River Dever · Dever Springs
Willow and Spring Lakes
Willow and Spring Lakes is a fishing beat on the River Dever at Dever Springs. Guided visits only.
How to book
Fishing details
Willow and Spring Lakes at a glance
- Rods
- 10 – 20
- Difficulty
- Explorer (2/5)
- Length
- –
- Water type
- stillwater
Fishing methods
Fly methods
The two lakes at Dever Springs cover about six acres between them. Willow is the one with the stock ponds behind it, where the fish are reared before they go in, and Spring is the other. On a booked day you are free to move between the two as you like. Both are spring fed and usually clear, which makes this stalking rather than blind casting: find a fish, work out which way it is going, and put the fly where it will see it.
Stocking is done daily from the fishery’s own ponds. Rainbow, brown and blue trout go in at a standard 3 to 5 lb, with double figure fish among them and a few a good deal bigger than that. Nymphs and lures on a medium weight rod account for most of them, though there are spells, and the mayfly in May and June is the obvious one, when the dry fly is the better bet. The banks are trimmed and there are casting platforms and seats at intervals, so the casting is easy enough.
Fish can be kept or returned, and anything you keep is prepared and boxed on ice for the journey home. There are no day tickets here any more. The whole fishery is hired by private groups of ten or more, with an instructor on hand for anyone who wants one.
Stocking and fish species
Rules and policies
Amenities
Where Willow and Spring Lakes is
The beat's boundary, with parking where we have it.
51.17482, -1.37805
curiosity.narrating.contactsThe fishery and river
River
A compact Hampshire chalk stream, the River Dever rises at West Stratton near Micheldever and runs westward for 11 miles through Micheldever, Sutton Scotney, and the hamlets of Weston Colley and Wonston before skirting Barton Stacey and passing through Bransbury, where it meets the River Test on Bransbury Common at…
Flies for this beat
Expected in October on the River Dever
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 River Dever and the months it usually runs.
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Similar beats on the River Dever
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FAQ
Willow and Spring Lakes FAQs
Practical questions anglers ask before fishing Willow and Spring Lakes, from tickets to tactics.
