Stillwater · Mixed · Essex, GB-ENG

Chigborough Farm & Fisheries

A calm fishing lake at Chigborough Farm & Fisheries in Essex, fringed with reeds and trees, with two ducks on the water

Chigborough sits in the Essex flatlands near the Blackwater estuary, a cluster of lakes carved out of old gravel workings and given over to fishing.

Good · Rainbow
Partridge and Orange · 14-16
Goodlive now
Good autumn conditions for Chigborough Farm & Fisheries
Useful ripple, fishable wave. Fishable ripple — drift the productive shore.
68% confidence
What moved it
  • WindE 11 km/hLight breeze
Today's fly
Partridge and Orange
Partridge and Orange14-16
Upstream, in the film
Conditions on the water
Estimate
Wind
Light breeze
E 11 km/h
N
E
from the east
Wave20 cm ripple
Water temp15.8°C
Air temp19°C
CloudOvercast
Pressure1021 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 Chigborough Farm & Fisheries well for autumn tactics. The ripple should help fish move and feed more confidently.
Where
Start with Pheasant Tail Nymph (14-16) — on the point — slow figure-of-eight retrieve. 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 Pheasant Tail Nymph (14-16) — on the point — slow figure-of-eight retrieve. 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

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 3 guilds as a supporter.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 5 as a supporter.

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

Spider-heavy and practical. Strong tradition of North Country soft hackles, useful nymphing, and simple dry flies when fish rise properly.

What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Condition match
91%
Cloud70%
Wind100%
Temp100%

Conditions are ideal for Chigborough Farm & Fisheries — wind, cloud and temperature all line up.

Other water nearby · 5
Chigboro Fisheries
1.0 km
Rainbow trout · Brown trout
Hanningfield Reservoir
17 km
Brown trout · Rainbow trout
Ardleigh Reservoir
26 km
Carp · Pike · Perch
Alton Water
39 km
Pike · Carp · Perch
Norton Fishery
40 km
Rainbow trout
Gallery · 2
  1. A calm fishing lake at Chigborough Farm & Fisheries in Essex, fringed with reeds and trees, with two ducks on the water
    May Water at Chigborough Fisheries, near Maldon, Essex
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

Chigborough sits in the Essex flatlands near the Blackwater estuary, a cluster of lakes carved out of old gravel workings and given over to fishing. It's mixed-character stillwater — the sort of place where the rainbows are willing and the browns make you earn it. Being lowland and shallow-ish, the water warms quickly in spring and the buzzer fishing comes on early, then can go quiet and sulky through the bright middle of a summer day. The trick, as ever, is to fish the edges of the day. A still evening with sedges fluttering off the surface is when the place shows you what it can do, and you remember why you bothered driving out to Essex at all. Best read by wind, light and water temperature.

  • Fishery
  • Mixed
Why this score
  • Wind conditions (ripple) closely match what this water fishes best in.
  • Temperature (moderate) is in the sweet spot for autumn fishing.
Related guides
Small Stillwater Playbookstillwater tacticsThermal Layers & Troutreading depth and temperatureTrout Near Londonaccess guide
Casting instructors near here
Booking & contacts
Permits & access