Hampshire Avon
Coombe Mill
Verified beat. Information confirmed by FishingBeats.
Coombe Mill is a fishing beat on the Hampshire Avon. Day tickets from £156.
Pricing and season
Indicative prices only. This calendar does not show whether a beat is bookable or already booked out, and other prices may apply. Always confirm availability and the final price with the booking provider before you travel.
Price calendar
How Coombe Mill compares on the Hampshire Avon
Typical, lowest and highest full-day rod, from 5 beats with published day rates
Day tickets on the Hampshire Avon run from £40 to £570. The typical full-day rate is around £94, peaking in June.
Compare with other riversFishing details
Coombe Mill at a glance
- Rods
- 1 – 3
- Difficulty
- Explorer (2/5)
- Length
- 0.86 miles
- Water type
- main river
Fishing methods
Fly methods
Just under a mile of single-bank dry fly and nymph water on the Hampshire Avon, Coombe Mill sits on the upper chalk stream reach of this historic Wiltshire river. The Avon rises near the Wiltshire/Berkshire border and flows southward for over 40 miles, and for trout fishermen the pick of the beats are upstream of Salisbury, especially over Salisbury Plain, the country where Frank Sawyer keepered and developed the Pheasant Tail Nymph. One of the most varied chalk streams in the UK, with over 180 species of aquatic plant recorded, it also has one of the most diverse populations of fish, plant and wildlife. Persistent heavy rain early in the season can leave the river a little coloured, but it clears quickly, and from summer through to the end of the season the water clarity is comparable to that of many chalk streams.
The beat targets wild Brown Trout, Grayling on a fly-only, catch-and-release basis, rated as explorer-level water; expect fish that have seen pressure and reward careful presentation over brute-force casting. The trout season opens in time to catch hatches of grannom and large dark olives, and consistently good fly hatches (especially mayfly (Greendrake), which once started can continue for many weeks) make the Avon a firm favourite for fly fishermen. The classic Wessex chalk streams such as the Avon, Test and Itchen have mayfly hatches starting at the end of May and carrying on to early June. Blue-winged olives and sedges carry the fishing through summer and into autumn. Grayling in the Hampshire Avon are thought to be an original, native population, and on the chalk streams they are usually only targeted from October through to the end of December. The grayling season here runs to 30 December, making this a genuinely year-round beat.
Up to three rods fish the bank simultaneously. Rods of between 7½ and 9 ft rated from 3# to 5# lines are the norm, with the longer and slightly heavier outfits suited to wider stretches of the Avon. A 9 ft leader is a sensible minimum. Day-rod pricing runs from £81 in the grayling season to £232 during the mayfly, with main-season days at £156. A fishing hut and toilets are on site. Wading is not permitted; all fishing is from the bank.
Stocking and fish species
Rules and policies
Amenities
Where Coombe Mill is
The beat's boundary, with parking where we have it.
51.25198, -1.78905
The river
River
Formed by two headwaters rising in the Vale of Pewsey, the Hampshire Avon merges near Upavon and flows south for 60 miles across Salisbury Plain, passing through Durrington, Amesbury and Salisbury before crossing into Hampshire and running through Fordingbridge and Ringwood to empty into Christchurch Harbour. The East…
Flies for this beat
Expected in October on the Hampshire Avon
Typical months from the river’s hatch calendar, which applies along its whole length rather than to this beat. Not a live report.
Caperer
Sedge · #10-12
Kite's Imperial
Dry fly · #14-16
Daddy Long Legs
Terrestrial · #10-12
Sawyer's Killer Bug
Nymph · #12-16
The year ahead
Full calendarEvery hatch on the Hampshire Avon and the months it usually runs.
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Similar beats on the Hampshire Avon
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FAQ
Coombe Mill FAQs
Practical questions anglers ask before fishing Coombe Mill, from tickets to tactics.
