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.

Fair · Rainbow
Partridge and Orange · 14–16
Fairlive now
Good winter conditions for Chigborough Farm & Fisheries
Useful ripple, fishable wave. Worth a session if the wind holds.
60% confidence
What moved it
  • WindNW 13 km/hGentle breeze · Gusts to 21 km/h
Today's fly
Partridge and Orange
Partridge and Orange14–16
Upstream, in the film
Conditions on the water
Estimate
Wind
Gentle breeze · Gusts to 21 km/h
NW 13 km/h
N
NW
from the north-west
Wave20 cm ripple
Water temp7.7°C
Air temp6°C
CloudClear
Pressure1017 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm

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

Head to
Wind driftNW wind
North-western end

A northwesterly has held for most of a day, running colder than the water (3°C air against 8°C water). The end it blows into is taking that chilled surface water, so try the sheltered north-western end instead — off the back of the wind, where the undertow returns food along the bottom. That chill sits in the top of the water, though, and the bed is slower to feel it — on a bottom bait it is the undertow, not the temperature, that puts you at this end. Treat it as a tiebreaker between good swims rather than an override — features and angling pressure usually count for more.

How to fish it · for Rainbow
When
Current conditions suit Chigborough Farm & Fisheries well for winter 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

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 5 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
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

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
77%
Cloud70%
Wind65%
Temp100%

A good match for Chigborough Farm & Fisheries — most conditions are close to what it fishes best in.

Other water nearby · 5
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

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
  • Temperature (moderate) is in the sweet spot for winter fishing.
Related guides
Casting instructors near here
Booking & contacts
At a glance

Chigborough Farm & Fisheries is a stillwater fishery in Essex, England. It sits at about 5 m above sea level. Our data lists rainbow trout and brown trout here. Best window recorded for anglers: Spring mornings and summer evenings; sedge hatches at dusk. Core methods listed: Static buzzer fishing on a floating line; Dry fly to evening sedge; Pulled lure for fresh stockies. Nearby waters in our listings include Chigboro Fisheries at 1.0 km, Hanningfield Reservoir at 17 km and Ardleigh Reservoir at 26 km.