I arrived to fish the Upper Water at about 19:30 and there were a few small fish rising as I tackled up. Then I noticed a large nose sipping in a fly and my first cast with my size 16 flymph, I had my first fish of the evening.
The river looked great and there was plenty of evidence of where River Keeper John’s new strimmer has been! There were also still a few mayfly coming off and plenty of spinners laying their eggs.
Waded up the shallows admiring the ranunculus, but I should have been concentrating because I spooked a good fish – dam.
Up to the Withy Bed and the usual suspects were rising on the bend, a nasty down stream wind made casting difficult and I didn’t give myself much of a chance of hooking a fish. But one came up and sucked in the fly, it was a lively 1lb grayling.
The next bend and a good fish was making some very splashy rises, I guess he was after hatching caddis, so I switched to a larger fly and cast – he came up and took the fly so slowly and confidently I was sure I had him, I struck and a slight tug and he was away – dam
The sun had set and it started to get chilly, it was now 21:30 so I tested my knots and got ready for the evening rise. There’s a fish and another and another, for the next 20 mins I had great fun, during one fish a deer waded the river just 20 yards up stream – amazing.. A great end to Father’s Day
The Club is a private one, founded in 1877, of approximately sixty-four members and six Town Rod subscribers. The Club’s waters consist of about 12 miles of wild brown trout & grayling fishing in the main River Frome, River Cerne and River Piddle, together with attendant carriers and side streams. The waters extend both above and below the town of Dorchester and the Club employs a part-time keeper.
Price £60 per ticket per day or three days for £120
Day Tickets are only available during the trout season and only on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays & Bank Holidays. (season 1st April – 14th October)
The Police have made it quite clear that poaching is a crime in progress covered by the 1968 Theft Act. Members should always call 999 to report it and not phone the keeper. Without a report the police will not be aware of the extent of a problem.
If possible note or photo vehicles.
Stress if you are vulnerable/elderly or at risk of intimidation..
In order to give the call handler an accurate location they recommend putting the “what3words” app on your smartphone. Click here…
Angling’s representative body, the Angling Trust, has a web site for anglers to record sightings of cormorants, goosanders and mergansers throughout the UK: www.cormorantwatch.com The site is easy to use and will gather vital data to help persuade government of the need for action to protect fisheries.
Invasive plants and animals can carry diseases that kill fish, block waterways and banks, interfering with fishing. They can be small and hard to spot, so are easily spread on damp clothing and equipment.
Protect the environment and fishing you enjoy, by keeping your kit free of invasive plants and animals.
To find out more please visit
the NNSS Website