you to hold a standard EA rod licence to fish in the vicinity of Morpeth town centre (see The Credit Crunch List in “North East Fishing Marks & Venues” for more information & directions). Worm fishing is allowed in this area right from the start of the season, although on those stretches outside the town (controlled by the Wansbeck Angling Association) it is fly only until June 1^st. 

Free Fishing 'Hotspots' in Morpeth Town Centre. ©2010 The Fishing Archives

The Morpeth ‘town stretch’ is only about a mile or so in length – and it’ll soon become apparent that several sections within its boundaries are barely worth a look – however those places that are can provide an excellent opportunity to the roving early-season worm fisher. To get the best out of this stretch, you’d be best advised to float fish (a 10-11 ft rod, 3-4lb line fished straight through to the hook, and a stick or avon float will be quite sufficient), as the delicate casting necessary when using fly tackle to present a worm is unlikely to deliver the bait into many of the best places. Moreover, as most anglers who fish this stretch use ‘bait fishing’ set-ups anyway, you won’t look out of place! 

Location 1 on the Morpeth Town Stretch (viewed from Skinnery Bridge)

Beginning at the uppermost end of the beat (on the right bank looking downstream) the first place that warrants a visit is the water on the downstream side of a footbridge on High Stanners, known locally as Skinnery Bridge (Location 1 – see map). Running for about a hundred yards down from the bridge, this stretch consists of a far bank channel that gradually deepens the further downstream you go, losing pace as it goes. Being only about four to five feet deep and fed by slightly faster water from upstream, the hotspot is the pool immediately downstream of the bridge, beneath the overhanging branches on the far side. Be sure to plumb the depth of the far bank channel right under the overhang (using a plummet lead as shown in Diagram 1A) and shot the float ‘shirt button’ style (Diagram 1B) so the worm is carried along just clear of the river bed. 

Diagram 1: River Float Fishing for Trout (General). ©2010 The Fishing Archives

While trout will normally be found under the tree, the continued presence of far bank features hanging over from the gardens on the opposite side means that venturing downstream a few yards can also be worthwhile. However, adjusting the float setting to compensate for the quite considerable increase in depth the further downstream you go is unnecessary, as the fish in this area generally lie only a few feet or even inches below the surface, using the overhanging features for cover. 

The amenability of this stretch to trout fishing gradually decreases as the river swings round to the right – the increasing depth (30 feet at one point) and languid current making it unsuited to anything besides legering. However it’s only a couple of hundred yards, walking on downstream past the widening grassy expanse on the inside of the bend, until the next place of interest (Location 2). 

With the river shallowing-up again on approach to a set of stepping stones, this is the sort of place where the use of a good float rod (and good technique) will come into its own as the Wansbeck is quite wide here and the channel to be fished is once again close to the far bank, necessitating a powerful but controlled cast. What’s more, this spot is far more featured, with the sloping gardens having been superseded by fairly dense far bank foliage, providing cover for the trout and dictating a cast close-to or right underneath the overhang. 

If you look at Diagram 2, which explains how to ‘feather’ a cast using a fixed spool reel, you’ll understand the relevance of this technique to this particular kind of fishing location. It allows for a far more confident cast to be made from distance towards a line of features such as overhanging trees. The cast can then be slowed on its final approach, to avoid the problem of getting terminal tackle hung up in the foliage. In order to ‘feather’, you keep your index finger close to the rim of the spool after releasing the line and, as the float nears its target, dab your finger lightly against the rim of the spool in a manner that causes line leaving the reel to flick the fingertip on each turn, slowing the momentum of the cast as it travels through the air. The trick is to apply just the right amount of pressure so that you gradually slow the flight of the float – you don’t want to stop the line dead as not only will this leave you fishing in the wrong place, it might even cause the bait to fly off the hook! 

Diagram 2: River Float Fishing For Trout ("Feathering"). ©2010 The Fishing Archives

Of equal significance, this technique also compensates for the fact that the harder you attempt to cast a float (and the shot carried with it on the line) the more probable it is that the whole lot will hit the surface of the water simultaneously (Diagram 2C), increasing the likelihood of tangles and/or the line looping round the float. Either way the resultant presentation isn’t going to fool many trout! As the feathering action slows the progress of the tackle through the air, it causes the line to straighten (Diagram 2B), so that the bait hits the water first, followed by the shot and float in the correct order. Carry out this procedure on every cast and your bait is far more likely to be presented in a manner likely to deceive a trout. 

A hundred yards downstream of the stepping stones is probably the most quintessential trout fishing spot on the entire ‘town stretch’ – a place anyone who has read The Wansbeck Wonder Years (in the “Angling Culture” section) will immediately recognise as the ‘Willow Tree’ pool… well maybe…! The willow is long gone, struck down by lightning in the early 1980s, but the pool that was once caressed by its trailing branches is still there (Location 3) – and still amenable to a well presented worm. The main part of the pool is a five to six feet deep ‘hole’ (plumb the depth to check!) but this only shallows-up gradually as the river approaches the sandstone bridge just downstream (Oldgate), meaning that the float can be fished right through almost as far as the bridge under-croft – although false bites will occur as the depth decreases. 

There then follows a long stretch of slow deeper water, which comes under the category “barely worth a look”, but if you follow the river on downstream through Carlisle Park and beyond a large weir with a fish ladder, another section with trout fishing potential is soon at hand (Location 4). The short stretch of river between two bridges that cross from the town centre not far downstream of the weir – one a footbridge and the other the main ‘Telford’ road bridge – still retains much of the pace provided by the obstruction and is a place where, in the olden days, I used to catch many a small trout from its shallow waters. Back then, the gravel bed of the river here was scraped-flat annually by the Water Authority JCB in the name of flood prevention, but for the last two decades the river has been left to its own devices, allowing the current to create fish-holding hollows that are reshaped by the floods from year-to-year. Don’t be completely surprised by the presence of the odd leviathan – especially in the darkened waters beneath the main bridge arch! 

Downstream of Telford Bridge, the Wansbeck runs over another set of rapids before deepening slightly alongside a concrete flood wall situated on its right bank. The river now begins to deviate to the left – its third right angle turn in less than a mile – guided for most of the way by the flood wall, before it fizzles out at the end of the housing estate it was built to protect. The completion of this bend marks the start of the third and final place worth fishing on the town stretch – a shingle beach just upstream of a metal footbridge – the only part of the beat to be fished from the left bank. 

Diagram 3. ©2010 The Fishing Archives

This spot can be approached by either crossing a metal footbridge from the ‘flood wall’ side, or from the town centre by walking down Gas House Lane past Morpeth Library. A float can be trundled quite effectively through the shallower pool just above the bridge, although fishing is usually better downstream of the rapids that begin underneath it – do watch out for the power lines that straddle the river in this area, though! These rapids quickly break into deeper, slower-running water that is deceptively good for trout fishing (Location 5) – and especially-well suited to a roving float fishing approach from the grassy one hundred and fifty yard expense of the left bank immediately before the river turns sharply to the right to resume its easterly trajectory. This is the point at which the town stretch ends – the water downstream of here being controlled by the Wansbeck Angling Association, for which day tickets can be obtained at Game Fishing Supplies (beside Morpeth Bus Station) but on whose waters worm fishing is not permitted before June 1^st. 

Getting to Morpeth is easy – just follow the A1 and then signs for the town centre, with parking not a problem at this time of the year, as there are numerous car parks dotted around the town centre – although there is a charge in most places. Getting a car close to the beat at the High Stanners end is more tricky, however, as parking here is by the roadside only and often reserved for the residents of the nearby housing estate. 

What should also be mentioned at this point is that in contrast to the coarse fishing style of long-trotting, where the float is allowed to drift downstream, when fishing for trout you’ll usually find that casting a bait upstream is more effective (Diagram 3). This peculiarity may owe itself to the trout’s solitary lifestyle or to its habit of lying just below the surface of the water, affording it a much better view of any angler standing just upstream. Whatever the reason, it is this characteristic that gives its name to our next technique, a subtle variation on float fishing in which the worm is presented on either a ‘free line’ (no float or weight attached) or on the end of a leader attached to a fly line. 

Diagram 4: Upstream Worm Technique. ©2010 The Fishing Archives

The ‘upstream worm’ (Diagram 4) is a deadly technique of old, once recommended in all the best trout fishing guides for the North of England and the Borders, but nowadays all but forgotten, what with the modern fashion for fly fishing and easier ways of casting a worm. The problem is that most of these ‘easier ways’ are more cumbersome and intended ideally for fishing in deeper water and at longer range. Even a stick float, presented correctly and cast delicately upstream, stands a good chance of spooking a trout in anything less than three feet of clear water. In a situation where a trout can be clearly seen, it is therefore much better to cast a free or fly-lined worm a few yards upstream of the fish, allowing it drift back into its lie. 

Traditionally, the best time for upstream worming is in the early morning, but there’s no reason why it shouldn’t work at any other time of the day. The technique comes into its own on stretches of river with classic trout pools fed by quicker water from rapids and glides, and wherever you find such a series of features, you’ve potentially found somewhere you can fish all day! There’s no better example of exactly this sort of place than the River Wear at Croxdale. 

The Wear at Croxdale is controlled by The Ferryham Angling Association, an amalgamation of Ferryhill and Durham City Angling Clubs  as well as one or two others, with access restricted to members of these clubs ONLY (see Fishing Opportunities on Rivers in Co. Durham & Yorkshire in “North East Fishing Marks & Venues” for more details). This particular venue is situated right beside the main A167 Durham to Darlington road and cars can be left round the back of the Honest Lawyer pub, which is alongside the main road (see map). 

The Ferryham AA beat on the River Wear at Croxdale. ©2010 The Fishing Archives

One of the foremost reasons this beat is so suited to upstream worm fishing is that it’s possible to wade fairly easily at the tail of most of the pools, with easy access to each from the bank. It’s therefore a fairly straightforward task to flick a worm from a good standpoint downstream of your quarry and cover most of the water in each pool; however it goes without saying that you’ll need a folding landing net that you can carry into the river with you!  Also (until the river deepens markedly towards the mouth of the River Browney) most of the pools are relatively shallow, making it easier to spot a fish and get into range before it sees you! 

Beginning at the downstream end (as per convention), the first pool you’ll fish (1 – see map) is at the very top of the long deep section of river that runs for several hundred yards above the confluence with the Browney. The thing to do here is to wade almost all the way across the shallows at the head of the pool, and then make your way downstream and back towards the middle of the river, just where it starts to deepen. If you now look back across towards the bank you came from, you’ll notice that there’s a slightly deeper channel running very close in on that side, beginning immediately downstream of where you entered the river. By now, you should be standing a little way downstream of the point at which it begins and, provided it’s safe to do so, continue to wade until you have about ten yards of the feature to cast back upstream to. 

The current here rushes under a tangle of roots and the branches of an old tree that fell into the river some years ago and this is a spot that always contains a few trout – as well as the occasional big chub, so beware! Simply flick the worm to the head of the run and allow it to trundle through, watching the line for tell tale movement (which of course is much easier if you’re using fly tackle!) 

The pool immediately above the long shallow glide that feeds the first swim is really too shallow for this type of fishing, but above the next set of rapids, just beyond the point at which the path crossing the farmer’s field from the Honest Lawyer reaches the riverbank, there is another excellent pool (2). The advantage with this one is that it’s nowhere near as long and deep as our first port of call and being fairly swiftly flowing throughout its length, can be ‘upstream wormed’ all the way from tail to head. The problem however is that, in contrast to the firm gravel that you wade on just downstream, the margins close to the left bank in this pool consist of very soft mud in places, so greater care needs to be taken! Nonetheless, once you do locate a firm foothold, there shouldn’t ever be too great a distance to cast your worm, as the trout here abound. 

There are also a couple more pools worth a shot just upstream of our second stop, as the bank sides get steeper and the general pace of the water more swift on approach to the A167 road bridge. There’s even the River Browney situated just the other side of the farmer’s field, which flows into the Wear at the bottom of the beat and has several deep pools that will respond to the same tactics – by now you’ll have got the gist of what to do! 

There are of course a great many other places in the North East where these two methods of worm fishing for river trout can be practised – although do check the rules before you set out. Of course, worm fishing works well in the summer also, so after June 1^st there’ll be even more opportunities to fish in this way. Get out there and have a go – there’s no more exciting way of catching a trout! 

By Pete McParlin 

©2010 The Fishing Archives

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The meeting will start at 1800 hours, with teas and coffees provided from 1745 hours.  The forum will end no later than 2100 hours.

If you travel by car you can either park in the numbered bays at the front of the building or in the visitor’s car park at the right hand side of the building.

If you wish to go along, the EA request that you phone to confirm your attendance by Monday 13^th Feb, on following number: 0191 203 4321

News & Info for the Region (click on the links):

Game Angling

Coarse Angling

Sea Angling