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
A respectable few hours, if you choose your moments
Useful ripple, fishable wave. Worth a session if the wind holds.
48% confidence
limited data
What moved it
  • WindS 22 km/hModerate breeze
Today's fly
Daddy Long Legs
Daddy Long Legs10-12
Upstream dry, on top
Conditions on the water
Estimate
Wind
Moderate breeze
S 22 km/h
N
S
from the south
Wave40 cm chop
Water temp16.6°C
Air temp17°C
CloudOvercast
Pressure1005 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
Conditions are not ideal but fishable at Bigwell Fly Fishery.
Where
Start with Wet Fly (10-12) on a figure-of-eight with occasional strip. 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. When no hatch is visible, a buzzer team — black stripped quill on the point, attractor or pearl-rib on the top dropper — is the default starting point on any UK stillwater.
The plan
Plan A

Start with Wet Fly (10-12) on a figure-of-eight with occasional strip. 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. When no hatch is visible, a buzzer team — black stripped quill on the point, attractor or pearl-rib on the top dropper — is the default starting point on any UK stillwater.

Plan B

A fry-imitating pattern stripped through the margins can save a blank in autumn.

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.

Start free trial

14-day free trial. Cancel anytime.

Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 5 as a supporter.

Start free trial

14-day free trial. Cancel anytime.

Through the year
0–3 scale · September highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Trout seasonSeason
1
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.

Ranked for today
Rainbow fly box
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Condition match
63%
Cloud70%
Wind30%
Temp100%

A reasonable day here, though wind isn't quite in the sweet spot.

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

Four spring-fed lakes in the Wye Valley on the England–Wales border. 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 (windy) are not ideal for this water.
  • Temperature (moderate) is in the sweet spot for autumn fishing.
Directions
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 1 April → 30 September
Related guides
Casting instructors near here
Booking & contacts