Do you remember that last time you went fishing, and you saw that huge trout gorging on olives, and the trees, fences, wind, flow and everything else was against you! At times like this, we welcome a pair of waders.
It is an absolute must, before fishing a new stretch of water where wading is allowed, to make sure you speak with either the river keeper, or another fisherman, whom is extremely familiar with that stretch. They are often happy to give you a bit of guidance regarding the run of the river and any deep or dangerous spots and any known hot spots. If fishing alone, we strongly recommend wearing a life jacket, the advancements in them have come on so far now that you would hardly know you had one on. And finally, before you hit the river, make sure you have suitable clothing under your waders, and bring a spare set of clothes, because accidents can happen…
Now ‘don’t go wading in’, the river bank is your greatest ally for the day, you quite often find that you have a better vantage point for sighting fish from the bank. A general surveillance scout from dry land is always a wise start, you can get a feel for the place, just because it is a wading beat, it does not mean you have to march up the middle of the stream, but it usually is not long until you find that fish that offers a wading opportunity.
Always enter the river carefully, a) to make sure you do not fall in, and b) to make sure you do not spook any fish. Tread carefully and try and avoid stomping through big beds of ranunculus and starwort. It can be a huge advantage to wade while fishing a chalkstream, ultimately you will find yourself covering those fish you could not get to from the bank, catching them might be a different story though.
It is amazing once you get in the river, you can get surprisingly close to trout when walking directly behind them as your profile is that much lower. So work slowly up the river, you can be on top of them before you know it, that is when you find it can be better to sight them from the bank first.
You need to be aware of your casting too, despite having less obstacles to hook up on, think about your final presentation. You are now casting much closer to the water, at this level and angle of cast, there is less room for error.
It is always nice to record your catches, and we thrive to share are catches in photo format, but please get yourself a waterproof camera, because you can’t call your fishing buddy in their office on a soggy phone.
For the season ahead we are offering wading options on the following rivers:
River Test
River Itchen
River Avon
River Anton
River Nadder
River Frome
River Lambourn
River Ebble
River Bourne
For more information on these beats or to enquire about specific dates please contact Alex Jardine or call our office on +44(0)1980 847389.