Day tickets

The fishery is split into three ‘beats’ that offer the visiting angler a variety of challenges. Beat 1 starts and the bottom end of the Muscliffe free stretch and includes a part of the river that was redirected away from the Throop Mill after the floods in the early 1980s. Overhanging willows, clear gravel shallows and deep holes that hold a few surprises.

Although not as meandering as the waters below its lower boundary at New Weir, its long deep glides and gravel shallows providing some first class chub and roach fishing, especially at the top end.

Look for the deeper swims if big bream are your quarry. There are a number of likely areas, which are rarely fished due to the long walks involved to get to them, but it’s worth the effort.

This part of the fishery can be weedy during the summer months and finding a float swim is not easy. Feeder or straight lead fished in between the weed will catch most species, but use big baits, as minnows can be a problem.

This is a feature-filled adventure for the visiting angler who has to deal with the challenge of fast, wide, shallow glides at the end of deep weir pools, islands of reed mace and bulrush and deep channels.

All of these are the home of some of the biggest chub in the country with 7lb plus fish widely distributed along its length as well as the odd 8lb specimen. Monster barbel to 16lb and bream to 7lb also patrol the many features and during the summer are happy to feast on the anglers’ boilie and pellet baits.

Some of the deep-water swims hold some large shoals of roach with specimens over 2lb. These readily fall to a much-ignored tactic, float-fished hemp and tares, a method that usually accounts for a better stamp of fish.

Anglers fishing boilies and pellets also need to be aware of the growing number of large carp that now patrol the river. Fish in excess of 20lb are now being taken regularly during the summer and early autumn.

During the summer there is a lot of eel grass, which again makes float fishing difficult, but if you can find a long trot the sport can be hectic, especially towards the evening.

As the river winds towards Christchurch, it flows over two more boulder weirs, where the river becomes tidal below the second barrier.

Between the weirs the main species to be caught are bream, big shoals with fish to over 4lb, dace, roach, chub and some big carp.

Below the bottom weir bream, roach, dace and skimmer bream provide the main sport with bags of over 30lb possible during the later autumn months and the weeks leading up to the end of the season.

As this part of the river is tidal it pays to understand the feeding patterns of the fish. The top of the tide and the initial run off are the best times to catch, but beware, there are double high tides on the Stour.

Stick or waggler fished bread, maggot or caster will account for most species along this stretch.

If the water has some colour don’t neglect feeding groundbait with a few free offerings. Maggot feeder will work for the chub, bream and barbel.

Sweetcorn will work well in the summer months for the bream, as will bread with mashed bread or groundbait in the feeder. The barbel also like meat, paste and boilies fished hard on the bottom.The final part of this superb fishery is the Throop Mill pool. This has a limited number of swims, but offers some great carp, tench and bream fishing in the summer.