Stillwater · Chalk · Welsh Marches / Herefordshire, GB-ENG

Bigwell Fly Fishery

Bigwell Fly Fishery venue image

Four spring-fed lakes in the Wye Valley on the England–Wales border.

Fair · Rainbow
Daddy Long Legs · 10–12
Fairlive now
Reasonable winter fishing likely at Bigwell Fly Fishery
Useful ripple, fishable wave. Worth a session if the wind holds.
59% confidence

Bigwell Fly Fishery is often best in spring through autumn.

What moved it
  • WindS 8 km/hLight breeze · Gusts to 13 km/h
Today's fly
Daddy Long Legs
Daddy Long Legs10–12
Upstream dry, on top
Conditions on the water
Estimate
Wind
Light breeze · Gusts to 13 km/h
S 8 km/h
N
S
from the south
WaveRipple
Water temp9.4°C
Air temp-1°C
CloudOvercast
Pressure1019 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm

No gauge on this water — readings are regional estimates from weather, not a live gauge.

How to fish it · for Rainbow
When
Current conditions suit Bigwell Fly Fishery well for winter tactics. The ripple should help fish move and feed more confidently.
Where
Start with Floating Fry (8–10) on a Fish as a single fly. Rainbows respond to more active retrieves — try short strips between pauses. If that does not produce, switch depth or speed before changing the pattern entirely.
The plan
Plan A

Start with Floating Fry (8–10) on a Fish as a single fly. Rainbows respond to more active retrieves — try short strips between pauses. If that does not produce, switch depth or speed before changing the pattern entirely.

Plan B

Slow down everything. A booby on a fast-sinking line, left static, can pick up deep fish.

Watch for

Keep an eye on changing conditions — wind shifts and cloud breaks can trigger short feeding spells.

Bank

Bank-only venue. Fish from accessible margins, points, weed edges, and inflows.

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 2 guilds as a supporter.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 4 as a supporter.

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Through the year
0–3 scale · November highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
Reservoir BuzzerHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
2
Daphnia SwarmHatch
2
3
3
3
2
Lake OliveHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
2
Silverhorns & LonghornsHatch
1
2
2
2
1

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Buzzer team todayfor the conditions now
Point
Black buzzer, orange thorax
Not in this water's box
#10
How to fish it
Intermediate line · let the breeze drift the team, then hang it 15–30 s

Fly recommendations

Point fly shown — supporters see the whole team, sizes and why.

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Ranked for today
Rainbow fly box
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Condition match
73%
Cloud50%
Wind100%
Temp60%

A good match for Bigwell Fly Fishery — most conditions are close to what it fishes best in.

Other water nearby · 5
Gallery · 1
  1. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

Two crystal-clear chalk-fed waters (primary spring source) and two fed from overflow stream with wild brown trout influx. Specimen fish to 12 lb. Wheelchair accessible, cafe and fly shop on site. Stunning riverside location. Blue and tiger trout go in alongside the rainbows. The blues fight a good deal harder than their odd steel colouring suggests; the tigers come along rarely and almost always to something moving, so it's worth swinging a small streamer past the deeper margins before you give up on them.

  • Chalk
Why this score
  • Wind conditions (ripple) closely match what this water fishes best in.
Directions
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 1 January → 31 December
Related guides
Casting instructors near here
Booking & contacts
At a glance

Bigwell Fly Fishery is a stillwater fishery in Welsh Marches / Herefordshire, England. The catchment geology is recorded as chalk, and the water sits at about 77 m above sea level. Species listed for this water: rainbow trout and brown trout. The trout season is recorded as running from 1 January to 31 December. Best window recorded for anglers: April–September. Core methods listed: sight fishing; dry fly; nymph. Nearby waters in our listings include Little Avon River at 25 km, Llandegfedd Reservoir at 26 km and Kingfisher Trout Lake at 29 km.