Stillwater · Mixed · South East

Bough Beech Reservoir

Bough Beech Reservoir venue image
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Bough Beech sits in the Kent Weald looking more like a flooded valley than a waterworks, which is part of its charm.

Good · Rainbow
Pheasant Tail Nymph · 14-16
Goodlive now
Good summer conditions for Bough Beech Reservoir
Good wave on — drift country. Drift fishing weather — three flies on a long leader.
65% confidence
What moved it
  • WindSW 12 km/hLight breeze
Today’s fly
Pheasant Tail Nymph
Pheasant Tail Nymph14-16
Upstream, sub-surface
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Wind
Light breeze
SW 12 km/h
N
SW
from the south-west
Wave20 cm ripple
Water temp—
Air temp15°C
CloudClear
Pressure1022 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm

Some readings unavailable — check directly before fishing.

How to fish it · for rainbow
When
The buzzer is on at Bough Beech Reservoir. The ripple should help fish move and feed more confidently.
Where
Start with Sedge (10-12) on a twitch or dibble on the surface. 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. In the ripple, a bushy searching dry (Hopper, Shipman's, Elk Hair Caddis) outperforms flush emergers — it stays visible and holds the surface tension.
The plan
Plan A

Start with Sedge (10-12) on a twitch or dibble on the surface. 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. In the ripple, a bushy searching dry (Hopper, Shipman's, Elk Hair Caddis) outperforms flush emergers — it stays visible and holds the surface tension.

Plan B

If the main plan stalls, drop to a size 14–16 midge — switch to a washing-line or suspender rig and change drift line before you change food group.

Watch for

Evening tends to be the best period in summer — stay late if you can for a sedge or spinner fall.

Either bank or boat

Good ripple suits both bank and boat. Bank: work inflows, dam walls, and points. Boat: broadside drift covering wind lanes.

Through the year
0–3 scale · July highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Daphnia SwarmHatch
2
3
3
3
2
Daddy Long LegsHatch
2
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
78%
Cloud25%
Wind100%
Temp100%

A good match for this venue — most conditions are close to what it fishes best in.

Other water nearby · 5
Coltsford Mill Trout Fishery
11 km
Rainbow trout · Brown trout · Blue trout
Chalybeate Springs Trout Fishery
13 km
Rainbow trout · Brown trout
Spring Hill Trout Waters
15 km
Rainbow trout · Brown trout
Ashdown Forest Fly Fishery
22 km
Brown trout · Rainbow trout
Bewl Water
23 km
Brown trout · Rainbow trout
Gallery · 1
  1. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

Bough Beech sits in the Kent Weald looking more like a flooded valley than a waterworks, which is part of its charm. It's reservoir trout fishing in the proper sense — rainbows that cruise rather than hold, and a few browns that lurk near the deeper margins and make you work for them. The fishing turns on small things. A buzzer hatch on a still spring morning will have fish head-and-tailing in the film, and a light ripple does more good than harm by hiding your leader. Pick a bright bright midday and the fish go down and sulk, which at least gives you time to watch the cormorants and reconsider your life choices. Best read by wind, light and water temperature.

  • Reservoir
  • Mixed
Why this score
  • Wind conditions (ripple) closely match what this water fishes best in.
  • Temperature (cool) is in the sweet spot for summer fishing.
  • Buzzer is in its seasonal window, boosting the chance of targeted feeding.
Related guides
Big Stillwater Playbookreservoir tacticsReservoir Entomologymatching the hatchThermal Layers & Troutreading depth and temperature
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